Technology
The latest in technology news, from advanced robotics to smartphones, digital cameras and home entertainment gear.
Don't be alarmed, it's just 2021's Comedy Wildlife Photo finalists
September 04, 2021
We're big fans of the annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards – this contest always gives us a smile, and it's a good-hearted organization focused on conservation. Now the finalists have been announced for 2021 – here are our favorites from the crop.
Photography
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Sony launches fourth generation Alpha 7 full-frame mirrorless camera
October 21, 2021Back in 2018, Sony raided its flagship cameras for the third generation of the a7 full-frame mirrorless camera. Now generation four has been launched, which boasts a newly-developed 33-MP image sensor and performance improvements across the board. -
DJI brings 4-axis stabilization and LiDAR focusing to 8K cinema camera
October 20, 2021DJI is bringing its stabilization know-how to cinematic content creation with the launch of the Ronin 4D system, which rolls a new full-frame gimbal camera, 4-axis stabilization, a LiDAR focusing, and video transmission/control into a single package. -
Highlights from the 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards
October 20, 2021For over half a century the Wildlife Photographer of the Year has spectacularly celebrated the natural world. This year’s crop of winners is no exception, from Svalbard reindeer going head to head to a frightening cluster of wandering spiders.
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Military
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Supersonic combat drones to help train future US Air Force pilots
October 17, 2021Exosonic has been awarded a contract by the US Air Force to develop a low-boom supersonic drone that will be used to provide combat training for pilots as well as demonstrate cutting-edge supersonic aircraft technology. -
Bell demonstrates field supply drops with autonomous APT drone
October 14, 2021Bell has demonstrated how its electric-powered, Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) quadcopter drone can carry out supply drops for soldiers in rough country or on the battlefield, without the need for parachutes. -
Robot dogs don't look as cute with night-vision sniper rifles on board
October 13, 2021You've seen Spot run. You've seen Spot jump. You've seen Spot do cute little booty-shaking dance routines. Now, see Spot fire lethal weapons. Sword Defense Systems has presented a precision rifle for robot dogs, capable of nailing targets 1.2 km away.
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Mobile Technology
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Google's back in the mix with high-end yet affordable Pixel 6 phones
October 19, 2021Google has finally presented its new Pixel 6 and 6 Pro smartphones, powered for the first time by the company's own Tensor chips. And while they're certainly feature-heavy premium-tier flagships, perhaps the most impressive thing is the price. -
Fairphone goes 5G for "waste-neutral" smartphone
September 30, 2021Fairphone has announced the next chapter in its mission towards a more sustainable and, well, fair alternative to today's big brand smartphones. The Fairphone 4 comes with 5G connectivity, two 48-MP rear cameras, and a 5-year warranty. -
iPhone 13, mini, Pro and Pro Max vs. iPhone 12, mini, Pro and Pro Max
September 23, 2021Another year, another batch of iPhones – but how much has actually changed, and is it worth the upgrade? New Atlas compares the specs and features of the new iPhone 13, 13 mini, Pro and Pro Max models with last year’s iPhone 12 range.
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Drones
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BAE Systems may build a 660-lb-capable cargo quadcopter
September 14, 2021Given that small-ish drones are already being used to deliver small packages, wouldn't it stand to reason that giant drones could deliver large loads? That's just what BAE Systems is looking into, with its proposed T-650 Heavy Lift Electric UAS. -
Cargo-dropping delivery system integrated into purpose-built drone
August 30, 2021It was just last year that we heard about A2Z Drone Delivery's RDS1 system, which lets third-party delivery drones drop cargo to customers on a long tether. Well, the technology has now been incorporated into a custom-designed multicopter drone. -
Wing says drone deliveries are taking off madly where they're allowed
August 30, 2021Google's drone-delivery sister company Wing is rapidly expanding its drone delivery services in Logan, a city in Queensland Australia that Wing says is now the drone delivery capital of the world. Only red tape is holding back world domination.
