Technology
The latest in technology news, from advanced robotics to smartphones, digital cameras and home entertainment gear.
Britain's Dragonfire laser weapon engages first aerial targets
January 21, 2024
Britain has fired its Dragonfire high-powered laser weapon at aerial targets for the first time. The test of the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) on the Ministry of Defence's Hebrides Range was designed to demonstrate its power and accuracy.
Photography
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Sony World Photography Awards showcases beauty of the natural world
April 19, 2024The overall winners of the 2024 Sony World Photography Awards have been revealed. This year's selection of images showcases a sublime mixture of unspoiled landscapes, amazing animals, and extraordinary people going about their lives. -
Mirrorless goes micro with pocket-friendly travel camera
March 28, 2024Colorful photo-tech inventor Samuel Mello Medeiros and camera/optics veteran Yashica have joined forces to create what's billed as the world's smallest mirrorless camera, the Micro Mirrorless Yashica – I'm Back. -
Coalax Lancer 300 modular backpack may just be the Robocop of camera bags
March 26, 2024The Coalax Lancer 300 modular photography backpack is very much a modern-day descendant of the humble camera bag. Among other things, it sports a removable power bank, solar panel, drone-carrying compartment, and extendable rotatable selfie sticks.
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Military
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Mayman Aerospace flying motorcycle becomes a military VTOL jet drone
May 09, 2024Mayman Aerospace has unwrapped its new family of jet-powered, High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HS VTOL) AI-equipped drones that can deliver everything from medical supplies to Hellfire missiles at 500 mph (800 km/h) in a compact airframe. -
High-speed military amphibian skims the waves using Surface Effect
May 08, 2024Textron is developing a remarkable new Surface Effect amphibious transport for the US Navy and Marines. It can carry 50 tonnes of cargo, skims the waves at 50+ knots (57+ mph, 92+ km/h), and operates in water just four feet (1.2 m) deep. -
DARPA’s massive Manta Ray robotic sub hits the sea
May 01, 2024DARPA has unveiled more of its mysterious Manta Ray robotic sub, with impressive new images of the prototype Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (UUV) undergoing its first sea trials off the coast of Southern California. And it's somewhat of a beast.
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Mobile Technology
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Adjustable magnetic smartphone light belts out 300 lumens
May 06, 2024Feeling limited by your smartphone's puny light? If so, you might want to check out the phone-mountable Wuben E1. It's currently on Kickstarter, and puts out up to 300 lumens as compared to the iPhone 15's measly 50. -
Color e-note tablet makes portable productivity easy on the eyes
April 19, 2024Following the launch of its first e-note last year, PocketBook has now added a color E Ink model. The 10.3-inch Eo is built around Kaleido 3 technology, and sports a built-in camera, octa-core processing and dual speakers. -
Hybrid camera system gives your smartphone "super-telephoto" zoom
April 18, 2024Tech company Beaverlab has launched a Kickstarter to raise funds for a smart super-telephoto camera called the Excope DT1 that can be had with a 400-mm zoom lens, and works with a smartphone to capture distant imagery.
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Drones
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Hybrid rescue drone flies out to swimmers and becomes a lifebuoy
April 29, 2024Could you throw a lifebuoy all the way out to a distressed swimmer located one kilometer away? Nope, you couldn't … but you could fly one out to them, in the form of the TY-3R Flying Lifebuoy drone. -
Solar-cell-packin' drone uses sunlight for on-the-spot recharging
April 19, 2024Multirotor drones may one day be able recharge their batteries while out and about, instead of having to return to a charging station. They could do so via onboard ultra-thin solar cells, which have already been tested on a small quadcopter. -
Video: Ultra-efficient flying pogo robot bounces around on its tail
April 12, 2024It might look hilarious in motion, but this remarkable aerial drone extends its battery life from a few minutes up to a full hour by bouncing around on a springy pogo tail. That incredible efficiency makes it attractive for a wide range of missions.
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Home Entertainment
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8K laser projectors brighten the high-end home theater
May 02, 2024Preparing for the rise of 8K movies in the home cinema, JVC Kenwood has announced new additions to its high-end D-ILA laser projector family, with the new models able to input and display 8K/60p visuals with boosted brightness and contrast. -
Hisense inches close to the wall to serve up big-screen cinema visuals
April 24, 2024Hisense USA says it's looking to redefine the high-end entertainment experience with the launch of the PX3-Pro, a daytime usable, triple laser ultra-short-throw projector that can throw Dolby Vision movies at up to 150 inches. -
Ranking Apple TV+ sci-fi shows: From 'Severance' to 'For All Mankind'
April 12, 2024Apple TV+ has clearly invested in top-shelf science fiction as a defining pillar of its offering – and overall, it's put together an impressive slate. From outright successes to grand artistic swing 'n' misses, here's our ranking, worst to best.
