World's First

The world's first petrol truck, which dates back to 1896, is about to get new life. Or at least a convincing replica of that Daimler truck is being restored so that it can get back to all its 4-hp driving glory.

The age of laser weapons looks to have officially dawned. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems says that, for the first time in history, a high-energy laser system has been used to destroy multiple drone targets in combat.

On January 10th, the world's first carbon fiber subway train took to the tracks for the very first time in Qingdao, China. It promises to be stronger, safer, and produce less harmful emissions than traditional trains.

After stealing the show at CES 2024 in January, LG's totally transparent TV is finally available to buy. The 77-inch Signature OLED T can be yours for an eye-watering $60,000. That's as much as you'd pay for a 2025 BMW 5-series car.

The world's first flight test for an aerospike rocket engine ended in disaster, but Polaris Aerospace is back on track, preparing to fly second- and third-generation prototypes for its MIRA supersonic/hypersonic aircraft platform within weeks.

Three Danish energy tech firms have flung open the doors to the first ever green ammonia plant in the world, which is said to be capable of producing 5,000 tons of green ammonia per year, entirely from solar and wind energy.

Having front and rear suspension helps mountain bikers maintain traction, stay in control, and make (relatively) soft landings from big drops. So, why aren't there full-suspension BMX bikes? Well, now there is one, in the form of the Swamp Master.

Liquid hydrogen is a giant pain to handle, but it's one of the few technologies with a genuine chance of decarbonizing long-range flight. So it's huge news for clean aviation that H2Fly has now landed the word's first piloted liquid hydrogen flight.

eHang is set to become the world's first company to get an electric VTOL air taxi type certified and into commercial service, after successfully completing its entire flight test program with China's aviation authority. Oh, and it's autonomous.

Italian startup iSpace2o has announced it's starting production on the first hull for its Deepseaker DS1 submersible hydrofoil. This machine will rise out of the water to hydrofoil at up to 23 knots, or dive as deep as 50 m for underwater shenanigans.

While robotic laparoscopic surgical systems do make certain procedures safer and less invasive, those systems are still operated by human surgeons. Now, however, a surgical robot has performed a delicate operation entirely on its own.

Despite ongoing advances in the field of underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), the devices have remained tethered to the surface via communications cables. Such is not the case with the ExRay, however, which uses light instead.