Tummy ache? Swallow this sensor-studded pill to get a diagnosis on your phone
Imagine popping a pill which can then monitor your insides for potential signs of poor health. That’s what a team of researchers from MIT have been working on with a pill-sized ingestible capsule that's designed to monitor blood in the GI tract. Here's how it could help save your life.
Smartphones may get ‘smell-o-vision’ thanks to this tiny electronic nose
Researchers from Germany have been developing an “electronic nose” that's capable of sniffing out a range of different scents faster than a human can. It could help give your future smartphone an in-built smoke detector or the ability to sniff out bad meat. Here's how it works.
Drone propellors are great at slicing fingers — this $20 sensor prevents that
For drones to truly become everyday technologies, it's important that they learn to play nice. Researchers in Australia have developed a smart $20 sensor add-on which will stop a quadcopter's rotors if your fingers get too close to the blade -- and do so within just 0.06 seconds.
8 Amazing CRISPR projects that could change life as we know it
Since it burst onto the scene a decade ago, CRISPR-Cas9 has shaken the field of genetics to its core with a genome editing tool that’s faster, cheaper and more accurate than previous methods. Here are eight examples of amazing CRISPR projects with the potential to change the world.
Watch Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot evolve from a stagger to a sprint
For the past five years, Boston Dynamics' incredible Atlas robot has lived up to A.I. expert Gary Bradski’s 2013 statement that “a new species, Robo sapiens, [is] emerging.” Here are seven significant landmarks and milestones that have passed on Atlas' journey to robot A-lister.
Surgeons might soon train in VR simulations instead of using real cadavers
It’s not the most glamorous part of medicine, but cadavers are an essential resource for trainees. Unfortunately, they're in short supply. However, the latest 3D scanning and VR technology could create virtual cadavers to allow trainees to carry out realistic simulated dissections.
30 percent fewer taxis in New York City could be an improvement, MIT says
The right algorithm could have a massive impact on the number of taxis needed in a city. Researchers from MIT have created an ultra-efficient dispatching algorithm that they say could slash the size of a city’s fleet of taxis by 30 percent. All thanks to the power of math!
French chemists have an ingenious new use for rotten, discarded wine grapes
Researchers from the University of Clermont Auvergne in France have found a way to turn the waste grape skins, stems and seeds left behind during wine production into more durable plastics. The results could be used to strengthen plastics and bioplastics intended for outdoor use.
Fussy, hungry, or in pain? This app accurately translates your baby’s cries
Machine translation can help tell us what people are saying when they speak other languages. Could artificial intelligence also decipher what a baby is trying to communicate when it cries? The makers of a new smartphone app for both iOS and Android certainly claim it can.
Snore-cancelling headphones are finally here, and they’re absolutely brilliant
Do you have a spouse or significant other who snores? If you’re not willing to call it quits on your relationship in the name of a good night’s sleep, you may want to check out these QuietOn Sleep earbuds. Using cutting edge noise-cancelling tech they promise to block out low-frequency sounds.
It sounds crazy, but jet thrusters on a motorbike may actually make it safer
When you hear the words “motorbike” and “jet thruster” together, your next thought probably isn’t, “Wow, that sure sounds safe.” In this case, however, you may be wrong. Researchers at Bosch have developed jet thrusters for motorbikes which actually make the experience safer.
Watch Disney’s Stickman robot show off its amazing acrobatic skills
Disney's Stickman is an unorthodox robot capable of performing some spectacular acrobatic flips. These involve the stick-like robot swinging from a near-20 foot ceiling-mounted wire, then tucking into a ball to perform its amazing, well-calculated athletic feats. Check it out.
Looking for a drummer that won’t argue with you? Spider-like robot fits the bill
This oddball robotic creation is designed to play the cajón, the box-shaped drum that hails from Peru. Play, sing, or rap and Cabot will accompany you in the background by tapping out a handy rhythm to augment your jam session. Here's how you can get your hands on one.
This robot taught itself how to walk and it’s as clumsy as a newborn deer
Created by researchers at the University of Oslo, DyRET (Dynamic Robot for Embodied Testing) is a quadruped robot which has learned how to walk on its own. The results may look clumsy, but there's a good chance that all robots will one day use similar tech to figure out their environments.
Florida police are using Amazon’s creepy real-time facial-recognition tech
According to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, Amazon recently sold access to its real-time “Rekognition” facial recognition tech to the Orlando, Florida police department, which could potentially use it as part of its future crime-solving goals.
No sun? No problem — this solar panel harvests energy from raindrops, too
We’re used to solar panels which can harvest power from sunlight. But how about a new type of solar cell that’s able to generate power from raindrops, even when the rain falls in the middle of the night? It sounds impossible, but it's just been demonstrated by researchers in China.
Think your apartment’s tiny? This micro-house is no wider than three human hairs
Created as a demonstration of a brand-new nanorobotic system, this “micro-house” measures just 300 x 300 micrometers, about as wide as three human hairs. The house can sit on one end of an optical fiber. It serves as a demonstration of future nanoscale creations manufactured with a robot.
