Curious what you’re missing when you blink? This new wearable records it
Have you ever heard the expression "blink and you'll miss it?" Researchers from Germany’s University of the Arts Bremen have come up with a device to help solve that problem -- and it’s either the best or most useless wearable we’ve heard about in ages. Here is how it works.
Can’t get enough of ‘Doom’? A.I. can generate an infinite number of new levels
Researchers from Italy have developed an artificial neural network that’s capable of generating a theoretically infinite number of new levels of the classic 1993 first-person-shooter 'Doom'. If you've spent the past 25 years wishing 'Doom' would never end, today is your lucky day!
Stimulating brains with lasers can create ‘Matrix’-like false experiences
At the University of California at Berkeley, researchers have been busy exploring ways to project holograms directly into the brain -- and that could totally turn out to be a good thing. Think of it like 'Inception' meets next-generation healthcare. Here's how it all works.
From drones to bionic arms, here are 8 examples of amazing mind-reading tech
Brain-computer interfaces may be poised to become a bigger part of our lives, but that doesn't mean they're not here already. Here are eight examples of amazing pieces of mind-reading technology that are already being explored in some of the world’s most exciting research labs.
Put down the smartwatch! Xenxo S-Ring packs 12 features into a tiny wearable
Many of us have a smartwatch these days, so if you really want to stay ahead of the tech crowd, you’ll need a new and impressive wearable device. A new smart ring promises to replace your bulky wristband wearable with a device that has much of the same functionality, but fits on just one single digit of your hand.
Sorry, Spider-Man! Newly developed bio-fiber is even stronger than spider silk
Researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a new biomaterial that's stronger than all previous bio-based materials, both fabricated and natural. That includes previous record holder dragline spider silk fibers. Here's how they were able to create it.
Forget clocks — this giant robotic sundial is the coolest timepiece ever
Shown off recently at Milan Design Week, Sunny Side Up is a fresh take on the sundial, a millennia-old method of telling the time based on where the sun is in the sky. Only in this case, the sun is replaced with a freaking giant robot arm. Check it out in all its time-telling glory.
Potential cocaine breathalyzer uses nanoparticles to look for drug abuse
Researchers from the the U.S. and China have developed a low cost chip which can reportedly detect the presence of cocaine in only a few minutes. If all goes according to plan, they hope that it will lead to the development of a portable breathalyzer-style device for uncovering drug abuse.
Need to cut back on your salt? In-mouth sensor tracks sodium intake in real time
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a smart sensor that's capable of providing highly sensitive, real-time monitoring of sodium intake. This information can then be sent to a smartphone. It could be a game changer for people with high blood pressure.
Doctors successfully perform the world’s first robot-assisted spinal surgery
What kind of surgeon do you call in when you’re dealing with an incredibly complex, rare procedure involving a cancerous tumor which affects just 1 in 1 million people each year? According to neurosurgeons at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the answer is a robot one.
Record-breaking solar still purifies water with clever geometry and … paper?
There is nothing new about the idea of using the sun’s energy to evaporate and purify water. But researchers from the University at Buffalo have found a way to improve this concept -- and, in the process, to sanitize water at what appear to be record-breaking rates. Here's how the new process works.
Watch a Lego robot prepare a perfect egg and bacon breakfast
We love Lego. We love robots. And we sure love breakfast. So what could be better than a Lego-based robot ready and willing to cook you breakfast? Fortunately, that's exactly what a father and son YouTube duo have created with their awesome new Breakfast Machine. Check it out.
Before Google’s lifelike Duplex A.I., these chatbots paved the way
The amazing Google Duplex feature Google unveiled at its Google IO event is just the latest in a long line of smart chatbot technologies designed to emulate human conversations using machine technology. Here are the 10 of the most significant milestones we passed to reach this point.
A defense company is building a drone that can fly continuously for one year
An average drone has a flight time of around 10 to 20 minutes. A new solar electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being developed by British companies BAE Systems and Prismatic is aiming to smash that figure -- with a drone that can fly for one entire year without landing.
This ‘skin printer’ is like a magic wand for healing wounds
Imagine a version of the kind of duct tape dispenser you can buy from Home Depot, only instead of rolling out pieces of tape it can produce a sheet of skin tissue to cover a wound. That's what researchers from the University of Toronto are developing -- and they've built a prototype.
66-year-old Alan Turing paper inspires new water-purification technique
Father of computer science Alan Turing only ever published one chemistry paper. Here in 2018, it's being used as the basis for new research coming out of China, responsible for a more efficient nanofiltration method for removing the salt from saltwater to make it drinkable.
Scientists put a crocodile in an fMRI machine and played it Bach. Here’s why
Researchers in Germany recently scanned a live crocodile’s brain in an fMRI machine, while playing it the classical music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The reason? To explore the neurobiology of one of Earth's most prehistoric-looking animals. Here's what they were able to find out.
