Ingenious SunPort plug lets you use solar energy even if you don’t have solar panels
Contrary to what you might think, you don't necessarily have to be a producer of solar energy in order to be a consumer of it -- and there's a brilliant new device on Kickstarter that makes it more accessible than ever before.
Thanks to Project Loon, Sri Lanka will soon have universal Internet access
After years of testing, Google is finally ready to deploy Project Loon to bring cheap high-speed Internet to the island nation of Sri Lanka.
Patrick Stewart is helping conservationists build a fleet of drones to collect whale snot
Ocean Alliance has developed a special set of drones, called SnotBots, that hover in the air above a surfacing whale and collect the blow (or snot) exhaled from its lungs. The Snotbot then returns that sample back to researchers for in-depth analysis.
Sony jumps on the drone bandwagon with a new venture called Aerosense
Rather than jumping in the ring with consumer drone companies like DJI, Parrot, and others, Sony's new venture, Aerosense Inc., plans to use drones to provide aerial surveying services to businesses.
To deter poachers, South Africa is filling rhino horns with cameras and GPS
Protect has developed a new anti-poaching system called RAPID (Real-time Anti Poaching Intelligence Device) that aims to solve the problem by embedding video cameras directly into the horns of the remaining rhino population, thereby making it easier for authorities to catch poachers in the act
Fish don’t stand a chance against this sensor-studded fish finder drone
The AguaDrone is a waterproof quadcopter that not only uses sonar to find fish from the sky, it will "cast" for you by flying your lure out to hot spots.
Scientists have developed a pill that could allow celiacs to eat gluten
This new supplement won't make gluten intolerance disappear, but can offer temporary, as-needed immunity to glutenin and gliadin.
Briliant hands-free wheelchair translates body motions into directional input
New Zealand-based inventor Kevin Halsall turned a Segway into the Ogo, a hands-free wheelchair that stands upright on just two wheels.
Boeing just patented this awesome laser-powered nuclear fusion engine design
Modern turbofan engines employ a series of fans and turbines to compress air, which is then mixed with fuel and ignited to create thrust. Boeing's engine, on the other hand, uses an array of high-powered lasers to trigger a small nuclear reaction, which would then cause the engine to accelerate forward.
The ReWalk 6.0 robotic exoskeleton aims to make wheelchairs a thing of the past
ReWalk Robotics, which produces wearable exoskeletons for people who've lost the use of their legs, has just pulled the curtain back on version 6.0 of its robotically-assisted walking system -- and it's smaller, lighter, and faster than ever before.
Behold: The terrifyingly powerful machine that crushes engine blocks
The Red Giant and its 710-hp motor can shatter engine blocks into tiny pieces for easy recycling.
Solar Impulse 2 grounded until next year following battery mishap
After completing a record-breaking 4,480 mile trans-Pacific flight from Japan to Hawaii earlier this week, the sunlight-powered Solar Impulse 2 has been grounded -- and unfortunately, the plane will not be able to continue its round-the-world journey until next year.
Nike’s fresh new sneakers are designed for people with disabilities
Nike has created the Zoom Soldier 8 with Flyease technology specifically for people with disabilities.
The Large Hadron Collider just helped scientists discover an exotic new particle
Just a few short months after CERN fired it up again, the Large Hadron Collider has already helped scientists uncover a completely new class of particle.
This light needs no outlet, solar panels, or batteries — it’s powered by gravity
Instead of using a traditional power outlet or expensive solar panels for electricity, the lamp uses a cheap and effective gravity-powered system to provide light.
You can now 3D print a perfect clone of DJI’s Inspire 1 quadcopter
A drone enthusiast released 3D-printable designs for a nearly identical clone of DJI's Inspire 1 drone -- the company's flagship quadcopter.
Boulton Eyewear makes 3D-printed sunglasses you can customize for a perfect fit
Amsterdam-based startup Boulton Eyewear uses a combination of facial scanning software and advanced 3D printing technology to make custom-tailored eyewear that's both cheap and durable.
This gravity-defying toy leverages a weird aerodynamic shape to fly over 200 feet
Generally speaking, smaller discs aren't as steady as larger ones, but ZipChip's unique shape apparently gives it a high degree of aerodynamic stability.
This robotically-stabiilized exoskeleton could give soldiers perfect aim
The system, dubbed Mobile Arm eXoskeleton for Firearm Aim Stabilization, or MAXFAS, definitely isn't the first device of its kind, but it's got a few tricks up its sleeve that other exoskeletons don't
BP reaches settlement, agrees to pay $18.7 billion in damages for 2010 oil spill
BP has finally reached a settlement with the U.S. government, agreeing to pay $18.7 billion in damages for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.
Crazy new tech projects touch-sensitive holograms into thin air with lasers
A new display system uses a set of finely-tuned lasers to selectively ionize molecules in the air, which causes them to emit a bright white burst of light. Even better, Aerial Burton has figured out how to make these holograms touch-interactive.
This is what happens when you drop a laser into a vat of liquid nitrogen
Dropping stuff into liquid nitrogen is always a fun experiment, but putting a laser into the super-cooled gas produces some unusual effects.
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Biometric locks, monocycles, and lightsabers
Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
This UV-emitting door handle neutralizes bacteria, helps fight the spread of disease
Nobody thinks to sanitize door handles, but luckily for us, a pair of enterprising high school students from Hong Kong have developed a brilliant new handle system that might one day keep germs at bay -- without any harsh chemicals or regular cleaning.
Books burn and discs die, but these etched sapphire ‘Nanoforms’ last forever
Nanoforms are essentially a high-tech cross between stone tablets and a microfilm slides. Instead of chiseling crude symbols into a hunk of rock, the creators use a sophisticated laser etching process to scrawl information into a disk of lab-grown sapphire.
An engine that runs on water? Yea right. Except this one is real
If you think about it, humans have been harvesting energy from falling moisture for centuries -- but up until now, nobody has really figured out a way to gather energy from water that's traveling back up into the air.
MotoPogo is basically the bastard child of a Segway and a unicycle
The MotoPogo is electric, it's got one wheel, and it will most definitely be ridden by Kevin James in the next installment of Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
Russia’s new microwave gun can supposedly disable missiles and UAVs from six miles away
The Russia-owned United Intstrument Manufacturing Corp. has reportedly developed a real microwave-based weapon, and has plans to display it in private at the Russian Defense Ministry’s Army-2015 expo this week.
Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Sanitizer robots, fish-finder sunglasses, and more
Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
This lock doesn’t require keys, or even your smartphone. All it needs is your fingerprint
Good news ! There's a new smart lock in the works that does away with all these cumbersome key- and phone-based unlocking schemes.
UVe is a $89 robotic countertop cleaner than uses UV light to sanitize surfaces
Just press the Start button, and UVe will spring to life and begin crawling around your countertops autonomously, using UV light to kill germs, and edge detection algorithms to keep itself from falling.
This new injectable brain implant uses electricity to activate individual neurons
Unlike other brain implants, which typically require complex surgical procedures to implant and can sometimes cause scar tissue to form, this new implant only requires a minimally invasive implantation procedure, and uses a soft scaffold that doesn't damage brain tissue.
This tabletop holographic display pulls media from your smartphone and makes it 3D
The Holus, as it's called, is a tabletop holographic platform that takes any digital content -- be it from a computer, tablet, or smartphone -- and converts it into a three-dimensional hologram.