Addicted to your smartphone? Ironically, there is an app for that
There’s plenty of concern right now about the possible dangers of smartphone addiction, particularly among kids and teenagers. A new Android app called Siempo wants to help you kick the smartphone habit -- or, at least, stop you wasting quite so much time staring at it.
This portable grill transforms your bike into a rolling BBQ
Created by German entrepreneur Carolin Kunert, the Knister Grill is a handlebar-mounted barbecue that lets you transport grill, charcoal, food, and utensils by pedal power. Simply hook it to the handlebars of your bike, then remove it when you arrive, and extend it to twice its traveling size.
If ‘Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots’ debuted today, they’d probably look like this
Looking for a 21st-century update on the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots? Super Anthony is a smartphone-controlled “beetleweight fighting robot” which stands at 15-inches high, weighs 4.6 pounds, and boasts an assortment of martial arts moves. Here's how you can get your hands on one.
A.I. border agents could use machine smarts to tell if travelers are lying
If you're at an airport or border crossing in the next few years, you could possibly find yourself answering questions asked by a surly artificial intelligence -- with very little tolerance for lying. Such technology is reportedly being investigated in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Surgery-free ‘nasal airway remodeler’ boosts airflow in congested patients’ noses
Tens of millions of Americans suffer from sinus pain and inflammation due to obstruction of the nasal cavity. Aerin Medical has developed a noninvasive device designed to help solve this problem with minimal discomfort and long-lasting results. Best of all? No surgery is required.
The Internet is sick. Here’s how Mozilla is making it healthy again
Recently the Mozilla Foundation brought together thousands of open source activists and engineers at more than 60 events, in locations as far apart as Portland, Toronto, London and New Delhi, for its Global Sprint hackathon event. Their goal? To make the internet a better place. Is that one hack too far?
Touch-free device uses a frickin’ laser to monitor your well-being from afar
Whether it’s heart rate, breathing rate or muscle activity, there are wearable devices capable of measuring just about biometric data point you can think of. But a new device created by Israeli scientists can do the same thing from a distance without touching you -- using a laser beam.
New cryptocurrency is backed by global financial giant Goldman Sachs
Circle, a payment startup that’s backed by multinational investment banking leviathan Goldman Sachs, has just announced the launch of its very own bitcoin rival. Called Circle USD Coin, it’s the first cryptocurrency to be created and released by one of the world’s leading financial giants.
Here’s how to hack an Ikea lamp and transform it into a mixed-reality projector
Do you have access to a lamp, a 3D printer, a few electronics components, and a bit of free time? If so, you could hack together a pretty awesome creation -- a nifty user interface projector that’s bound to enliven your home. Here's what it does -- and why you totally need one.
A drone made out of pizza? This YouTuber shows you just how to dough it
How do you like your drones: Fixed-wing or multirotor? Civilian or military? Thin-crust or Chicago-style? That’s the question you’ll be asking yourself after a new video from a drone-mad YouTuber, who recently built a functioning drone out of pizza. But was he able to eat it afterward?
Scientists will use use stem cells to grow ‘mini brains’ using Neanderthal DNA
Researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology are working to create miniature brains containing Neanderthal DNA. The project will use CRISPR gene editing and induced pluripotent stem cells to shed light on fundamental neurological questions.
You won’t even need to dress yourself in the future — thanks to robots like this
Chalk it up to a misspent youth watching The Jetsons if you want, but we’ve always kind of liked the idea of a home robot that can dress you in the morning. Thankfully, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology are working to make such a tech dream a reality.
Powered by a laser, this insect-sized RoboFly can take off and land wirelessly
Researchers from the University of Washington have developed a fly-sized robot they hope could be used to access places inaccessible to regular-sized drones. The RoboFly, which is only marginally heavier than a toothpick, can take off and land completely wirelessly. Check it out.
Ridy smart camera will alert drivers when they’re drowsy or distracted
Ridy is a forthcoming smart camera that attaches to your car dashboard or windshield. Using impressive machine learning technology, it can watch your face as you drive to notice behavior which suggests that you are tired or distracted. Here's how to get your hands on one.
Doctors in Britain are zeroing in on a universal cure for the common cold
The common cold could get a bit less common if researchers from the U.K.’s Imperial College London have anything to do with it. They have developed and lab-tested a new molecule that could help battle the cold virus by stopping it from hijacking human cells. Here's how it works.
X-ray laser heats water to 180,000 degrees in a fraction of a second
In our busy 24/7 world, no one has time to sit and wait for a kettle to boil, do they? Fortunately, a new experiment suggests we might not have to wait those agonizing 3-4 minutes each day any more -- provided that we can get hold of a super powerful X-ray laser, that is.
Disposable plastic straws are a huge polluter. This keychain could change that
Every single day, Americans throw away an estimated 500 million single-use plastic straws. A new handy portable implement aims to do something about that, and in a way that’s as stylish as it is eco-friendly. Step forward and take a bow, FinalStraw. Now available on Kickstarter.