Norwegian robot learns to self-evolve and 3D print itself in the lab
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF For the first time we are seeing how it’s possible for robots in the future to design and evolve, manufacture and assemble themselves without human input. Experts at the University of Oslo, Norway have discovered a new way for robots to design, evolve and manufacture...
Hiding on the Dark Web just got a whole lot easier
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A new Tor update has just created a new, even darker section of the Dark Web and it’s great news for privacy advocates – and criminals Only ten to twenty percent of the web can be searched and indexed by search engines, and it’s...
Australia hails the end of passports as it rolls out biometrics at airports
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Biometric border technologies can scan and authenticate you without you ever knowing, or needing to stop, now Australia are going to use them to replace passports, for good. Australia, for those that have never been, is a beautiful country – and the last thing...
Fringe actors are trying to fight back against our commercial “surveillance state”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Whether it’s online or offline commercial organisations and government institutions are increasingly stripping away our privacy with little regard for the implications or moral consequences, now fringe actors are trying to fight back. You know that you are tracked online. You may also know...
New H2 smartphone puts a lab grade molecular sensor in your hands
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to analyse the chemical composition of products, particularly counterfeit ones, has long been something you could only do in a lab, now the lab’s in the palm of your hand. Smartphones already do a lot of things, in fact, it’s likely that...
Huge Pacific Rim robot to help clean up Fukushima nuclear disaster site
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Robots have a multitude of applications but up until now most of them have been quite small, a new mech from a Korean company just broke the mould. This week a team in Seoul demonstrated a 13 ft (4m) tall robot, or “mech,” that, unlike it’s diminutive...
DARPA is giving its deep web search tech a huge upgrade
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The deep web is home to both legal and illegal institutions and activities that have always traditionally been hard to search, crawl and analyse but now a new upgrade from DARPA promises to change all that. A lot of people have never heard of...
New spray on polymer makes watermelons, and the Pentagon, indestructible
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As scientists discover, and create new fantastical molecules and polymers, the number of applications that they can be used for increases, Line-X is a wonderful example of what’s possible. What do pick up truck bed liners, ballistic vests, the Pentagon, a piece of paper...
Technology and the future of privacy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In Millenia past privacy was considered to be a normal part of life but now it is increasingly becoming a privilege and a scarcity, and, if it is not guarded, or looked after wisely, one day it won’t exist at all. I originally wrote...
Nimble Atlas robot ups its game again to conquer tricky terrain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We take many of the things we do as humans for granted, such as balancing, but our bodies make thousands of adjustments every second just standing still and getting a robot to mimic what comes naturally to us isn’t as easy as you think ...
Scientists use defects to create a new programmable material
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Programmable materials are a new class of revolutionary materials that can be manufactured once and then programmed to alter their properties and shape on demand to suit a limitless number of use cases. New research by a team at Purdue University has shown that honeycomb...
IBM opens the worlds first commercial Cyber Range
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As more organisations are subjected to cyber attacks it is important they have a way to evaluate their readiness, and their ability to identify, mitigate and manage events. It was a big day for IBM on Monday as it opened its new security headquarters...
Drone ray gun gets FAA approval to take out drones at airports
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Drones are increasingly being used by criminals and terrorists to disrupt and destroy high value targets so security services around the world are now in an arms race to make sure they stay one step ahead of the threat. A UK created “ray gun”...
Drones are fighting back against laser attacks
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Drones are seen by many military and terrorist organisations around the world as the new weapons platform of choice and working out new ways to destroy and disable them is a top priority but it’s a game of cat and mouse. Back in 2014,...
The era of pre-crime? Chinese AI can tell you’re a criminal by looking at your photo
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The greatest danger we face is underestimating the power of todays, let alone tomorrows, technology. As we enter an era of persistent online and offline surveillance it is becoming easier to see how one day police forces around the world could create a Minority Report...
Virtual reality plays its role in convicting Nazi SS guards who killed millions
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Criminal convictions, particularly involving historic crimes, are often made or broken on just how well jurors can visualise the scenes of the crimes using second hand evidence, now VR can give them a first person view. Earlier this month I reported that UK and...
Drones get new eyes in the sky with Echodynes miniature radar
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As more and more drones clutter the skies systems that can detect, and avoid other airborne obstacles become more crucial Echodyne, a US based materials Radar company, want to see a day when radar equipped drones fill the skies and deliver your packages and...
Scientists confirm our brains have unique fingerprints
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Our brains are unique – even more so than our eyes, faces and fingerprints – but now it’s been confirmed this discovery will open the door for new neurological healthcare treatments as well as accelerate the rise of new brainwave biometric security technologies People...
Get ready to experience millions of new, immersive worlds
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The way we interact with technology is changing. We are slowly moving away from using keyboards and mice to using a mix of new technologies that will immerse us in new worlds and imbue us with new, vibrant experiences. There is no doubt that...
Urban Aero shows off its first fully autonomous flying taxi
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Companies are increasingly scaling up drone technology and their associated energy and control systems in the new race to take passengers to the skies and back, but the Cormorant is the first to demonstrate full autonomy. Nine years ago the AirMule was simply a...
