European Space Agency Create Lego Brick From Space Dust- Let's Catch Up #21

2024 Worldstar Pack awards, Hyundai Inster City EV, Nuffin compostable dips packaging, Nike and Hyperice improve athlete preparation and recovery, Living skin replicates human expressions for robots

Jul 08, 2024

Welcome back, stewardship and responsibility of products is critical. Now more than ever we are seeing increases in the responsibility that product manufacturers require across the lifecycle of a product. In Europe, they will implement their Digital Product Passport starting in 2026 upto 2030 for full compliance. This product passport program will eventually cover all products being sold in Europe, including imports from foreign manufactured goods.

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2024 Worldstar Packaging Awards

The Worldstar Packaging Awards have concluded with solutions across composite packaging, carbon neutral beef packs, compostable food trays, refillable handwash packaging and more.

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Let’s Get Into This Week!

European Space Agency Creates Space Dust Brick

AEROSPACE

Credit Lego

When exploring space In-situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) is critical to both maintaining missions as well as reducing costs to freight materials off-world. The European Space Agency has developed a Lego brick created from space dust (abundant on the moon) which can be used to build structures off-world. The Lego brick design provides a connecting system with ‘clutch power’ created by the tubes on the underside of the brick that interlock with bricks underneath, making Lego so difficult to prise apart. This development has been critical in the development of 3D printing technologies and applications in space exploration.

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Hyundai Inster, City Focused EV

AUTOMOTIVE

Hyundai moving forward with the development of the electric vehicle offerings with the Inster coming onto the market in 2024. This compact car has been designed for city driving but with the twist of a longer wheelbase that would normally be reserved for a larger vehicle. This ensures that even at only 3.8 metres long, the interior is more spacious and comfortable for both drivers and passengers. The car dash mixes rugged features with a 70’s nostalgic interior aesthetic, complete with a mixture of analogue and digital controls.

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Nuffin Dips, Bringing the Flavour Whilst Reducing Plastic

PACKAGING

Credit Nuffin

Nuffin Dips are on a mission to reduce plastic waste by tons. Not only have they adopted a better pack solution that is biodegradable and industrially compostable but they also have no added preservatives to keep their dips clean and free of additives.

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Nike and Hyperice Vest and Footwear For Athlete Recovery

PRODUCT DESIGN

New wearables have been developed to help with athlete preparation and recovery using heat, cool and massage technologies. The vest allows users to adjust their body temperature whilst the shoes have compression bags using Hyperice Normatec technology to massage the feet and ankles. The devices have integrated sensors to monitor body temperature as well as thermoelectric coolers which deliver heat or cold, removing the need for ice packs that would be traditionally used.

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Making Robots Smile with Living Skin

TECHNOLOGY

Credit University of Tokyo

A fascinating development in replicating a natural smile has occurred with researchers at the University of Tokyo who have developed a prototype that mimics human expressions. This eerie piece of technology is constructed from living skin cells which can replicate human expressions for a robotic face via the biomimicry of skin ligaments that connect the skin to the device beneath.