Nissan’s high-tech ice cream truck removes the fumes from your order
Nissan has given the traditional ice cream truck a modern makeover to create a cleaner, greener, high-tech alternative. The prototype design gives a new lease of life to aging electric-vehicle batteries by using them to power the truck’s equipment, including the serving machine, freezer drawer, and drinks fridge.
New snail-inspired super glue can switch between sticky and non-sticky states
Developed by an international team of researchers, this snail mucus-inspired super glue can switch between adhesive and non-adhesive states. You know, like a snail being able to grip onto a surface while moving. Here's why the new glue-like material could prove so useful.
Cornell’s lionfish-inspired robot uses artificial blood to stay powered up
Cornell University has developed a swimming robot, modeled on the lionfish, which uses a circulating liquid electrolyte likened by its creators to a kind of robot blood. This allows it to store up energy for use powering itself during long-duration tasks. Here's why that matters.
A cardiac arrest-detecting smart speaker could save your life
Smart speakers are great for everything from playing music to operate our smart homes. But could they soon also help save lives as well? An innovative research project from the University of Washington could help smart speakers detect cardiac arrest while you sleep.
This humanlike synthesized speech could be the future of audiobooks
You probably wouldn't want Siri or Alexa reading you an entire audiobook. But a new startup called DeepZen has developed a text-to-speech A.I. that sounds impressively human when it talks. It can even pick up on necessary emotional cues in text and voice them correctly.
Digital Trends Live: Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10, Harry Potter AR, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we dive into the trending tech topics of the day, including Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10 unveiling, YouTube’s AR makeup tutorials, Niantic's new AR game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on June 21st, building a Tesla pickup, and more.
Drone delivery services may prove too noisy for some in Australia
Numerous companies are lining up to deliver stuff by drone, but the machines still make quite a racket when they fly nearby. In Australia, where Google sister company Wing recently launched a drone delivery service, locals complained about the noise. And now the government is getting involved.
Check out this clever robot dishwasher, designed for busy restaurants
If you thought we were years away from seeing a restaurant staffed only by robots, then think again. Robot wait staff and robot chefs are already a thing, and now, to complete the setup, we have a high-tech robot dishwasher offering a fast, reliable, and environmentally friendly service.
Congress already wants to block rollout of Facebook’s cryptocurrency
It only took a few hours after Facebook announced the details of its Libra cryptocurrency on Tuesday morning for lawmakers in Congress to tell the social media giant to pump the breaks. Rep. Maxine Waters asked Facebook to stop development until Congress could weigh in.
Brush up on your makeup skills with YouTube’s new augmented reality feature
YouTube will soon let users try on makeup while watching popular makeup tutorials through augmented realtiy. Known as AR Beauty Try-On, viewers will be able to "try on" the makeup products the online tutorials are showcasing and promoting.
A tiny magnet accomplishes enormous feat, sets a new world record
A magnet housed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida, has set a record for the strongest continuous DC magnetic field ever recorded with a 45.5-tesla rating. Here's what that means in everyday terms -- and what makes it such a useful discovery.
Digital Trends Live: Facebook’s cryprocurrency, Walmart deliveries, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, host Greg Nibler is joined by Senior Editor of News Mathew Katz to discuss Facebook’s new cryptocurrency Libra, JJ Abrams signs a $500 million deal, Walmart’s grocery service, new A.I. that can detect manipulated photos, and more.
Google Calendar is back online. Here’s the latest on the outage
Google Calendar came back online after being down for several hours Tuesday morning, leaving millions of users without their daily agenda. The service came back online around 10:30 a.m. PT, according to Google.
Airbus’ new single-aisle jet has longest range in its class and a fancy cabin
Airbus has unveiled the design of the A321XLR jet, an aircraft that it says will be capable of trips of around 5,400 miles, making it the world's longest range single-aisle airliner when it takes to the skies in 2023. The A321XLR will feature Airbus’s Airspace cabin geared toward comfort, ambience, service, and design.
Digital Trends Live: Unlocking iPhones, eye-controlled TV remote, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the trending tech news of the day, including an Israeli company who claims they can unlock any iPhone for police, Comcast’s eye-controlled TV remote, the world’s largest airplane, wall-climbing robots, and more.
Live long and prosper? Experimental compound could slow down the aging process
Want to extend your natural lifespan beyond its current limits? While the fountain of youth remains out of reach, researchers EPFL and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics have discovered a metabolite of biomolecules which could help slow the aging process. Here's how.
A new survey by Adobe shows an evolving market for voice applications
It's not breaking news that consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with conversing with their smartphones, digital gizmos, smart home devices, and smart speakers but a new survey from Adobe Analytics is showing a desire for more diversity in where voice technology is applied and used.
