Startup founded by ex-Navy SEALs is building underwater robots to map the ocean
Terradepth, a startup founded by a pair of ex-Navy SEALs, is building autonomous submersible robots to map parts of the ocean that are difficult to monitor. Here's what it is developing — and when we can expect to see them venturing into the ocean for some underwater data collection.
No more panels? A.I. helps create sprayable solar cells that can be painted on
Solar power is enormously promising when it comes to providing a source of sustainable energy. But solar panels take up a lot of space, which can limit their applicability. Could sprayable solar cells be answer? Researchers from the University of Central Florida think so.
This tech can retrofit helicopters to turn them into self-driving flying taxis
There’s no shortage of companies that are building their own proprietary vertical takeoff and landing vehicles in their quest to make flying, self-driving taxis a real thing. But in an age of upcycling, why build entirely new VTOL vehicles when you could just retrofit existing ones?
How a lesson learned from lotus flowers could give us self-cleaning solar panels
Dust can be a massive problem for solar panels. Borrowing from a neat evolutionary trick found in lotus flowers, researchers have developed a new material that could help keep future solar panels dust-free. Here's how it works -- and why this is an issue that needs to be solved.
Turkey’s new machine gun drones are proof that we live in a cyberpunk dystopia
The Songar drone is a regular unmanned aerial vehicle -- that just so happens to come with a mounted machine gun and 200 rounds of ammunition for riddling targets with bullets from the sky. Here's how it works, and how its aerial targeting capabilities could shape up on the battlefield.
ExoLung promises indefinite underwater breathing with a swim-powered lung
Ever dreamed of being Aquaman? Austrian startup ExoLung has invented an underwater lung device it thinks could solve the whole 'breathing indefinitely underwater' problem. And all without a compressed air tank. Here's how it works — and when you'll (hopefully) get to try it.
These robots taser weeds to death so farmers don’t need chemical herbicides
A new agricultural robotics startup called the Small Robot Company has come up with a trio of robots that hunt weeds down, kill them with mini blasts of lightning, and then plant crops in their place. Here's what the company has developed -- and what its future plans are.
Robot bartending company is handing out cash to the people it is replacing
For every robot bartender that robotics company Makr Shakr sells, it pledges that it will fork over a $1,000 monthly stipend to a select person in a field likely to be impacted by automation. How exactly will it work? These are the details of the scheme as we understand them.
Meet CIMON-2: The floating A.I. brain that lives on the ISS
The International Space Station recently received its newest resident: an artificial intelligence-powered flying robot called CIMON-2. Here is how it can be used to help out astronauts aboard the ISS -- including carrying out tasks and even understanding their emotions.
All-electric commercial seaplane takes to the air for the first time
The first all-electric commercial seaplane has successfully landed following a test flight at the Harbour Air Seaplane terminal in Richmond, British Columbia. The venture is a partnership between Harbour Air and engineering firm MagniX, with the ambition of being the first all-electric airline.
Inside the weird, wild, and wondrous world of quantum video games
Since the 1980s, scientists have dreamed about using the hypothetical power of quantum computers to solve some of the biggest problems known to humankind. IBM researcher James Wootton wants to use them to create computer games. Here's what you need to know about quantum gaming.
Forget curing diseases, genetic engineering could keep our beer fresh longer
The big dreams surrounding genetic engineering involve curing deadly diseases, saving the world’s coral reefs, and creating a limitless supply of lifesaving transplant organs. Could it also help keep beer fresher for longer? According to scientists in China, it certainly can.
Katsuru Beta is a graffiti-painting consumer drone launching in 2020
Created by New York artist Katsu, Katsuru Beta is a limited edition, graffiti-painting quadcopter that will let anyone become a drone-flying tagger. Here's what you need to know about this upcoming quadcopter -- coming soon to deface a billboard or wall someplace near you.
Ever wonder what animal vision is like? This software will show you
If you’ve ever been curious about how different animals view the world, a team of researchers have you covered — and they’ve ever released the open-source, free software so that you can test it out for yourself. Here's what you need to know about Quantitative Color Pattern Analysis.
Exosuits for everybody: Meet the company that’s making wearable robots mainstream
San Francisco-based Roam Robotics has a dream to take wearable robot exosuits out of the lab and into the real world. Here's how it is planning to do so -- and why its founder believes that the company has solved the 'suck test' which has plagued so many attempts in the past.
Undersea fiber-optic data cables could be repurposed to detect earthquakes
Could underwater internet cables be repurposed to help spot earthquakes? Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and elsewhere have shown that they could. Here is how they were able to do it -- and what they have planned for the next phase of the project.
