Technology

Princeton and the University of Washington researchers have developed a camera the size of a grain of salt that can snap sharp, full-color images. It’s made with a metasurface that captures light and could be scaled up to turn entire surfaces into sensors.

From a lioness racing after her prey, to a pack of wild dogs herding a bear, this year's Nature inFocus Photography Contest delivers a spectacular assortment of wonderful wildlife imagery celebrating the best of the nature photography in 2021.

Encompassing thousands of years of human history the stunning 2021 Historic Photographer of the Year awards span everything from an ancient Greek temple to the only structure still standing from the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The US Air Force is fielding an improved "in-flight bladder relief device" called the Omni Generation 3 Skydrate that will allow male and female pilots to fly long air missions with greater safety and comfort.

We're seeing an increasing number of robotic devices that are created to perform tasks which would put soldiers in danger, or take them away from other more important duties. The Rook UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) is one of the latest, and it features full-time six-wheel-drive.

In a live online sale on November 6, Auction Team Breker offered one of the four remaining CIAM-NASA Hypersonic Flying Laboratory (HFL) "Kholod" hypersonic test bed missiles, which sold to an undisclosed European company for €27,700 (US$32,100).

A year after announcing the Snapdragon 888 mobile SoC, Qualcomm has pulled back the curtains on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which will enable 200-MP photos and 8K HDR video, promises desktop-level mobile gaming, and boasts faster download speeds over 5G.

Asus impressed us back in March with a gaming smartphone boasting "the sort of screen, specs and features that are way beyond what the average consumer is going to need." Now two more powerful models have been added to the ROG Phone 5 family.

Earlier in the year, Motorola launched its most powerful g-series handset to date, bringing premium features to the mid-tier smartphone segment in the shape of the g100. Now the company has announced its successor, the moto g200 5G.

Nature is an endless source of inspiration for robot design. Engineers at Stanford have now developed robotic claws inspired by the talons of a falcon, letting drones perch on many different surfaces, as well as grabbing or catching objects.

While there are numerous questions about the logistics of drone delivery technology, here's one that not everyone thinks of: What if no one is home when the drone shows up? Well, the DroneDek system is designed with that scenario in mind.

It was three years ago that we first heard about the Cleo, a robust, donut-shaped prototype drone made by Cleo Robotics. Well, its successor is now commercially available, under the new (and apt) name of the Dronut X1.

UK hi-fi specialist Audiolab has leveraged its award-winning know-how to create a "just add speakers" music system called the Omnia, which features a Class AB amp, rocks a CD player, caters to streaming needs, and can even be cabled to a turntable.

If you want to watch blockbuster movies at a friend's house, but their living room TV is already in use, a portable projector is a good way to go. The Wemax Go Pro can throw 120-inch images, and is reported 2-3x brighter than LED-based competitors.

Startup Jireno has launched a Full HD projector that's capable of throwing a 200-inch image onto a wall or screen, and comes with a built-in smart TV system and integrated speakers for an all-in-one entertainment system you can carry in a backpack.

Help your loved one finally tackle the language (or languages) they’ve wanted to master with The Unlimited Lifetime Learning Subscription Bundle ft. Rosetta Stone, now on sale at over $1,500 off.

Sometimes you don’t know what you need until you need it. Then you get it and wonder how you lived without it. So we’re taking the guesswork of what you need and packaging it all up in this Complete Limited Edition Mac Bundle. You can thank us later.

The Lyric is a Rhythm Therapy massager that offers all the body-healing features you’d expect along with added benefits that heal and relax the mind at the same time. It's priced at $199.95, with an optional extension handle.

As 3D-printed construction becomes more common, it's being used for everything from housing to schools and bridges. Advanced Intelligent Construction Technology offers another use for the tech with what it says is the world's first 3D-printed park.

If you wanted to 3D-print an object that was magnetic in some areas only, you'd have to print two items out of different metals, then join them. A new technique, however, allows for the printing of single objects with gradient magnetic qualities.

NASA has commissioned high-profile architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to design a 3D-printed simulated Mars habitat, and is accepting applications from would-be participants willing to live in it for a year.

Quantum computers are so far held back by their complexity. Engineers at Stanford have now demonstrated a new relatively simple design for a quantum computer where a single atom is entangled with a series of photons to process and store information.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Intel's 4004 processor, the first commercially available microprocessor built on a single chip. Originally designed for a Japanese desk calculator, it helped spark the personal computer revolution.

Scientists in Israel have leveraged commercially available sensors to develop an advanced lie-detection system they say outperforms any other known method, by monitoring contorting muscles associated with deception.

