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ICYMI: Microsoft's drone simulator and Dubai's hover taxis
Today on In Case You Missed It: Why get stuck in traffic when you can simply fly over it? At least, that's Dubai's plan. The UAE's largest city announced its intent to unleash swarms of EHang 184 "Personal Flying Vehicles" -- the same ones that wowed crowds at last year's CES show -- to ferry citizens around town starting as early as this July. We also take a look at Microsoft's new open-source UAV simulator, the Aerial Informatics and Robotics Platform. With it, drone designers will be able to program and test their flying creations for autonomous operation without having to worry about their precious prototypes crashing and burning. Or getting attacked by wildlife. Or being shot out of the sky by trigger-happy property owners. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: MIT built a water claw and there's a new VR rollercoaster
Today on In Case You Missed It: MIT's Soft Active Materials Lab showed off its gold-fish-catching hydrogel claw. The robot hand is made entirely of water and is completely invisible when submerged. The lab is hoping the hydrogel hands will be able to conduct delicate surgeries inside humans.
ICYMI: DARPA's drone snatcher and Pokémon: Minecraft edition
Today on In Case You Missed It: DARPA unveiled a UAV recovery systems that can catch a 1,000-pound drone but still fit comfortably in a standard 20-foot shipping container. The SideArm, as it's called, uses the same arresting-wire system that full-sized military jets use aboard aircraft carriers -- just, you know, upside down. We also take a look what happens when modders manage to stuff a full Pokémon game (in this case, "Cobalt and Amethyst") into the Minecraft universe. Modder Phoenix SC reportedly spent 31 months creating the add-on. It contains a brand-new storyline, 136 new Pokémon and about 70 hours of gameplay. Just make sure you catch this unofficial addition to the Pokémpire before Team Nintendo arrives. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @engadget or @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Spinning synthetic veins and emotion-sensing smartwatch apps
Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers from Vanderbilt University are using commercial cotton candy machines to spin synthetic capillaries. Instead of sugar, the machines spin polymer fibers which are then coated in hydrogel and backed. The heat malts the polymer and hardens the hydrogel which then acts as scaffolding for human cell cultures. We also take a look at an emotion-sensing smartwatch app from MIT. It pairs an iPhone 5S with Samsung's Simband wearable to record and analyze conversational speech, then guess as to the emotion being expressed. And finally, it's TLDR day, where we read you the top headlines of the week that you might have missed while watching American democracy slowly crumble before your eyes. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @engadget or @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Boeing's swanky new space suits and 3D-printable skin
Today on In Case You Missed It: Boeing debuted its next-generation flight suit that astronauts will be wearing aboard its Starliner CST-100 when the spacecraft takes off in 2018. They're cooler, lighter and far more fashionable than the ones US Shuttle crews had to wear into space. Plus, who doesn't want to look like Benny the blue LEGO space guy? That's not all, a team of Spanish researchers have announced that they can now "print" human skin from their prototype 3D bioprinter. Simple culture some cells, feed them into the printer and this thing will spit out functional human skin. If only this technology were around in 1990, Liam Neeson wouldn't have had to go and kill all those folks who burned him alive. And finally, we got your TL;DR right here, folks. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: A soft robot sleeve to keep your heart going
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A soft robotic device made by Harvard and Boston Children's Hospital researchers has been tested on pigs and so far, seems quite promising in treating heart disease. The robotic heart wraps around parts of existing tissue and helps squeeze, keeping the blood moving. But unlike other existing devices that are inserted into the heart, this just goes over the top. Its makers believe that will lead to better outcomes for patients that use it, since cycling blood through a medical device can lead to all kinds of complications, from infection to blood clots. No word yet on when they'll begin tests in humans.
ICYMI: Lasers of the future will create an atmospheric lens
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A new company called BAE Systems is touting its Laser Developed Atmospheric Lens tech, which aims to use particles in the atmosphere to make a big magnifying glass. They admit we are many years from actual application of the idea, but that doesn't make the video any less cool. Meanwhile NASA is booking rides on Russia's space transport vehicle, the Soyuz, through 2019, since SpaceX and Boeing are both behind on their plans for a vehicle to get American astronauts to the International Space Agency. The America's Funniest Home Videos compilation is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: The U.S. Army is making actual hover bikes
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The Galactic Empire will have some competition for Speeder Bikes soon enough, from the US Army. Researchers there have been working on hoverbikes for a few years now, based on an Australian inventor's design. Make sure to watch the video of the temperatures stacking up each year, bringing us to the hottest recorded weather for 2016, or a video of the sunspot twice as big as Earth. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Mind-controlled mice kill on command
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: You might have thought things couldn't get any worse, but you'd be wrong. A recent study published in Nature showed that first, mice could be bred so that the neurons in their brains respond to laser lights. Then, the adult mice were hooked up to laser light helmets and when turned on, the hunt and kill area of the brain was triggered so that mice instantly attacked crickets in their cages. I have one thing to say: You can watch the 2009 movie, Gamer, if you want a prophecy of our future lives.