7 ways we’ll interact with computers in the future
The means by which we interact with computers are changing. So put down your mouse and keyboard, because here are seven of the ways we’ll interact with machines in the decades to come. From voice control to brain interfaces, get ready to meet the future of computer interfaces.
Watch the SureFly two-person hybrid-electric copter make its maiden hover
Ohio-based company Workhorse’s SureFly hybrid-electric helicopter has finally lifted off. Well, at least by a few feet off the ground. “A five-foot hover might not seem like a big deal, but what it does is to answer the question: Will it fly, yes or no?” says CEO Steve Burns.
Inside the ambitious plan to decode and digitize the Vatican Secret Archives
Cutting-edge technology that unlocks long-forgotten Vatican secrets? No, it’s not the latest Dan Brown thriller, but a large-scale project in Italy involving smart artificial intelligence, an almost mind-boggling amount of handwritten documents, multiple universities, and 120 high school students.
These contact lenses use a stunningly simple technique to correct color blindness
Color-blindness affects approximately 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women around the world, and researchers from the U.K.’s University of Birmingham are here to help. They’ve developed contact lenses that use special dyes to filter out confusing wavelengths of light. Here's how.
Funding Nemo: Kickstarter underwater drone streams 4K footage from the deep
Looking for a way to make your summer trips to the beach a bit more memorable? Newly launched on Kickstarter, Nemo is an underwater drone that offers 4K streaming from up to 100 meters beneath the waves. From VR to high-res stills snaps, here's why this one sounds great.
A new A.I. can guess your personality type based on your eye movements
Researchers from Australia and Germany have developed a machine learning artificial intelligence system that is able to predict a person’s personality type by looking into their eyes. Or, more accurately, looking at the way their eyes move. Here's how the A.I. system works.
Google’s first-ever VR Doodle pays homage to cinema special effects pioneer
Google Doodles, the one-off alterations of the logo on Google’s homepage, have been delighting users since 1998. But there’s never been a Google Doodle like its latest: The first-ever virtual reality Doodle. Appropriately enough, it pays homage to one of cinema's greatest illusionists.
Want to learn to play bass guitar? Fret Zealot teaches rhythm section wannabes
Remember how the Guitar Hero game made us all feel like we were one wrecked hotel room and a pair of uncomfortably tight leather pants away from being rock gods? Fret Zealot uses a similar idea (the Guitar Hero bit, not the hotel room-trashing and tight pants) to help you master the guitar for real.
Experimental contact lenses could let you shoot lasers from your eyes. Seriously
Researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland are developing ultrathin contact lenses capable of firing laser beams. And, while that may totally sound like a futuristic weapon, it's actually an intriguing new method for authenticating a person's identity. Move over Touch ID!
Harvard is getting ready to resurrect the woolly mammoth
Harvard University’s ambitions to bring back the woolly mammoth appear to be gaining some momentum -- and the researchers on the project are gearing up to publicly share some of the details of this real life Jurassic Park-style dream. Here's what their upcoming paper will describe.
This self-balancing one-wheeled motorcycle looks extra terrifying
Built by madcap Brit John Dingley, this self-balancing electric one-wheeled motorcycle is referred to as the Mega Hub Motor Electric Unicycle. We can't work out whether we desperately want one or would be absolutely terrified to drive it? We're thinking a little bit of both.
Robotic exosuits will make us better, stronger, faster, right? Not necessarily!
Like Iron Man's amazing armor, the dream of robot exosuits is that they can give human wearers vastly increased strength, speed and endurance with no negative repercussions. A new study from Ohio State University suggests that some of our optimism may be a bit misplaced.
RocketBody tracks your metabolism to tell you when to eat and work out
Let’s face it: Sometimes you get to the gym and your body tells you it would really rather be doing anything else instead! A newly launched Kickstarter project for the RocketBody wearable promises to help, courtesy of a device which tells you when your body is primed and ready to train.
8 Amazing accessories that could make virtual reality even more immersive
Virtual reality headsets can be pretty darn amazing, but its controllers could certainly do more to make the virtual experience even more immersive. From brain zapping technologies to full body haptic suits, here are eight examples of technology which promise to take VR to the next level.
From vaping to drones, 8 tech trends we may look back on and cringe
Believe it or not, folks used to insulate their homes with asbestos and smoke on airplanes without worry. What is the technology we use today which may prompt similar 'what were they thinking?' reactions in just a few decades' time? Here are our picks for eight such trends.
Nerve-stimulating algorithm gives prosthetic limbs a lasting sense of touch
Researchers at the University of Illinois have found a way to use electric current to provide sensory feedback to the wearers of prosthetic limbs. The results promise to help make prostheses feel less like tools and more like extensions of the body. Here's how it works.
Disney and MIT made a jacket that mimics feeling of snakes slithering on you
By inflating and deflating various air-filled pockets, this smart haptic jacket designed by Disney Research, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon can simulate a wide range of sensations. These include everything from racing heartbeats to the sensation of slime dripping down a person’s back.