The man, the GIF, the legend: An interview with Giphy founder Alex Chung
To get the scoop on the company's meteoric rise, Digital Trends dropped by Giphy's New York HQ and sat down with CEO and founder Alex Chung. He told us about how the company came to be, and also hinted at the new things it's building
How a clever photography trick is bringing Seattle’s shipwrecks to the surface
Photogrammetry uses hundreds of photos that are stitched together to make a realistic model of objects. Members of the Global Underwater Explorers, including Kees Beemster Leverenz, use the technique to make models of ships and planes that are sunk in the waters around Seattle.
The holy grail of robotics: Inside the quest to build a mechanical human hand
Building an ultra-accurate robot hand has long been the Holy Grail for robotics experts. Now the world's most advanced robot hand, the so-called Dexterous Hand, has gotten even better -- thanks to some amazing haptics tech that allows it to be operated from across the world.
In Moab, Jeep isn’t just having fun off-road; it’s planning its future
Every year, Jeep travels to the Moab Easter Safari to unveil a handful of concept cars. Some are based on production models, while others are classic rigs upgraded with modern components. The company isn't only having fun on the trail; it's planning its future. Digital Trends sat down with Mark Allen to learn more.
Dream on: The concert of the future is in Vegas, and Aerosmith leads the charge
Aerosmith has partnered with THX, L-Acoustics, 1More, and Mixhalo to provide fans with an unparalleled, tech-fueled concert experience for the band’s 50th anniversary. From deeply personal on-stage experiences to immersive, object-based surround sound, here’s how this one concert series could shape the future of live music around the globe.
Google’s Stadia is the future of gaming, and that’s bad news for our planet
Google’s upcoming Stadia cloud gaming service, and its competitors, are ready to change the way gamers play, and that could be bad news for our planet. Data center demand is set to rise in coming years, driving a potential spike in power consumption and water use.
Geoengineering is risky and unproven, but soon it might be necessary
From light-scattering aerosols in Earth’s upper atmosphere to artificial chemical sponges created to suck carbon-dioxide out of the air we breathe, geoengineering aims to purposely change the world's climate using technology. Here's why its proponents think it must happen.
How 3D printing has changed the world of prosthetic limbs forever
When he was 13 years old, Christophe Debard had his leg amputated. Jump forward to the present day, and his experiences have led him to create the startup Print My Leg. It offers open-source designs for 3D printed leg prostheses to whoever needs them. Welcome to a growing revolution.
Climeworks wants to clean the atmosphere with a fleet of building-sized vacuums
Using machines that resemble jet engines, Climeworks wants to fight climate change by extracting CO2 from thin air. The gas can then be sold to carbonated drink and agriculture companies, or sequestered underground.
Inside the Ocean Cleanup’s ambitious plan to rid the ocean of plastic waste
In 2013, Boyan Slat crowdfunded $2.2 million to fund the Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organization that builds big, floating trash collectors and sets them out to sea, where they’re designed to autonomously gobble up garbage. The organization has since raised over $35 million and a lot of questions from incredulous experts.
Burgers are just the beginning: Embracing the future of lab-grown everything
You’ve almost certainly heard of the 'farm to fork' movement, but what about 'lab to table'? Welcome to the world of lab-grown meat: the fast-evolving dream of bringing customers their favorite edible dead animal without actually having to kill any animals in the process.
The grid of the future will be powered by … giant subterranean bagpipes?
In order to transition to a more renewable-focused energy system, we need to scale up our grid storage capacity -- and our existing methods aren't going to cut it. Could compressed air be the key?
An Obi-Wan TV series? 10 things we’d love to see on Disney’s streaming service
The upcoming Disney Plus streaming service will have tons of great content from Disney's many properties, but with so much to draw from, the sky is the limit. Here are ten projects on our wish list that we'd like to see make their way to Disney's impressively packed new Netflix competitor.
Meet the gene-edited bacteria that could make cannabis plants obsolete
Ever wanted to brew cannabis like you brew craft beer? At the University of California, Berkeley, synthetic biologists have managed to engineer brewer’s yeast so that it produces the main cannabinoids found in marijuana. Here's why that's so darn exciting -- and what it means.
NASA is building an inflatable space robot named King Louie
Don't expect the robots which thrive in space to look the same as the ones that we're used to here on Earth. The latest illustration of this is King Louie, a NASA-funded inflatable robot which could travel to the stars in deflated form and then be blown up when and where required.
Sweet 16: Wacom’s Cintiq 16 pen display makes retouching photos a breeze
Wacom’s Cintiq pen displays are usually reserved for the pros (or wealthy enthusiasts), but the new Cintiq 16 brings screen and stylus editing to an approachable price. As Wacom’s most affordable display, it cuts out the more glamorous features of its higher-end siblings, but still gets the job done.
An ode to Cuphead: One of the most lovable games of all time
Revisiting Cuphead on Nintendo Switch is just as memorable as it was on Xbox One nearly two years ago. Cuphead's 1930s cartoon aesthetic is incomparable, evoking a childlike sense of wonder long after the formative period of imagination and discovery has seemingly ended.
