Forget Roomba, your most important house robot could be the one that hugs you
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany are busy developing a robot whose only mission is to give you really, really good hugs. Suddenly our vacuum-cleaning Roomba no longer seems destined to remain our favorite household robot.
Emirates moves toward windowless planes, starts with first-class seats
Emirates president Tim Clark says he sees "absolutely no reason" why passenger planes can't be built with virtual windows instead of real ones, offering better fuel economy. It has just introduced new jets featuring the high-tech windows in first class, with pictures live-streamed from external cameras.
These astronauts will whiz around Earth 34 times before reaching space station
Three astronauts will whiz around Earth a total of 34 times before reaching the space station on Friday. It usually requires far fewer orbits, but various positioning requirements mean it's going to take a little longer this time. The astronauts will join three crew members for a stay of six months.
Kitty Hawk’s personal flying vehicle takes to the skies
Check out the latest personal flying machine from Kitty Hawk. Capable of vertical take-offs and landings powered by its 10 sets of rotors, the all-electric Flyer can reach speeds of up to 20 mph and fly for 20 minutes. It's currently for "recreation," but the team is continuing work on a more powerful version.
Scientists hope to unlock medical marvels with a 100-million fps camera
The high-speed camera would enable researchers to capture video in unparalleled detail, enabling them to witness and study processes that were previously imperceptible. One of the noteworthy applications for the instrument is in exploring how light and sound can be used in innovative treatments.
Like it or not, camera-equipped police drones will soon patrol the skies
Announced this week, world leading drone company DJI and connected law enforcement company Axon has teamed up to sell DJI drones to law enforcement agencies around the globe. From search and rescue missions to gathering evidence, here's how they could transform law enforcement.
The new Create+ 3D pen from 3Doodler helps your words jump off the page
Your words will quite literally jump off a page when you're equipped with the right pen. And that writing utensil is none other than the newest 3D printing pen from 3Doodler. It's called the Create+, and it's now available to order for $79. The pen builds upon 3Doodler's previous success with 3D pens.
Microsoft dumps a 40-foot data center to the ocean floor off Scotland’s coast
Microsoft's Project Natick enters stage two by dropping a 40-foot prototype datacenter 117 feet below the ocean surface near Scotland's Orkney Islands. It contains 12 racks playing host to 864 servers, and connects to a single cable feeding it power and a fiber optic network connection.
Seaside or pine forest? This alarm clock wakes you to the scent of your choice
Imagine waking up in the morning to the smell of fresh coffee or a pine forest. That is something that French startup Bescent has created with a new alarm clock which utilizes scents for an altogether more pleasant wake-up experience. Here's how you can get your hands on one.
MIT can charge implants with external wireless power from 125 feet away
Smart implants designed for monitoring conditions in the body or delivering drug doses are the future of medicine. Researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a way to wirelessly communicate with these implants even when they're deep inside the human body.
Parrot’s new HDR camera drone is a shot across DJI’s bow
Parrot has typically veered more toward the toyish end of the spectrum when it comes to drones, but the company's newest addition to its fleet is anything but a toy. Anafi, as the new offering is called, is a relatively affordable drone that has been built to support serious aerial photography.
One fish, two fish: A.I. labels wildlife photos to boost conservation
Researchers have trained a deep learning algorithm to automatically identify, count, and characterize animals by reviewing images. The system used photographs captured from motion sensor camera traps, which unobtrusively snap pictures of the animals out in their natural habitat
Explore our planet through an immersive AR experience with the Earth app
Learn more about the planet we live on with AstroReality's Earth -- a physical 3D globe combined with an AR/A.I. application featuring technology that allows you to explore our past, present, and future on Earth. With the globe in your hands you can speak to Gaea -- an immersive smart-voice technology.
The best LED flashlights
LED flashlights and headlamps may excel in terms of longevity and overall brightness but knowing which is the best isn't always easy. From a rugged model to a solid budget option, here are the best LED flashlights on the market.
U.S. Army algorithm tells you how much coffee to drink to remain alert
Researchers for the U.S. Army have developed a smart algorithm that can work out when and how much coffee is needed to keep people alert when suffering the effects of extreme sleep loss. The algorithm was able to increase alertness by up to 65 percent. Here's why that matters.
Connected CloudPets teddy bears blab on owners, leak 2 million voice recordings
In the latest toy scandal, a connected teddy bear has leaked the voice recordings of more than 2 million children and parents. As a result, a number of retailers, including Amazon, Target, and Walmart, have decided to pull the toy from their shelves. Amazon began removing the product on Tuesday morning.
Homes in the Netherlands are concrete example of 3D printing’s potential
A small community of 3D-printed concrete houses is coming to the city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Dubbed Project Milestone, the construction project will include five homes built sustainably and energy-efficiently using some of the latest techniques in 3D-printing technology.
