Wheels may be a more stable means to roam around the challenging terrain of Mars, but they limit where robots can go. In fact, to date, all of the robots scouring the surface of the Red Planet have been on wheels. Thus, scientists from Switzerland’s ETH Zurich and Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research have developed distinct robotic legs on their small quadrupedal robot, SpaceBok. This endearing robot, whose four legs mimic those of a medium-sized antelope known as a springbok, would provide access to the landscape scientists presently do not have. To get there, however, the scientists will need to perfect everything from its “static gait” to its various types of feet, as well as the algorithm that determines its pathfinding strategy. Read more about the technical developments and design process so far—and watch videos of the SpaceBok climbing up steep, rocky terrain in a controlled setting—at Wired.

Image courtesy of Elias Hampp/ETH Zurich

“Take a look at this box,” writes Ukraine-based design/manufacturing firm Handcrafted Workshop.

“This box has not been opened for 25 years. These are untouched IN-16 lamps, which were stored in a closed military warehouse. It is a complete success to find several boxes of these lamps in 2021. There are not many Nixie lamps left in the world, perhaps one of the last boxes.”

Five years ago HW caused a stir by making the Nixoid, a Nixie tube watch:

Now that they’ve found a new stash of tubes, they say, they’re back with a redesign. Here’s their Nixoid Next:

It’s got an accelerometer, making it gesture-operated:

It’s also got a magnetic charger and what they claim is 10 days of battery life (25-30 days if you turn the accelerometer off):

Cool aesthetics aside, I wouldn’t have guessed that many people would want to wear a bulky-watch with only two digits (I’m assuming it indicates minutes only), and I was wrong.

The watches start at $349, and they were seeking $10,000 in funding. At press time they had almost $200,000, and with 34 days left to pledge the numbers will only climb.

How many tubes are in that box?!?

Every individual in the cast and crew of the music video for recording artist Kat Cunning’s exuberant single “BOYS” identifies as either transgender or non-binary. This purposeful act underscores the ebullient visuals and lends deeper meaning to the anthem. “I wanted to do my part to help represent the diversity and beauty of the transmasculine community that is so often erased, exploited or hardly peppered into the media,” Cunning says. “Representation matters, especially to young people.”

Dezeen Showroom: Astro Lighting has launched Avignon, a glass wall light informed by the art deco movement and suitable for both domestic and hospitality interiors.

According to Astro Lighting, the Avignon wall light was crafted “on a larger scale” than its other designs in order to create a dramatic impact on the spaces where it is used.

The indoor wall lamp has a zinc body that comes in a dark bronze or antique brass finish. The dark bronze nods to industrial-style designs while the brass version has a warm, classic feel.

Avignon comes in both a rounded and a square version, both featuring a decorative fluted front panel.

This is made from individual clear glass rods that refract the light emanating from within.

Although designed with hotels and restaurants in mind, the Avignon wall light is also suitable for spacious homes.

“Libraries and studies, large hallways and dining rooms are among the areas where this design injects a sense of atmosphere and visual comfort,” the brand said.

“But it’s also highly effective in homes with darker colour schemes, where it imparts a rich, warm glow.”

Product: Avignon wall light
Brand: Astro Lighting
Contact: marketing@astrolighting.com

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Designers including Es Devlin, Superflux and Maya Lin have planted forests full of trees in major cities to raise awareness of climate change or to campaign for sustainability goals.

For Forest in Klagenfurt, Austria, by Klaus Littmann

Swiss art curator Klaus Littmann planted 300 trees as a replica forest inside a football stadium in Austria in what he calls a “memorial” to the environment in the age of the anthropocene.

“For Forest is very timely as it coincides with growing global discussions and activism linked to deforestation and climate change,” Littmann told Dezeen.

The forest will remain in situ until 27 October, so visitors can watch the tree’s leaves turn from their summer to autumn colours. Afterwards, the trees will be replanted close to the stadium as a permanent urban forest.

Find out more about For Forest ›

Ghost Forest in New York, USA, by Maya Lin

Artist and designer Lin transported 49 dead Atlantic white cedar trees into the middle of a park in Midtown Manhattan. The trees were felled and cleared from the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

“They had died off due to extreme weather events related to climate change: wind events, fire, sea-level rise, saltwater infiltration and bad forestry practices,” said the artist.

Ghost Forest will remain in Madison Square Park for six months, with the dead cedar trees growing paler and more ghostly as the living trees around them change colour with the seasons.

Find out more about Ghost Forest ›

Forest for Change in London, UK, by Es Devlin

British designer Devlin installed 400 trees in the courtyard of the historic Somerset House as part of the London Design Biennale.

Called Forest for Change, visitors walk through the forest to reach a clearing with pillars that display the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“It’s my hope that when you get to the centre, you’re able to approach these really complex global problems without feeling so daunted or overwhelmed,” said Es Devlin.

After the Biennale the trees will be donated to various boroughs around London and planted as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project.

Find out more about Forest for Change ›

Ego to Eco in Venice, Italy, by EFFEKT

Over a thousand pine seedlings have been planted in a miniature forest by Danish architecture studio EFFEKT as part of its exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Called Ego to Eco, the tiny trees surround scale models of the studio’s projects. A hydroponic grow table, controlled remotely from Copenhagen, will nourish the plants throughout the Biennale.

After the show, the 1,200 seedlings will be taken back to Denmark and replanted as part of an urban forestation project.

“Ego to Eco is built upon the idea of creating an exhibition with a lasting positive impact,” said EFFEKT.

Find out more about Eco to Ego ›

Invocation for Hope in Vienna, Austria, by Studio Flux

Design studio Superflux transported 415 pine trees damaged in wildfires to the Museum of Applied Arts. Visitors can walk through the trees to reach a reflective pool surrounded by live trees and mosses.

“Climate change is not a problem we can ‘solve’ but rather a predicament we must navigate with responsibility and urgency,” said Superflux co-founder Jon Ardern.

After the exhibition, the living trees will be given to local schools to plant, while the dead burned trees will be turned into compost.

Find out more about Invocation for Hope ›

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