Swiss designer Didier Rudolf Quarroz’s love of Chinese tea culture has inspired him to design innovative new items to brew the tea. Ouarroz developed an interest in Chinese tea after working at a Shanghai-based design company, where he was by chance engaged in a tea project.

His research helped him develop a deep understanding of the differences between Chinese and Western tea products. And this made him think about designing items for foreigners to brew Chinese tea. “I hope to design easy-to-use and modern tea-making tools to help foreigners try Chinese traditional tea and give them an interesting experience in brewing tea,” Quarroz says.

In 2017,he moved to Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang province and a major tea-production base, to explore the possibilities of applying Western concepts in designing objects for Chinese tea. “I want to focus on the tea industry, and Hangzhou is a great fit because of the long history and profound culture of tea here,” Quarroz says.

Quarroz began to concentrate on the design of a tea infuser (注射器) to make brewing easier for foreigners. It’s a glass container with a silicone (硅胶) lid. All users need to do is to put the leaves inside, place it in a cup and add hot water.” The infuser can be taken out from the cup easily without users’ fingers being hurt by the hot water,” Quarroz says.

Hangzhou has a booming tea industry, which has offered the Swiss designer many opportunities to cooperate with local plantations and companies. “Driven by the love of Chinese tea, I cooperate with local companies and help them to develop new kinds of tea products. Also, we sometimes organize workshops to introduce different teas to the public,” Quarroz says.

Hangzhou also enables smooth business operations, he adds. “In general, it is easy to start a business in Hangzhou. And the government and agencies are increasing efforts to help and support young entrepreneurs, including us from foreign countries,” he adds. Quarroz says he plans to design 10 innovative tea-related products by combining Chinese tea culture with international elements.

Stephen Wamukota, a nine-year-old from Mukwa village in Western Kenya, is making the headlines worldwide for his creative hand washing machine. The young boy came up with the idea after watching villagers, who do not have easy access to running water and struggle to find an effective way to wash their hands to avoid catching and spreading COVID-19.

Using the few resources he could get—wood, nails and a bucket—Stephen designed and built a simple but functional washing station. The clever creation, which is made up of two pedals (踏板)—one to release soap and the other to release water—enables villagers to wash their hands in a contact-free way, thus reducing the likelihood of catching the infectious disease.

“I had bought some pieces of wood to make a window frame, but when I came back home after work one day, I found that Stephen had made the machine,” his father, James, told the media. “The concept was his, and I helped tighten the machine. I’m very proud.” James credits Stephen’s building skill to the village school’s curriculum (全部课程), which teaches children to construct items from a very young age.

The invention, which went viral after James posted a photo online, has made Stephen an instant celebrity in Kenya. In early June 2020, the country’s leader gave Stephen the Uzalendo Award for making significant contributions towards the nation’s fight against COVID-19. Stephen has also been promised a full scholarship to a school that can develop his creative talent, by the county governor.

Though thrilled at the unexpected fame and success, Stephen is not satisfied with what he has achieved. The young boy has already built another hand washing machine and plans on adding several more.

This will be an essential year for the pioneers developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft (电动垂直起降飞机), popularly known as air taxis. Several firms are hoping their craft can get the necessary certification (证书) in 2023 to put them into business, providing the first passengers with services.

Air taxis generally carry fewer than half a dozen passengers. They land and take off vertically using many small rotors (旋翼). With clever software controlling the rotors, they are easier to fly than a helicopter (a kind of plane) and enable independent flight. These rotors also help improve safety, as the aircraft can continue to fly if one fails.

Some designs use an extra rotor or two at the back of the craft to push the craft along in level flight. Others, like that produced by Joby Aviation, have rotors that bend forward; a set of small wings then provides lift, making more efficient use of the aircraft’s battery and increasing the range.

After scratching their heads about how to certify these flying machines, officials have been working with developers on safety standards. This is a time consuming process. Besides receiving “type” approval, which shows the safety of a new type of aircraft, factories must be certified before production can begin in large amounts. And airline-style permission is required if passengers are to be carried. Companies are working hard to get these approvals. Piloted operations are expected to be approved before independent flights.

In Germany, Volocopter will flight- test a family of eVTOLs. The firm is hoping its smallest, two-seater VoloCity can be certified in time for the 2024 Olympics in Paris where the plan is to operate shuttles (航班) between airports and the athletes’ village. Other air taxi firms also hope to provide shuttles in Paris, or at the World Expo, which will take place in Japan in 2025.