STEAM NEWS from Summer 2016: 18-Year-Old Invents Mug That Charges Phones

 

Teenager Ann Makosinski invented a coffee mug that can charge your phone and a flashlight that is powered by the heat of your hand!

She was inspired by a friend in the Philippines who did not have electricity at home and by tinkering at home, always making things. She also worked hard in school, especially in Math and Science.

 

Learn more at:

• http://www.popsci.com/this-18-year-old-invented-coffee-mug-that-can-charge-your-phone-0
• http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec14/vol72/num04/Tinkering-Is-Serious-Play.aspx

NEWS: Robotic "pants"

New Robotic “Pants”

Will Help Paralyzed to Walk

Image credit: SuitX

Steven Sanchez, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a BMX accident, wears SuitX’s “Phoenix,” a robotic exoskeleton that gives him the power to walk. 

This month, a new type of robotic exoskeleton was announced by the University of California at Berkeley’s Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory and SuitX. This exoskeleton—a shell-like structure that fits onto the person—is lighter and more agile than any such exoskeleton developed so far. The team has worked on refining their ideas for exoskeletons like these “pants” for more than 10 years.

Learn more at http://www.technology.org/2016/02/05/a-new-generation-exoskeleton-helps-the-paralyzed-to-walk/