New Atlas: Technology-Innovation-Outdoor News

Shoei GT-Air 3 Smart helmet drops with built-in AR for $1,500

Utkarsh Sood — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 03:03:00 GMT

When the GT-Air 3 Smart helmet debuted at EICMA last year, plenty of people questioned whether it would ever actually make its way to shop shelves. Lo and behold, it finally has!

Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Helmets, Helmet, Helmet Visor, Smart Helmet, HUD, Intercom

Modular folding camp grill is whatever size you need it to be

Maryna Holovnova — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Septem Studio is a British company known for its compact outdoor gear. We’ve seen its titanium sporks and multitools, and now it's back with a portable grill – the GrilTi Ever, which is currently seeking backing on Kickstarter.

Category: Outdoor Cooking, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: xxKickbooster, Kickstarter, Camping, Cooking

Stealthy Chinese micro-camper is actually a big SUV with two beds

C.C. Weiss — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 19:17:00 GMT

A few weeks back, we took a look at the SkyNomad N90, a large SUV that's a critical product launch for the Chinese electronics and autos maker Xiaomi. Beyond being a high-spec, versatile family hauler, the SkyNomad N90 has also been designed to work as a stock micro-camper thanks to a built-in folding bed, swivel seats, fridge and table. However, it originally lacked one feature that could have really raised its van life profile: a pop-up roof. Well, the SkyNomad has officially filled that hole this week with the addition of the Max Studio version.

Category: Campervans, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: SUV, mini-campervan, Xiaomi, RV, Campervan, Camping, Outdoors and Camping

Review: Affordable thermal device is made for discovering life outdoors

Bronwyn Thompson — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 16:27:00 GMT

The folks at Thermal Master are producing so many gadgets that it’s hard to keep up with – but this one, the DV2, is more than worth a look, even if nature decided to fight me in testing it for he last six weeks.

Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Thermal Imaging, Outdoor Technology, Birds, nature, Wildlife, Hidden Technology, Reviews

Autism linked to early exposure to a common plastic additive

Mike McRae — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:03:00 GMT

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is commonly added to plastics to make them more flexible. It may also affect genes that play a critical role in brain development, promoting symptoms of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Category: Brain Health, Body and Mind

Tags: Plastics, ADHD, Autism spectrum disorder, Pollution, neurodiversity, Brain

Freezable titanium plate keeps your cooler chilled longer than ice packs

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:03:00 GMT

If you often pack food and drinks for outdoor trips, you know the struggle of keeping those items cool. This new piece of kit for camping and hiking looks like a simple way to keep your stuff chilled for longer.

Category: Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Camping, Outdoors and Camping, xxKickbooster, Kickstarter, Titanium, Cooling

RGB Laser TV throws super bright, super snappy big-screen visuals

Paul Ridden — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:11:48 GMT

From the high-end aesthetic and high-tech internals of its lifestyle projectors, it's easy to imagine that AWOL Vision has been in the home entertainment space for a long while. But the crowdfunding favorite is still a relative baby.

Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: xxAffiliate, Projectors, 4K UHD, Laser TV, Google TV, Gaming, IFA 2026

Quarterhorse paired with Ramjet-X for high-Mach flight testing

David Szondy — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:47:49 GMT

Hermeus has unveiled its latest plans for the Quarterhorse supersonic aircraft, which will be used to launch a high-Mach test vehicle called Ramjet-X. The new platform will allow clients to test components under realistic high-speed flight conditions.

Category: Aircraft, Transport

Tags: Hermeus, Supersonic, Ramjet

Screen-free fitness tracker brings essential feature from smartwatches

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 23:03:00 GMT

When I was shopping for a basic fitness tracker a few months ago, I opted for the Nothing Watch 3 Pro because it included a recorder for capturing voice notes on the go – which I do often. That model beams your notes over to your phone, where they're handily transcribed in a companion app.

