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Latest by Rick Stella

urban aeronautics tests its airmule drone airmule1

Say hello to the AirMule, an unmanned aircraft that can carry a half-ton payload

Designed and manufactured by the Israel-based Urban Aeronautics, the AirMule drone is an autonomous UAV that can carry up to 1,100 pounds of equipment.
philae found after seven months philaelander2

As Philae drifts further from the Sun, scientists fear the lander is asleep for good

After losing contact last July, scientists employed a last ditch effort to awaken the Philae lander this weekend, though it's assumed it's asleep for good.
second tallest skyscraper in the world completed shanghaitower1

China’s recently-completed Shanghai Tower is now the second tallest building in the world

Trailing only Dubai's Burj Khalifa in terms of height, construction on the Taiwanese skyscraper known as Shanghai Tower recently completed.
d vine connected sommelier ces 2016 img 1803

Straight out of France, the D-Vine connected sommelier is like a Keurig for wine

From French startup 10-Vins, the D-Vine smart wine machine knows exactly the right temperatures and aeration to let anyone pour the perfect glass of wine.
The FITGuard

The FITGuard mouthpiece alerts coaches when a player might have a concussion

Force Impact Technologies' revolutionary FITGuard mouthpiece helps athletes avoid head injuries by alerting them when the force of an impact is too high.
cerevo unveils first connected 3d printed bike orbitrec ride 1

This 3D-printed smart bike texts your friends in the event of a crash

Unveiled at CES, Cerevo's ORBITREC 3D-printed bike and RIDE-1 clip-on sensor module offer bicyclists advanced visualization data to improve their riding.
ultimaker unveils two new 3d printers at ces 2016 ultimaker2plus

Ultimaker’s next generation of 3D printers increase reliability and grant better control

During CES 2016, 3D printing manufacturer Ultimaker pulled back the veil on two new 3D printers; the upgraded Ultimaker 2+ and Ultimaker 2 Extended+.
the one smart piano 2 smartpiano1

One Music Group’s smart piano lights the way to virtuosity

To help reduce the bore factor of learning the piano, One Music Group unveiled its smart piano at CES 2016 which makes playing music feel like a video game.
dji releases new drones before ces djiphanton34k1

DJI expands its 4K offering with the new Phantom 3 4K and Inspire 1 Pro

Drone manufacturer DJI just upped the quadcopter ante by unveiling upgrades to its Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 line of drones. Both are available now.
introducing the axis vidius drone axis3

Say hello to VIDIUS, the world’s smallest first-person-view camera drone

After unveiling the world's smallest quadcopter last April, UAV company Axis is back with the world's smallest first-person-view drone called the VIDIUS.
darpa developing drones capable of landing on small ships tern1

DARPA’s new drone will be able to take off and land on small Navy ships autonomously

A new unmanned aerial system program developed by DARPA and the U.S. Navy aims to launch and land on small Navy ships completely autonomously.
top tech stories 1 3 2016 deep space module

Congress wants NASA to build a deep space habitat for astronauts, and finish it by 2018

Part of NASA's recently passed budget plan laid out by Congress urges the space agency to develop a prototype deep space habitat by as early as 2018.
sonar gloves let wearers feel out of reach objects under water sonarglove3

These crazy sonar gloves let the wearer feel distant objects, even in murky water

Two Ph.D. candidates at Japan's Tsukuba University have successfully developed functional sonar gloves capable of detecting out-of-reach objects underwater.
google wind energy part mvd mvd6726308 1 0

The country of Costa Rica ran on 99 percent renewable energy in 2015

To help the ongoing fight against global warming, the country of Costa Rica announced it achieved 99 percent renewable energy during all of 2015.
same sex couples may have ability to be biological parents their kids 42708608 l

Scientific breakthrough may allow same-sex couples to be biological parents to their kids

According to a recent article, in vitro gametogenesis progress shows same-sex couples may one day have the ability to be biological parents to their kids.
seabed mining robots to mine for gold in hydrothermal vents transporter bridge teesside

These monstrous deep sea mining robots were built to search for gold on the ocean floor

Assuming the ocean floor to be a potential gold mine, the Toronto-based Nautilus Materials just built a fleet of seabed-mining robots to scour it for gold.
air force to allow enlisted pilots fly gobal hawk drones 140524 f xd880 018

The US Air Force now allows any enlisted person to pilot a surveillance drone — not just officers

