YKK
The world’s largest manufacturer of zippers for clothing the Japanese company YKK is developing a self-propelled zipper with a built-in motor and gear mechanism.
It is noted that it will be possible to fasten such a zipper by pressing a button on a wired remote control. YKK expects that their development will be widely used in industry.
In addition, the developers have published a video where they use their device to fasten a pair of tents, which takes about 50 seconds.
The prototype uses a rotating worm gear that passes through teeth on both sides and pulls the zipper. The video shows the power cable attached to the prototype as it zips itself up.
In addition to miniaturizing the technology and adding a battery, YKK will also need to develop some safety mechanisms before its self-propelled zipper can ever be used in clothing, ensuring that nothing gets stuck. For now prototype dimensions slightly larger than the size of zippers used in clothing. So in this regard, the company still has some work to do.
We would like to remind you that this year’s large-scale consumer electronics exhibition CES 2025 in Las Vegas also featured presented a number of unusual developments.
In particular, Birdfy announced the Birdfy Bath Pro — a kind of smart bird pool equipped with cameras (so you can watch a sparrow bathe, for example, why not?). The device is equipped with two cameras — a wide-angle camera and an auto-tracking camera; and has an AI function that analyzes the actions of visitors to the pond.
Tokyo-based Yukai Engineering presented Nékojita FuFu, a small robot cat that can be attached to a cup or bowl and blow on your food or drink to cool it down. The robot is equipped with a fan and operates on a special algorithm that detects the strength of breathing and allows it to do so at intervals similar to human breathing.
Another Japanese company, Kirin Holdings, presented a new electronic spoon at CES 2025 that makes food more salty. According to the company, the device uses a weak electric current to concentrate sodium ion molecules in food, enhancing the flavor.
Source: The Verge