Known for their ability to extrude lines of material in mid-air, Dutch designer Joris Laarman’s multi-axis, 3D-printing robots (above) are preparing for their next challenge: printing a steel bridge. The 24-foot-long structure will span a canal in Amsterdam. Its construction is planned for 2017 and is expected to take two months. [Fast
Company’s Co.Design]
The Google-owned smart-devices maker Nest recently announced a revamped smoke detector, a residential security system, and a dip into the home-insurance market. [Forbes]
Elon Musk’s Hyperloop remains the stuff of science fiction, but a competition to design pods and parts that could one day travel on the proposed ultra-fast rail system’s tracks aims to bring the concept a little closer to reality. [Popular Science]
Researchers at MIT’s Media Lab have created a display surface of 900 individual pegs that respond to motion from a person or object located virtually anywhere. InForm builds on existing digital–physical interface technology by using a computer and camera screen located elsewhere—whether down the hall or on another continent—to record and transmit hand movements to manipulate the display. [MIT Spectrum]
In addition to improving safety and security, uniform lighting in parking lots boosts energy efficiency by reducing the light level required to illuminate the outdoor space effectively. [Lighting Research Center]
The Building Research Information Knowledge database from AIA and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) has added three new resources: the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, the Art & Architecture Complete Index, and the Sustainability Reference Center. Go forth and research. [NIBS]
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is teaming up with researchers at the University of Central Florida to digitally scan Eero Saarinen’s 1962 TWA Flight Center. The resulting data may one day be used to create a historical reference and educational tool for the midcentury modern structure. [Untapped Cities]