Forget fireworks. Japan will soon have artificial meteor showers on tap
Tokyo-based startup Astro Live Experiences is preparing to launch its first artificial meteor shower over Japan, serving as a showcase of its prowess in the space entertainment sector. Here's what you'll be able to expect from the event coming soon to a sky near, well, Japan.
A Japanese hotel fires half its robot staff for being bad at their jobs
Japan’s oddball Henn na Hotel has fired half of its 243 robot staff. The reason? Because these labor-saving machines were causing more problems than they were solving -- and requiring humans to come in and fix things as a result. These are some of the robots that got the chop.
Want to know which drones are flying near you? There’s an app for that
Want to know what that mysterious drone buzzing over your head is up to? A new system developed by AirMap, Google Wing, and Kittyhawk.io could soon be able to tell you -- by showing you a map of all local drone activity on your smartphone. Here's how the technology works.
Ford’s sweaty robot bottom can simulate 10 years of seat use in mere days
Ford has developed 'Robutt,' a sweaty robot bottom that's designed to simulate the effects of having a pair of human buttocks sitting on its car seats for thousands of hours. And here we were thinking the role of an automotive engineer was just dreaming up concept cars!
In a first for humankind, China is growing plants on the moon
Having recently landed a probe on the far side of the moon, China has now announced that it's managed to grow the first plant on the moon, too. This took the form of a cotton seed brought to the moon by China's Chang'e 4 lander. Here's why that matters for deep space travel.
Researchers discover a way to make 3D printing 100 times faster using light
Researchers at the University of Michigan have invented a new method of 3D printing which is up to 100 times faster than conventional existing 3D-printing processes. Here's how it works, and why it could prove a game-changer for the way that 3D printing is currently used.
Lasers and bovine breathalyzer help determine how much methane cows produce
Cow farts and belches don't exactly sound like catastrophic threats, but they contribute to the massive amounts of methane pumped into the atmosphere. Recently, scientists set out to measure quantities of bovine flatulence -- using lasers, GPS and a 'breathalyzer for cows.'
Face-scanning A.I. can help doctors spot unusual genetic disorders
Facial recognition can unlock your phone. Could it also be used to identify whether or not a person has a rare genetic disorder, based exclusively on their facial features? DeepGestalt, an A.I. built by the Boston-based tech company FDNA, suggests the answer is a resounding "yes."
A citizen of the universe? Dutch startup wants to deliver a baby in space
Netherlands-based startup SpaceLife Origin plans to be the company responsible for delivering the first baby born in space. And it wants to do it by 2024. 'We owe it to our children and future generations,' Egbert Edelbroek, one of the company’s executives, tells Digital Trends.
A.I. can generate pictures of a finished meal based on just a written recipe
Feeling hungry? Researchers from Tel-Aviv University in Israel have created an A.I. that's able to generate complete photos of meals, based only on reading the written recipes. Here's how it works and which meals the system finds easier or harder to generate accurately.
Scribit graffiti robot climbs your walls to draw (and erase) giant artwork
Scribit, the wall-crawling graffiti robot that can draw (and, just as importantly, erase) any image you can think of onto a vertical surface of your choice, made its debut this week at CES 2019. It's coming soon to a living room, office, food eatery, or some other place else near you.
Robots can now carry out plutonium production process for space exploration
Plutonium-238 is a crucial component in deep space exploration to the outer reaches of our solar system. The only problem? We've been running low on our stockpiles. Fortunately, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have found a way to automate part of the production process.
Furrion’s luxurious smart yacht looks like the perfect vessel for a Bond villain
Forget smart watches and the like: when it comes to the biggest smart technology we saw at CES, the literaral answer can be nothing else but Adonis, the 78-foot, luxury smart yacht. If a James Bond villain was going to own a high tech boat, this would be the one for them.
Stomach implant device uses jolts of electricity to fight obesity
A new implant created by engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison could help fight the obesity epidemic by attaching to the outside of a user's stomach and then suppressing feelings of hunger using jolts of electricity. Here's how effective it's proven to be so far.
Ubtech’s new and improved robot assistants take a bow at CES 2019
Chinese startup Ubtech has debuted its new, improved Walker humanoid robot and Cruzr service robot at CES 2019, reminding us that we’re closer than ever to the kind of future promised to us decades ago by The Jetsons. Here's what distinguishes the new models from their predecessors.
You may soon be able to summon an autonomous wheelchair like an Uber
At CES 2019, autonomous wheelchair company Whill unveiled its vision for a world in which people can summon its wheelchairs by app, in locations such as theme parks, museums, hospitals, shopping malls, airports, and city centers. Here's how it aims to make that a reality.
