Watercraft

Venice's water taxis are all equipped with diesel engines that spew exhaust and make a racket, creating both air and noise pollution. With this situation in mind, engineers are developing hybrid engines that could be swapped in.

Although hippos may look slow and docile, they're actually very aggressive. So, it would follow that you wouldn't want to swim anywhere near them. That's why when researchers wanted to study the effects of hippo dung on water quality, they sent in autonomous air boats instead of people.

Polypropylene-based Tegris takes aim at carbon fiber.