Sometimes you just want to wrap yourself in the comfortable nostalgia of classic games. Modernized mini consoles help if you don’t have the originals, and the latest is the Amiga 500 Mini, which comes loaded with 25 games and the option to add more.

The Nintendo Switch is a nifty concept, but arguably underpowered and lacking in game variety. Valve is now having a crack at it with the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming console that can play your existing Steam library on the go or on a big screen.

Nintendo has the monopoly on hybrid home/portable gaming consoles, but soon you could take your Xbox Series S on the road too. The xScreen is a plug-in accessory currently on Kickstarter that turns Microsoft’s console into a kind of chunky laptop.

Back in 2015, a startup hit Kickstarter to fund development and production of a device that would extend laptop display real estate by adding two extra screens. After numerous delays and issues, the company began shipping the first batch this month.

Microsoft has announced a slimmer version of Windows and a low-cost laptop to run it on. The Surface Laptop SE has been designed exclusively for use in the classroom, and is the first of a number of Chromebook rivals powered by Intel and AMD.

Asus has pulled back the curtain on what's billed as the first Windows detachable to sport a 13.3-inch OLED display. The Vivobook 13 Slate OLED 2-in-1 convertible is powerful enough for creators, while also being a versatile entertainment machine.

This intricate, lightweight "Greenaxe" electric guitar by Olaf Diegel shows off a new 3D printing technique that turns waste products like sawdust into high-strength, production-grade wood parts that cost virtually nothing in materials.

For his latest delightfully retro project, Swedish designer Love Hultén has collaborated with digital artist Lirona for an interactive synthesizer called the synth#boi that's limited to just 10 units, and is being offered for sale as a physical NFT.

Better audio is one of the best improvements you can make to your video setup, be it for streaming, podcasting or just video meetings. The MDrill one is a versatile US$80 condenser microphone that can instantly bump up your sound quality.

The ANYmal robot was already impressive back when it walked on four legs. It got more interesting when wheels were added, letting it both walk and roll. That wheeled version is now also able to stand up, and could soon be used for urban deliveries.

Autonomous aerial delivery drones do potentially risk getting caught in branches, losing their way, or falling onto people's heads. That's where the Coco 1 comes in, as it's a ground-based delivery robot that is entirely remotely controlled.

While manually hoeing weeds out of crops can be very time- and labor-intensive, spraying those crops with herbicides is definitely not eco-friendly. A German consortium is developing a third choice, in the form of the AMU-Bot weed-killing robot.

If you want a wearable to track workouts, runs, sleep and plenty more, then there's no shortage of devices to pick from – and after a couple of weeks of testing we can tell you that the Coros PACE 2 has a few features that might make you choose it.

Google has promised big improvements for its Wear OS wearable platform later this year, but in the meantime Mobvoi has launched a new device that could be the best value smartwatch on the market right now: the TicWatch E3.

Google's Wear OS platform could certainly use some more actual smartwatches to run on, and Casio has obliged with the GSW-H1000 – the first G-Shock smartwatch from the brand to come with Wear OS on board.

Project Loon may have been deflated, but its legacy lives on in Project Taara. The team has salvaged the technology to deliver internet connectivity with lasers, demonstrating the viability in a test between two cities separated by the Congo River.

Thanks to the pandemic, many folks have found themselves working remotely from home. absurd:joy is developing a virtual office platform that's "built around privacy, comfort and creativity," and is now inviting remote teams to join the beta program.

There are two main versions of 5G technology, depending on what you prioritize – speed or coverage. But now, engineers at UC San Diego have found a way to get the best of both worlds, using an algorithm to bounce faster signals around obstacles.

Whether you're an engineer at a recording studio or a musician producing your own tracks on a laptop, you need to be able to hear all the uncolored details. The latest open-back reference headphones from Sennheiser are designed for just that.

For the past year or so, a student team from the Eindhoven University of Technology has been working on a wearable that could allow folks to understand what's being said in another language through vibrations on the arm.

Could an existing piano player adapt to playing the instrument with an extra, robotic thumb? A new study suggests that the answer is yes, and interestingly enough, even people who are new to the piano are equally adept at using the added appendage.

Last month, social media giant Facebook rebranded as Meta and revealed its vision for the future of online interaction. Much of the news so far has focused on what users will see, but the company is also working on bringing touch to the Metaverse.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is rebranding itself as Meta as it focuses its energy on its next great gamble: creating the backbone of an immersive VR/AR "Metaverse" it sees as the next evolution of the Web.

Donning VR headsets for training can bring some realism to a simulated training environment, but it would be better if you could feel objects you interact with in the virtual realm. That's precisely what the SenseGlove Nova gloves are designed to do.