Category: Wearables, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Fitness, Health, xxKickbooster, Kickstarter, Voice Recorder, Artificial Intelligence

1,000-km-range electric expedition RV aims to conquer the world

C.C. Weiss — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:37:00 GMT

Prior to this week, the terms "world's largest electric motorhome" and "1,000-km range" could have led to only one conclusion: one of China's latest high-mileage extended range electric vehicle (EREV) platforms got outfitted with a big motorhome box. But the most massive electric motorhome we spotted at this year's Düsseldorf Caravan Salon wasn't a range-extender, and it wasn't Chinese. The Dutch-German collaboration is a pure-battery-powered long-haul Mercedes-Benz Actros truck with a self-contained fuel-free motorhome out back. And not only was it one of the most impressive vehicles of the entire show, it's about to further impress with an around-the-world road trip that targets a range as high as 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) per charge.

Category: RVs and Motorhomes, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: electric-camper, RV, smart RV, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler, Bliss Mobil, World Records, Motorhomes, Motorhome, dusseldorf-caravan-salon-2026, expedition vehicles

Hohem's 2-in-1 Eyepic is a gimbal camera with a detachable minicam

Ben Coxworth — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:35:09 GMT

While gimbal-stabilized video cameras are great for smoothing out the shakes, sometimes it's nice to have a tiny wearable camera, too. Well, Hohem's just-announced Eyepic will soon let you have both in one modular device.

Category: Photography, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Video Cameras, Gimbals, Actioncam, IFA 2026, Modular

Chinese EVs earn 5 stars in safety tests tougher than America’s NHTSA

Utkarsh Sood — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:37:01 GMT

Remember when "Chinese car" and "safety" were two phrases that didn't exactly belong in the same sentence? Well, the European New Car Assessment Programme’s (NCAP) latest crash tests have a rather awkward update for you.

Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Electric Vehicles, China, Road Safety, crash test

Smoking lowers the risk of Parkinson's. We may now know why

Mike McRae — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:27:06 GMT

Parkinson’s disease is significantly less common among people who smoke cigarettes. It’s a paradox that has perplexed researchers for decades, drawing speculation that tobacco smoke somehow protects the brain from developing the neurodegenerative condition.

Category: Mental Health, Brain Health, Body and Mind

Tags: Smoking, Parkinson's Disease, Dopamine, Heart Disease, Lung disease, Carbon Monoxide

Flat-pack titanium stove brings active heat control to your campsite

Simon Heptinstall — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:33:00 GMT

Outdoor cooks have traditionally had to face a tricky decision: pack a heavy basecamp barbecue or settle for single-purpose minimalist backpacking gear.

Category: Outdoor Cooking, Gear, Outdoors

Tags: xxKickbooster, Kickstarter, Titanium, Foldable, Flat, Cooking, Camping, Portable

Three iPhone Duo features I'm excited about – and two things I'm not

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:39:09 GMT

Apple just unveiled its first-ever foldable phone, the iPhone Duo.

Category: Mobile Technology, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Apple, Smartphones, iPhone, Foldable

Nostromo: The $15k DIY luxury desk clock designed to get you invested

David Szondy — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 05:17:00 GMT

If you've ever bought a clock worth north of US$15,000 and wished that it were more like a piece of flatpack furniture, then MB&F and Maison Alcée feel your pain. The result is the Nostromo, a haute horlogie clock you put together yourself.

Category: Good Thinking, Technology

Tags: Clock, MB&F, DIY

World's most expensive Cadillac: $1.275 million, gold-plated, one-of-one

Utkarsh Sood — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 02:09:27 GMT

Cadillacs were all the rage back in the day. Everyone had one, and those who didn’t have one wanted one. At the peak of their popularity, GM was selling hundreds of thousands of Cadillacs a year, turning the brand into the ultimate American symbol of wealth and success.

Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Cadillac, GM, Coachbuilt, Luxury

Will a cyborg cockroach paramedic save your life in the future?

Maryna Holovnova — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:40:31 GMT

If you think that cockroaches are creepy and useless, we can prove you wrong. Well, at least the “useless” part.

Category: Robotics, Engineering

Tags: University of Queensland, Cyborg, Insect, Rescue, Disasters

Triple-battery modular tactical e-moto hauls major loads up to 125 miles

Utkarsh Sood — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:33:00 GMT

Years of electric vehicle (EV) democratization now leads us to Canada – the electric light-utility manufacturer NorthForge, to be precise. The firm has just recently launched the Dispatch, an electric tactical motorcycle that’s meant for military use.

Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Electric Motorcycles, Canada, Off-road, Dirt Bikes, Army

XL tiny house spreads out for maximum comfort on a single floor

Adam Williams — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:27:00 GMT

Tiny houses don't come much bigger or more spacious than this recent XL model. It features a roomy and apartment-like interior that's arranged on one floor, making small living about as comfortable as possible.

Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

Child's mysterious skin condition traced back to how he uses a laptop

Mike McRae — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:57:00 GMT

When a boy with a strange honeycomb pattern on his stomach was brought into the University Hospitals of Leicester emergency department, nursing staff suspected a case of spontaneous bruising.

Category: Imaging & Diagnostics, Medical Innovations, Body and Mind

Tags: Laptop, Skin, Burns, Diagnosis

Aston Martin goes for the jugular with its razor-sharp superbike

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:52:09 GMT

Historic motorcycle marque Brough Superior is back with another collaboration that’s nothing short of incredible – and this time around, you can actually ride it on city streets.

Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Brough Superior, Aston Martin, Superbike

Smart scope's spinning sensor fights Earth's spin to erase star trails

Omar Kardoudi — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 07:50:24 GMT

Draco, DwarfLab's new smart telescope, solves deep-sky astrophotography's oldest headache with a sensor that physically spins to cancel out star trails caused by Earth's rotation. It needs no equatorial mount, no guide scope, and no polar alignment. Just a bigger 90-mm lens and a bet that raw aperture beats miniaturization.

Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Telescope, Smart, Astronomy, Amateur astronomy, Astrophotography

Budget-friendly tiny house doubles down on simple small living

Adam Williams — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 01:17:31 GMT

With the tiny house scene slowly evolving from cheap and cheerful to large and high-budget in recent years, Dragon Tiny Homes is an outlier, mostly focusing on affordable and compact designs. This recent model takes its budget-friendly Sora 20' and adds a tweaked layout and some upgrades to maximize interior space.

Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Micro-House, Tiny Footprint, Building and Construction, House, Home

Frog muscle put to use in swimming robotic manta ray

Etiido Uko — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:03:00 GMT

Few things make the career jump from regional cuisine delicacy to robotics actuator. Yet, in research vaguely reminiscent of RoboCop, scientists have used skeletal muscle from a literal frog leg as an actuator to control a tiny robotic manta ray.

Category: Robotics, Engineering

Tags: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Muscle, locomotion, Biomimicry, Swimming

We've uncovered the deadliest days – and they don't fall on Friday the 13th

Mike McRae — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:49:10 GMT

Long before I wrote about science, I was a vampire. I worked at night, sucking blood in a hospital.

Category: Body and Mind

Tags: Psychology, Moon, superstition, Mortality, Emergency, Heart attack

Robotic fish swims like the real thing, and can be built to any size

Maryna Holovnova — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:03:00 GMT

Nature is undoubtedly the smartest engineer. Scientists have borrowed ideas from armadillos, elephants and birds to build robots capable of doing things that conventional man-made machines struggle with. Now, researchers at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering have turned to fish.

