In March 2012 Alex Teichman was a Ph.D. student in Stanford University’s computer science department, working on self-driving cars. His goal: to help a self-driving car understand the environment around it, in particular, to be aware of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other moving objects that might come into its path.His approach: instead of traditional image analysis, use depth information abou...

Hydrophobic fabrics on unnurella simplify the rain drying processUnnurella is an umbrella that’s dry as soon as you get indoors or under cover.Made by Japanese design firm Doogdesign from high-density hydrophobic fabrics, the umbrella makes water roll completely off rather than stick to it. Once the user reaches shelter, the fabric is completely dry, allowing for fast storage without worrying...

In the past year, cyberattacks have littered our new feeds, displaying the high cost of a corporate hack. In the last year behemoths like Target, Home Depot, Sony and Anthem have paid the price and are still working to improve their systems and repair their reputations. Despite recent discouraging occurrences, many organizations are looking at potential opportunities to safeguard their business...

Why Muslims Are Rising Fastest and the Unaffiliated Are Shrinking as a Share of the World’s Population. What will the world’s religious landscape look like a few decades from now? A new Pew Research Center study attempts to answer that question by projecting the changing size of eight major global religious groups through the year 2050 based on a variety of demographic factors.The study uses...

The August smart lock is on sale at the Apple Store in the US right now. Locks and keys are physical objects, and the technology behind them hasn't really changed since the first set was invented in the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh in about 612 BC.Now, more than 2,600 years later, all that might be about to change. In Citi analyst Jim Suva's new note to investors on the future of Apple, the...

The passive-elastic ankle exoskeleton makes walking easier without the use of an external energy source .We might have started off in the water, but humans have evolved to be extremely efficient walkers, with a walk in the park being, well, a walk in the park. Human locomotion is so efficient that many wondered whether it was possible to reduce the energy cost of walking without the use of an e...

Ever since the tablet boom started to fade, many experts predicted wearable devices to be the next big thing in the tech industry. A recent forecast by IDC seems to confirm that prediction: IDC’s analysts expect worldwide wearable device shipments to grow from 19.6 million units in 2014 to 45.7 million this year and reach 126.1 million units by 2019. However, speaking of a wearables boom in ge...

Soundbrenner Pulse has been designed to help wearers keep the beat and become better performers.Soundbrenner Pulse is a wearable device designed specifically for musicians, which acts as a vibrational metronome to help them keep the beat.Developed by a team of entrepreneurial musicians in Berlin, the stylish musical aid is worn on the arm or leg. It delivers subtle and precise vibrations using...

The Unispectral camera and software could tell you what's in your drink, as an exampleHow would you like to be able to know the chemical composition of something, just by taking a snapshot or video of it with your smartphone? You may eventually be able to, thanks to a compact hyperspectral imaging camera being developed at Tel Aviv University.Hyperspectral imaging involves scanning light spectr...