Dazzling LED-animated basketball “GlassFloor” finds a home in Munich

Remember back when basketball courts had hardwood floors? You’re right, most still do, although some may soon be switching over to the eye-popping dynamic-display ASB GlassFloor. Its first permanent installation was announced earlier this week.Continue… Continue reading Dazzling LED-animated basketball “GlassFloor” finds a home in Munich

Nanogenerator wooden flooring powers lightbulbs with footsteps

The idea of using human movement to generate electricity is something we’ve seen applied to many areas, including footwear, roads and, just this week, motion-powered mesh that heals injured tendons. Among these possibilities is flooring that can genera… Continue reading Nanogenerator wooden flooring powers lightbulbs with footsteps

Smart carpet tracks your movements for better exercise or gaming

Engineers at MIT’s CSAIL have developed a smart carpet that can accurately estimate a person’s movements or body pose without needing cameras. The system could be useful for exercise feedback, monitoring falls, or tracking for VR and gaming.Continue Re… Continue reading Smart carpet tracks your movements for better exercise or gaming

Spongy wood nanogenerators make for energy-harvesting smart floors

There are untold energy sources all around us, if we can just figure out how to tap into them. Swiss researchers have now demonstrated an environmentally friendly way to make spongy wood flooring that can generate electricity with every step.Continue R… Continue reading Spongy wood nanogenerators make for energy-harvesting smart floors

DIY Grout Cleaning Machine Does A Good Job

Cleaning tiled floors can be a drag. Getting the tiles themselves clean is bad enough, but often dealing with the grouted joints in between requires more elbow grease and attention to detail. It’s a tedious chore, and thus one ripe for improvement. [Elite Worm]’s cleaning machine is an excellent solution …read more

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Superb Wood Floor Inlay Shows Off Computer-Augmented Tools

It’s been a few years since we first started hearing about “tools of the future changing the way we work” but this astounding whole-room floor inlay might be the best argument for them yet.

A couple of years ago we wrote a hands-on preview of a unique tool called the Shaper Origin. If a milling machine is classically defined as having a stationary tool head with moving stock, the Origin is the reverse. To use an Origin the user adheres specially marked tape to the stock material, then holds the origin down and moves it much like a hand router. …read more

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Floor Mopping Robot Takes Cleanliness to the Next Level

While it’s nice to have a robot vacuum your floors for you, a vacuum can only clean your house so much. For a really deep clean, you’ll also need to run a mop over the hard floor surfaces. [Josh] took this to its logical conclusion and built a robot that can really scour his floors for his entry into this year’s Hackaday Prize.

The robot has the ability to spray the floor with a cleaning solution, and then drive over it and scrub the floors with a squeegee. Its designed in a way that allows it to get into tight …read more

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