Innovation Watch
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- Design & manufacturing
- Health & medical
- Innovation Watch
- Issue 95
Making prosthetics without compromise
Prosthetics for upper limb differences often involve a choice between something user-friendly and affordable, or aesthetically pleasing. University of Strathclyde-based startup Metacarpal is trying to bring all three elements together with a new body-powered prosthetic hand.
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- Aerospace
- Design & manufacturing
- Technology & robotics
- Innovation Watch
How AI can help 3D print perfect plane parts
Finding and correcting 3D printing errors is especially tough in the aerospace sector: a part with even a 300-micron defect could be catastrophic.
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- Environment & sustainability
- Energy
- Innovation Watch
- Issue 96
The clean energy pioneers
Ceres Power have found a way to make green hydrogen – thought to be an essential part of our energy transition – at scale.
- Design & manufacturing
- Chemical
- Environment & sustainability
- Materials
- Innovation Watch
Kicking single-use plastics to the curb
This spider-silk inspired plastic alternative produces no plastic alternatives – unlike existing "compostable" plastics.
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- Health & medical
- Technology & robotics
- Innovation Watch
- Issue 94
Perfecting pain-free colonoscopies
Researchers are developing magnetically guided robotic instruments to make colonoscopies less painful for patients.
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- Civil & structural
- Electricals & electronics
- Innovation Watch
The sensors making cities and structures smarter
UtterBerry’s matchbox-sized sensors form a network, akin to the human body’s sensory system, that provides early warning when maintenance might be needed or damage repaired.
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- Civil & structural
- Health & medical
- Innovation Watch
The startup purifying water in partnership with low-income communities
Access to clean water is a fundamental human need, yet hundreds of millions worldwide go without it. Cambridge-based social enterprise Blue Tap has one solution – a low-cost device that purifies water by precisely injecting chlorine into a local water supply.
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- Technology & robotics
- Sports & leisure
- Innovation Watch
- Issue 93
Bend it like a simulated avatar
The world's top free-kick-takers can curve a football in a way the goalkeeper can’t anticipate. Training to save these is no easy task. Now, Belfast startup INCISIV just might have a helping hand for goalies, with an ultra-programmable virtual reality technology.
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- Arts & culture
- Technology & robotics
- Innovation Watch
How AI can unearth archaeological sites
Humans from long ago have left all kinds of marks on landscapes. An AI tool from startup ArchAI, could help find these ancient traces.
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- Environment & sustainability
- Materials
- Innovation Watch
- Issue 92
Imaging the plastic recycling process
Chemical engineer Dr Kit Windows-Yule is using an innovative imaging technique to improve the chemical process of breaking plastics down into oil.
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- Design & manufacturing
- Innovation Watch
- Issue 90
The afro hair comb inspired by printing
Swansea-based engineer Dr Youmna Mouhamad is using her R&D experience to invent a hair comb designed to make looking after textured hair easier and less painful.