Glucose-monitoring contact lenses

Flexible electronics in the 'Functional Contact Lens' will relay biological information to the user. Photo / Thinkstock

For people with type-1 diabetes who need to monitor their blood-sugar levels - sometimes several times each day - the process may soon involve your smartphone interfacing with glucose-monitoring contact lenses. Enzymes in the "Functional Contact Lens" will interact with glucose in the tear film of the eye and flexible electronics in the lens will relay this information wirelessly to the user.

- Via DiscoveryNews.

Hand-cranked tablet PC

The 'xo-3' is a prototype tablet recently unveiled by the organisation One Laptop Per Child. It runs Linux, an open-source operating system, and future versions of the device will have a built-in solar panel. At the moment, the battery is powered by good old-fashioned hand-cranking. If internet is not accessible in the area xo-3 is being used, students can work offline with pre-loaded learning materials.

Pollution-free sleep for babies

Elodie Delassus, designer of the Cocoon Pillow for infants, was motivated by fears of the effects of increasing air pollution on the health of babies. This concept is for a pillow that will combine a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filtration system with noise-cancelling capabilities to offer an unpolluted sleep for a growing baby.