IrisVision uses VR to help people with fading eyesight to see again
A company called IrisVision has created a smartphone-based VR system that can help people with severe macular degeneration to see better. While it doesn’t actually cure blindness, it does enable users with this vision disorder to carry out tasks they would otherwise find impossible.
Want an extra arm? A third thumb? Check out these awesome robotic appendages
Have you ever dreamed of augmenting your body with the aid of addition limbs? Ever wished you could have a pair of extra arms, a third leg, or a sixth finger on each hand? Check out this list of amazing robo-prosthetics which promise to take your multitasking to the next level.
The Trident scooter promises to propel you through the waves like a boss
Want a gadget that will propel yourself through the water like James Bond? Trident is an 'underwater scooter' which lets scuba divers, snorkelers or secret agents power themselves through the waves at speed of up to 4.3 miles per hour. Here's how you can get your hands on one.
A series of solar flares disrupted hurricane relief efforts in 2017
Just as Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean in early September, a series of solar flares erupted from the sun and caused emergency radio communications to go offline for hours. The NOAA reported an eight-hour loss of high-frequency radio used by ham radio operators and other emergency bands.
This high-tech water gun makes your old Super Soaker look like a fossil
The Spyra One is a next generation water cannon that shoots single rounds up to 30 feet. It features a sleek design, bright colors, and digital display to show how much ammo is remaining. A Kickstarter campaign to fund the project has exploded.
A serenade you can’t refuse: Ukulele-playing robot plays ‘The Godfather’ theme
A compact ukulele-plucking robot, UkuRobot is one of the zaniest, most brilliant bots we’ve seen in ages. Ever wanted to be serenaded by a bot playing the theme from The Godfather or maybe Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams? Well, today just happens to be your lucky day.
Scientists complete the first successful transplant of lab-grown lungs
For the first time ever, lab-grown lungs have been successfully transplanted into pigs, allowing them to breathe normally with no medical complications. The achievement opens up the possibility of using similarly bioengineered lungs for humans in need of a lung transplant.
How self-driving car tech could help forensic scientists find murder victims
Using lidar, the tech which helps self-driving cars figure out the world around them, could also be used to find bodies buried in unmarked graves. Sound like something out of an episode of CSI? It's actually a new piece of real research from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
This high-tech cooler keeps food for over a week — and it makes margaritas, too
Meet the Infinite Cooler, a new portable refrigeration solution that comes complete with Bluetooth speakers, a blender, phone charger, touch screen, LED lighting, and more. Just a day into its campaign, the cooler has already raised over $100,000, and the team behind the smart appliance hopes this is just the beginning
Mammoth undertaking: Company to 3D print a full-size skeleton of elephant ancestor
A Belgian 3D-printing company, Materialise, is putting its additive manufacturing skills to the test by helping to create a life-size replica of a mammoth skeleton for public display later this year. Here's how they carried out their, err, mammoth feat. No pun intended.
You know that brain-training app you downloaded? It’s probably worthless
The idea of brain-training apps which improve your mental abilities by making you play games sounds almost too good to be true. Sadly, according to a recent study by neuroscientists at Canada’s Western University, it is. Here's what their recent experiment demonstrated.
Futuristic chopsticks simulate flavor by zapping your tongue with electrodes
Do you want to cut down on salt in your diet? This prototype pair of chopsticks and Miso soup bowl is able add flavor to your food through the use of tongue-zapping electrodes. It's just the latest in a long line of crazy culinary experiments for their innovative creator.
Astronomers finally confirm general relativity around a supermassive black hole
For the first time, astronomers have confirmed Einstein’s century-old theory of general relativity in action near a black hole. An international team of professional sky-gazers and observed gravitational redshift around a supermassive black hole.
Winners of NASA’s habitat competition offer a glimpse of Martian living
To get a better understanding of what habitats might look like on Mars, NASA partnered with Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for its 3D-Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge competition. The agency recently announced the five winners of the latest phase.
No, terraforming Mars isn’t going to be possible in your lifetime
Colonizing Mars would certainly be a whole lot easier if the planet’s atmosphere was somehow made more like Earth’s. Sadly, the idea of terraforming the Red Planet is going to remain next to impossible for the foreseeable future, as a new research paper argues. Here's why.
Judgmental A.I. mirror rates how trustworthy you are based on your looks
Would you be freaked out if a facial recognition mirror started making judgments about your age, gender, race, attractiveness, and even trustworthiness? Get ready to meet the Biometric Mirror, a project created by researchers to show the dangers of biased artificial intelligence.
Mavic 2 leaked specs reveal two versions, one with a Hasselblad camera
When DJI released the nifty little Mavic Air at the start of the year, there seemed few reasons to fork out for the older Mavic Pro. But a leak from a British retail store suggests DJI is prepping two new versions, one with a better quality camera and one with a zoom lens, among other new features.
