Students in the Digital Fabrication class designed furniture using 3D modeling. Most of the pieces, like this chair by Michael Zick-Doherty, hold themselves together, meaning that no screws or glue is needed -- the joints do all the work.

One of the very first things that caught our attention was the Re-cyclelight designed by Becky Kazansky and Alexander Kozovski. The small bike light is powered by kinetic energy recovered from braking the bike — perfect for alerting drivers that you are slowing down. Smart and practical, the light only has a few small pieces so its very non-invasive, and it requires no extra work from the cyclists to activate.

Another incredibly practical design came from Michell J. Cardona and Nelson Ramon. The duo created a low-tech windbelt, that harvests wind energy using an electromagnetic system without the need for a wind turbine or other rotating device. They constructed a wood frame, which they then attached strips of Scotch tape to. Small magnets in the center of the strips are located near stators. When the wind blows the strips and causes them to vibrate, the magnets oscillate near the stators and create energy. Ramon told us that they are researching ways that the belts could be applicable for building design. They want to keep the system relatively low-tech to keep costs down, but they foresee the system being integrated in arrays similar to solar panels.