Open Source

Open Bionics, with support from Disney Accelerator, transforms prostheses that kids would rather hide into those that Iron Man or Frozen's Elsa would wear. The company says that for kids it transforms being different into being cool.

There's likely a lot of frayed bristles laying in landfill right now. But must our dental care devices take on such as short lifespan? The Goodwell toothbrush is a modern take on oral hygiene, built from eco-friendly materials and made to last until you haven't got any teeth left to brush.

A collective of eco-technologists has designed open-source beehives to help encourage bee populations and fight Colony Collapse Disorder. Sensors track the movements, moods and geo-location of the bees.

Loop, from Pushstart Creative, is the latest effort in a growing trend of using the enticement of technology as a vehicle to promote physical activity. Through a combination of proximity sensors, GPS and accelerometers, the system is designed as a platform for interactive outdoor games.

Developed by start up company Infinity Aerospace, Ardulab is an open source experiment package based on the Arduino processor that provides students and others with the ability to send experiments into space for under US$5,000.

The Puzzlebox Orbit brain-controlled helicopter will be available to buy next year, with software/app source code, protocols and hardware schematics freely available under an open-source license.

Danish design studio N55 has created a series of open-source human-powered vehicle designs that can be built at home.

Dhairya Dand's prototype ThinkerToys are edutainment modules designed to put functional e-waste such as PS/2 keyboards and mice to good use.

Trexa has revealed an apllication-based development platform for car builders