As we learned firsthand, ‘graceful’ and ‘Rocket Skates’ do not go together

By Drew Prindle Published April 24, 2023

I’ve been dead-set on taking Acton’s RocketSkates for a test drive ever since I laid eyes on them. And at this year’s CES I finally got my chance.

Unfortunately, they weren’t as easy to ride as I had anticipated. Maybe it’s because I never had a pair of Heelys, maybe it’s because I’m more accustomed to boards than skates, but despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t get the hang of it. (To be fair, I only spent about five minutes trying.)

I wasn’t alone. I passed by the Acton booth a half dozen times while wandering around the show floor at CES, and just about every person who had RocketSkates strapped on their feet looked like a newborn giraffe. There’s definitely a bit of a learning curve.

That said, there were a couple people that figured it out within a minute or two, so it’s certainly not impossible. They take some getting used to, but just like Heelys, it seems that even the most uncoordinated person can figure it out with a few hours of practice.

Drew Prindle

Former Senior Editor, Features

Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

Topics

Emerging Tech

Claude Code can now browse the web without opening Chrome

The desktop app now includes an in-app browser that can read websites, click links, and interact with web apps.

Developers spend a surprising amount of time bouncing between their code editor, browser tabs, API documentation, GitHub issues, and design files. Anthropic thinks Claude Code should simply do all of that without constantly asking users to switch windows. The company has announced a new in-app browser for Claude Code on desktop, allowing its AI coding assistant to open websites, read documentation, inspect designs, and interact with web pages directly from within the application.

A browser built into Claude Code

Emerging Tech

Apple is suing OpenAI over theft of trade secrets in blockbuster lawsuit

The lawsuit claims OpenAI recruited Apple employees and obtained confidential information about unreleased products.

For the past two years, Apple and OpenAI have been presented as close AI partners. ChatGPT powers key Apple Intelligence features, Siri can hand complex queries over to OpenAI, and together the two companies helped bring generative AI to millions of Apple devices. Now, that partnership has taken a dramatic turn.

What is Apple accusing OpenAI of?

Emerging Tech

Home robots can already walk. The hard part is stopping them from crushing your glassware

1X’s NEO uses tactile sensing and force control to handle fragile objects, aiming at the kind of household work humanoids still struggle to do.

A robot can look convincing while walking across a stage and still be useless in a kitchen. Picking up a wet glass demands precision, quick corrections, and enough restraint to avoid squeezing too hard. 1X is tackling that problem with new tendon-driven hands for NEO, its humanoid home robot.

1X says each hand has 25 degrees of freedom, with 22 across the fingers and palm and another three in the wrist. Its joints can yield when pushed instead of staying rigid, giving NEO a better chance of handling household objects without treating every collision like a wrestling match.