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ENVIRONMENT Time-saving green tech kills those "blasted weeds" without chemicals ​Although there are various other types of eco-friendly weed control, organic farm workers often end up yanking weeds out by hand. Thanks to the relatively new process of "abrasive weeding," however, that may not always be necessary.   read more MUSIC Review: iRig Pro Duo makes your recording studio portable There's no doubt that tablets and smartphones have made multi-track audio recording on the run easier than ever. But connecting instruments to iPads and iPhones has never been quite as simple. The iRig Pro Duo helps make that final connection and allows musicians to truly record on the run.  read more COMPUTERS New algorithm helps machines learn as quickly as humans A new probabilistic artificial intelligence algorithm is displaying the remarkable ability to learn complex visual concepts in a single shot and manipulate them in ways that are indistinguishable from humans.  read more AUTOMOTIVE 90 million dollar cars go to auction in the next few weeks The next fortnight sees one of the most concentrated periods of auction activity outside Monterey Car Week. The action is spread across two main locations in Scottsdale, Arizona and Paris, France, where the Retromobile Exhibition is held in the city which pioneered auto racing 120 years ago.  read more 3D PRINTING 3D-printed engine combustor withstands hypersonic flight testing Aerospace 3D printing went Mach 5 this week, with Orbital ATK announcing that it has successfully tested a printed hypersonic engine combustor at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.  read more OUTDOORS Oru launches a quicker, entry level folding kayak Since introducing its first folding kayak in 2012, San Francisco startup Oru Kayak has been growing its lineup with modestly evolving origami-inspired kayaks like the Bay+. Its latest is the all-new Beach, a 12-foot model designed for super-quick set-up and stable paddling.   read more MILITARY Unmanned helicopter and ground vehicle team up to explore dangerous terrain Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) together with Sikorsky Aircraft have deployed an autonomous helicopter and all-terrain robot to demonstrate what might be possible when advanced, unmanned vehicles join forces.​​  read more SCIENCE Lockheed Martin shrinks the telescope Lockheed Martin's SPIDER telescope replaces the large primary lenses with an array of tiny ones that allow the instruments to shrink by a factor of 10 to 100.  read more AUTOMOTIVE Mini adds ALL4 all-wheel drive to Clubman  Mini introduced the second-generation Clubman last year, but it stayed quiet about one significant new addition: AWD. It has officially added two extra drive wheels this week.  read more HEALTH AND WELLBEING NutriRay3D uses laser light and your phone to count calories There are already plenty of apps that let people estimate how many calories are in the foods they're eating, but they have limitations. That's where NutriRay3D comes in. It's a smartphone device/app combo, that uses lasers to ascertain how many calories are sitting on the plate.  read more GOOD THINKING Topchair-S wheelchair has no problem with stairs Wheelchair users have had to live with the fact that stairs, sharp curbs and doorsteps either required assistance to maneuver, or made access to some locations impossible. The tracked TopChair-S, however, is designed to change that.  read more OUTDOORS Zyntony's flexible, wearable Ra light keeps heads and hands free Zyntony has created a new type of adventure light that pairs high lumen output with versatile mounting. The Ra is designed to magnetically strap to clothing, backpacks, or gear for broad area illumination.  read more MATERIALS Self-cleaning, anti-glare windows inspired by moth eyes A revolutionary new type of smart window could cut window-cleaning costs in tall buildings while reducing heating bills and boosting worker productivity. Partially inspired by the reflective properties of moth eyes, this smart window is said to be self-cleaning, energy-saving, and anti-glare.  read more DIGITAL CAMERAS Nikon D500 vs. Canon 7D Mark II  The D500 is the Nikon’s new flagship APS-C DSLR, but how does it compare to its Canon counterpart, the 7D Mark II? Here we compare the key specs and features of the two high-end cameras.  read more MEDICAL New pulse-tracking tech does away with wearable sensors What if you could get the benefits of heartbeat sensing without even having to strap on a piece of tech? A team of researchers from the Kyoto University, together with Panasonic, is working on making that dream a reality. read more ROBOTICS Soft robotic grippers lend a delicate hand in undersea exploration A research team from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has been working to create a more delicate solution for handling objects on the seabed, designing, building and testing a soft gripper solution.  read more VIRTUAL REALITY Virtuix Omni: VR treadmills not yet living up to the promise (hands-on) In theory, a treadmill could be be a great way to handle movement in virtual reality. How does the current reality live up to the theory? Read on, as we recap our feet-on CES demo of the Virtuix Omni VR treadmill.  read more ARCHITECTURE Brighton's vertical cable car is top of the pods A viewing pod ten times the size of those on the London Eye has been completed for what is claimed will be the world's tallest moving observation attraction. The Brighton i360 is a 162-m (531-ft) tower with a single pod that will accommodate 200 people.   read more SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR GIZMAG READERS Learn Ethical Hacking with 97% off this Bundle of Five Video Courses Learn to specialize in methodologies that will protect your organization from security threats, and become an indispensable member of your team. Where do you start? This course will take you from beginner to pro penetration tester so you can prove your worth by discovering security vulnerabilities before they're a real issue.  read more