Archinect - News

Wearable safety devices warn workers of construction hazards

2019-12-18T17:34:00-05:00

New wearable technology could help prevent struck-by and caught-between injuries and incidents, found a study from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas released last month by the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR). The study outfitted workers with waist belts with vibrating motors to detect possible nearby hazards.

The study explored a system that notified workers through vibrations where nearby machinery and vehicles were in operations. The experiment even went so far as to cover the eyes of the participants, resulting in 95% accuracy in completing tasks.

The research moves forward attempts to limit the rising number of construction related deaths occurring across the industry.

Forget standing desks – just wear your chair

2016-02-01T13:18:00-05:00

Japanese researchers have developed a wearable chair called Archelis that can help surgeons when they are performing long surgeries. [...] The wearer of Archelis will not get full comfort of sitting on a chair but the gadget actually wraps around the wearer's buttocks and legs, providing support that effectively allows them to sit down wherever and whenever needed.

Check out Archelis in action (in Japanese) below (h/t BLDGBLOG):

Parsons and the Met team up to increase accessibility for disabled

2013-12-13T14:40:00-05:00

As virtual access to art collections expands through online walk-throughs and projects like Google’s Open Gallery, museums have long been experimenting within their own halls with ways to accommodate a wider range of visitors, particularly those with disabilities. Historically, museums have been leaders in the field of accessible institutional design, whether through improvised additions or new technology. In a collaboration between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Parsons The New School for Design, students in the School of Art, Media, and Technology have focused on how both physical and online resources can optimize the museum experience for people with disabilities.

Working under the Design and Technology masters program and alongside education specialists at the Met, Parsons’ students spent the last semester designing a host of physical and digital tools to not only make museum resources more accessible, but to serve and benefit the public at large. Their work, including a...

Magical Sesame Ring opens gates of public transit

2013-08-25T00:44:00-04:00

The days of rummaging frantically for the card that gets us onto public transit may be over. A team of engineers from MIT has created the 3D-printed "Sesame Ring," which has an embedded RFID tag that lets you tap it to a RFID-based fare reader and hop on.

Syncing public transit and wearable technology, the waterproof Sesame Ring can be used in place of the Charlie Card, Boston's mass transit smart card. Available in customizable colors and sizes, the first batch of $17 rings have already sold out, but their Kickstarter campaign will ensure that you get yours by Christmas.

Related: More 3D-printing technology from MIT, and wearable architecture to go with your Sesame Ring.