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Deals
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Buy gold at Costco with this $40 Digital Costco Shop Card* deal
May 09, 2024TL;DR: Get a $40 Digital Costco Shop Card* when you join as a Gold Star Member and shop 24-karat gold bars and other gold-status items. -
Dust off your memories and go back in time with the Kodak Slide N Scan
May 08, 2024TL;DR: For only $179.99 (reg. $224.99) the Kodak Slide N Scan brings your old film to life with one-button scanning, enhanced resolution, and easy-load adapters for negatives and slides. -
For only $29.97 MS Office 2019 offers proven productivity for less
May 07, 2024TL;DR: Perfect for the budget-minded users who prioritize core functionality and a one-time purchase, MS Office 2019 (Mac or Windows) offers a stable and familiar suite for maximum productivity for only $29.97.
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3D Printing
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Rapid liquid-metal 3D-printing process produces large parts in minutes
January 26, 2024Researchers have come up with a 3D printing method using liquid metal that's claimed to produce structures at least 10 times faster than existing metal additive manufacturing processes, though it does so at the expense of fine detail. -
New ultrasound tech could be used to 3D-print implants inside the body
December 08, 2023In order to keep surgeries minimally invasive, it would be great if implants could be injected into the body in liquid form, then solidified once in place. Well, a new ultrasound-based 3D printing process may one day make that very thing possible. -
Inkbit tech 3D-prints complex multi-material items in a single session
November 16, 20233D printing single objects out of different materials can be difficult, if those materials cure at different rates. The new Inkbit system addresses that problem, and has been used to print a complex functional robotic hand… in just one print job.
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Computers
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Logitech lets users cook GPT shortcuts into its mice and keyboards
April 18, 2024Logitech has introduced new software that gives users of its peripherals easy access to ChatGPT. After matching the feature to a keyboard key or mouse button, the user can quickly tap into the power of GPT via preset or custom recipes. -
Hold on: World's fastest AI chip will massively accelerate AI progress
March 17, 2024If you think things have happened fast in the last year, hold on: Cerebras Systems present the Wafer Scale Engine 3 (WSE-3) chip, which powers the Cerebras CS-3 AI supercomputer with a peak performance of 125 petaflops. It’s scalable to an insane degree. -
Portable 'transflective' LCD monitor uses the Sun as its light source
March 12, 2024Backlit monitors can be harsh on the eyes, causing some people to suffer from eye strain. Introducing the Eazeye Radiant, the world's first portable monitor to incorporate transflective LCD to effectively use natural light as a light source.
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Games
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5 video games we wanna smell, now that it's kinda possible with GameScent
March 19, 2024Have you ever wondered what all 1,000+ Pokémon smell like? Because we have. With the news of a weird AI smell-o-vision device called GameScent, we’ve rounded up a list of which game worlds we’re most curious to get a whiff of – for better or worse. -
Dawn of the arcade game: Three pivotal video games from the early 70s
March 12, 2024Atari's first three video arcade games tell a fascinating story of rapid evolution: the first ("Computer Space" - 1971), the game it inspired ("Pong" - 1972) and the sequel to Pong ("Space Race" - 1973) which introduced the arcade world to the joystick. -
AI robot buddy aims to teach gamers social skills
January 10, 2024This charmingly Japanese robot acts as a gaming buddy, taking the other controller and playing against you while chatting about what's happening on screen. It's designed to stave off loneliness, and teach increasingly isolated gamers to be social.
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Laptops
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2024 Macbook Air gets M3 chip – and serious performance upgrades
March 04, 2024Apple has treated its most popular portable workstation to a significant performance boost thanks to building the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air laptops around its latest silicon, the M3 chip announced last year. -
First transparent laptop shows Lenovo's clear vision for future working
March 03, 2024Lenovo has unveiled a ThinkBook concept that boasts a futuristic transparent display and combined touch keyboard/drawing pad. The concept is part of the company's new tech offerings announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. -
Dual-OLED Zenbook Duo laptop now available for pre-order
January 31, 2024Asus launched what it called "the world's first 14-inch dual-screen OLED laptop" at CES 2024 earlier this month, a similar but different proposition to its 17-inch folding model from 2022. Now the Zenbook Duo has gone up for sale.
