Minibus Offers 3-For-1 On Tech Trends

Think of some recent tech trends and you might name self-driving cars, 3D printing and artificial intelligence. All three have now been combined in an electric vehicle. Olli is a 12-seater self-driving minibus that’s partially operated by IBM Watson, the artificial intelligence system that famously beat two Jeopardy! champions and has since been used for […]

Cable Industry Holds Out On Set Top Box Changes

Cable operators say they are willing to compromise in the dispute over third-party cable boxes, but are holding out on letting customers make recordings on such boxes. The proposal comes after a meeting with the Federal Communications Commission, which recently threatened to introduce tighter regulation. The FCC says in principle cable companies should let customers […]


“First Law” Robot Acts Like A Prick

A robot that can “decide” to harm humans is the latest attempt to provoke debate about artificial intelligence. But it’s debatable whether there’s any intelligence involved. The “First Law” robot is the work of Alexander Reben, a designer at University of Berkely, California who “designs robots and novel interfaces to explore ourĀ evolving relationship with technology.” […]

Original Star Trek Gets Barbie Dolls for 50th Annivesary

Mattel has released three Star Trek themed Barbie dolls to mark the show’s 50th anniversary. It’s the first time Barbies have come as original Star Trek series characters rather than merely Ken and Barbie dressed up. The dolls are based on Captain Kirk, Mr Spock and Lt Uhura from the original run, as portrayed by […]

Wireless Gadget Gets Pregnant Women A Train Seat

South Korean train passengers no longer need risk the embarrassment of mistakenly implying a woman is pregnant. A pilot program uses wireless sensors to trigger a light when a pregnant woman approaches a seat. The ‘Pink Light’ program in Busan involves the women carrying a small beacon that runs for six months on a single […]