The winning photographs from the 2018 Drone Awards will make you drool
The 2018 Drone Awards showcases some of the best aerial photography around. From scenes depicting the perils of climate change to abstract art and images of our built environment, the more than 4,400 submissions from 101 countries, the Drone Awards has selected seven winners.
Oddball is the innovative, sensor-filled drum machine you can bounce
Newly launched on Kickstarter, Oddball is essentially a throwable drum machine. A sensor-filled ball which uses pressure sensors and accelerometers to work out when it hits a surface, it can use these impacts to trigger sounds of your choosing. Talk about a unique way to build beats!
Move over, Shakespeare: This sonnet-writing A.I. is the poet we need
'Shall I compare thee to the Singularity?' Researchers at IBM Research Australia have created an artificial intelligence that's capable of generating new Shakespearean sonnets. Trained on around 2,600 real sonnets, it could even threaten to put the Bard out of business.
This tale ends happily, with a new 3D-printed tail for a 7-foot-long alligator
Researchers from Midwestern University in Arizona recently helped dramatically improve the life of an injured alligator -- by using cutting-edge 3D scanning and 3D printing technology to create a new tail prosthesis for him. They believe his original was probably lost in a fight.
Move over, Spider-Man! Spider silk can be used to build armor and repair nerves
Picture the kind of next-gen materials that get scientists excited, and chances are that spider silk isn’t near the top of the list. In fact, the unusual mechanical qualities of spider silk makes it extremely versatile. Here are the most interesting research projects it's being used in.
Kepler space telescope’s last gasp is next week
The Kepler telescope is running on empty, and there's no way to fill up the tank. The mission engineers' last priority is retrieving the months of data stored onboard the spacecraft.
Brain-controlled third arm lets you take your multitasking to the next level
Researchers from the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute in Kyoto, Japan have created a brain-computer interface that lets users control a robotic third arm in order to take their multitasking to the next level. You can call it the ultimate productivity hack!
Amazon’s facial ID incorrectly identifies members of Congress as criminals
A facial recognition tool Amazon currently offers developers made quite the mistake in a test conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Rather than identifying 28 members of Congress as members of the country's legislative branch, the tool instead classified these individuals as police suspects.
TESS, NASA’s planet-hunting space satellite, begins science operations
NASA's exoplanet-hunting satellite TESS is fully operational and has begun scanning the skies for distant planets known as exoplanets, NASA reported on Friday -- and maybe, just maybe, spying signs of life outside of our galaxy. The space agency launched its TESS satellite on April 16.
23andMe announces $300M deal for your DNA with giant drug company GSK
23andMe will soon be doing a lot more with your DNA than providing a family tree. The home genetics company has teamed up with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline with hopes of designing new drugs that could treat diseases. Given that 23andMe has 5 million customers, it could provide plenty of data.
This myth-inspired, karate-chopping centaur robot could save your life one day
Taking inspiration from the half horse, half man centaur of Greek mythology, Centauro is a robot that boasts an anthropomorphic upper body and a four-legged base. It may sound and look unusual, but this innovative robot could very well one day save your life. Here's how.
NASA’s planet-hunting TESS satellite: What you need to know
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) embarked in April 2018 on a two-year mission to seek out new planets — and possibly extraterrestrial life -- and it began science operations on July 25. Here’s everything you need to know about the satellite and its mission.
Facial recognition can help would-be moms find an egg donor who looks like them
When would-be parents consider an egg donor, one of the common questions they ask is, 'Will my child look like me?' A pioneering egg bank in Spain has a high-tech answer to the conundrum -- and it involves using facial recognition to match up patients to similar-looking donors.
Mars is as near to Earth as it’s been in 15 years, so Hubble took some photos
For the past 28 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured some of the most iconic images of outer space. Now, as Mars and Saturn have swung by the Earth in recent months, the legendary telescope has snapped a handful of beautiful images to add to an already impressive collection.
Watch Virgin Galactic’s tourist spacecraft reach its highest altitude to date
Virgin Galactic has just nailed another test flight of its supersonic tourist spacecraft. VSS Unity was released by its carrier aircraft at 46,500 feet before the pilots fired up the spaceship’s rocket motor that took it to an altitude of 32 miles (50 km) — its highest to date.
Amazing future transports promise to supercharge our commutes
You can keep your Teslas, your McLarens, and your Aston Martins. Here in 2018, the ambition, scale, and adrenalin-pumping excitement of the most cutting-edge transport options put most contemporary tech to shame. Here are six of the amazing modes of transportation we have to look forward to.