Poor hitchBOT.

After successfully traveling around Canada, Germany and The Netherlands, the hitch-hiking robot who relied on the goodwill of strangers to get around met an untimely and brutal demise in Philadelphia.

The Canadian researchers who created hitchBOT as a social experiment told The Associated Press that the child-sized robot was damaged “beyond repair” by vandals on Saturday in thecity of brotherly love, pulling the plug on the bot’ … Read More → "Hitchhiking robot who relied on strangers’ kindness was found decapitated on Saturday, just two weeks into its American tour"

A tiny artificial eye inspired by the vision systems of insects could help small flying drones navigate their surroundings well enough to avoid collisions while buzzing around in confined, cluttered spaces—a key step in making these small autonomous flying vehicles practical.

An emerging class of very small flying drones has taken off in public and private research labs in recent years (see “Robotic Insect Takes Off”). These mini drones could be valuable in spying and … Read More → "Flying robots that can see"

In the opening act of Henry IV: Part One, the eponymous king refuses to help free Lord Mortimer, the brother-in-law of his loyal knight Hotspur, from imprisonment, and even forbids Hotspur from mentioning Mortimer’s name in his presence. As revenge, Hotspur plots to “find him [the king] when he lies asleep, And in his ear … holla, ‘Moritimer,’” before changing his mind and deciding that, “Nay, … Read More → "How Shakespeare changed America’s wildlife"

While technological advancements are meant accommodate the way people live, sometimes humans are the ones that must adapt to technology. This is especially noticeable when walking with a friend who’s texting. As new research suggests, they subconsciously “shorten their step length, reduce step frequency, lengthen the time during which both feet are in contact with the ground and increase obstacle clearance height,” effectively modifying their gait in order to compensate for the distraction. … Read More → "Humans are evolving to walk and text"

British inventor Colin Furze recently built a wild High Voltage Ejector Bed that flips up and dumps the heavy sleeper out onto the floor when an alarm goes off in the morning. The Taylors of Harrogate coffee and tea company asked Furze to build something to get people out of bed, just like their new High Voltage blend coffee, … Read More → "Inventor Colin Furze builds a high voltage ejector bed for people who struggle with getting up in the morning"

These days, fastfood chains are thinking up of unusual and sometimes bizarre marketing stunts to appeal to today’s mobile generation? Remember the Pizza Hut projector box in Hong Kong? Or how about KFC’s Bluetooth keyboard food tray? It seems that the latter is at it again. Its Canadian branch will soon be celebrating its 60th anniversary and to honor that memory, it is going to help their … Read More → "KFC’s new mobile gimmick is a photo-printing bucket"

The dream of 3D printing buildings is not a new one and, typically, it’s not a pretty one either. However, the visionaries at Branch Technology, a startup founded by architects in Chattanooga, Tennessee, want to change that—and they’ve built the world’s largest free form 3D printer to do it.

via Gizmodo

</ … Read More → "The world’s biggest free form 3D printer is being used to build houses"

Regardless of the actual chances of being the victim of a random murder in a dark alley, people tend to get the willies in deserted, shadowy public places. But the right sounds can put people at ease in an otherwise creepy, isolated parking garage or metro station, a new study in the International Journal of Research in Marketing finds. Natural sounds, like human voices and bird songs, can make people perceive their surroundings … Read More → "Ambient sounds can make a creepy place feel comfortable"

Taste, the sense that allows us to appreciate the beauty of good food, is something scientists understand fairly well. The sensation we feel when eating a piece of cake, chewing on a hamburger or taking the first bite of a piping hot piece of pizza is triggered when chemicals in our food interact with receptors in our mouths.

For hundreds of years, scientists have known about … Read More → "Scientists have discovered a new taste that could make food more delicious"

Engineer Aisa Mijena has developed an innovative lamp that could change many lives for the better. 

‘The SALt Lamp’ is an affordable light source that literally runs on one glass of water and two tablespoons of salt for as long as eight hours. 

The product can even run on ocean water. It will be an incredibly valuable item to have for households that are unable to access or afford electricity. … Read More → "Life-changing lamp uses a glass of salt water to supply 8 hours of light"