Tiny, glowing robots injected into the eye to monitor oxygen levels could soon be on the front lines in the efforts to help prevent blindness. The robots will be designed to be injected into to vitreous fluid of the eye and steered via magnetic fields. They will be coated with a dye that will glow when exposed to certain wavelengths of light and fade quickly in the presence of oxygen, which would allow doctors to monitor the oxygen levels of the eye by applying a pulse of light and...

Why not develop a way to harvest the energy generated during photosynthesis to create a greener form of energy and a new generation of solar panels? During photosynthesis, light is turned into chemical energy by the splitting of water atoms into hydrogen and oxygen. The electrons are then used to create sugars to feed the plant. The idea is to find a way to collect those electrons before they are turned to sugars. The technique will involve interrupting the paths along which...

A parasitic worm could inspire a new type of bandage for skin grafts that will not only hold well, but will also inject drugs into the skin. The bandage is inspired by a small, fish-infecting worm with a spine-covered proboscis on the top of its head. When the worm infects a fish, it inserts its proboscis to the fish's intestinal wall and then plumps the proboscis with its muscles, which gives it a strong hold inside the fish. Taking a cue from the plumping proboscis, the new...

By combining a series of colored filters, it is possible to create the world's most efficient warm light LED. The tube-shaped lamp will be the first to attain 200lm/W while still maintaining a high quality of light. To create the warm light, one red LED will be combined with two blue, then a green filter will be applied. It will convert one of the blue LEDs to green. This process will result in a warm light with more than twice the lumens per-watt of conventional LED bulbs.

Tiny chiplets the size of a grain of sand could lead to 3D printers able to print the circuitry for devices such as flexible smartphones and smart bandages. In contrast to today's chips, which are made on large wafers cut into individual dies and reassembled on circuit boards, the tiny chips could be printed directly on a surface in precisely the correct location and orientation. The chiplets will be able to function as microprocessors, computer memory and other necessary circuits,...

The vibrobelt aims to keep cyclists safe and on-course, vibrating in different ways to indicate upcoming turns. Many long-distance bicyclists face the challenge of negotiating unfamiliar terrain while also reading a map or GPS device. The vibrobelt works with a GPS device to nudge the rider in the correct direction while still letting them keep their eyes on the road. Vibrating actuators indicate left or right turns as well as sending backwards or forwards commands, while coded...

The adapter will enable seriously disabled people to control iOS products with a just a simple switch. Many people suffer from conditions that make it difficult or impossible to use a touchscreen or keyboard device. The plug-and-play adapter will make iOS devices more accessible by interfacing with the special switches already used in the Assistive Technology community. The adapter will work with the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch via the VoiceOver app, a gesture-based screen reader,...

The idea is to create a special coating for cotton fabric that will allow it to collect water from fogs in the desert. An ordinary piece of cotton fabric will be coated with the polymer PNIPAAm. Normally cotton can only absorb about 18 percent of its weight in airborne water droplets, but the addition of the polymer will allow it to increase that amount to 340 percent when at temperatures up to 93ºF. Once the temperature rises, however, the polymer will become hydrophobic and will...

The idea is to combine a bike light and dual-tone horn into one device. It will light the way while also giving cyclists a way to alert inattentive drivers. The device will feature both a lower-decibel "hello horn" and a louder, 96-decibel "watch out" alarm. The horn's volume will be controlled by an integrated actuator, with a light touch sounding the lower alarm and a stronger push sounding the latter. The LED lights on the front of the horn will be designed to be constantly on,...

A new plant-based extract used as a clothing dye for over 3500 years could also provide a green alternative to the metal ores used to make lithium-ion batteries. The extract, called purpurin, comes from the root of the madder plant. Purpurin, along with other biologically-based color molecules, contain carbonyl and hydroxyl groups able to pass electrons back and forth in the same way as traditional electrodes. Purpurin can be made and stored at room temperature, with a color change...