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Music
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Toy-like music maker gets future producers in the groove
April 25, 2024A portable music production studio previewed at NAMM 2022 is now crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Playtime Engineering's Blipblox myTracks is designed to give young creators all the tools they need to start making music. -
John Lennon's long-lost Help! acoustic expected to break auction records
April 23, 2024John Lennon's 1964 Framus 5/024 Hootenanny famously played on the title track of The Beatles' 1965 album Help! – and believed lost for more than 50 years – is heading to auction next month, where it's expected to break records. -
Plant-based records take the PVC out of vinyl
March 26, 2024Sales of vinyl records have been on the rise for a few years now, but the plastic used to create them is bad news for the enviro-conscious listener. A UK startup is hoping to change that by pressing for plant-based alternatives.
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Robotics
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Video: Robo erectus – W1 quadruped robot evolves to stand and walk upright
May 10, 2024You might think that having four legs with wheels on the ends would already make a robot pretty useful. China's LimX Dynamics is taking things further, however, as its W1 quadruped robot is now able to stand up and walk on two "feet." -
Energy-efficient underwater robot rises and falls via fuel-cell balloons
May 10, 2024If scuba divers use inflatable BCDs (buoyancy control devices), why don't underwater robots? Well, an experimental new one does, and the technology is said to be much more energy-efficient than traditional methods of moving up and down in the water. -
Dexterous robot hand can take a beating in the name of AI research
May 10, 2024A robotics company likely most famous for a demo of its dexterous robot hand at Amazon re:MARS with Jeff Bezos has now unveiled a new robust model designed for machine learning research, which was developed in collaboration with Google's DeepMind.
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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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FCC bans AI-voiced robocalls in wake of ‘Biden’ calls to NH residents
February 08, 2024The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on February 8th that robocalls made using AI-generated voices are illegal, effective immediately. The announcement gives law enforcement agencies greater powers to deal with scammers. -
Lightweight woven antenna could replace field-deployed dishes
January 22, 2024Ordinarily, in order to establish communications at disaster sites, rescuers have to transport and set up relatively bulky, costly satellite dishes. Soon, however, a simple tubular antenna made of woven strips of material may get the job done. -
Record-breaking fiber transmits 20x global internet traffic per second
December 03, 2023Everybody wants a faster internet connection, and now engineers in Japan have shattered the record for data transmission. The team managed to transmit more than 20 times the global internet traffic per second through a single optical fiber.
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Wearables
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Upgrade-friendly TWS earbuds designed to let the music play on
April 15, 2024Many of the gadgets we use every day have a limited shelf life, and often end up as e-waste before their time. The Dutch company that launched a repairable, upgradeable, sustainable smartphone has now taken the challenge to true wireless earphones. -
Odd-looking glasses track your eyes and facial expressions without cameras
April 12, 2024Two new technologies allow a single pair of glasses to track eye movements and read the wearer's facial expressions, respectively. The systems use sonar instead of cameras, for better battery life and increased user privacy. -
Smart helmet tracks shake to keep brains safe on the job
April 04, 2024An experimental new helmet could save drivers of construction vehicles from serious injuries. The device measures the extent to which its wearer is being shaken up while driving, and sounds an alert when the shaking gets to be too much.
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Virtual Reality
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C-Infinity VR platform designed to keep gamers from losing their lunch
February 01, 2024Realistic and immersive as VR gaming may be, it produces feelings of motion sickness in many people. The C-Infinity platform is claimed to keep that from happening, by better engaging the user's body in their avatar's actions. -
Phantom VR glove delivers a sense of touch, but leaves fingers free
January 29, 2024There are now a number of gloves that deliver tactile sensations to VR users' fingertips when they touch virtual objects. The Phantom glove is unique, however, in that it doesn't cover the fingers, leaving them free for real-world interactions. -
AR vacuuming app makes sure you don't miss a spot
January 23, 2024As VR/AR headsets become more and more common, they'll open up all sorts of opportunities to "gamify" what's happening in the real world. Here's a fun example: an app that tracks your vacuum, showing which bits of floor you have and haven't done.
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