The United States Air Force announced this week it would begin allowing all enlisted servicemen the chance to pilot unmanned Global Hawk drone missions.
spacex to attempt land based rocket landing this month crs6 launch 39a

UPDATE: after a successful test fire, SpaceX aims to launch its new Falcon 9 this Sunday

According to a NASA representative, SpaceX will soon attempt to land one of its Falcon 9 rockets on a landing pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
james webb satellite to finally launch in 2018 jwst1

After years of delays, the James Webb Space Telescope will officially launch in 2018

Originally conceived in 1996, the Hubble-succeeding James Webb Space Telescope will officially launch into low Earth orbit in October of 2018.
Yuneek Q500 Typhoon 4K

Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K review

Outfitted with an industry-best camera and some of the smoothest controls seen on a drone, Yuneec’s Typhoon Q500 4K is at the top of its class.
penn state astronaut waste nastronaut

Congress rewards NASA’s accomplishments with $1.3 billion in extra funding for 2016

NASA's big 2015 just got a lot bigger after Congress announced NASA's budget for 2016 would be $19.3 billion, roughly $800 million more than it asked for.
elon musk and others donate 1 billion to ai research

Elon Musk and other tech titans just donated $1B for artificial intelligence research

To help foster beneficial artificial intelligence research, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and others pledged $1 billion to the AI research company, OpenAI.
faa reports 300k drone registrations dronefaa1

By FAA decree, all current drone owners must register with the government before February 19

The Federal Aviation Administration just announced any owner of a small drone weighing more than 0.55 lbs must register the aircraft starting December 21.

This innovative fingerprint scanner can discern fake fingerprints from real ones

An innovative new fingerprint scanner developed by the machine vision technology company BitFlow can reportedly discern fake fingerprints from genuine ones.
us navy 700 million mine detecting ship fails tests rms2

The U.S. Navy's $700 million mine-detecting technology fails at its only job

Despite investing roughly $700 million into research and development, the U.S. Navy's innovative mine-hunting technology continues to fail at its only job.
innovative underwater hotel to open in next few years underwaterhotel1

This crazy underwater hotel is slated to be built off the coast of Florida in 2016

Planet Ocean Underwater Hotel announced it's moving on to a testing phase of its revolutionary underwater hotel, yet no operating date is yet known.
hyperloop to begin testing in nevada 2016 hyperloopphoto1

Short-track testing of Elon Musk’s futuristic Hyperloop is slated to begin in 2016

After securing a 50-acre land deal in North Las Vegas, Nevada, Hyperloop Technologies says it plans on testing the Hyperloop early next year.
japanese probe reaches venus orbit after five years lost in space jaxa1

Japan’s Akatsuki probe enters Venus’s orbit after floating through space for five years

After spending roughly five years floating through space, Japan's Akatsuki spacecraft successfully reached the orbit of Venus this past weekend.
british astronaut tim peake to run london marathon in space 11423323316 ff5a0058f4 o

British astronaut Tim Peake says he plans to run the 2016 London Marathon … in space

Despite residing nearly 250 miles above the surface of the Earth, British astronaut Tim Peake says he plans to run the 2016 London Marathon on the ISS.
hawaiian supreme court suspends construction of thirty meter telescope on mauna kea tmt1

Hawaii’s Supreme Court suspends construction of the world’s largest optical telescope

Amid massive protest, the Supreme Court in Hawaii decided to revoke the building permit for Mauna Kea's Thirty Meter Telescope citing improper issuing. 
iss astronauts to test microsofts hololens isscrew1

Microsoft is sending its HoloLens to the ISS so astronauts can use augmented reality

Later this week, NASA plans to send Microsoft's HoloLens technology to the International Space Station to help astronauts work efficiently.
china to build worlds largest animal cloning factory cloned cows

China is building a controversial animal cloning facility to satisfy rising meat demands

Sometime in 2016, the world's largest animal cloning facility will open in China and intends to provide roughly 5 percent of the meat eaten in the country.
syntouch develops prosthetic fingers with a sense of touch biotac1

This robotic prosthetic hand knows exactly how hard to grab an egg without crushing it

SynTouch, a tactile sensing company, just unveiled its recent breakthrough in prosthetics, showing off its BioTac fingers which can accurately sense touch.
nasa to launch twin sounding rockets through the aurora borealis this winter aurorborealis1

NASA is going to launch two rockets into the Northern Lights this weekend, for science

NASA just announced it intends to launch two sounding rockets through the Northern Lights in Norway to study the cusp aurora phenomenon's magnetic fields.