7 drone crashes that will make you fly your bird more carefully
Whether you're a rookie drone pilot or experienced pro, sooner or later you're bound to slam your flying machine into a hard surface or get it tangled in a tree. To help you avoid such a calamity, we've pulled together some videos of spectacular drone crashes and tips on how to avoid them.
Machine learning? Neural networks? Here’s your guide to the many flavors of A.I.
Don't know your machine learning from your evolutionary algorithms? Our handy A.I. buzzword guide is here to help.
Photos of the BMW Vision iNEXT Concept leak onto the web despite embargo
Earlier this week, Digital Trends was invited to preview BMW’s all-new Vision iNEXT Concept as it travels around the world to various cities for showcasing. Although we were all under an embargo, somehow the photos of the concept leaked onto the web before the embargo lifted.
Lidar-equipped drones could help protect California from future wildfires
Last year saw the most devastating wildfire season on record in California. Could drones help avoid a repeat performance? One drone surveying company, Flight Evolved, is doing its part to help, using the latest cutting-edge Lidar detection technology. Here's what it's doing.
Lexus digitizes side-view mirrors with cameras for Japan’s 2019 ES sedan
It seems Lexus is fed up with having to look at a piece of reflective glass and plastic to know what’s in your side rear view. That’s so 2017. So the company decided to introduce a new way to look behind you and to the sides with the all-new 2019 Lexus ES sedan in Japan.
This amazingly acrobatic winged robot moves just like a fruit fly
Humans may have to worry about robots taking their jobs, but you know who else should probably be watching their back? Fruit flies! At least, that’s our takeaway from an amazing new fruit fly-inspired winged robot created by researchers at Delft University of Technology.
Never remember a face? A new AR facial-recognition app could jog your memory
Better known as face blindness, prosopagnosia is a neurological condition in which sufferers struggle to recognize people they have met -- even when they might have known them for decades. Could augmented reality technology help? An app created by a Harvard neuroscientist aims to do so.
Watch a robot create amazing string art portraits with thousands of feet of yarn
Ever heard of string art? Researchers from Austria have created a computer system that lets an industrial robot create amazing string art portraits using thousands of feet of yarn. Just show it an image and it'll figure out the optimal thread path necessary to re-create it.
Air Force goes all James Bond with tiny microphone that attaches to teeth
As part of a new $10 million deal, members of the U.S. Air Force (and possibly others in the future) will soon be able to communicate using a next-generation miniaturized microphone system that clips to their back teeth. It makes communication possible in even the harshest environments.
Audi’s new e-tron dispenses with physical toll tags via its Integrated Toll Module
Audi will debut a new way to manage and pay for roadway tolls in its up and coming e-tron all-electric crossover SUV next week. It's the brand's first car featuring technology that allows drivers to manage toll authority accounts straight from the car itself and without the need for a physical tag.
Credit card-size device could slash the price of ultrasound sensors
An unassuming device developed by engineers at the University of British Columbia could pave the way for ultrasounds scanners that cost as little as $100. Barely bigger than a credit card, the UBC ultrasound sensor is mobile, wearable, and can be powered by a smartphone.
Ex-Rolls-Royce engineer looks to conquer the tiny home market with the Conker
Resembling a soccer ball on stilts, The Conker is a new spherical mini home. Capable of being installed in a single day, this stunningly stylish glamping dwelling will convince nearly everyone who sees it that this is what the future of living looks like. Sign up right now!
‘Crop-dusting’ drones drop biodegradable sensors instead of pesticides
Next-gen agriculture might involve using drones to airdrop hundreds of tiny sensors, called PlantCopters, which can keep track of crop growth, crop health, and surrounding microclimate. This data could then be transmitted via Bluetooth. Could this be the future of farming?
Lab-grown mini-brains will help us gain a better understanding of the real thing
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a rapid, cost-effective method to grow organoid “mini-brains” in a lab. They hope that these mini-brains will make it possible to gain a better understanding of the real brains they replicate.
Artificial intelligence discovers dozens of mysterious cosmic signals
In a recent study, the researchers used an A.I. system to discover dozens of previously unidentified fast radio bursts from a source some three billion light years away. The fast radio bursts were picked from out from a data set that had already been analyzed by astronomers.
Printing metal just got easier with Desktop Metal’s new supercharged tech
Studio System+ expands on the company’s flagship printer by offering more functions and the ability to print smaller metal parts with higher resolution. Studio Fleet is a bundled system of printers, debinders, and furnaces that support rapid fabrication of high-quality, complex metal pieces.
