China Unveils World’s First AI Female News Anchor, And She Looks Eerily Realistic
China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, yesterday unveiled its newest news anchor, Xin Xiaomeng. Why is this newsworthy? Well, because Xin isn’t a real person, but an ultra-realistic computer generated model powered by advanced AI technology. The perfectly coiffed Xin Xiaomeng introduced herself to Xinhua’s viewers in a short clip, announcing that she will make her professional […]
Girl Uses “Handwriting Robot” to Complete Homework Faster
The story of a young student who used a so-called “handwriting robot” to complete her Lunar New Year holiday homework in record time made news headlines in China last week, sparking a heated debate. The Qianjiang Evening News reported the case of a junior high-school student from Harbin who spent 800 yuan ($118) on a copying robot […]
Korean Company Creates Smart Treadmill for Cats
Getting a house cat to exercise can be quite a challenge, but a Korean company claims that it’s smart exercise machine can keep felines in tip-top shape even when their owners are away. There’s just one catch – it costs $1,800. Korean startup Pet Ding unveiled its smart treadmill for cats earlier this month, at […]
Chinese Schools Track Students with GPS-Enabled “Smart Uniforms”
Eleven schools in the Chinese province of Guizhou have introduced micro-chipped uniforms that track and monitor the students even beyond school grounds. Developed by local company Guizhou Guanyu Technology, the smart school uniforms feature two microchips embedded into the shoulder pads which allow both the school and the children’s parents to monitor their activity at all […]
Modern Scarecrows Use Lasers to Keep Hungry Birds At Bay
We are always looking for new and innovative ways to harness technology, and the industry of farming is no exception. A blueberry farm in Oregon was having big problems with birds stealing up to 25% of their crops and this year, they addressed the problem using a somewhat unconventional new technology. At the start of […]
Billion Dollar Real Estate Company Ditches Physical Offices for Virtual Reality Campus
eXp Realty, one of the world’s fastest growing and most successful real estate companies, has become famous for not investing in any actual real-estate, opting instead for virtual reality offices that allow its agents and brokers to interact and socialize from anywhere around the globe. Glenn Sanford, eXp Realty’s founder and CEO, founded the company […]
This Japanese Gadget Tells You How Bad You Stink
Body odor is a very serious issue, so serious in fact that there is actually a market for high-tech devices that alert users if they start to stink. The problem with body odor is that you can’t really smell is on yourself, and in an exceptionally polite society like Japan’s that can put people in uncomfortable […]
Millionaire Teen Builds Functional Dr. Octopus Suit
Erik Finman, the world’s youngest Bitcoin millionaire, recently made headlines for creating a real-life, functional version of Dr. Octopus’ iconic four-arm prosthesis for a young Marvel fan who also suffers from hypermobility symptoms. 19-year-old Finman, who got his start in cryptocurrency when he was only 12, by investing a $1,000 gift from his grandmother in Bitcoin, […]
Meet Norman, the World’s First Psychopath AI
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have trained an artificial intelligence algorithm to become a psychopath by exposing it to gruesome and violent images on popular social network Reddit. Called Norman, after the iconic Anthony Perkins character in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic “Psycho”, the AI was trained to perform image captioning, a popular deep learning method […]
Chinese School Uses Facial Recognition to Monitor Students’ Attention in Class
Students at the No. 11 Middle School in Hangzhou, China, may want to think twice before dozing off or getting distracted in class as a new facial recognition system will be scanning their faces every 30 seconds to make sure they are paying attention. Called a “smart classroom behavior management system”, the new monitoring solution […]
BloxVox – A Bane-Like Mask That Muffles Speech for Private Phone Calls
Having to take a private call in a crowded workplace can be pretty awkward, but thanks to BolxVox, a special mask-like device that muffles speech, you can now talk as loud as you want without worrying about others hearing your conversation. BloxVox is the brainchild of Greg Umhoefer, a financial technology expert who dedicated the […]
High-Tech Movie Has Five Different Endings, Depending on Who Is Watching It
The Angry River is a short interactive film that uses eye-tracking technology and artificial intelligence to gauge who the viewer looks at and where their eyes linger most on screen. The film then edits itself into one of five possible storylines, to suit the viewer’s interest. The Angry River is basically a film with the […]
Chinese Companies Equip Workers with Brainwave Reading Helmets to Increase Productivity
It sounds like something out of a Black Mirror episode, but according to recent news reports, Chinese companies are using special helmets to monitor workers’ brain activity in order to reduce stress, manipulate break times with the ultimate goal of increasing productivity. The South China Morning Post recently reported employee brainwave monitoring in China is […]
Japanese Engineer Builds 28-Foot-Tall Functional Gundam Mecha Robot
As a child growing up in Japan, engineer Masaaki Nagumo always dreamed of climbing into his very own Mobile Suit Gundam mecha. As an adult, he finally made that dream a reality. Nagumo created the 28-foot-tall, 7-tonne-heavy LW-Mononofu robot as a project for his employer, industrial machinery maker Sakakibara Kikai, in Japan’s Gunma Prefecture. The metal colossus […]
Tiny Tank That Can Move 9,000-Pound Trailers Proves Size Doesn’t Matter
Parking a large trailer in a tight garage can be a daunting task for even the most experienced drivers, but thanks to the new Trailer Valet RVR robot-tank, it’s as easy as maneuvering an radio-controlled car. The RVR may look like one of those RC vehicles you used to play with as a child, but […]