For decades, when people have wanted to stick two things together but later pull them back apart, Velcro has been the answer. In the future, however, the material may get some competition from bird feather-inspired technology. Composed of keratin (our fingernails are also made of the stuff), feathers have a central shaft going down the middle, with softer and skinnier […]

Facial recognition can help unlock your phone. Could it also be able to play a far more valuable role in people’s lives by identifying whether or not a person has a rare genetic disorder, based exclusively on their facial features? DeepGestalt, an artificial intelligence built by the Boston-based tech company FDNA, suggests that the answer is a resounding “yes.” The […]

Recipe books contain photos. You know why? Because most of us aren’t capable of reading through a list of ingredients and associated instructions and picturing exactly what is supposed to come out of the oven or other cooking appliance at the end of the process. Artificial intelligence, it seems, doesn’t have quite the same problem — at least, not according […]

If you get thirsty while driving, you may soon be able to drink water generated by a system that’s built right into your car. The technology could reportedly also provide water for the onsite rinsing of dirty work equipment, or for keeping automotive sensors and engine parts clean. Announced this week at CES 2019, the Watergen Automotive AWG system starts […]

German automotive company Continental wants to use a system of autonomous vans packed with dog-like four-legged robots to deliver packages. The company revealed its vision for the future of goods and parcel delivery this week at tech show CES in Las Vegas, where it held a press conference with a prototype of one of the robots on stage. The concept […]

A stereo sound system will give you a good feel for where instruments have been placed in the soundscape created by the production team. And there are headphones that can custom tune the listening experience for more immersion. Now researchers have developed a machine learning system that can work out the direction of sound in a mono recording by examining […]

Consumer electronics giant LG will be taking a refreshed version of its CLOi SuitBot to CES 2019 next month, as it inches closer to commercial availability. Updated versions of the company’s PorterBot, ServeBot and CartBot service robots will also be on show. The CLOi SuitBot was unveiled last year at the IFA tech expo in Berlin. It’s a lower body […]

When it comes to manmade fibers, they can typically either be strong or tough. A new material developed in part by Germany’s University of Bayreuth, however, is claimed to be both. In a nutshell, strength is the ability to withstand force without permanently deforming, while toughness is the ability withstand force without fracturing. Not only does the new type of […]

If you’re walking or driving in San Jose, California, later this year and have the sense that a late model Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan just made eye contact with rooftop lighted sensors and a quick flash of a signature LED lamp, you could be right. The car could be one of several in a pilot program that will be testing, among […]