An international group of scientists proposes a "knowledge collider" to bring supercomputing to bear on social problems. While crunching the numbers won't be a problem, figuring out what they mean will prove more challenging.

An intriguing concept device called "Thimble" would serve as an interface, text scanner, and Braille e-book reader for the blind. But the crucial technology, a refreshable, haptic Braille display, remains elusive.

The DIA Parrot wireless photo frame by Nodesign deconstructs the LCD, separating the backlighting from the display unit to create a luminous projection effect. Usually, an LCD unit is sandwiched with its opaque backlight, hiding the display’s smoky windowpane quality. By separating the two, the DIA Parrot celebrates the qualities of the LCD while providing a new/old lightboxing effect. The ...

With a fabbed flute, we see emergence at its natal stage; the imperfect copy of the old instrument is a promising harbinger of the novel sounds to come.

The Norwegian firm Elliptic Labs’ booth at CES next week will feature several implementations of a touchless, gesture-based interface for tablets and mobile devices, according to the company. Unlike the Kinect, Elliptic’s interface, called Ultrasonic Touchless Input, graphs hand movements using echolocation. Bathing the user in a silent ultrasonic torrent, it measures the return time of rebounding sonic impulses to ...

A robot that solves Rubik's cube with Sisyphean aplomb, an avatar of something like the opposite of the uncanny valley.

2010 is the year fabrication technology and 3D printing came to the masses�or at least to Brooklyn. But is this a good thing?

Mixtape and turntable, meet the collectible bubble-gum card.

The eyes of Xenos peckii, a miniscule parasitic fly, inspire optical engineers with their ability to stitch small images into a composite picture.

These minimalist, stick-on outsoles prefigure a future in which we'll pad and weaponize our bodies with consumer-grade prosthetics for fashion and fitness.