Festo’s cuttlefish-inspired robot looks like it escaped an alien aquarium
Built by pioneering German automation company Festo, this cuttlefish-inspired robot may look weird, but it's capable of some pretty impressive feats. It's able to maneuver through the water by undulating its fins. In the real world, the robot could be used for underwater inspection.
Smart door attachment slows house fires with devilishly simple technique
Question: What smart home gadget do you hope you'll never have to use? Answer: The one which only works in the event that a fire is detected in your house. Co-created by a professional firefighter, LifeDoor is just such a device. Here's how it works, and why you may need one.
‘Zero gravity’ champagne bottle lets you celebrate in outer space
What kind of champagne do astronauts pop on special occasions? No, it's not the setup for a joke, but the question answered by respected French champagne maker Mumm International with its new champagne, which is designed to be consumed in zero gravity. Coming soon to a space station near you.
U.K. drone company sets flying record that could be a big boost for autonomy
For drones to be as useful as they can be, it is crucial that they are able to fly beyond the visible line of sight of their pilot. U.K. company SenSat this week set a new record, flying 7.5 miles using a fixed-wing drone under these conditions. Here's why that is so important.
This algorithm turns World Cup games into 3D augmented reality
Researchers from the University of Washington created a way to get you closer to your favorite sports action: An algorithm which can turn 2D live-action televised soccer into a 3D augmented reality re-creation. Here's how it works, and how they've demonstrated it so far.
Move over, antibiotics! Cold plasma could be the next great way to treat wounds
A German company called Coldplasmatech has created a cold plasma patch, which uses ions and UV radiation to treat infections in chronic wounds as an alternative to the application of antibiotics. Think of it like Star Trek's dermal regenerator technology brought to life. Here's how it works.
The Titan underwater drone promises to go deeper than its rivals
Think that all drones are destined to be in the sky? Titan is a new underwater drone which can dive to depths of up to 150 meters below the waves. It can document this stunning deep underwater world courtesy of a 4K camera, while maneuvering about with six thrusters. Here's how you can get one.
Color-changing LED stools let you know if you’re sitting with bad posture
German researchers at Fraunhofer have developed special color-changing LED stools which monitor your weight distribution to let you know if you're sitting with bad posture. Heck, you can even use them to play movement-controlled classic arcade games, as a way to make exercise fun!
Why a 19-year-old Bitcoin millionaire built a working Dr. Octopus suit
What would you do if you were a 19-year-old kid with $3.3 million? There are few people more equipped to answer that than teenaged bitcoin millionaire Erik Finman. His answer? You use some of that cash to build a Doctor Octopus-style exosuit and try and shake up the education system.
To give bees a break, farmers pollinated an apple orchard using drones
A New York orchard recently called in local drone startup Dropcopter and its pollen-spreading UAVs to perform the world’s first apple orchard pollination by drone. Tools like this could help keep farm costs down while helping with pollination at a time bee populations are declining.
9 bizarre drones, from web slingers to lake hoppers
While most people know what to expect from a drone in 2018, there are still plenty of unusual projects taking place in research labs and R&D centers that are making us question everything we know about UAVs. Here are 9 of the weirdest, coolest and most unusual drones today.
Starship Technologies gets the cash to make its delivery robot dream a reality
Drone delivery company Starship Technologies has raised an additional $25 million with the goal of expanding its fast-growing fleet of six-wheeled delivery robots. Next year, it aims to have more than 1,000 of them in action at campuses and neighborhoods around the world.
MIT trained an A.I. using morbid Reddit captions, and it became a psychopath
Named after Psycho’s Norman Bates, MIT's new Norman project is billed as the world’s first psychopath A.I. Shown randomly generated inkblot tests, it offers disturbing interpretations like 'man gets pulled into dough machine.' And they've got a good reason for doing it.
Robot-controlled table lets you manipulate liquid rocket fuel with your face
We love ferrofluid. We love robots. And we love amazing A.I. tech like face tracking. This amazing robotic table, which uses face tracking to manipulate liquid rocket fuel pixels, is therefore right up our alley. Check it out in all its amazing beauty here. We want one badly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Freakishly accurate A.I. security system identifies you based on your footsteps
Researchers from the U.K. and Spain have developed a new A.I. biometric verification method which can accurately identify individuals based entirely on how they walk across a pressure pad on the floor. The technology could one day be usefully employed in places like airports.
We may be ready for autonomous cars, but how about self-driving bikes?
A U.K.-based company, AB Dynamics, has created a self-driving motorbike. The reason? To help simulate real world driving conditions on test tracks which could help make future autonomous or semi-autonomous cars smarter. Check it out in all its amazing self-balancing glory.
Clever new method solves VR’s ‘infinite walking’ problem by tricking your brain
By exploiting an involuntary eye movement that humans use to orient themselves in physical space, VR researchers from Stony Brook University, Nvidia and Adobe have found a way to make infinite walking possible in virtual reality. It sounds impossible, but here's how it works.
Watching liquid crystals undulate under a microscope will melt your brain
Liquid crystals are all kinds of awesome. Want some proof? This trippy music video for musician Max Cooper uses footage shot by scientist and engineer Ben Outram, showing liquid crystals under the microscope. Check this remarkable footage out in all its mind-bending, hallucinogenic glory here.
This desktop ornament tracks the value of cryptocurrency using a … seesaw?
Want a more entertaining way to track currencies? The Market is a kinetic smart sculpture ornament of a bull and a bear on a seesaw, which tilts in real-time to reflect actual day-over-day changes in capital markets. It's totally steampunk, and you can pre-order it right now.
In Boston’s newest restaurant, all the chefs are robots
Four recent MIT graduates just launched a new fast-food restaurant in Boston called Spyce. Its hook? The fact that all the meals are prepared to order by a kitchen full of robots. Not only does this add novelty, but the automation also keeps the food prices down to $7.50 a meal.