ICYMI: SpaceX redeems itself with a showstopper rocket launch
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: SpaceX is back in launching mode after the FAA grounded the company following an unfortunate explosion last September. The rocket company successfully launched satellites from its revamped Falcon9, then the motor completed its landing on a SpaceX floating pad.
ICYMI: A medical breakthrough inspired by a kids toy
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Stanford bioengineers created a centrifuge to separate blood and detect disease, all based on whirligigs from childhood. They estimate the blood cell device would cost only 20 cents a piece to make, and since it's human-powered, could be used all over off-the-grid locations to help diagnose diseases like tuberculosis. The National Science Foundation helped fund research into walking efficiency and the artist who imagined a sad robot dystopia is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: The Sleep Number bed keeps you cozy all night long
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: There were more beds at CES this year than we've ever seen before, but I was seduced, yet again, by the new model for the Sleep Number bed. Even though I'm a bit of an everything-connected-to-the-internet hater. Last year's Sleep Number model introduced a plethora of sleep-tracking sensors, integrated inside the mattress. But the 2017, Sleep Number 360 version kicks it all up a notch. It can use that data to adjust the firmness of the bed as you turn during the night, as well as pre-heat the foot bed warmer just before your usual bedtime. Probably best of all for couples: It raises the side of an offending nighttime snorer and ends the noise, no elbows required. The bed will run $1099 and start rolling out in the spring. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd. And click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.
ICYMI: Wearable breast pump and everything IoT
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The wearable breast pump that doesn't need any external power or cords will be launching in the Spring to the tune of $429 and is likely to thrill every woman who's ever had to express milk with one of the bulky contraptions of yore. Willow is selling it and providing a matching app that measures how much milk is produced from each breast as well. Metrics ftw!
ICYMI: CES brings smart brush, remote, fridge and odd cyborg
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: If you were looking for things to make your home life easier, you might need a camera that takes a photo of the inside of your fridge every time it is opened. Then you'll always know if someone drank the last of the milk and didn't tell you. You can check the photos in the app to see what you're out of and even get push notifications when your food is about expire (if you first manually add that information in). The FridgeCam by Smarter will cost $149.
ICYMI: Say farewell to 2016 with these favorite stories
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are rounding up some favorite stories from the year before it's lost to us all. When next you see ICYMI, it'll be from CES. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Physicists just cracked a big anti-matter hurdle
Today on In Case You Missed It: CERN scientists announced they were able to measure anti-matter on the optical spectrum after a full 20 years of trying. This could not only help us understand the universe better but probably solve the mystery of the aliens everywhere meme-- kidding! That guy is unexplainable. Meanwhile Stanford scientists were able to see how starfish larvae move through water, creating vortices to both swim and move food closer to their mouths, something that had previously been unknown. If you're looking for a laugh, feel free to check out synthesizer bike guy, round two. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Hydroponics on a grand scale
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Sundrop Farms in Australia produces tomatoes from using solar power and seawater, no soil, pesticides or groundwater involved. You can watch the video of the facility here or the CNN story here. The story about the weather study using man-made ice storms is described here. If you're interested in the bird-inspired drone design, that's here, and the meat pie into the stratosphere is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Snap's Spectacles are being used to broadcast surgery
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A surgeon who goes by the name virtualsurgeon on Snapchat used Spectacles to broadcast a hernia surgery. Meanwhile the Office of Naval Research demoed its prototype autonomous swarm watercraft, that no joke travel in packs and investigate other boats. There was so much big news this week but we recommend reading up on how scientists are duplicating climate change data before a Trump presidency. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Amazon made its first drone-powered delivery
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Amazon has been testing drone deliveries for three years now, even having to move to the UK to keep it going once the FAA changed its UAV guidelines. The company released a video of its first fully autonomous drone delivery, which happened on December 7. Meanwhile a team of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory dug into what would happen if a sizable meteorite hit the ocean and the modeling shows a substantial amount of water vapor would get thrown into the stratosphere, which would not do great things for climate change. Finally, the Danish Neighborhood Watch came out with a robbery-preventing Christmas light and app combination to deter robbers-- and provide laughs for the rest of us. If you're looking for the dash cam video of an Uber car going through a red light, that's here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: Hairy robots are better than smooth
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Roboticists from China created an artificial skin for robots that simulate hair with glass-shrouded microwires. A gripper hand with the 'hair' on it's skin was able to feel when an object was slipping because of the hair, then adjust its grip. Lets just hope they keep the full Teenwolf under control. The helium-filled balloon bot designed for search and inspection jobs is here. Meanwhile NASA is spending its final days of 2016 by releasing data visualizations of carbon dioxide pollution around the globe, and how extra heat is stored in the world's oceans. The Chuck E. Cheese challenge video is here and that awkward handshake, here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
