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Innovation / Technology

Mood: experimental. Desired quality: active.

These Abstract Portraits Were Painted By An Artificial Intelligence Program

The Painting Fool, a computer program, can create portraits based on its mood, assess its work and learn from its mistakes

Checking the Claim: FiberFix is 100 Times Stronger Than Duct Tape

A company shows how its new product can make a broken shovel as good as new

A representation of a virtual monkey, whose arms can be manipulated by a real monkey in a new brain-machine interface—the first interface that allows for the control of multiple limbs.

A New Interface Lets Monkeys Control Two Virtual Arms With Their Brain Alone

The interface is the first that can control multiple limbs—a technology that marks another step toward full mobility for paralyzed people

This Blowtorch Creates a Flame Using Water

Researchers say the SafeFlame is gentler, cleaner and only leaves behind water

A Romanian Scientist Claims to Have Developed Artificial Blood

A true blood substitute can be a major breakthrough that can save lives. Testing out a batch, however, can be a problem

Biochar

Energy Innovation

Carbon-Negative Energy Is Here! This Device Makes Clean Energy and Fertilizer

A Berkeley startup’s new spin on an old fuel-producing technology is a win-win for the environment

A New App Turns Fractals Into Ornate Art

With Frax, users can create mathematically-driven art, adding color, depth and texture to geometric shapes

Can cameras read what’s going on in a second grader’s mind?

Can Facial Recognition Really Tell If a Kid Is Learning in Class?

Inventors of software called EngageSense say you can tell if kids are engaged in class by analyzing their eye movements

Author Mark Bowden writes in our 101 Objects Special Issue: Though unmanned, remote-controlled drones had been used in times of war since World War II, they were revolutionized in 1995. The Gnat, developed by the San Diego defense contractor General Atomics, carried something new: video cameras. Soldiers had long coveted the ability to see over the next hill. Manned aircraft delivered that, from gas-filled balloons in the Civil War and from airplanes in the 20th century, but only until the pilot or his fuel was exhausted. Satellites provide an amazing panorama but they are expensive, few in number and not always overhead when needed. The Gnat gave commanders a 60-mile panorama from a platform that could stay airborne more or less permanently, with vehicles flown in 12-hour shifts. Later renamed the Predator, it quickly became the U.S. military's preferred surveillance tool. Read more of Bowden's essay.

How the Predator Drone Changed the Character of War

Mark Bowden investigates how the unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft altered the battlefield forever

PicoBrew Zymatic

Can Brewing Beer Be as Simple as Brewing Coffee?

Inventor Bill Mitchell is developing the PicoBrew Zymatic, an appliance that brews beer at the touch of a button

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Explore Mars’ Mountains and Canyons from a Probe’s-Eye View

Using ten years of data from their probe, the European Space has created a lifelike flyover simulation of the red planet

Behold! The World’s First One-Handed Zipper

After a lot of trial and error, inventor Scott Peters has made a no-fuss magnetic zipper

5 High-Tech Ways to Scare Anyone This Halloween

Forget spaghetti for brains and grapes for eyeballs, these ultra-realistic props will take fright night to whole new level

Will This $15 Device Protect Against School Shootings?

High school students in Washington D.C. have designed the DeadStop, a simple attachment that instantly locks armed intruders out of classrooms

Kura

Does This Japanese Restaurant Chain Foretell the End of the Waiter?

A mechanized sushi diner drives down the cost of eating out, but does the experience feel as cold as the fish?

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How TV’s “Person of Interest” Helps Us Understand the Surveillance Society

The creative minds behind the show and The Dark Knight talk about Americans’ perception of privacy

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The Inventive Mind of Walter Hunt, Yankee Mechanical Genius

The compulsively creative Hunt might be the greatest inventor you’ve never heard of

Energy Innovation

Follow the Glow-in-the-Dark Road

Durable, long lasting material can be painted onto streets and sidewalks to eliminate the need for lamp posts

Superbugs are making public health experts very nervous.

What Will It Take to Wipe Out Superbugs?

Scientists are taking all kinds of approaches to try to stop the ominous threat from bacteria antibiotics can no longer kill

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This Clever Augmented Reality System Lets Drivers See Through Cars

One day, augmented reality may help drivers know when to pass up a slow truck on a two-lane road

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