Mezmoglobe spinning desk toy will keep you focused (or totally distracted)
Newly launched on Kickstarter, Mezmoglobe is an incredibly cool spinning desk toy, which is milled with a symmetrical helix pattern designed to produce a mind-bending "flowing" optical illusion as it rotates on its base. Check it out in all its attention-grabbing awesomeness.
The history of drones in 10 milestones
Here in 2018, drones are flying high -- both figuratively and literally. Want to know how things got this way? Here are 10 of the most significant milestones that explain how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) became the ultra-hot product category they are today.
Here’s what would happen if the Sahara was covered in solar and wind farms
According to an international team of researchers, covering the entire 3.6 million square miles of Sahara desert with wind and solar farms wouldn't just solve the world's energy requirements -- it would transform the region's climate, too. Here's what this study uncovered.
The BrambleBee robot promises to help honeybees pollinate flowers
Honeybee populations are declining at a terrifying rate. BrambleBee, a new pollination robot developed by researchers at West Virginia University, may one day be able to help carry on their crucial job. Here's how it works, and how its creators imagine its future.
Orbiting satellite offers a unique view of a recent rocket launch
Now here's a view of a rocket launch you probably weren't expecting. Showing last week's launch of a Chinese rocket from a launch site in the Gobi Desert around 1,000 miles west of Beijing, the extraordinary footage was captured from an orbiting satellite 332 miles up.
This quadcopter is a ‘flying battery’ that can stay in the sky for 2 hours
While most of today's drones can stay airborne for around half an hour tops, Impossible Aerospace's US-1 drone can fly for up to two hours. The feat was achieved by building the machine around a larger-than-usual battery, and the company says that if the design is scaled up, it could transform the aviation market.
Current tech for detecting hate speech is woefully inadequate, researchers find
Researchers from Finland’s Aalto University have analyzed various anti-hate speech systems, including tools built by Google’s Counter Abuse team. Their findings demonstrate that the technology is woefully inadequate in a lot of ways -- including just how easy it is to fool.
Unnervingly lifelike robot kid will help train (and maybe traumatize) doctors
Pediatric Hal is a new robot training tool created by medical equipment company Gaumard Scientific. Made to look just like a 5-year-old male patient, Hal is able to answer questions, track fingers with his eyes, say 'Ow!' when pricked with a needle, and much, much more.
Yi-One smart mug will cool your coffee just enough for you to drink it
Updating the thermos for the new millennium, the innovative Yi-One mug promises to keep your freshly brewed hot coffee at a scalding 200-degree temperature until you want to take a sip, at which point it will cool it to a drinkable 150 degrees in just three seconds flat. Count us in!
Elon Musk’s Boring Company turns digging machine into ‘best video game ever’
The Boring Company has tweeted a video of an Xbox controller apparently being used to operate one of its giant digging machines. Coming from a company led by Elon Musk, the spectacle may not surprise too many people, though whether it's part of a serious plan moving forward ... well, that's anyone's guess.
What does Argonaut’s $21,000 carbon bike look like? Whatever you want
Bicycles have come a long way in the past couple decades, but making a bike that’s perfectly customized to each rider’s height, weight, and riding style remains a challenge. Argonaut is changing that.
Companies want to sell you conflict-free phones, but certification isn’t foolproof
Conflict minerals like tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo often end up in our cell phones and other electronics. Companies have worked on the problem for years but still have trouble seeing down their supply chains to the mines in isolated regions of the DRC.
Amazon Go checkout-free stores set to arrive in New York City
Amazon Go is looking to branch out of the company's hometown of Seattle. In addition to locations in Chicago and San Francisco, Amazon has announced that it is planning on hoping a new Amazon Go store in New York City. The store's location and opening date have not been announced
A.I. bests experts at predicting deaths from heart disease
An artificial intelligence algorithm has bested experts at predicting patient deaths from heart disease. In a study published recently in the journal PLOS One, researchers from the Francis Crick Institute make yet another case for using A.I. to inform medical diagnoses.
I ran into LG’s Cloi robot at the airport in South Korea. Here’s what happened
After running into LG’s Cloi the airport robot in South Korea, the experience was entrancing, yet unfulfilling. Does a rolling, talking computer screen with blinking eyes have a purpose other than to entertain?
Incredibly ambitious Ocean Cleanup project is launching this weekend
This weekend, an ultra-ambitious ocean cleanup project is launching with a livestream. Tune in to watch a giant 2,000-foot garbage collection system be towed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Sound mad? Maybe, but it just might work.
Engineered sand could remove nasty toxins to produce drinkable water
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are currently working on a high-tech solution to make better use of the water we have at hand. They’ve engineered sand, coating the grains in compounds that react with and help destroy organic pollutants found in stormwater.