Sage-ONF, a synthetic leather supplier based in Shanghai, China, has begun manufacturing silicone synthetic leather, a petroleum-free, non-carbon-based product solution for today’s automobile interiors. 

The stethoscope has been used by medical professionals for more than 200 years, giving instant audio feedback on a patient’s lungs, heart or other organs. Researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Berlin, Germany, have developed the Pneumo.Vest with integrated acoustic sensors, to perform the same job throughout the day wherever its wearer goes. 

Swiss Precision, an apparel brand for the medical scrub, uniform and accessories markets, hopes to disrupt the medical sector with antimicrobial copper-based garments and accessories.  

A new cut-and-sew manufacturing operation, called Sparty Mill,  has opened in Lincoln County, N.C., as part of a plan to revive an old mill building. The mill, built in 1905, had previously been home to Duplan Mills, Hudson Hosiery, Chadbourn Industries, Spanco, and six other textile operations, but it had sat empty for many years.

Hyosung TNC, one of the world’s largest spandex manufacturers, has created the world’s first bio-based spandex.

Scientists at Virginia Tech have developed a glove for grasping things underwater with rubber suckers and a sophisticated sensing capability that mimics an octopus’s unique muscular and nervous systems. The octopus is well equipped to handle objects in the water, facilitated by more than 2,000 suckers spread across eight arms and an ability to process information from an array of chemical and mechanical sensors. 

In a reinterpretation of classic shoe design, German design studio Wertel Oberfell’s Auxetic Wear is a 3D printed shoe that uses an auxetic structure to adapt itself to the ergonomics of its wearer’s foot. Combining traditional shoemaking with modern technology, the designers emulate techniques from classic craftsmanship to devise a design that displays a stitched and glued pattern comprised of low-profile, two-dimensional shapes. 

Researchers from North Carolina State University (NC State) and the University of Pennsylvania have developed soft robots that can navigate complex environments such as mazes without input from humans or computer software.

The Blizzbrush 5.0 Toothbrush-Sponge is an example of a radical change in application using a relatively common material. The new toothbrush design conceived by Chris Martin is meant to optimize tooth-cleaning efficiency, cleaning all over the mouth in just a few seconds by simply biting and grinding on the small, silicone sponge brush. The new category of mouthpiece brushes follows ten years of experimentation, development and manufacturing of high-tech tooth-cleaning tools. In 2019, the tailored 3D printed design concept of Blizzbrush 5.0 Toothbrush-Sponge was optimized, introducing a 100 percent recyclable and antimicrobial sponge. The product has been tested and approved by dentists for its optimal cleaning technique and cleaning results. Photo: Chris Martin.

Many people who struggle to get enough sleep could benefit from monitoring their sleep, but they have limited options for doing so. In a new study in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, a research team describes a potential solution: a self-powering smart pillow that tracks the position of the head. Chinese scientists Ding Li, Zhong Lin Wang and colleagues sought to adapt current sleep monitoring systems that use triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) to create a less restrictive, more comfortable version.