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Finally, a fruit scanner that will tell you if your avocados are ripe
The OneThird freshness scanners use proprietary algorithms and near infrared lasers to tell you if your guacamole will be a success or not.
Stop & Shop is bringing autonomous food stands to Boston
Forget self-driving grocery delivery cars -- Stop & Shop wants robotic vehicles to bring a chunk of the store to your door. It's launching autonomous grocery vehicles in the greater Boston area that will let you shop for produce, meal kits and "convenience items" (think bread and eggs) just outside your home. You just have to hail one of the Robomart-made cars through a mobile app, unlock the vehicle when it arrives, and pick your food -- a combination of computer vision and RFID tagging automatically flags your purchases. It's not quite Amazon Go on wheels, but it's close.
Robomart autonomous bodegas will deliver produce to your door
Shopping for fresh produce online has always been a bit of a gamble, since you're not actually selecting the fruits and veggies yourself. Santa Clara, California–based startup Robomart aims to change that by bringing online produce shopping to your front door.
Sensor-laden fake fruit ensures you get fresh produce
It's challenging for shippers to check the quality of fruit on its way to your grocery store. Most sensors won't reflect the conditions inside the boxes, and plucking a sample isn't going to give you a comprehensive look. That's where some Swiss researchers might come to the rescue. They've created artificial, sensor-packed fruit whose composition is enough like the real thing to provide an accurate representation of temperatures when placed alongside real food. If the fruit in the middle of a delivery isn't properly refrigerated, the shipping company would know very quickly.
Walmart tries using blockchain to take unsafe food off shelves
It's scary when stores have to pull unsafe food. It can take days to pinpoint the batch or supplier that caused the problem, which could lead to people getting sick... or at best, force the store to yank more products than necessary. Walmart believes technology could offer a better way. It's trying out blockchain's distributed ledger as a means of identifying the sources of poisonous food. Digital receipts for the food identify everyone in the supply chain, ranging from the original location through to the inspectors and shipping companies. If everything passing through a specific warehouse is making people ill, Walmart can identify that troublesome food and yank it within minutes -- and there's no easy way for unscrupulous suppliers to alter the info.
Chemical sensors could detect plants' cries for help, reduce need for pesticides
It's a terrifying thought, but science suggests that when under attack, plants cry for help. Invisible and, often odorless, green leaf volatiles emitted from vegetation act as a defense mechanism, communicating to other foliage that danger is near. One researcher at the University of Georgia, however, is developing a chemical sensor to use these distraught emissions for good. Working in a similar fashion detecting glucose in the blood, the sensor would be able to alert farmers to when crops are under attack from pests, allowing them to trigger defenses reactively, and in a localized area. The net result being less chemicals on our food, and potentially lower costs for producers. Other suggested uses include helping us keep our produce at home fresher for longer by -- literally -- weeding out bad apples in a bag, before they affect the others. The technology is still being optimized for field use, but a testing device should follow once complete. In the meantime, we'll never feel the same about mowing the lawn again.
Exclusive: A day trip to Meizu's factory (video)
Jack Wong is a very lucky guy. Or you can say he's very unfortunate. On one hand, his eight-year-old Meizu label -- literally meaning "the captivating tribe" -- has rapidly become one of the most popular brands amongst Chinese gadget lovers, yet all he's producing right now is just the one phone: the M9. On the other hand, the now-discontinued M8 had notoriously caught unwanted attention from Apple, and even the recent M9 launch saw accusations of Meizu hiring people to stand in line. But the latter points are irrelevant for now -- what we're really interested in is how a teensy MP3 player factory managed to outpace its numerous competitors to become a reputable smartphone maker with a huge fan base. To help us understand what drives the company, we decided to pay Meizu a visit. Go on, you know where to click. %Gallery-115342%
John Woo directing Ninja Gold film in conjunction with Warren Spector's game
John Woo will direct and produce the film-half of Ninja Gold, a multiformat project co-created with celebrated game creator Warren Spector. According to Woo's production partner Terrence Chang, the concept is based on ongoing factual accounts of the Yakuza and Russian mob stealing gold from South Africa. "The idea actually started with John Woo," Spector told Reuters, "He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me."The two components, the game and film, will be developed somewhat independently, while retaining similar elements that will provide a narrative link. In a departure from the norm, neither will be entirely based on the other -- think: convergence, like, totally. Though Spector has been credited as an executive producer of the film, he implied that Woo will be commanding the movie with little help from the game developers. Chang added that the film will be more reality-based (so no signature-Woo bullet ballets?), borrowing lightly from the fantastic elements of the game. Chang hopes that a script can be completed soon, so that production can begin next year. No timetable has been given for the game's development.As for Woo's other game-related project, Stranglehold, Chang suggested that a film adaptation was a strong possibility. "We would definitely bring Stranglehold to the big screen," Chang said. "We would like game titles to have all kinds of possibility. Having a movie made from them is certainly a major consideration for deciding on a title."
