Smartphone cameras have become the primary way people record memories, whether it’s a dramatic view of a travel destination, an unforgettable snapshot of a once-in-a-lifetime stunt, or viral selfies to announce to the whole world that you are here. Given how smartphones are designed, you can only take a shot either from the rear camera or the front selfie cam, never both at the same time. Ther...

A new sensor array can read Braille faster than a human fingertip.[Intrinsically stretchable transistors and integrated circuits developed by Stanford researchers can deform without performance suffering. DONGLAI ZHONG, JIANCHENG LAI AND YUYA NISHIO/BAO GROUP IN STANFORD UNIVERSITY] Newly developed intrinsically stretchable circuits are thousands of times as fast as and possess 20 times as many...

Back in November 2023, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Former Apple Designers officially Introduced their company's first product called the Humane AI Pin, a completely new smartphone concept."Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to an all-new handheld device that could also be pinned to a user's clothing like the AI Pin from Humane....

The age of humanoid robots could be a significant step closer thanks to a new release from Nvidia.The computing giant has announced the launch of Project GROOT, its new foundational model aimed at helping the development of such robots in industrial use cases.Revealed at Nvidia GTC 2024, the company says its new launch will enable robots to be smarter and more functional than ever before - and...

It was another year of big changes for the mobility sector as regulation, investment patterns, consumer preferences, and technology continued to evolve.In a decade that has witnessed remarkable mobility developments, 2023 still manages to stand out. The long list of accomplishments includes some familiar topics, such as the continued growth of micromobility, steady progress with vehicle electri...

TOI's 'Unplastic India' campaign on World Environment Day garnered 5 million pledges against single-use plastic, winning Spikes Asia 2024 awards. The initiative aimed to raise awareness on the environmental impact of plastic pollution and promote sustainable alternatives.[click to enlarge]Over 30 million tons of plastic have been dumped in the oceans till now, contaminating and killing more tha...

Solarcont has developed a portable, containerized PV system featuring 240 solar modules on a folding system for easy removal and storage.The quest for renewable energy solutions has led to significant innovations designed to overcome the modern world’s environmental challenges. Among these innovations, the Solarcontainer stands out as a testament to ingenuity and practicality in solar energy u...

While the S&P 500 rebounded over 24% in 2023, many investment themes soared even higher.In many ways, the year was defined by breakthrough announcements in AI and the resurgence of Bitcoin. At the same time, investors looked to nuclear energy ETFs thanks to nuclear’s growing role as a low carbon energy source and the war in Ukraine.This graphic shows the best performing investment themes l...

A new woody composite, engineered by a team at MIT, is tough as bone and hard as aluminum, and it could pave way for naturally-derived plastics. This image shows a tooth printed by the team resting on a background of wood cells.The strongest part of a tree lies not in its trunk or its sprawling roots, but in the walls of its microscopic cells.A single wood cell wall is constructed from fibers o...