There have been numerous attempts to create an all-plastic bike. But most have never passed through the prototype stage (原始阶段). Igus, a Germany-based manufacturer of high-performance plastics, and Dutch start-up MTRL aim to change that with the igus:bike — the world’s first urban bike crafted almost entirely from recycled plastic.

Igus CEO Frank Blasé first got the idea while vacationing on a Florida beach in 2009. A conversation with some employees from a rental company made him aware of the challenges of maintaining beach bicycles. The continuous exposure to sand, wind and salt water caused the bikes to rust rapidly. Many had to be replaced in only three months.

The igus:bike, unveiled at a German trade show, is maintainable and rust-free. It can be left outdoors in all weathers and does not require lubricant oil (润滑油) to reduce friction between parts. Since it does not attract sand, dust or dirt, the bike can be cleaned with a garden hose (水管) in seconds.

“As all components are made of plastic, no part of the bike rusts, even the gears — bicycle gears made of plastic were unthinkable for a long time,”Blasé says.

The igus:bike will also help combat the world’s plastic pollution. The company says a single adult bike gives new life to about 16 kilograms of single-use plastic that would otherwise choke our landfills or waterways.

Currently, 90 percent of the igus:bike is made using recycled plastic. This includes the bicycle’s frame, bearings, pedals and wheel rims. Igus and MTRL believe future versions will be made entirely from recycled plastic.

“From ocean plastics to motion plastics — the igus:bike concept has what it takes to become a high-tech ecological product,” says MTRL co-founder Benjamin Alderse Baas.

The plastic bikes are expected to come onto the market in early 2023. An adult model, made entirely from recycled plastic, will cost about E1400. A slightly cheaper version made using new plastic and an electric bike are also in the works. Igus also plans on sharing its technology with other bicycle manufacturers.

How can people speak their mind without saying anything? This is a question that scientists have aimed to answer for a long time. Researchers recently brought an upgraded device that can translate users’ brain waves into daily speech.

Previously, the team led by Edward Chang at the University of California, San Francisco, developed an Al-based system that can identify up to 50 commonly used words based on the participant’s brain waves. The participant was a paralyzed (瘫痪的) man who had been implanted with 16 electrodes (电极) under his skull.

According to their paper published in November, the team upgraded the system which can now translate thoughts into complete sentences on a computer screen.

Their tests showed that the device could decode silently spoken letters from a 1,152-word vocabulary at a speed of about 29 characters per minute. The accuracy was up to 94 percent. “It shows strong promise for restoring communication by tapping into the brain’s natural speech machinery,” Chang said to the university’s news website.

However, this method can still be problematic since users still need to undergo surgery. Scientists at the University of Texas, US, have tried to translate people’s thoughts without even touching their heads, reported Live Science.

The new technique is called fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging (功能性磁共振成像). It’s a safer way of “reading” brain activity. Active brain cells have more oxygen. By tracking these cells, scientists can translate brain activity.

The team asked participants to listen to 16 hours of radio shows while scanning their brains. Then they used a computer algorithm (算法) to create a story based on the fMRI recording. It matched the radio shows pretty well.

Also, the algorithm could basically explain the story of a silent movie that the participants watched. The team aims to develop this technology so that it can be used in brain-computer interfaces (脑机接口) designed for people who cannot speak or type.