May 2014: The Invention Awards

Letter From The Editor

Invention Is for Everyone

Features

Nick Offerman: Why We Should Build Stuff

The 2014 Invention Awards

A flat bike helmet, a robotic exoskeleton, and more.

• A Personal Electric Airplane That Won’t Need A Runway
• 360-Degree Infrared Vision
• Stash Your Bike Helmet In A Briefcase
• A Powerful, Portable, And Affordable Robotic Exoskeleton
• Control An Old, Unruly Radiator With A Smartphone
• An Electronic Studio At Guitarists’ Fingertips
• Seal Combat Wounds In 15 Seconds
• Charge Gadgets With Your Footsteps
• A Cryogenic Engine Powered By Heat

The Master Code

**Randal Koene is recruiting top neuroscientists to help him upload our brains to a computer, in the name of humanity. **By Adam Piore

The Life Cycle Of Ideas

**The rise and fall of scientific ideas. **By Katie Peek

Age of the Asteroid

Massive space rocks hurtle past Earth with frightening regularity. Some scientists want to deflect them. Others want to drag one closer. By James Vlahos

Now

• This Tiny Drone Can Climb Walls

• Get Ready To Fall, Face First

• The Reality Of Silicon Valley

• Jeans That Won’t Let You – Or The Planet – Get Dirty

• Soon, Everything Will Be A Charger

• How To Make A Light, But Strong, Pickup Truck

• The 10 Best Things From May 2014

• The First Mower That Sits Upright

• The Top Patent-Holders In The U.S. [Infographic]

• Kill Switches Will Save Your Smartphone

​Next

• The World’s Largest Solar Farm

• How To Boost Blood Supplies

• Tech To Bet On

• Are Racehorses Getting Faster?

• A Self-Assembling Bot

• You’re Not Highly Evolved

• Predicting Wildfires Could Save Lives. So Why Are We So Bad At It?

• How Mountains In Our Solar System Compare [Infographic]

Manual

• A Wooden Canoe Built By A Hollywood Actor

• Say Hello To The Little Space Race That Could

• Defend Your Cubicle With A Nerf Sentry Gun

• Turn A Tea Bag Into A Lantern

• Use A Stun Gun To…

Ask Anything

• What Would People Eat In A Permanent Space Colony?

• Can Insects Get Fat?