Tormented robot pulls a gun on its creators in latest Boston Dynamics spoof
Boston Dynamics' remarkable robots often receive a good few shoves in its videos, and the eager mistreatment recently inspired a team of video artists to offer its hilarious take on the matter. And if you've ever felt any empathy for the put-upon robots, you'll be delighted at how this particular video turns out.
Your smartphone could be the key to predicting natural disasters
One of the challenges for atmospheric scientists is gathering enough data to understand the complex, planet-wide weather system. Now an atmospheric scientist has come up with a clever idea to gather more data using smartphones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The Very Large Telescope gets upgrade to aid its hunt for habitable exoplanets
The Very Large Telescope, located in the desert in Chile, is growing even bigger. The latest addition to the telescope's suite of instruments is a tool called NEAR (Near Earths in the AlphaCen Region) which will hunt for exoplanets in the nearby Alpha Centauri star system.
The grainy texture of Saturn’s rings reveals clues to their origins
New analysis of data from Cassini shows that Saturn's rings are not smooth, but rather are grainy in texture. Scientists believe that tiny moons within the rings cause materials to cluster and form clumps and straw-like patterns, revealing rings which are more complex and dynamic than we realized.
Hubble captures explosive galaxy, the site of three recent supernovae
Hubble's latest image is of the spiral galaxy NGC 4051, located 45 million years from Earth. This particular galaxy is notable for having played host to a large number of supernovae over the years: the first seen in 1983 (SN 1983I), the second in 2003 (SN 2003ie), and the most recent in 2010 (SN 2010br).
Pass the salt please: Table salt found on Jupiter’s moon Europa
Astronomers have spotted something unexpectedly familiar on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa -- sodium chloride, better known as table salt. Europa has been imaged several times over the years, but this is the first time that scientists have found evidence of the compound.
Impossible Foods struggles to keep up with Impossible Burger demand
Red Robin and White Castle have reported Impossible Burger shortages, as it appears that Impossible Foods is struggling to keep up with demand. The company will be selling its meat-like patties in retail outlets within the year though, which should give fans of the product another option.
Facebook builds virtual homes to train A.I. agents in realistic environments
Researchers at Facebook have created Habitat, a platform that enables rapid training for A.I. agents by placing them in virtual homes. While it may take years for robots to learn tasks in the physical world, A.I. will receive thousands of hours of training in just a few minutes in Habitat.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for manned missions to Mars
Survival on Mars will be a massive challenge for humanity. Due to its thin atmosphere, there are high variations in temperature, no breathable oxygen or water, high levels of radiation, and severe dust storms. But NASA is charging ahead with plans to eventually put humans on Mars all the same.
Adobe develops tool to identify Photoshopped images of faces
With deepfake videos making headlines and campaigns against the over-Photoshopping of models, people are more aware than ever of how images can be digitally manipulated. Now the company that created Photoshop, Adobe, wants to give tools to users to let them spot faked images themselves.
Ex astris, scientia: Star Trek logo spotted on the surface of Mars
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been boldly going to Mars, and now it has spotted something where no man has gone before: a structure on the planet's surface which looks suspiciously like the Star Trek logo. The shape was created by an interaction of dust dunes, erupting lava, and strong winds.
Got $400 million to burn? The world’s largest airplane is up for sale
Stratolaunch, the world's largest airplane, is up for sale. All it'll cost you is $400 million dollars. The brainchild of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the plane was supposed to make space travel more accessible and affordable. Could Elon Musk be interested in buying it?
Digital Trends Live: Florida’s autonomous vehicle law, E3 updates, and more
On today’s episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the biggest tech news of the day, including Florida allowing fully autonomous vehicles on the road, Atari’s new gaming system, more from E3, the future of high-speed rail, and our weekly Tech Briefs segment.
This crazy-looking robot uses microspines on its legs to climb up walls
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have built a bioinspired robot called T-RHex, which uses microspines on its feet to grip onto rough surfaces. This allows it to climb up very steep gradients in a way that very few robots have previously been able to do. Check it out.
This drone with hands looks like a nightmare straight out of Black Mirror
This unlikely drone-with-hands creation is the work of Federico Ciccarese, the brains behind YouBionic, a bionic hand project that has evolved far beyond its original remit of offering a pair of 3D-printable robot hands. Check it out in all its slightly unnerving glory.
Mount Everest is now home to the world’s highest weather station
A team of scientists has created a new record with the installation of the world’s highest weather station atop Everest. Data from the station will give researchers and climbers up-to-date information about mountain conditions, while other collected material will help in the scientists’ analysis of climate change.
Sloshed drone pilots in Japan can now be punished with jail time
If you're flying a drone in Japan, better not be sloshed when you send your bird skyward. A new law passed this week could see drunk drone pilots sent to jail for up to a year or hit with a hefty fine. New Jersey brought in a similar rule last year threatening a six-month prison sentence or a $1,000 fine.