Packed LS3 Four-Legged Robot Follows Leader [Video]

That thing may be a little noisy, but hey, it can carry around 400 lbs of equipment everywhere it goes. The LS3 program seeks to demonstrate that a highly mobile, semi-autonomous legged robot can carry 400 lbs of a squad’s equipment, follow squad members through rugged terrain and interact with troops in a natural way […]



You say potato, I say Wi-Fi

Boeing has found a very low-tech method for testing a high-tech service: it’s used 20,000 pounds of potatoes to test Wi-Fi signals on planes. The bizarre sounding technique was necessary because the company wants to improve its Wi-Fi to make signal strength more consistent throughout a plane without it interfering with on-board electrical systems. Boeing […]



IBM’s Annual “5 in 5? Report: Computers May finally come to their senses

Computers will have the ability to mimic human senses in five years according to IBM. But not only is this more guesswork than informed forecast, but the way in which each sense will be incorporated varies hugely. The suggestion comes in IBM’s annual “5 in 5” report in which the company’s analysts come up with […]

Apple vs Samsung: Sales bans shelved

The threat of either Apple or Samsung products being pulled from the shelves has largely faded away thanks to two key developments in the ongoing legal saga between the two. The first comes in the most high-profile case, the mutual lawsuits in the US that wound up with Apple getting a $1.05 billion judgment. Judge […]

Sleep-deprived astronauts turn to the red, white and blue

NASA is planning to test an $11.2 million lighting system to try to better regulate astronaut’s body clocks. The technology could help studies into sleeping problems back on earth. The idea is to tackle the problem that natural light doesn’t follow usual patterns when you are in orbit. That means astronauts don’t sleep as much […]

Government agency: Drunk drivers should get high-tech penalty

A federal agency wants everyone convicted of drunk driving offenses to be forced to have a breathalyzer fitted to their vehicles. The National Transportation Safety Board says that current rules that make such set-ups mandatory in 17 states need to go nationwide. The NTSB made the recommendation after concluding a study looking at crashes between […]

Kids’ smartphone apps like to phone home and be snoopy

Not all parents who download smartphone apps for their children, or allow their children to pick their own apps, check up on the privacy consequences. But according to a government agency those parents who do try to look for possible drawbacks will often be out of luck. The Federal Trade Commission looked at a sample […]