Despite that old expression of “you don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” Michelin has proved this week that there’s still plenty of ground to play with the future of wheel design…and tires, too. Introduced at the company’s annual Movin’On conference in Montreal, the new Vision concept tire is a one-piece 3D printed wheel-and-tire design that the company claims is “airless, connected, rechargeable, customizable and organic.” …Not usually words you think about when you think about wheels and tires. So what’s the deal? From a user experience standpoint, the ‘rechargeable’ aspect is actually quite compelling. The company believes that automobiles in the future could pull over and 3D print a new…

With streaming sites, listening to music off your phone, and noise canceling headphones it’s easy to forget music can be a shared experience. And no, that one guy on the train playing music on his phone without headphones doesn’t count. Sticky Sounds, by London Lazerson, wants to bring people together under the power of music once again with their portable speaker. What makes this one so different when Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen? This one boasts being waterproof, resilient, and mountable to just about anything. The unusual, pyramid shape is part of what makes the speaker so strong and able to hold up even under extreme pressure. The…

It easy for makers, creators, and builders to shut themselves up in their workshop hours on end to get their design just right. Working in solitude can help get the job done, but sometimes you want to get feedback from others. Whether you’re looking for feedback, advice, or inspiration, sometimes you need to get someone else in your work area in order to be more productive. Now, there’s a new website that allows you do this without crowding up said work-space and it’s name is Orchard. You can also build your own design portfolio to store and share your designs with friends or others on the site. It also lets…

As if we didn’t like Harbor Freight enough for providing the ability to outfit a complete machine shop for the price of two sandwiches and knee slap. Now they want to give your favorite teacher tools,money and the recognition they deserve. The Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence will award $500,000 to 10 outstanding skilled trades teachers and/or programs in public high schools across the United States. Here’s the award breakdown: 3 first place winners will receive a Prize of $100,000 ($30,000 directly to the teacher and $70,000 to their high school’s skilled trades program) 7 second place winners will receive a Prize of $30,000 ($10,000 directly to…

Has Autodesk ever had a CEO with neck tattoos? Carol Bartz? Carl Bass? Who really knows, but it should be a qualification. Andrew Anagnost was at the top of the list to become the next CEO of Autodesk. Really, he was at the top, alphabetically his name was at the top of the list. The only way he could be more at the top of the list is if ‘Aardvark’ was in his name… which it may be – I’m thinking high school/college nickname, Andrew ‘Aardvark’ Anagnost. Catchy, actually. Andrew is the new CEO of Autodesk. Last February, Carl Bass stepped down at CEO of Autodesk to play with robots.…

As a kid, any source of light should provide sanctuary from the underside of your bed or the empty space in your closet. With an active imagination coursing through that little body, the darkness can make even a simple shoe look like the severed foot of your next door neighbor. That’s why parents attach all kinds of lighting fixtures to help their kids (and more importantly, themselves) get a good night’s sleep. Not this lamp, however! Designed by Álvaro Goula and Pablo Figuera for Faro Barcelona, the HAN LED lamp may look like a misshapen thought bubble, but is in fact a light source, hanger, and a fuel for childhood…