8 times that movie and TV sci-fi got the future right
Sci-fi movies and TV don't always get the future right. But they don't do badly, either, as this list makes clear.
DARPA's new smart sensor is powered by the infrared it's designed to detect
Researchers have developed a smart sensor for DARPA that’s capable of identifying infrared -- without having to have its own power source.
AI assistants will soon recognize and respond to the emotion in your voice
Emotion-tracking AI company Affectiva has developed technology for understanding how you're feeling based on your voice.
Delivery drones just set a new distance record for transporting blood samples
Researchers from Johns Hopkins have set a new delivery distance record for medical drones by flying blood samples 259 kilometers.
Shape-forming robo-swarms show potential for robot cooperation
Researchers in Belgium have developed a new way of getting individual robots to work together in a type of innovative swarm intelligence.
Smart sensors will make sure you lift with your knees bent and back straight
Researchers in Canada have developed smart sensors to make sure you're lifting with proper form, in a way that's not going to hurt your back.
Touchscreen technology could help fight spread of bacteria in hospitals
Scientists from Sweden have demonstrated how touchscreen technology can be used to "trick" bacteria into not growing.
Defense giant BAE wants to replace fighter jet controls with augmented reality
Defense giant BAE Systems thinks that augmented reality technology is the future of control systems for fighter planes.
Self-assembling nanoparticles turn this window into a mirror and back
Researchershave developed a smart window which transitions between being transparent and mirrored with the press of a button.
AI could help stop people from dangerously texting and driving
Texting while driving is an incredibly irresponsible, potentially dangerous thing to engage in. Researchers think AI can help.
Humidity is all it takes to kill this device — and that's a good thing
New type of self-destructing electronic device can dissolve following nothing more than exposure to humidity in the atmosphere.
Facial recognition could help identify people even when they wear a disguise
Computer scientists have developed a facial-recognition system that can identify people even when they are wearing disguises.
A new leather material is not only super strong, it's also paper-thin
New bonded leather material is not only paper-thin, it's also infused with a material that's 15x stronger than steel.
Cornell engineers show why a robotic third arm is the ultimate productivity hack
Cornell University engineers have built an extra robotic arm attachment. Now they want to show why it's useful.
Keychain device warns of dangerous allergens in your food before you eat it
Worried about food allergies? Harvard researchers have developed a smart keychain analyzer that acts as a portable detector for allergens.
Forget biopsies — this smart pen identifies cancerous tissue in 10 seconds
Researchers from the University of Texas have developed a device called the MasSpec Pen, which is capable of detecting cancer in seconds.
A clever new analog clock doesn’t tell time — it tells you people’s location
Much like the Weasley's magic clock from Harry Potter, the Eta Clock will tell you where your loved ones are at any time of the day.
A glider just set a new engineless flight record by soaring to 52,000 feet
Pilots have set a new altitude record for engineless gliding, soaring to heights of more than 52,000 feet over Argentina.
Amazing (and slightly creepy) robotic mask changes in response to your emotions
A team of designers from London has developed a soft-robotics mask which changes its pattern as you alter your expression.
Cars have airbags, so why shouldn’t your robot co-worker?
Cars have airbags to protect us vulnerable humans from damage, so why shouldn’t robots offer similar protection? Now they can.
Electric jet company Lilium receives $90M to make flying cars a reality
Venture capitalists invested $90 million in German aviation startup Lilium Aviation to bring electric flying cars to market.
New gene editing tech promises to be even better than CRISPR
Just when we were getting used to the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing revolution, a new “fourth-generation” DNA base editor has come along.
Saved by the bill: 3D-printed beak gives Karl the hornbill a new lease on life
A hornbill at Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian's National Zoo can feed himself once again -- courtesy of a brand new 3D-printed prosthetic beak.
New medical imaging camera in the U.K. can see through the human body
Scientists have developed an amazing new imaging medical camera that’s capable of seeing through the human body to detect light sources.
The world’s largest X-ray laser is now officially open for business
The European XFEL, the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, has officially opened for business in Germany. Here's why that matters so much.
MIT researchers built an algorithm that can predict how much pain you're in
Researchers at MIT developed a machine learning algorithm that’s able to predict how much pain a person is in by looking at an image.
Moai is like a Roomba for your fish tank that also live-streams underwater video
Moai is a camera-toting, glass-cleaning robot that will autonomously propel itself around your fish tank, scouring algae as it goes.
New, more durable solar cells inspired by honeycomb design of insect eyes
Investigators from Stanford University have developed an innovative new solar cell design that's inspired by the eyes of insects.
Light-controlled nanoscale buzz saws kill cancer cells by drilling holes in them
Nanoscale motorized molecules act like tiny buzz saws by drilling holes in the membrane of individual cells -- either to kill or save them.
Machine learning can predict simulated earthquakes by listening to fault lines
In lab tests involving simulated earthquakes, researchers demonstrated that machine learning can play a role in predicting tremors.
New bioengineering method repairs donor lungs, permitting transplantation
New bioengineering research from Columbia University can repair donor lungs which would otherwise be rejected for transplant.