How emotion-tracking A.I. will change computing as we know it
Affectiva is just one of the startups working to create emotion-tracking artificial intelligence that can work out how you're feeling. From gaming to cars to healthcare, here are some of the ways that emotion-tracking tech promises to revolutionize computing as we know it.
Exclusive: The Surface Hub 2S will revolutionize work. Here’s how it was made
The Surface Hub 2S and 2X are whiteboards from a conference room in the future, powered by Cortana and Microsoft Teams. Exclusive interviews with the designers, futurists, and visionaries behind the product paint a picture of the changing nature of collaboration.
Family feud: Huawei P30 Pro vs. P20 Pro vs. Mate 20 Pro camera shootout
The Huawei P30 Pro's camera is astonishingly capable, with an amazing zoom mode and low light capabilities. But take these away, and how does it compare when facing its sibling phones, the P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro, taking regular photos we shoot everyday? We put the three against each other to find out.
The Black Eye Pro Cinema Wide G4 is a knockout lens for any smartphone
Where cheaper wide-angle accessory lenses add distortion, and costlier models don't always justify their higher prices, the Black Eye Pro Cinema Wide G4 offers a valuable balance of modest price and high quality optics. With its universal clip mount, it also fits over most any smartphone, and
How MIT hacked horticulture to cultivate a hyper-flavorful basil plant
As farmers maximize crop yield, the plants lose flavor and nutrition. MIT researcher Caleb Harper uses his personal food computers to alter indoor climates and influence the taste of basil. He found surprising results when exposing basil to light for 24 hours a day.
How Google Stadia and game streaming services will hurt game creators
With Google Stadia on the horizon, games streaming platforms are about to become mainstream, and with that comes concerns for the future of games development. As these services promise a world where gaming is more convenient than ever, it’s a future that will damage the way people consume games.
The 10 most brutal battle scenes in Game of Thrones, from Hardhome to The Door
Game of Thrones features some of the most gruesome, brutal battle scenes in all of television, with body counts in the thousands, severed heads and limbs, burning bodies, and any other morbid form of death you could possibly imagine. From Hardhome to the Battle of the Bastards, here are the 10 best.
Seeing double: These actors have twins you probably didn’t even know about
From Scarlett Johansson and Linda Hamilton to Billy Dee Williams to Keifer Sutherland and others, these famous actors have lesser-known twin siblings who have remained out of the spotlight, working either behind the cameras or outside of the entertainment business altogether.
Forget easy mode. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice needs an equal mode
For many players with disabilities, there’s no feeling of hope when it comes to overcoming Sekiro’s difficulty. No matter how much some disabled gamers study a fight, the physical demands of the confrontation are too much. Accessibility options can make the game playable for everyone without compromising the experience.
Amazon workers listening to Alexa recordings isn’t a big deal. Here’s why
Thousands of Amazon workers are reportedly listening to recorded conversations between Alexa and voice assistant speaker owners. The idea that humans are listening to our conversations is an outrage and unacceptable. Or is it? This author doesn’t think it’s such a big deal.
The next clash of Silicon Valley titans will take place in space
By launching their own attempts to bring internet access to every last person on Earth, tech giants from Amazon to Facebook have a major new mission. It's also one that will put them into competition with one another -- only this time in space. Here is what you need to know.
What can tech companies do to create more women-friendly workplaces?
Whether it’s rigid schedules, chilly offices, or unequal pay, there are a lot of ways modern workplaces can seem unfriendly to women. To make them more inclusive, there are a lot of ways to combat these unconscious biases and make offices more equal.
Animals, algorithms, and obstacle courses: Welcome to the A.I. Olympics
Scheduled to take place this June, the Animal-A.I. Olympics will test whether the world's top artificial intelligence algorithms can complete intelligence tests designed for animals. Here's why that matters -- and why this could be the ultimate challenge for today's A.I.
I had a one-night stand with a sleep robot
Would you sleep with a robot, if it promised to cure insomnia, and leave you better rested? That’s the idea behind the Somnox sleep robot, and we’ve slept with it.
The history of Battle Royale: From mod to worldwide phenomenon
Battle Royale games like 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' and ‘Fortnite’ have become the biggest trend in video games. The genre is also pushing the envelope in streaming and eSports in a way that might reveal the future of the industry.
The ultimate golf watch isn’t a smartwatch. It’s Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Golf
Forget golf smartwatches, the Hublot Big Bang Unico Golf is the ultimate timepiece to wear out on the links. It's the world's first mechanical golf watch, and will keep score for you throughout the game, and look absolutely amazing while it does it. This intricately designed watch is a technical marvel.
This $3,600 workstation isn’t just a desk. It’s a cockpit of productivity
Standing desks? Tired. Cemtrex Smartdesk? Wired. This innovative desk reimagines everything about your workspace, integrating a computer, a Qi charging pad, a document scanner, your VoIP phone, and so much more directly into your workstation. Now that's smart.