Disney Research has developed a speech recognition system specifically for the speech patterns of kids, and tested it with a game that allows kids to control a mole using simple voice commands.Barking voice commands at a phone, car, computer, or a dedicated voice assistant like Alexa, is pretty commonplace these days, but these systems are usually designed with an adult manner of speaking in mi...

Picture This Clothing is a web-based company started by entrepreneur/mom Jaimee Newberry that literally turns your child's design into an actual, honest-to-goodness dress that they can wear out in the world. Basically, you print the dress template off of the company website, let your child go at it with crayons or markers to design the dress of their dreams, and then upload a photo of it and se...

The number of international students attending U.S. universities has increased dramatically in recent years. For some schools, the trend is a boon, boosting enrollment and investment. But many people worry international students may be squeezing out U.S. applicants to get in.International Student Population International students make up a greater percentage of the overall U.S. student populati...

While there’s no shortage of high-tech innovation in our pockets, homes and on the horizon, none rank higher than safety when it comes to what Americans look for in their vehicles. In fact, across five key categories in a recent Nielsen survey, U.S. consumers said they’re most interested in technology that falls into the safety category, besting connectivity, comfort/convenience, driver assis...

A Swedish and a German company join the fold to make industrial components.On Tuesday, General Electric announced that it would spend $1.4 billion (~£1 billion) to acquire two European 3D printing companies—Arcam AB from Sweden and SLM Solutions Group from Germany. According to the Associated Press, GE spent $1.5 billion (~£1.1 billion) on 3D printing investments since 2010, meaning the acqu...

With a DoorBird doorbell installed at the house, VW drivers will now be able to see who is calling via the vehicle's infotainment system. Thanks to online shopping services, you no longer have to ferry yourself down to your local high street to punch a hole in your bank balance. But it's not all plain sailing. Once your product has been ordered and paid for, you then have the problem of securin...

Back in the 1990s, observers predicted that the single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) would be the nanomaterial that pushed silicon aside and created a post-CMOS world where Moore’s Law could continue its march towards ever=smaller chip dimensions. All of that hope was swallowed up by inconsistencies between semiconducting and metallic SWCNTs and the vexing issue of trying to get them all to a...

Many men lost their jobs when technology made them obsolete. The new jobs available were soul-crushing, undignified, and required an arduous commute—and that’s assuming companies would hire them. Most employers wouldn’t, because the men were considered too old and unskilled for the new work. And then a false prophet with messy hair emerged, promising to give power back to workers and decried...

Electronics giant, Hitachi, is trialing a hospitality robot service at Haneda airport, Tokyo.The variety of tasks which robots now undertake is mind-boggling from cooking fresh meals from a menu in under 5 minutes to checking in baggage at the airport to providing bespoke physiotherapy. Now, Hitachi are trialling a new humanoid robot which will guide lost travelers around airportsLaunched at Ha...