Urbanista ‘London’ ANC wireless earbuds

First, true wireless earbuds were the high-water mark for new Bluetooth audio gadgets. Now, it’s true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation – the ANC often seen in product names, such as with these ‘London’ buds from hip Swedish audio brand Urbanista. ‘London’ follows previous Urbanista city-linked releases, such as Stockholm, Paris, Athens, Chicago, Boston, … Read more

Apple and Google bring app-less contact tracing to smartphones

Apple and Google have announced a new contact-tracing system designed to help public authorities track potential coronavirus transmission between individuals without having to build their own app. Apple and Google have announced a new contact-tracing system designed to help public authorities track potential coronavirus transmission between individuals without having to build their own app. The … Read more

$1bn plan for quantum and AI research announced by the White House

IBM, Microsoft and others have committed $300m to a joint initiative with the US Government to set up 12 research institutes that are looking into AI and quantum information sciences. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that the effort is designed to ensure the US continues to excel at the new technologies amid hot competition … Read more

Software needs a rethink for future chips, Intel says

Chip giant says Moore’s Law is alive and well but you are going to have to change the way software runs to take advantage of it. In his keynote at the HotChips conference held online this week, Raja Koduri, Intel’s chief architect and head of the graphics division, showed off the company’s snappy slogan for … Read more

Evolution or revolution? The all-ethernet in-vehicle network

Current in-vehicle Electrical and Electronic network architectures are complex, costly, and totally inadequate to address the needs of tomorrow. The question is not if they will change but when and how? EE architectures need to be more intelligent, flexible and connected; in-vehicle and vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, vehicle-to-cloud (often referred as V2X). Networking across all industries, whether … Read more

Artificial skin developed that feels pain

A team at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia developed the prototype which they say can electronically replicate the way human skin senses pain. The device mimics the body’s near-instant feedback response and can react to painful sensations with the same lighting speed that nerve signals travel to the brain. Lead researcher Professor Madhu Bhaskaran said … Read more

Routing app traffic data used for real-time emissions insights

Apps such as Google Maps or Nokia’s Here platform routinely capture detailed information as motorists use the GPS technology to plan and navigate routes. And according to new research, this data could be invaluable for researchers and planners who need to better understand traffic flows on busy roads. Current emissions data from road transport is collated from … Read more

Night-time cough recording app predicts asthma deterioration

The app is the first of its kind to measure patients’ coughing over a series of nights and shows that it is a sign of their asthma deteriorating. The team, led by Dr Frank Rassouli, from the Cantonal Hospital St Gallen, Switzerland, believe it could become a new way to help patients and their doctors … Read more

Machine learning

Another exciting emerging technology is machine learning, which is essentially a computer’s ability to learn on its own by analyzing data and tracking repeating patterns. For example, social media platforms use machine learning to get a better understanding of how you’re connected with those in your social network. They do this by analyzing your likes, … Read more

Virtual reality (VR)

Remember watching movies about virtual reality and thinking how cool it would be if it was actually like that in real life? Well, it’s about to be. Although VR has been around since the 1950s, until recently the technology wasn’t able to deliver the fully immersive digital experience users have been craving. That’s about to … Read more