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The Robot Assistant Who Can Second-Guess Your Every Need
It’s here – a world in which helper robots live with us, get us through the day, and yes, become our trusted friend. Science fiction is becoming science fact.
As sci-fi writer William Gibson noted: “The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.”
The demand for helper robots is booming, and academia, industry and the military are working overtime to meet the need as a whole new industry gains momentum.
This Microwave Oven Is The Size Of A Thermos
There’s a reason the microwave in your kitchen is a heavy brick: it uses a magnetron and vacuum tube technology that dates back to World War II. But since then, the technologies involved have been vastly improved (see mobile phone towers) and a company called Wayv in the UK is finally using them to shrink the microwaves.
This Machine Makes Better Chai Than Starbucks
Good chai is transcendent. Strong black tea is sweetened by rich boiled milk and given a pleasant bite from a handful of spices. In South Asia it’s a way of life. Every person has their method of preparation — a ritual after years of boiling and reboiling the ingredients until they coalesce into the drink.
People Are Pissed At Oculus For Changing Up Its DRM Rules
When it released the Rift DK1 in 2012, the Oculus team was seen as the little startup darling that could finally make virtual reality an actual reality — and it was going to do it with a community-based effort. When it was snatched up by Facebook, founder Palmer Luckey made it clear “a million times” that Oculus wasn’t going to build a VR walled garden. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Oculus’s openness has its limits.
This Is The Smallest Flying Robot Capable Of Landing On Surfaces
Birds, bats and insects can’t fly forever, and neither can microrobotic drones. A new system that taps into the power of static electricity — the same principle that allows a balloon to stick to a wall — now allows robotic insects to land and stick to surfaces, greatly extending their operational life.
Apple Is Making iOS And Mac More Accessible Than Ever
Yesterday was Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and every year it throws into sharp relief the fact that a lot of Australians living with disability don’t have the same access to technology — the technology powered by touchscreens and mice and keyboards — that the rest of us do. 1 in 5 Australians live with disability of some kind, and to mark the occasion Apple has made a wide variety of specialised accessibility accessories available through its online store in Australia for the first time.
Apple's New San Francisco Store Has A 24-Hour Public Space With Free Wi-Fi
<> on May 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California.
Apple has just unveiled a new store in San Francisco’s Union Square, and it’s the template for a new style that will likely eventually be replicated all over the globe, including the most “significant” Australian stores in Sydney and Melbourne. As well as an in-store garden grove for Genius appointments and a 6K-resolution video wall, there’s also a plaza that will be open to the public 24 hours a day with free Wi-Fi and music performances.
Your Move, Apple
It feels like it’s 2001. A ton of companies had released a ton of MP3 players, and they all sucked. The iPod was just months away.
But it’s 2016, and instead we’re drowning in smarthome gadgets, most recently the voice-powered Amazon Echo and whatever Google Home is.
LulzBot Releases New Improved Self-Levelling, Self-Cleaning 3D Printer
With 3D printers moving further into the mainstream, companies are pushing to make their printers easier to use and more accessible for first-time buyers. LulzBot’s latest offering has added a whole bunch of new features into the TAZ 6 which make it easier to use — such as a self-levelling bed, self cleaning and support for even more types of filament material.
Giz Gadgets: Can Gadgets Improve Your Health (Or Lifestyle)?
Each new week brings with it an abundance of new gadgets — whether devised by tech giants like Google and Samsung or pushed by hopeful entrepreneurs to Kickstarter, they run the gamut from useful to niche to tech that nobody really needs. This week we’re looking at gadgets that are designed to help you live longer, smarter and better.
Garmin's Vivosmart Gets GPS With The HR+
The Vivosmart has been given an update, with the HR+ model featuring wrist-based heart rate plus GPS.
You’ll get running metrics, Garmin Move IQ auto activity detection, an always-on, sunlight-readable display and a water rating of 5 ATM — so it’s swim and shower safe. And of course, it tracks your steps, distance, calories, floors climbed and activity intensity.
How The Smart Homes Of The Future Will Look, And How They 'll Improve Your Life
For the past few decades “smart homes” have largely lived on the wrong side of possible. Shows like the Jetsons gave us dreams of robot servants, jetpacks and interconnected appliances, but our appliances never really got smarter. Until now.
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