Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech

Emerging Tech

ghost robotics military bots ghostrobotics2

Meet Ghost Robotics, the Boston Dynamics of combat bots

Ghost’s quadruped bots are the scary older brother of every other dog robot you’ve ever seen. And with good reason. They’re shipping off to join the military.
best robots of 2020 robot razor cropped

Robots progressed by leaps and bounds in 2020. These were the highlights

The past 12 months have given us no shortage of big breakthroughs and amazing applications of robotics technology. Here's a quick recap of our favorites
pass ocean mapping stanford airbornesonarconcept

This clever new technique could help us map the ocean floor — from the sky

The overwhelming majority of Earth’s oceans are an unexplored mystery. But thanks to a groundbreaking innovation from Stanford University, that may soon change
the most exclusive apple product of all time best 2020 physical award 12022020 big jpg large 2x

Behind the scenes: How Apple designed its most exclusive product ever

Limited to a run of exactly 15, this is Apple’s most exclusive product of all time. It’s pretty amazing – but not as amazing as the people it honors. 
DJI Mini 2 in the air

The best Cyber Week drone deals for 2020

Whether you're planning to shoot aerial footage or just have some fun with friends or family, you'll find great Cyber Week drone deals.
Gordon Ramsey teaching in MasterClass.

MasterClass BOGO offer on online courses returns for Cyber Monday

Buy one MasterClass all-access pass and get one free to share with a loved one this holiday season.
brain network on veins illustration

Digitizing your brain: Sci-fi pipe dream, or scientific possibility?

Hooking your brain up to a computer and digitizing your consciousness has long been a staple of science fiction -- but is such a thing possible in real life?
ai bee brain opteran

How A.I. bumblebee brains could usher in a new era for navigation

U.K startup Opteran Technologies has a bold plan to revolutionize navigation. Instead of relying on GPS, it wants to give autonomous cars A.I. bumblebee brains
homes with secret passages wine cellar hidden 1

Keep it secret, keep it safe: 8 homes with hidden rooms and passages

Whether behind a bookcase or beneath a trapdoor, these eight regal dwellings each contain one or more secret rooms, hidden passageways, or covert architecture.
6 important tech tasks you should get over with while social distancing chores computer privacy getty

The digital switch that blocks all websites from selling your personal data

Some of the internet's most influential organizations are joining forces to formalize a new privacy tool that'll protect your data with a single click.
Arecibo Observatory's 305-meter telescope in November of 2020.

The end of Arecibo: The era of giant telescopes is coming to a close

One of astronomy's most famous telescopes, the Arecibo Observatory, is shutting down. And its closure may mark the beginning of the end for giant telescopes.
spacex starlink gps earth satellites

How SpaceX could transform Starlink into an ultraprecise GPS network

SpaceX is building the Starlink satellite network in hopes of blanketing the globe in broadband, but it could also be used for a second purpose: GPS
gps alternatives john deere qualcomm johndeere gps2

Measuring microns: The quest to build a better GPS

Existing GPS systems simply aren't precise enough for certain applications, so companies like John Deere and Qualcomm are building something better
Deepfake President Donald Trump and former president Barack Obama

How artists and activists are using deepfakes as a force for good

Deepfakes aren't just being used to create porn and misinformation. Nowadays, creators all over the globe are using the tech for prosocial endeavors
AI in education kid with robot

A.I. teaching assistants could help fill the gaps created by virtual classrooms

Distance learning has created a disconnect between teachers and students. Can A.I. help fill that void?
robotic agility progress cassie the robot

Leaps, bounds, and beyond: Robot agility is progressing at a feverish pace

Robots are often depicted as clunky, ungainly creations that walk with slow, halting steps. But in recent years, robots have gone from clumsy to acrobatic.
planet buster nuclear weapon earth explosion

Planet busters: We asked a physicist what it would take to obliterate Earth

The planet-busting nuclear bomb is a classic science fiction trope. But is it really possible to build a nuke big enough to obliterate the globe?
tech gifts for the whole family best 2020

The 17 best tech gifts for the whole family

Searching for the best presents to give to your loved ones? Check out our tech gift guide to find top gadgets to give to your family, including your pets.
5 best firefighting robot projects

These blaze-battling bots are the future of firefighting

Firefighting is one of the rare jobs that we're happy to hand over to machines. Here's a look at the most advanced firefighting bots in the biz.
constellation satellites around earth

The good, the bad, and the ugly of satellite megaconstellations

Satellite megaconstellations like Starlink could bring broadband internet to underserved parts of the globe -- but they also have some big drawbacks.
can ai solve lost languages heiroglyphics

Can A.I. solve one of the oldest mysteries of linguistics?

Lost languages like Linear A have confounded researchers for decades, but as artificial intelligence advances, could technology crack the case?
best tech accessories 25 version 1449306015 5buckbill

The best tech gifts under $25

You don't need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on tech gifts. We've rounded up some of the best deals under $25, just in time for the holiday season.
open source leg project opensourceleg2

Open-Source Leg: The quest to create a bionic limb that anyone can build

Bionic prosthetics often cost upward of $100,000. But through the power of collaboration, engineers think they can build one for a tenth of that price.
carrier moths dropping smart sensors moth sensor backpack

Scientists want to blanket the Earth in sensors. Their secret weapon? Moths

Manually installing sensors in every nook and cranny of Earth's surface would take eons. But what if we enlisted the help of our insect friends?
Ryan Reynolds as Willy Wonka Deepfake from NextFace

Are deepfakes a dangerous technology? Creators and regulators disagree

Deepfake technology has great potential for both good and bad, but creators say the negatives are being overblown while the positives are being overlooked.
forest fire season prevention

We have the tech to make wildfires less severe. Deploying it is the hard part

A revolutionary new fire retardant gel could help choke fires out before they happen -- if only we could deploy it widely enough

The world’s thinnest televisions

In the race to create the thinnest TV, a few competitors have pulled ahead with screens that are only a few millimeters thin. Let's take a look at the best!
iPad Mini Apple Pencil

iPad Air 4 vs. iPad Mini (2019): Which is best for you?

With the announcement of the new Apple iPad Air 4, we compare it across six core areas with the iPad Mini to see which of these tablets you should pick up.
big data search for extraterrestrial intelligence night 2

How big data forced the hunt for extraterrestrial intelligence to evolve

How the age of big data is changing the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
most influential hispanics in tech latinxwomenandmenintech

The most influential Hispanic leaders in technology

As part of our ongoing coverage of Hispanic Heritage Month 2020, Digital Trends compiles a list every year of the most influential Hispanic leaders in the technology industry.
Hurricane Florence 2018

There’s a way to weaken hurricanes, but scientists say it’s too crazy to try

There's a weird natural phenomenon that helps to weaken hurricanes destined for the United States. What if we could re-create that phenomenon ourselves?
digital trends live episode 451 inline image copy 7

TikTok sale imminent, Musk’s Neuralink, mech racing | Digital Trends Live

On this Digital Trends Live, we talk the top tech of the day, including a possible end to the TikTok saga, Twitter's removal of “manipulated media,” and more.
seamonster cove steve alten sea monster

The writer of The Meg just launched a giant, virtual sea monster aquarium

The author of The Meg series is launching Sea Monster Cove, a new kind of virtual storytelling project for lovers of all things monstrous and aquatic.
pandemic automation jobs economics amazonemployee

Pandemic-fueled automation is gobbling up jobs, and we’ll never get them back

The automation of jobs was already happening before 2020, but now the COVID-19 pandemic has kicked the trend into high gear.