First FAA approved drone flight drops donuts from heaven
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Not only will drone deliveries cut down the length of time that consumers have to wait for their goods to be delivered, further denting the value of brick and mortar retailers, but it will usher in a new era of Donuts-on-demand. 7-Eleven, the world’s...
Nano watermarks sort the fakes from the originals
New nanotechnology aims to put a dent in the $745 billion counterfeit goods market Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed a technique for embedding nanoscale photonic crystals into the glass face of a watch so that when it is exposed to UV light, the design...
Remodel your home using augmented reality at Lowe’s
Experience your new kitchen in the comfort of your own corner of someone elses’ store Lowe’s is building the first announced business application for new indoor mapping technology developed by Alphabet’s Google. The retailer wants customers to use the technology to map the rooms of their homes and visualise how products will...
Self assembling space stations and the end of flat pack
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 4D Printing could change how we construct buildings and maintain city infrastructure. Many are only just getting their heads around the idea of 3D printing but scientists at MIT are already working on an upgrade – 4D printing. At the TED conference in Los Angeles,...