Design futures
For all the latest designs from edible technology to printable toys, here's where you can see the future first
New Old review – everything you need for a techno-utopian retirement
From next-gen mobility scooters to bloodstream nanobots, this pop-up exhibition explores how technology can better help an ageing population
Sci-fi socialism and Soviet snowmobiles: the best of the London Design Biennale
Its presentation may seem hurried and chaotic, but the inaugural edition of this design gala brings eye-opening visions of utopia from all corners of the globe
Astronaut coffee and DIY heart surgery – Designs of the Year unveiled
Ikea’s flat-pack refugee shelter, an online sexual health test and Taipei’s scooter share among ideas to go on show at London’s new Design Museum
Smartypants: the fart-filtering future of underwear
We live in an age of undies innovation: from self-medicating bras to briefs that smell of breakfast or hide a weapon (and that’s not even a euphemism)
Fever Scout: the wearable thermometer for kids that's like a digital Mary Poppins
A Silicon Valley company has invented a smart thermometer that continuously streams your child’s temperature to your smartphone – and it’s just the latest step in the billion-dollar ‘self-care’ industry
Body-hackers: the people who turn themselves into cyborgs
Not content with their version 1.0 bodies, biohackers are installing USB drives in their fingertips, giving themselves night-vision eyedrops and growing third ears on their arms (that can go online). Welcome to the world of DIY cyborgs
The Lego prosthetic arm that children can create and hack themselves
Carlos Arturo Torres has designed a modular system that lets kids programme their own prosthetics – and this is only the start of toy-based body parts
Headset provides '3D soundscape' to help blind people navigate cities
Design futures: Microsoft’s GPS-enabled navigation headset provides directions and live transport information, and ‘paints a picture of the world through sound’
Omniwheels and mountain trikes: five visionary new wheelchair designs
Oliver Wainwright: From the ‘omniwheels’ of the Whill to off-road caterpillar tracks, we look at the latest innovations in personal mobility vehicles
Paint the rainbow: the Scribble Pen that lets you draw in 16 million colours
This magical pen can recreate 16 million colours in an instant, and save 100,000 of your favourites in its internal memory. Its makers spill their secrets
Clay robotics: the future of architecture is happening now in a Chilterns farm
With robots made from sausage-stuffers in the barn and follies in the fields, Grymsdyke Farm is the ideal place for students to experiment with new technologies and local materials. Its creators explain why every village needs a robot
'Full-body joystick' lets you run and jump in virtual reality video games
The Cyberith Virtualizer intends to bring gamers even closer to the action, and claims to have practical commercial applications in architecture
Remote-controlled contraceptive microchip could launch by 2018
Developed by researchers at MIT, the 'digital pill' implant could revolutionise birth control, allowing women to switch hormones on and off at the touch of a button, writes Oliver Wainwright
KGoal: introducing the fitness tracker for your vagina
Wearable technology conquers the final frontier with KGoal, a device to help women the world over exercise their pelvic floor muscles better
Nest, Google and beyond: how much technology do we really want in our homes?
From intelligent thermostats to smart loos and web-connected toothbrushes, technology is making a bid to run our homes. Should we be worried, asks Oliver Wainwright
Quick as a flash: the pioneers of animated art – in gifs
Teenage clicks: how gifs became the rebellious adolescent of the art world
SoftWheel: the revolutionary design to give wheelchair users a smoother ride
The background judder of uneven paving could soon be a thing of the
past, thanks to a wheel with built-in shock-absorbers that
let you float as if suspended in mid-air
Spraycopter: the drone that does graffiti
Launching the world's first spray-paint wielding quadcopter, New York graffiti artist Katsu imagines a future full of remote-controlled robo-art
SociBot: the 'social robot' that knows how you feel
Capable of mimicking human expressions and emotions, the SociBot is
designed to bring a human touch to teleconferencing – or to imitate your
friends. But will it just creep you out?
About 61 results for Design futures 
