Hydrophobic materials –that is, materials that reject water at the molecular level– are quickly making their way into the mainstream. Nowadays we’ve got everything from water-resistant smartphones to all-purpose waterproofing sprays. Yet for some reason, hydrophobic clothing has remained somewhat elusive thus far. Why? Because applying hydrophobic coatings to solid, static surfaces is one thing, but applying them onto flexible, dynamic materials that are comfortable to wear is much more difficult.
But an Australian apparel company by the name of Threadsmiths seems to have cracked the code. By emulating the natural hydrophobic properties of the lotus leaf, the company has created a new stain-proof shirt that can repel just about any water-based liquid
As if that wasn’t awesome enough, Threadsmiths clothing also contains no aerosol applications or dangerous chemicals, so it’s completely safe to wear — as a t-shirt should be. The company’s patented nanotechnology enhances the fabric’s resistance to water and stains, without affecting the natural breathability of the cotton.
To see if these shirts can live up to their high-flying claims, We got our hands on the company’s “Cavalier” t-shirt, and put it to the test with some of the usual stain-causing suspects: Coke, soy sauce, tomato sauce, and wine. Much to our delight, the shirt performed exceptionally.
According to the shirt’s creators, Threadsmiths provides such excellent stain protection by minimizing the surface area available for water and dirt to adhere to. This causes the liquid to bead up and roll off the fabric – creating a natural self-cleaning effect. Amazingly enough, these shirts are completely machine and hand washable. They will also retain there water repellency longer than any hydrophobic spray on the market.
San Francisco startup Dimensional advertised for people to walk robot dogs through city streets. The New York Times reported that the job could include carrying a roughly 33-pound robot back to the office if it overheated. A lift home is an awkward requirement for a labor-saving machine.
Keeping the hardware running is only one challenge. Anthropic's robotics tests found that language models mostly failed when controlling joints directly, but did better when directing trained controllers. Giving an AI agent a body doesn't teach it to handle ordinary household objects.
Soon, a mattress protector may be more than a bed cover. Australian medtech company Sleeptite and researchers at RMIT University have received a US patent for FlexiSense, a smart bedding technology that tracks body position and posture to help caregivers identify when older residents may be at risk of falling.
The technology is being developed for Sleeptite’s in-bed monitoring system, REMi, and was recently on display at The MedTech Conference in Boston. A peer-reviewed study in Flexible and Printed Electronics says the sensors can also be made at scale without sacrificing performance or durability.
AI companies spend enormous amounts of time convincing us their technology is safe and secure. But what happens when those same companies become targets of increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks? Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is now facing that question. According to a Washington Post report, cybersecurity startup Cathedral discovered vulnerabilities that let its researchers access sensitive information in Anthropic's internal systems.
The researchers used AI agents to identify potential entry points in less than 12 hours. Interestingly, they didn't need to crack Claude itself. Instead, they exploited weaknesses in third-party business applications that Anthropic uses for everyday operations. Anthropic's security testing program disclosed the findings, which allows outside researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities.