Long relegated to the world of science fiction, lasers and rail guns are increasingly appearing in real life.
You’ll soon be able to buy your kids a $500 Luke Skywalker Landspeeder
For 40 years, kids enamored with Luke Skywalker’s beat-up X-34 Landspeeder have had two choices: they could play with a tiny action figure version, or they could sit in a cardboard box and make speeder sound effects. Continue reading… “You’ll soon be able to buy your kids a $500 Luke Skywalker Landspeeder”
Craig Venter’s ‘digital-to-biological converter’ is based on real science
Right now, it prints proteins. In the far future, it could print human babies on Mars. Craig Venter and Elon Musk have even discussed how printed life could help terraform Mars.
Continue reading… “Craig Venter’s ‘digital-to-biological converter’ is based on real science”
SoftWear Automation introduces Sewbots
Clothing manufacturing has always been a labor intensive industry with the advantage going to the country with the lowest cost labor. Automated sewing factories with SoftWear machines could change all that.
Continue reading… “SoftWear Automation introduces Sewbots”
The changing demographics of entrepreneurship
Who are today’s up-and-coming entrepreneurs? That answer is very different than it was 20 years ago.
Most new entrepreneurs are still white and male, but the U.S. entrepreneurial population is becoming much more diverse in terms of age, race and region. Cities in the southern half of the U.S., such as Los Angeles, Miami and Austin, have become hotbeds for startups and small businesses.
Continue reading… “The changing demographics of entrepreneurship”
Photographing people in 3D through walls using Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi can pass through walls.
This fact is easy to take for granted, yet it’s the reason we can surf the web using a wireless router located in another room. But not all of that microwave radiation makes it to (or from) our phones, tablets, and laptops. Routers scatter and bounce their signal off objects, illuminating our homes and offices like invisible light bulbs.
Now, German scientists have found a way to exploit this property to take holograms, or 3D photographs, of objects inside a room — from outside it.
Continue reading… “Photographing people in 3D through walls using Wi-Fi”
Elon Musk’s tunnel company and the high speed cars that will be traveling underground
It’s rather ironic that a boring company is becoming one of the most fascinating new companies in the world.
Elon Musk’s Boring company published new images of concept vehicles that could one day be used in its underground tunnels.
Scientists use Martian dust to 3D print tools
Food and transportation aren’t the only aspects of a mission to Mars scientists must consider. Limited cargo space means to obtain tools or similar items, astronauts may need to make use of resources available on the red planet – like dirt. Four Northwestern University researchers were recently able to utilize a Martian dust simulant to 3D print building blocks and tools.
NASA started looking into space 3D printers back in 2013 to manufacture repair parts or tools. Now Northwestern scientists have used lunar and Martian dust simulants approved by NASA to 3D print tools in a process the university described as simple, scalable, and sustainable.
Continue reading… “Scientists use Martian dust to 3D print tools”
The PowerRay drone is an aquatic spyglass for playboy fishermen
Who needs fishing prowess when you have a remote-controlled, sonar-equipped, bait-dropping, mini-submersible at your disposal? Because with the new PowerRay underwater drone, that’s exactly what you get.
The PowerRay UUV comes from Beijing-based drone manufacturer PowerVision, makers of the PowerEgg UAV that we saw last August. While the Ray officially debuted back at CES in January, a technical issue with their display (read: their tank sprung a leak) prevented the company from showing off the device in its natural environment.
Continue reading… “The PowerRay drone is an aquatic spyglass for playboy fishermen”
Now You Can Feel Wind and Temperature While in Virtual Reality
Realistic visuals and audio are essential to shaping an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience. But these researchers from the National University of Singapore believe VR shouldn’t just cater to sight and sound. For the ultimate VR experience, other senses should come into play as well.
Last year, Nimesha Ranasinghe and his team demonstrated how electrodes can be used to add a sense of taste to VR. Their latest accessory, Ambiotherm, adds another element of realism to the experience: atmosphere.
Continue reading… “Now You Can Feel Wind and Temperature While in Virtual Reality”
Portable iPhone-powered lab developed by research team that can detect cancer with 99% accuracy
It’s no secret that Apple has ambitious plans for iPhone and Apple Watch in the health industry, but it’s not the only company looking for ways to integrate smartphones in the medical field. Recently, a research team from Washington State University, under the leadership of assistant professor Lei Li, developed a portable laboratory that’s powered by a smartphone and capable of detecting cancer nearly instantly…
AI: A five-point plan to stop the Terminators taking over
Tech behemoths Google, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM and Amazon announced this week that they are teaming up to develop new standards for Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s a much-needed move. Soon AI will change everything from warfare to our bodies. But we don’t want to become slaves to the robots, so how do we stop the Terminators?
Continue reading… “AI: A five-point plan to stop the Terminators taking over”
