May 20th 2025

Author

Max Gray
May 20, 2025

The Daily Innovation Newsletter

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May 20th 2025

💻 Technology

Scientists at ETH Zurich have created “SonoTextiles,” a new class of smart fabrics that use ultrasonic sound waves transmitted through glass fibers to detect motion, pressure, and touch without relying on traditional electronics. Demonstrated as breathing-monitoring T-shirts and gesture-reading gloves, this technology can enable real-time sign language translation, health monitoring, and interactive virtual environments. Published in Nature Electronics, the innovation offers low-power, durable sensing with broad applications in assistive tech, sports, and augmented reality.

🚘 Transport

Slovakia’s Klein Vision has announced the AirCar, the first mass-produced flying car, set to launch commercially in 2026 at a price of up to $1 million. Certified for airworthiness and powered by a petrol engine, the two-seat vehicle transforms from car to aircraft in under two minutes, with a flight range of 621 miles. Unlike electric rivals, the AirCar uses conventional fuel and short runways, offering a practical bridge to airborne personal mobility.

🦾 Robotics

Taiwanese hospitals have begun deploying Nurabot, an AI-powered collaborative nursing robot developed by Foxconn and NVIDIA, to help address the global nursing shortage projected by the WHO. Equipped with real-time sensing, digital twin training, and AI-driven task management, Nurabot performs routine clinical duties like medicine delivery and ward patrols, reducing nurse workloads by up to 30%. The robot, now in field trials at multiple medical centers, is part of a broader smart hospital transformation leveraging NVIDIA’s platforms and Foxconn’s healthcare AI systems.

Engineers at POSTECH in South Korea have developed two advanced haptic devices, POstick-KF and POstick-VF, that give factory workers remote control with tactile feedback, enhancing precision and safety in high-risk industrial tasks. Shaped like real tools, these systems let users feel forces and interact with virtual cues, enabling safer, more accurate manipulation of robots. Published in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, the innovation also integrates digital twins and AR, offering powerful training and control solutions in increasingly automated manufacturing environments.

💉 Biotechnology

German scientists at the University of Bayreuth have used CRISPR-Cas9 to genetically modify a common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) to produce red fluorescent silk, marking the first successful gene-editing of spiders. The breakthrough demonstrates that spider silk proteins can be functionally modified, potentially enabling stronger, more versatile biomaterials. The study, published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, also confirmed the role of a key eye development gene by knocking it out, leading to blind spiders.

💊 Healthcare

Surgeons at UCLA Health and Keck Medicine of USC have completed the world’s first successful human bladder transplant, a major milestone in transplant and reconstructive medicine. The patient, who also received a kidney transplant, showed immediate improvement in urinary and kidney function without complications. Published as part of a clinical trial, this breakthrough offers a promising alternative to risky intestinal bladder reconstructions for patients with severe bladder damage.

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Max

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