Scientists tracked billions of migrating ocean animals using a giant space laser
Scientists used a NASA lidar satellite to track the world's biggest animal migration -- which just so happens to take place underwater. Here's what they did, how they did it, and what new types of imaging technology will make possible for similar research in the near future.
China wants to use controversial DNA analysis to guess faces of criminals
Chinese scientists are using blood samples to try and recreate images of people’s faces. The experimental technology is currently in the early stages of development, but can already produce approximate images considered good enough to narrow investigations or eliminate suspects.
Surveillance on steroids: How A.I. is making Big Brother bigger and brainier
In an age of artificial intelligence, surveillance technologies are becoming a whole lot smarter. Skylark Labs has developed a drone-based system that identify behavior from the skies. Here's how it works -- and what it says about the bigger questions surrounding surveillance in 2019.
The star of the world’s tiniest stop-motion movie is the size of a grain of dust
The lead performer in the Guinness World Record-winning short film Starship Odyssey is just 300 microns tall. That's just 0.3 millimeters or approximately the size of a single grain of dust. Check out the video -- and its "making of" story -- in all its smaller-than-life glory.
Mind-reading A.I. analyzes your brain waves to guess what video you’re watching
Can A.I. be used to read your mind? According to engineers at Russian robotics research company Neurobotics Lab it certainly can. They recently demonstrated their approach by using a neural network to guess what video people were watching, based on their brain wave data.
This groundbreaking new buoy can predict earthquakes and tsunamis. Here’s how
Geoscientists from the University of South Florida have developed a high-tech flotation device for oceans which they hope will help predict impending natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. It's currently installed off the coast in Florida. Here's how it works.
Six theories on why the Cybertruck’s bulletproof glass cracked so easily
Elon Musk smashing two of the windows of Tesla's divisive pickup, the Cybertruck, was the most commented-upon moment of the futuristic vehicle's unveiling. But why did the armor glass windows let him down? Here are several theories which might explain the breaks heard around the world.
Ingenious new wearable tracks users’ brain waves to forecast epileptic seizures
For people with epilepsy, the fear of suffering an unexpected seizure can be enough to stop them wanting to venture out in public. To help instill confidence, this new discrete EEG monitors brain wave activity to help forecast seizures. Here's how you can get your hands on one.
Straight flush: How next-gen smart toilets could revolutionize health tracking
Smart toilets may sound like a weird gimmicky novelty. However, they could turn out to be the health-tracking revolution that people have waited for. Here's why smart toilets could prove to be the internet-connected device that might one day just happen to save your life.
Bot or not? This browser extension will identify text written by A.I.
Figuring out whether the things you read on the internet are true can be challenging. Thanks to a new web plugin, determining whether they were written by a human or an artificial intelligence is now a whole lot easier. Here's what makes GPTrue or False tick -- and why it matters.
Clever topology means this 3D-printed polymer is tough enough to stop a bullet
You’ve probably heard of 3D-printed guns, but how about 3D-printed material capable of stopping bullets in their tracks? That’s what researchers from Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering may have developed with a new polymer that proves almost as hard as diamonds.
Surgeons put near-death humans into suspended animation for the first time
Suspended animation has been a science-fiction dream featured in everything from Alien to Futurama. Now, it’s reportedly been achieved for real by medics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Here's what the process involves -- and why it could be a major game-changer.
SpaceX’s Starlink project poses an existential threat to astronomy
There could very well soon be more satellites visible in the night sky than stars. That's a major problem for astronomy, one leading astrophysicist told Digital Trends. Here's why it's a big problem -- and what he thinks the United Nations should consider doing about it.
Watch this disembodied set of robotic ostrich legs juggle a ball on its ‘head’
Want to see a robot carrying out an impressive juggling display? Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have trained a bipedal robot to execute just such a trick. And while it sounds frivolous, it could actually turn out to be pretty darn important. Here's why.
How glow-in-the-dark vampire bats are helping scientists solve a $50M problem
To test out the possible effectiveness of a future rabies vaccine, researchers from the University of Michigan and Scotland’s University of Glasgow recently traveled to Peru to make vampire bats glow in the dark. Why? It turns out that there's a very good and sensible reason.
MIT is teaching self-driving cars how to psychoanalyze humans on the road
MIT CSAIL researchers have developed an algorithm for self-driving cars that aims to predict human drivers' personalities, determining whether they're selfless or selfish. In the process, they hope that it will help autonomous vehicles to more safely drive among them. Here's how it works.