InMotion’s new Hovershoes X1 are like motorized, self-balancing rollerblades
If hoverboards are essentially motorized self-balancing skateboards, then InMotion’s brand-new Hovershoes X1 are motorized self-balancing rollerblades -- or hoverboards for each foot. They promise to be both more fun and safer than their regular hoverboard counterparts.
This bird-inspired morphing drone can slim down to fit through tight spaces
French researchers have developed a bird-inspired morphing drone that's able to rotate its arms to reduce its wingspan so that it can fly through some impressively small gaps. The results could make it better suited for inspection tasks in cluttered indoor environments.
Meet the man fighting plastic pollution with a fleet of A.I.-powered camera drones
Every year, up to 13 million metric tons of waste plastics wind up in the world's oceans. The Plastic Tide is a nonprofit which is using machine learning and drone technology to help. Best of all? They're calling on you to help -- and all they want is a bit of your time.
SpaceX says it won’t send space tourists around the moon just yet
SpaceX said in 2017 that it planned to send two high-paying space tourists on a trip around the moon by the end of this year. Well, it's not going to happen — at least, not yet. Without giving a specific reason for the delay, the company said the mission won't take place until mid-2019 at the earliest.
Parkinson’s is hard to detect early, but this ingenious mobile app can help
Progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder Parkinson’s disease can be tough to spot early on. That’s something an EU-funded app called i-Prognosis wants to change. It works by using the various sensors found in modern mobile devices and some amazing insights from machine learning.
Addicted to sugar? Neuroscientists could soon reprogram your brain to hate it
Imagine if you could reprogram your brain to no longer crave sugar? That’s a possibility hinted at by research from Columbia University. They've found a way to potentially reprogram the brain to respond differently to various tastes. That might conceivably be used to help people with a range of eating disorders.
It’s not Terminator time yet, but robots with living muscle tissue are on the way
So it's not quite the cyborg from the Terminator movies just yet, but researchers from Japan have demonstrated a new robot finger gripper that uses lab-grown muscles to move things around. Give it a few years, a leather jacket and an Austrian accent, and we'll be running for our lives!
Amazon is not liable for an exploding hoverboard that burned down a house
A Tennessee judge has ruled in Amazon's favor in a recent liability case. The judge said that Amazon was not responsible for a hoverboard which caught fire and burned down a Nashville family's home.
Meet the Australian ‘techno-artist’ growing a web-connected ear on his arm
Ear on Arm is an ongoing endeavor by the artist Stelarc, whose eccentric performances put his squishy body in the indifferent grip of technology. Stelarc sees the modern body as a “chimera of meat, metal, and code,” and uses it both as the vessel of exploration and the uncharted territory to be explored.
Can this explosion-proof AR headset change how industries do business?
Augmented reality may not be quite ready for mainstream use just yet, but that doesn't mean it's not being used for important things altogether. RealWear has launched an intrinsically-safe AR headset for industrial use, which could benefit service workers.
7 of the biggest scandals in tech history
The tech industry isn't immune to controversy or scandal. But what are the biggest scandals to have shaped the history of high tech as we know it? While it's tough to narrow it down to just a shortlist, here are seven of the most infamous -- from massive hacks to government abuse.
Take a VR journey to an exoplanet with NASA’s new ‘Travel Bureau’
Humans won't visit alien planets beyond our solar system for many decades, but NASA has provided the next best thing -- an interactive VR visualization of what you might see if you were standing on the surface of a faraway exoplanet, complete with some retro travel posters.
Google reportedly plans to end involvement with Project Maven
More than 4,000 Google employees signed a letter requesting CEO cancel Pentagon A.I.-related Project Maven and issue a policy statement against building warfare technology. And after a wave of resignations, Google may be canning the project.
Watch 958 drones create a 400-foot tall Time cover in lights instead of pixels
Nealy 1,000 drones buzzed over California earlier this month, equipped with red lights. Why? To create the cover of Time Magazine in the sky, a 400-foot tall light show using Intel drones. The image is the first time in the magazine's 95-year history that the cover has been shot with a drone.
Sensory deprivation float tanks can cost a fortune, but this one is different
Want a bit of sensory deprivation, but deprived of tons of cash? No problem. This Kickstarter inflatable flotation tank will not only fit in the average apartment, it also won't cost you your life savings to buy. After all, average Joes and Janes need a bit of zen relaxation, too!
The Mito drone captures underwater action without the nausea-inducing footage
Currents create a shaky video for underwater drones, but start-up Navatics is proposing something a bit different -- and underwater ROV with stabilization. The Navatics Mito is an underwater drone with stabilization, a 4K camera, and up to a four-hour battery life using a solar panel built into the tether.
A new laser eye surgery fixes your vision without any gnarly eyeball slicing
Researchers at Columbia University have developed a new noninvasive laser surgery which could permanently correct vision, minus any of the less pleasant-sounding aspects of regular laser surgery. Here's how it works -- and how long you'll be waiting until you can try it.