Next time you want to get your eyes tested, you may not have to visit the optician — you could test your eyes yourself at home using a new gadget that was named an Innovation Awards Honoree at CES 2019. The EyeQue VisionCheck is an automated optical device that lets you measure your eyes’ refractive […]
Emerging Tech
Ubtech’s new and improved robot assistants take a bow at CES 2019
[embedded content] Chinese company Ubtech debuted its new, improved Walker humanoid robot and Cruzr service robot at CES 2019, reminding us that we’re closer than ever to living in the kind of future promised to us decades ago by The Jetsons. Walker, which made an appearance at last year’s Las Vegas event, has seemingly spent […]
Robot delivery startup woos Walmart for trial run in Arizona
It was a year ago this month that San Francisco-based startup Udelv laid claim to the world’s first autonomous grocery delivery service on public roads after partnering with Draeger’s Market for a trial operation in San Mateo, California. Since then it’s signed a deal to use 10 of its autonomous delivery vans to transport orders […]
Taste test: The new Impossible Burger is a triumph of food engineering
Impossible Foods I’m calling it early this year. The new Impossible Burger is the most impressive thing on display at CES 2019. Hands down. Forget about Samsung’s monstrous new OLED screen, forget whatever Google is doing this year. As far as I’m concerned, the most incredible thing at the show this year is a hamburger […]
Food 2.0: Impossible Foods is back with a bloody new non-beef burger
Impossible Foods In a world of startups making shrimp out of red algae and 3D-printed beefsteaks, Impossible Food — makers of the bleedable veggie burger — stands as the best-known company in this brave new world of next-gen eatables. At CES 2019, the company announced its Impossible Burger version 2.0, the first time its recipe […]
This futuristic autonomous pod hotel drives you around as you sleep
[embedded content] A world of self-driving cars is going to give us a whole lot more time, during which we would previously have been behind the wheel, to spend on everything from sending emails and watching Netflix to, well, getting a few extra hours of shut-eye. Focusing on this latter scenario, Toronto-based design studio Aprilli […]
Exciton transistors could create the energy-efficient electronics of the future
Last year, researchers at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland developed a new type of transistor — one based on excitons, a special type of quasiparticle — which could be used in the future to make electronic devices smaller, faster, and more efficient. And now the same team has made another breakthrough […]
Dark matter heats up and moves around in dwarf galaxies during star formation
The exact nature of dark matter is one of the enduring questions of physics, as it is difficult to identify and has many mysterious manifestations. Now a team from the University of Surrey, U.K., has discovered that dark matter can be heated up and can move around a galaxy due to star formation. The scientists […]
Artificial soil made from lava rock allows growing of food in space
Fresh greens in space? Recent research has looked into how plants respond to low levels of gravity and a particular hormone which can help plants grow in challenging space conditions. Now, new research has succeeded in growing plants in high-tech planters which use artificial soil made from lava rock. Plants in climate-regulated growth chambers Silje […]
Indiegogo claims 2018 was its most successful year with 1,300 success stories
In 2018, Indiegogo campaigns took 1,300 products from ideas to shipped products. The crowdfunding platform shared the statistic for the first time at the start of the new year, along with reviewing milestones like new partnerships designed to bring more projects to life. Last year, about 1.4 million people made 2.1 million contributions to projects […]
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, Chinese state media announced this week. According to China’s National Space Administration, the Chang’e 4 probe landed in the moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin crater late Thursday evening, Beijing time. The probe […]
With new autonomous train, Australia is now home to the world’s largest robot
When you hear that the world’s largest robot has gone live in Australia, your mind might conjure up something like an anime-style giant mech. In fact, the announcement comes from iron ore mining company Rio Tinto, which recently launched its fully automated rail network: A series of mine-to-port trains able to run completely free from human […]
The best robot kits for kids
Are you a parent or teacher investigating robot kits for children? If do, you likely don’t want a simple solution with a single purpose — you want the child to experience science, technology, engineering, and math? We get it. You want a kit that teaches all four categories, from piecing together the foundation to wiring the […]
British Army tests autonomous glider drone for transporting supplies, soldiers
Animal Dynamics The idea of a drone delivering our Amazon orders sounds pretty darn rad, but a key innovation that delivery drones offer is being able to transport supplies to places where they might not otherwise be safely or easily delivered. With this goal in mind, the British Army is currently testing out an unorthodox […]
Rain ruined the NYPD’s first chance to use security drones at a major event
The New York Police Department (NYPD) discovered the limitations of current drone technology on New Year’s Eve when rain forced it to cancel plans to use the machine as part of its security operation during the celebrations in Times Square. The NYPD’s Chief Terence Monahan confirmed in a tweet that the police department’s quadcopters wouldn’t […]