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Home Entertainment
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Philips aims for big-screen flexibility with all-in-one portable projector
October 21, 2021Though replacing a big-screen TV with a projector is getting easier, your options are more limited if you want to take movie nights out to the patio. The latest to add to a growing number of all-in-one media hubs is Philips, with the PicoPix MaxTV. -
Battery-powered Bluetooth speaker rocks concert-level output
October 18, 2021Portable Bluetooth speakers powerful enough to get you on your feet at a beach party are pretty common, but the shapely Enkl Speaker will blow up a storm. Enkl Sound also promises ease of use, long battery life and multi-user access. -
Acer makes a play for home theaters with 3,000-lumen 4K UST projector
October 14, 2021Though probably known more for its computers and laptops, Taiwan's Acer also outputs a healthy line of projectors for both work and play. The latest addition is a 4K ultra-short-throw laser projector for home theaters large or small.
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Deals
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These DIY watchmaking kits are the perfect gift for any occasion
October 20, 2021Some things never go out of style, like a watch that ties your outfit together. But what has gone out of style is the craftsmanship that goes into a gorgeous timepiece. If you're looking to bring that back, you'll appreciate the work of Rotate. -
Housecall Pro brings home service pros into the tech age
October 19, 2021Thriving local businesses are the beating heart of any area’s thriving economy. With Housecall Pro, home service companies can grow their business by turning to technology to streamline customer relations, invoicing, scheduling and more. -
Save on vet bills with this innovative pet allergy test kit
October 18, 2021Understanding how our pets feel would be a whole lot easier if they could talk. Stop guessing when your pet is feeling discomfort with the Allergy Test My Pet Kit, an affordable way to discover the cause of your pet's condition.
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3D Printing
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Crew wanted for NASA's 3D-printed simulated Mars habitat
August 09, 2021NASA 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. -
World's first 3D-printed stainless steel bridge spans Dutch canal
July 16, 2021MX3D has finally realized its ambitious plan to install the world's first 3D-printed steel bridge over a canal in Amsterdam. The public bridge features integrated sensors to collect data on its structural integrity, crowd behavior, and more. -
3D-printed Ohmie lamp is made from – and looks like – orange peels
July 07, 2021Orange peels certainly are compostable, but Milan-based startup Krill Design has come up with an interesting alternative use for them. The company is incorporating orange waste into its 3D-printed Ohmie lamp, which is currently on Kickstarter.
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Computers
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Apple does the unthinkable with new MacBook Pro 14 and 16
October 18, 2021Apple has unveiled its new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, taking some huge steps forward as well as some very welcome steps back. It seems this US$2 trillion behemoth has done the last thing anyone expected – and actually listened to its customers. -
DeepMind AI predicts incoming rainfall with high accuracy
September 29, 2021Having flexed its muscles in predicting kidney injury, toppling Go champions and solving 50-year-old science problems, artificial intelligence company DeepMind is now dipping its toes in weather forecasting. -
Twisted light makes for breakthrough quantum computer chip
September 20, 2021For now, quantum computers are mostly limited to labs and big experimental setups. But Japanese researchers have now made a step towards more accessible quantum computing devices, finding a way to “twist” light at room temperature.
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Games
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Amiga 500 Mini retro console emerges from the archives
August 11, 2021Sometimes 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. -
Valve's portable Steam Deck console takes your Steam library on the go
July 16, 2021The 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. -
xScreen turns the Xbox Series S into a "portable" laptop
July 12, 2021Nintendo 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.
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Laptops
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Lenovo launches world's thinnest 14-inch OLED laptop
September 08, 2021Lenovo has started its Windows 11 offensive by heading online for a virtual expo called Tech World 2021 and launching what's claimed to be the world's lightest 14-inch OLED laptop, and a larger and heavier sibling aimed at creatives. -
Asus goes thin, light and tough for CX9 business Chromebook
July 21, 2021Though Chromebooks can carry low price tags, they can also lack the kind of performance grunt needed by mobile professionals. Asus has launched the CX9 to give "the cloud-first workforce the ability to maximize productivity from anywhere." -
HP taps AMD Ryzen for its lightest consumer laptop so far
June 29, 2021HP has announced its lightest consumer laptop, which comes in at under a kilo. The Pavilion Aero 13 features a 2.5K screen with a 16:10 aspect and thin bezels, rocks AMD Ryzen 5000 processing brains and promises over 10 hours of use per charge.
