A FingerIO-equipped phone tracks a user's finger as it draws a figure 8 on the table.Using your big ol' fingers to perform tasks on a smartphone's touchscreen can be difficult enough, with the smaller screen of a smartwatch presenting even more of a challenge. It was with this in mind that scientists at the University of Washington created FingerIO. The technology turns mobile devices into sona...

Worldwide shipments of wearable devices are expected to reach 110 million by the end of 2016 with 38.2% growth over the previous year. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, an expanding lineup of vendors combined with fast growing consumer awareness and demand will generate double-digit growth throughout the 2015-2020 forecast period,...

It was only two years ago that the founders of Wheelys were thinking about creating a mobile cafe. Since then they've launched a pedal-powered bike-cafe, an electrified second version, a third version with a towable greenhouse and, now, the Wheelys 4, which purifies the air while brewing coffee.Wheelys are aimed at being organic cafes on wheels, serving coffee, cold drinks and vegetarian snacks...

It’s March. And that means it’s bracket time in the U.S. But when it comes to springtime match-ups, the action isn’t confined to the basketball court. Competition across the grocery store is fierce, so we’ve taken an in-depth look across the aisles to see which categories came out on top in our second annual Total Store Bracket.To find out, we evaluated the top 16 product groups across the...

Yes, flexible displays are far from a commercial reality, and yes, modular tech keeps saying it’s round the corner, but never seems to show up, but that doesn’t stop designers from imagining the future applications of these technologies. The Flex Smartwatch is a pretty nifty gadget with 75% of the watch being 2 flexible displays that wrap around your wrist. The remaining 25% is a camera with...

John Maeda thinks that companies should reconfigure their understanding of design into three parts to give them a better grasp of what’s needed to craft a great customer experience — and be more competitive. The design partner for Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers sees the growing number of acquisitions of design firms as evidence of this trend. He believes that the profession is more than...

Smart doorbell startup Ring has raised a further $61.2 million in a series C round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with participation from existing investor Sir Richard Branson.VentureBeat first discovered Ring back in 2013 when the startup was known as Doorbot — which was basically a doorbell equipped with a Wi-Fi-connected camera. In the intervening months, the Santa Monica-head...

Hilton is testing an artificial intelligence-powered concierge robot for its chain of hotels in the US through a partnership with IBM's Watson program. The automaton, called "Connie" after company founder Conrad Hilton, can already be found in the Hilton McLean hotel in Virginia. Guests can ask it questions about nearby restaurants, tourist attractions, and hotel information, but it can't check...

AliveCor, a company headed by former Google executive Vic Gundrota, is building an EKG that fits into an Apple Watch band. Kardia Band is not a toy or a fitness band, Gundotra tells Recode. Instead, it's a full medical device with expected FDA approval.According to AliveCor, users can record their heart rhythm in 30 seconds by touching the band's integrated sensor. If the band detects an elevat...