[embedded content] As the success of the iPhone X’s Face ID confirms, lots of us are thrilled to bits at the idea of a machine that can identify us based on our facial features. But how happy would you be if a computer used your facial features to start making judgments about your age, your […]
[embedded content] Whether it’s robot-controlled orchestras, cyberpunk saxophones, or zero-gravity space chimes, we’re suckers for weird musical instruments. Now, thanks to a recently launched Kickstarter campaign, there’s a new entry on our list — and, fittingly for such an avant-garde creation, it’s called Oddball. If you were to give Oddball the high-concept elevator pitch, you […]
“With joyous gambols gay and still array,no longer when he ‘twas, while in his dayat first to pass in all delightful waysaround him, charming, and of all his days.” Don’t worry: You haven’t accidentally clicked on pre-Digital Trends, by mistake. This is part of a Shakespearean sonnet created by deep learning artificial intelligence — and, […]
When you picture the kind of next-gen materials that excite scientists, chances are spider silk isn’t near the top of the list. As it turns out, however, the unusual mechanical qualities of spider silk — ranging from its high tensile strength and toughness to its lightweight flexibility — make it an extremely versatile material. Here […]
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: humanity is living in the golden age of rideable technology right now. Over the past few years, electric motors have become smaller and more powerful, while batteries have become more power dense and accessible — two trends that have coalesced and kicked off a renaissance in […]
[embedded content] For whatever reason, some seriously smart folks in the tech community seem to be obsessed with adding extra appendages to the human body — and they’re getting more ambitious all the time. First, it was the 3D-printed functioning extra thumb prosthesis, made by a graduate student at London’s Royal College of Art. Then, […]
Illustration of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in front of a lava planet orbiting its host star. TESS will identify thousands of potential new planets for further study and observation. NASA/GSFC NASA’s exoplanet-hunting satellite TESS is fully operational and has begun scanning the skies for distant planets, NASA reported on Friday. And maybe, just […]
You can keep your Teslas, your McLarens, and your Aston Martins (we’ll take them if you’re dead set on getting rid of them, of course!). Here in 2018, the ambition, scale, and adrenalin-pumping excitement of the most cutting-edge transport options put even the most drool-worthy vehicles to shame. Without further ado, here are some of […]
These days, tech firms spend millions of dollars on complex, multi-layered ad campaigns to market their latest wares. But just a few decades ago, such campaigns were as basic as the products they proffered. We recently stumbled across an amusing 1981 TV commercial for Sony’s hugely successful Walkman cassette player. The fascinating find prompted us […]
As one of its most notable applications, Lidar technology is most commonly associated with self-driving cars. Engineer Andrew Thaler had a different use in mind: Creating a Lidar-powered wearable device that lets you experience life the way a dolphin would. Called DolphinView, the head-mounted display fuses Lidar technology with the technology developed for bone-conducting headphones […]
From the potential 3D bioprinting of organs for transplants to ultra-ambitious attempts to upload human consciousness into a computer, there are plenty of tech-heavy initiatives aimed at extending life spans way beyond what is currently possible. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham added one more fascinating breakthrough to this mission: Finding a way […]
Previous Next Have you ever wanted to soar through the air in an Iron Man-style suit like a real-life superhero? Do you have the financial resources of a real-life Tony Stark to go along with it? If so, you may want to queue up (or get your butler to do so on your behalf) to […]
If you’re in your mid-20s or older, chances are that you remember the Y2K scare, the year 2000-era menace which promised to make even nu metal seem benign by comparison. In the end, the so-called “Millennium bug” did very little damage, thanks to programmer-led interventions. Jump forward 18 years, however, and Japan has its own […]
Get out your binoculars and your passports — that is, if you want to catch the longest total lunar eclipse of our lifetimes. Well, at least, of the century. On Friday, the celestial event will turn the moon from its normal pearly white into a beguiling red orange for more than 100 minutes, NASA says. […]
We’re all for amazing smartphones, cutting-edge robots, and flying cars. But when we’re stuck on a subway or bus next to a particularly pungent passenger on the commute to work, the one technology we’re hoping for more than anything is a next-generation deodorant, capable of wiping out body odor wherever it rears its malodorous head. […]