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Music
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Fender launches beautiful Telecaster inspired by 300-year-old Stradivarius
October 19, 2021For his latest limited-edition build, the Violinmaster Telecaster Relic, Fender Custom Shop's Principal Master Builder Yuriy Shishkov has been inspired by the 1713 "Gibson-Huberman" Stradivarius owned and played by celebrated violinist Joshua Bell. -
IK brings AmpliTube digital modeling to the pedalboard with X-Gear stomps
October 07, 2021IK Multimedia has finally released the four X-Gear effects units announced earlier this year. Each of the floor stomps is packed with digital effects drawn from the company's powerful AmpliTube modeling software. -
New Gibson acoustics let players get a feel for what the audience hears
September 22, 2021Iconic guitar brand Gibson has launched a new family of acoustic guitars called the Generation Collection, each featuring a port in the upper side that started life as a 1964 concept blueprint, and has now been refined for today's players.
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Robotics
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Ant-inspired quadruped robots link together to overcome obstacles
October 18, 2021If an ant encounters a gap too wide for it to cross, the insect will sometimes signal other ants to form a bridge of their linked bodies. Such behaviour has now been copied in a small four-legged robot, that may inspire better search-and-rescue bots. -
Facebook robot crawls along power lines to deliver fiber optic cable
October 07, 2021Although fiber optic internet cable has many advantages over metal cable, it frequently has to be distributed underground – this limits its usability. Facebook, however, has developed a robot that could wrap the cable around existing power lines. -
Bipedal robot/drone hybrid can walk, fly and skateboard
October 06, 2021Whether you think it’s cool or unnerving, robots are becoming more agile – and Caltech’s LEONARDO looks like one of the most nimble examples yet. LEO walks on two legs, jumps and flies, can balance on a slackline and even skateboard.
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Smartwatches
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Coros PACE 2 review: A lightweight, long-lasting smartwatch
July 04, 2021If 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. -
The budget TicWatch E3 shows off Wear OS at its best
June 16, 2021Google 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. -
The newest Casio G-Shock smartwatch is the first to run Wear OS
April 01, 2021Google'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.
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Telecommunications
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Lasers beam high-speed internet between cities through open air
September 16, 2021Project 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. -
Virtual office platform aims to make remote collaborations fluid and fun
August 24, 2021Thanks 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. -
Splitting and bouncing beams boosts 5G speed and coverage
August 24, 2021There 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.
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Wearables
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Premium ANC wireless headphones can be personalized for individual hearing
October 20, 2021Canada's PSB Speakers has launched the next generation of its award-winning M4U 8 wireless ANC headphones that were introduced at CES 2018, coming with improved battery life, personalized audio and a feature that recreates the feel of a room. -
Astell&Kern crams three different drivers in Zero1 IEMs
October 19, 2021Since 2013, Astell&Kern has been employing multiple converters in its high-end DAPs in the pursuit of better sound. Now the company is taking that kind of thinking to its in-ear monitors as the Zero1 IEMs launch with three different driver types. -
3rd-gen Apple AirPods offer adaptive audio and 6-hour battery life
October 18, 2021Regardless of whether you think they're less cumbersome or just easier to lose, AirPods certainly stirred things up when they first debuted. The third generation offers longer battery life, and technology that adapts the sound to each user's ears.
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Virtual Reality
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SenseGlove Nova brings a sense of touch to virtual reality training
October 13, 2021Donning 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. -
Magic Leap reveals plans for a second-generation AR headset
October 12, 2021Three years after finally launching its debut AR headset, Magic Leap has outlined plans for a follow-up. The announcement comes as it reveals a fresh round of funding to the tune of US$500 million, and continues a shift toward the enterprise market. -
Canon launches world's first dual fisheye stereoscopic RF-mount lens
October 06, 2021Canon's upcoming dual fisheye lens works with the EOS R5 full-frame mirrorless camera to create immersive 8K VR video, and is reported to be the first digital lens to allow for stereoscopic 3D 180-degree video capture to a single image sensor.
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