On September 7, the James Dyson Award will be given out to the individual who best designs “something that solves a problem”. Here are 5 of our favorite contenders for the prize…

Despite the ubiquity of cellphones, most people in Africa still need to travel great distances each time they need to charge their battery, a fact of life for many living in remote Kenyan Villages, where an estimated 17.5 million people out of Kenya’s 38.5 million population own a mobile handset – up from 200,000 in 2000. And once they reach a charging location – typically shops that utilize a car battery or solar panel – charges can take up to an hour and cost around $2, which although a necessity, represents no small fee.
Having grown up in similar circumstances, two university students, Jeremiah [...]

If you’ve ever been for an eye exam then you’re familiar with the process of looking through various combinations of lenses as the optometrist attempts to determine your ideal prescription.  Now imagine taking the power and versatility of this rather unwieldy machine and putting all its capabilities in a pair of glasses. That’s exactly what retired Oxford University physics professor Joshua Silver has done by creating the world’s first pair of tunable eyeglasses, a process that has taken him the better part of two decades to develop. Daily Tech explains the technology behind the innovative design:
 His lenses use liquid lenses which [...]