Category: Future Tech

Microsoft is now taking applications from software developers for the HoloLens Developer Edition, the beta version of its augmented reality computer. Yes, computer. The HoloLens doesn’t need to be connected to a PC to work because it is itself a Windows 10 computer.

Volvo is working on a slick autonomous vehicle project with a Swedish refuse company that is aiming to automate the task of picking up your trash and taking it to the truck for dumping. The process needs a human driver for the truck (for now) and otherwise the process of picking up the can, schlepping it to the truck, and dumping it is automated.

LG’s new premiere smartphone, the G5, has a second rear camera for wide angle shots. But Corephotonics’ new smartphone module shoots with its two cameras at once. It then uses the company’s proprietary software to merge the two pictures and create a significantly improved single image.

Boston Dynamics has released a video demonstrating a new upgraded version of its upright walking ATLAS robot. It’s still scary as hell and marches us one step closer to a robot controlled Earth. Watch as it leaves the robot facility all on it’s own and opens the door to go outside – without human permission.

For years now, display manufacturers like LG and Samsung have been teasing flexible displays by creating mobile devices that can be folded to be more portable. But researchers at Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab show us that flexible displays can also lead to novel yet intuitive ways of interacting with devices.

Last October we checked out a fascinating animation technique that transfers facial movements from one person to another in real-time. Disney Research’s FaceDirector on the other hand blends two different takes of an actor’s face into one customizable performance.

I want a robot in my house that can clean, cook, and do laundry. That will free me up to watch movies and play Fallout 4. The catch is that robot hands today can’t really pick up fragile items like eggs, and if the robot can’t make bacon and eggs, it’s pretty much worthless to me.

There are many exoskeletons in development around the world. While the goal of some is to make your average human able to lift and carry more, the goal for others is to help people who are paralyzed to walk again.

Thanks (or no thanks) to Microsoft, someday we could have clouds under the sea. The software giant recently shared details on what it calls Project Natick, an experiment about constructing and operating an underwater datacenter. The datacenter in these images is Project Natick’s prototype Leona Philpot, named after a character in the Halo universe.

When I was in college, I watched a bunch of different surgeries being performed in the operating room. The thing that sticks out in my mind is just how long doctors have to spend standing in one single location, without moving.

Toshiba is showing off a robot that will be performing a task that no human can safely do themselves. Sometime next year, this big crane-like robot will be lowered into the cooling pool of Japan’s Fukushima reactor 3 building where radiation levels are too high for humans to go.

Welding and soldering form strong bonds that conduct electricity and heat, but they require high temperatures that can be dangerous to both people and equipment. A new company called MesoGlue claims that its eponymous metallic glue has all the advantages of welding and soldering but with the ease of use of polymer adhesives.

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the snazziest TVs boasted HDR and 8K resolution screens. But perhaps the coolest ones at the show won’t ever go on sale. Made by Samsung, these two concept TVs consist of borderless displays that can split into smaller displays.

It’s no Optimus Prime or Hot Rod, but the Segway Robot does have a vehicle mode and a robot mode, and maker Ninebot hopes it will be useful whether you’re on or off the machine. The Segway Robot is a variant of Ninebot’s Mini Pro, which works much like the trendy self-balancing “hoverboard” transport devices.

A few years ago, we saw that Microsoft’s Kinect sensor could be used to control a quadcopter with hand gestures. In the future, we might be able to do that and more using wearable devices, thanks to Taiwanese company PVD+.

CES 2016 starts this coming week, and it looks like LG will be doubling down on OLED as the next big display technology for the living room. In preparation for the upcoming electronics show, I like to do some preliminary research, and came across numerous LG OLED display models which recently were granted Wi-Fi certification.