PEDESTRIANS LOVE OBSTACLES TO SMOOTH PAVEMENTS… LIKE IN INDIA
This study will find resonance among Indian pedestrians who will waste no time to point out they do it all the time. A University of Cambridge study has found that about 80% of pedestrians take routes with obstacles like balancing beams, stepping stones and high steps over safe pavements. Researchers point out that millions across the world are failing to meet the recommended targets for physical activity, especially after the pandemic. And having discovered that most pedestrians tend to prefer obstacles-ridden paths over safe pavements, they suggest designing walkways, in the form of “active landscape” routes featuring such obstacles rather than safe pavements. Exercising “on the go” is key to improving upon the lack of physical activity. Walking along smooth pavements only provides mild exercise.
VAPOUR OVER OCEANS AS LIMITLESS SOURCE OF FRESHWATER
Scientists are vying to tap the almost limitless supply of freshwater existing in the form of water vapour above our oceans. A new study at University of Illinois suggests investments in new infrastructure capable of harvesting oceanic water vapour as a solution to limited supplies of freshwater in various locations around the world. The study evaluated 14 water-stressed locations for the feasibility of a hypothetical infrastructure capable of capturing water vapour from above the ocean and condensing it into fresh water.
A SOFT GEL-ROBOT POWERED ONLY BY TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have developed a soft robot made of gel — called Gelbot — that can worm its way around inside the human body or on external surfaces to deliver drugs to affected areas or carry out a range of other functions. The Gelbot does not require batteries, wiring, or any external power supply. It can move just on the swelling and shrinking of the gel it is made of when exposed to temperature variations. The study shows how manipulation of shape, dimensions and patterning of gels while exposed to varying temperatures that cause the gel to expand and contract, can tune morphology to embody an intelligence for locomotion. The swelling and shrinking of gels can be strategically manipulated to move robots forward and backward on flat surfaces, or to essentially have them crawl with a wave-like motion. The gelbots, which were created by 3D printing, would be easy to mass produce. —Johns Hopkins University