Around 22 million Americans are exposed to loud noises during the workday. Ear protectors help, but block out conversations, too. To address that issue, 3M has developed the world’s first self-charging protective communications headset, the Peltor WS Alert XPV Headset. The headset blocks outside noise but includes headphones and a microphone so workers can hear each other via Bluetooth, and it never runs out of power. Using a patented solar cell technology called Powerfoyle, it “converts outdoor and indoor light into clean, continuous energy” to charge a lithium-ion battery, says Chris Goralski, group president of 3M’s safety and industrial business group. 3M reports it sold $1 million of the headsets in their first month on the market.

Buy Now: 3M Peltor WS Alert XPV Headset on Conrad

Want to discuss A Room with a View with Lena Dunham? Or hear Roxane Gay talking through Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence? Now you can, thanks to publishing outfit Rebind. The company was founded by John Dubuque, who hired a professor at Corpus Christi College, at the University of Oxford, to teach him the philosophical tome Being and Time. With Rebind, AI provides expert conversational commentary about a book in response to user questions. So far, 10 books are available to the 1,000 users in the open beta, with two more books added each month, once the 10,000-strong waitlist opens. “The goal is to make this encounter with deeply meaningful texts possible for many more people,” says Dubuque.

Learn More at Rebind

Worldwide, 2.6 billion people don’t have an internet connection. The mission of Taara, which sits within X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, is to bridge that gap. Taara uses beams of light to transmit data between small terminals, offering an alternative to traditional fiber optic cables in places where installing ground-based systems is tricky. The beams can reach over 20 kilometers, delivering speeds up to 20 gigabits per second. The tech has been installed in 13 countries, including India, Kenya, Fiji, and even the U.S. (in rural areas and at events like Coachella). Most recently, in Ghana, 20,000 new users and 320 businesses have come online thanks to Taara. “Think of it like fiber, but without having to run any fiber—it’s just over the air,” says Mahesh Krishnaswamy, general manager of the project.

Learn More at X Taara

Bimotal Elevate turns a pedal bike into an e-bike with just a cellphone-sized device. Toby Ricco developed the product so he could keep mountain biking after he recovered from tearing cartilage in his left knee. Elevate is a $1,995 palm-sized motor with 750 watts of power—enough to produce 75 Newton-meters of torque—that clips onto the wheel of a regular bike. While still in its infancy—around 100 of Elevate’s 400 pre-ordered units have shipped since March—Ricco has big plans for the product. “Our beachhead market is electrifying bikes,” he says, but search and rescue teams are also using it to motorize gurneys to tackle tough terrain.

Buy Now: Elevate Ebike Motor System at Bimotal