Muse’s Softband will help you meditate your way into a good night’s sleep
Meditation headband maker Muse has unveiled its first soft headband at CES 2019. The Softband allows users to listen to guided meditation on their Amazon Alexa devices, and then keeps track of their sleep patterns while they get some shut-eye. Here's when you can expect it to arrive.
Where are they now? A look back at last year’s Top Tech of CES winners
What happened to the 14 prize-winning products we singled out as the coolest things we saw at last year's CES 2018? Join us as we take a look at what the past 12 months has meant for each one. Spoilers: They're still as awesome as they were on the day that we first met them.
Forget security cameras — this drone will watch over your house from the skies
Sunflower Labs' innovative smart security system involves a series of outdoor sensors, capable of dispatching an autonomous camera drone to check up on any unusual disturbances. It sounds pretty wild -- and it's on display at CES 2019 for anyone who wants to go check it out.
Startup wants to reverse Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s using human blood extract
A cutting-edge startup is working on a treatment for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer's by altering the concentration of plasma proteins in patients. This work is based on research indicating that cognitive decline in mice can be reversed through injections of blood taken from younger mice.
Food 2.0: Impossible Foods is back with a bloody new non-beef burger
At CES 2019, Impossible Food announced its new, improved Impossible Burger. This is the first time its recipe has received an upgrade since the award-winning plant-based meat debuted in 2016. Here's what makes the refreshed recipe better than its predecessor in every way.
This futuristic autonomous pod hotel drives you around as you sleep
Toronto-based design studio Aprilli is reimagining the future of transportation with its 'Autonomous Travel Suite' concept, describing a kind of self-driving sleeper van that’s like a hotel room on wheels. Coming soon to a freeway near you? It's not as crazy as it sounds.
Roaming vending machine snack bots invade a California college campus
PepsiCo's fleet of autonomous Hello Goodness delivery snackbots just rolled out at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. The roaming vending machines let students order their snacks using a mobile app, and will then deliver them directly to their hands.
Chinese lunar rover sends back first-ever image from the far side of the moon
A Chinese lunar rover has reportedly made history by landing on the far side of the moon and transmitting back the first images to Earth. According to China's National Space Administration, the rover landed in the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin crater late Thursday evening, Beijing time.
Biologists fix ‘glitch’ in photosynthesis, boost crop yield by 40 percent
Researchers from the University of Illinois and U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service have used genetic modification to make certain crops 40 percent more efficient. This is done by fixing a photosynthetic glitch that limits the potential yield of many crops.
With new autonomous train, Australia is now home to the world’s largest robot
Iron ore mining company Rio Tinto has officially launched its fully automated, heavy-haul, long- distance rail network: A series of mine-to-port trains that can run completely free from human intervention. Here's why it decided to replace human drivers with automated ones.
After conquering the Sahara, the U.K.’s self-driving rover is ready for Mars
The U.K. Space Agency has completed tests of new self-driving software, which will allow future Mars exploration rovers to autonomously explore their environment. The tests were carried out in the Sahara desert, the closest thing Earth has to the harsh Martian landscape.
IBM’s new A.I. warns diabetes patients of dangerous blood sugar levels
IBM has teamed up with medical device maker Medtronic to develop a mobile app that’s designed to work as an early warning sign for people with diabetes about the dangers of 'going low' on their blood sugar levels. Here's how it works, and why it could literally prove to be a life-saver.
CleanseBot is like a handheld Roomba vacuum that kills germs with UV light
CleanseBot is a smart cleaning and disinfecting robot that emits UV-C light to kill 99.9 percent of germs -- without needing any nasty chemicals to do so. Here's how you can get your hands on one as soon as humanly possible -- and why this is the gadget you need in 2019.
British Army tests autonomous glider drone for transporting supplies, soldiers
The British Army is currently testing out an unorthodox glider-based drone that could one day be used to resupply troops or deliver humanitarian aid in locations that would ordinarily be inaccessible. It could even be used for transporting wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
Patient receives 3D-printed rib implant in breakthrough procedure
A patient in Bulgaria recently received one of the first 3D-printed rib transplants as part of a potentially lifesaving operation. It demonstrated a new approach to create artificial ribs, using a process that's both cheaper and materially superior to alternative methods.
No vein, no gain: Wax hand beats the latest vein-recognition systems
Forget Face ID, the next frontier of biometric security tech could involve reading your vein prints. Or could it? This week, a team of security researchers showcased how the latest vein-reading security systems can be fooled by a fake wax hand containing printed vein details.
An experimental drug could help fight memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients
An experimental drug that was developed to treat depression could also help battle the memory loss effects associated with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers from UCLA have discovered. In tests involving mice, the drug was shown to help improve memory. Here's how it works.