IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Spectrum: Sustainable Streets with LED Lights, the Medical 'Selfie'

Also, shoe insoles connected to smartphones improve mobility for the visually impaired, and "roll-up" technology is on the horizon.

You Can Get There from Here

Don’t be the pedestrian that gets hit by a bus while checking directions on a smartphone. India-based Lechal (which means “take me there” in Hindi), is making a shoe with insoles that connect with smartphones via Bluetooth, using vibrations to guide users to their destination. Originally designed to improve mobility for the visually impaired, the shoes can also help track fitness goals by measuring steps taken and calories burned. Source: Springwise

Ready for Roll-up?

Researchers at the University of Surrey in the UK, working with scientists from Philips, are getting closer to bringing “roll-up” technology to life. New breakthroughs in flexible electronics have come from working with a simple-circuit component that can be used in analog electronic designs, including display screens. The component, called a Source-Gated-Transistor, could potentially be built into additional items made of flexible plastics or textiles. Source: Science Daily

Sustainable Streets

What if the 4 million miles of highway in the U.S. could harness the power of the sun they sit under all day, and add that energy back into the power supply? Scott and Julie Brusaw of Idaho-based Solar Roadways are poised to find out. Their Federal Highway Administration-funded prototype has taken shape in the form of a 12-foot-by-36-foot parking lot, and the pair has since taken to Indiegogo to help bring the product to market. The durable hexagonal panels are heated to ease snow and ice removal, and feature LEDs that can display road markings.

A Look Inside

Forget the gym selfie, car selfie and duck face selfie — a more medically useful opportunity for self-photography is now available. A tiny camera from Georgia Tech mechanical engineering Professor F. Levent Degertekin offers high-resolution, 3-D pictures of internal organs. Resembling a mini cymbal, the apparatus features a circular silicon chip embedded with 100 sound wave-capturing sensors, shedding light on obstructions in blood vessels without increasing blood temperature. Source: Wired

Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.