Category: Robotics, Engineering

Tags: New York University, Biomimicry, Fish, locomotion

Gamers at the ready: Wall-hugging Laser TV throws 4K at 120 Hz

Monica J. White — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 13:33:49 GMT

Lifestyle projection pioneer XGIMI recently previewed its AURA 3 Series at IFA 2026. The lineup is headed by the flagship Aura 3 Max, alongside the slightly less powerful Aura 3 Pro. XGIMI is referring to the pair as the world’s first 4K/120Hz ultra-short-throw projector series.

Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: XGIMI, Laser TV, xxAffiliate, Google TV, Gaming, 4K UHD, Projectors, IFA 2026

Puroway filter promises drinkable water from murky lakes and rivers

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:55:10 GMT

There are many ways to purify water out in the wilderness so it's safe to drink. This new piece of kit makes it arguably more convenient than any portable device for the job.

Category: Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Outdoors and Camping, Camping, Water, Filter, xxKickbooster, Kickstarter

Sihoo B300 Pro chair review: Flexible ergonomics on a budget

Utkarsh Sood — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 03:31:43 GMT

I had the chance to review the Sihoo C300 Pro V2 a few months ago, and it has become my permanent home office chair. Frankly, I never gave two hoots about butt comfort during long hours of sitting before that, let alone reviewing elegantly built chairs. Fast-forward to now, and I think I may have just become a full-fledged chair reviewer.

Category: Around The Home, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Home office, Chair, Ergonomic, Affordable, Office, Furniture, Comfort, Reviews

One simple way to keep your brain sharp even after a bad night’s sleep

Mike McRae — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:32:53 GMT

A restless night doesn’t just make for an irritable day at the office. It can eat away at our recall, making it harder to retain information and learn new skills.

Category: Brain Health, Body and Mind

Tags: Sleep, Exercise, Memory, Cognitive functioning, Circadian Rhythms, Brain

Atlas wearable watches when your whimsical mind wanders

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 23:03:00 GMT

If you find it hard to focus or stay present in the moment, you can now buy a device that tells you just how often your mind drifts elsewhere.

Category: Wearables, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: EEG, Electroencephalography (EEG), Brain, wearable electronics, Well-being

Teaching a hexapedal robot to walk like a stick insect

Malcolm Azania — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 19:03:00 GMT

One day in the near future you could be lying incapacitated in the middle of an earthquake-ravaged landscape where wheeled vehicles can’t reach you. Or in the very distant future, after engineers have solved thousands of problems associated with saving interplanetary astronauts from radiation, your great-granddaughter could be lying incapacitated in the middle of a marsquake-ravaged landscape where wheeled vehicles can’t reach her.

Category: AI and Humanoids, Technology

Tags: Biomimicry, locomotion, Insect, Learning, Tohoku University, Artificial Intelligence

Cubivan split origami camper system is unlike any RV you've ever seen

C.C. Weiss — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 17:37:00 GMT

When we first spotted the Italian brand "Cubivan" at the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon this past weekend, we assumed it was another in the burgeoning market of complete in-van camper pods, or maybe a boxy camper module built to go on top of a van chassis. Both guesses were kind of right, but neither quite prepared us for what the system really is. Not only does the camper box slide out the back of the van like others we've seen, it expands right down to the ground to create a sheltered space that lives in perfect symbiosis with the base van. It's then able to fit both a kitchen and wet bathroom and is complemented by a hard-sided rooftop pod that completes the feeling that your vehicle has been commandeered by some form of industrial being ... but a kind one there to serve.

Category: Campervans, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: camper-in-a-box, Modular, mini-campervan, Campervan, Foldable, dusseldorf-caravan-salon-2026, Camping, Outdoors and Camping

G. Lucas' $1B spaceship museum hides 714 geothermal wells underneath

Adam Williams — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 13:57:00 GMT

Following over a decade of development, costing around one billion dollars, and requiring a team of over 150 architects, engineers, and designers, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is now finally complete. Looking like a strange spaceship has landed in Los Angeles, the incredible building holds a huge amount of art dedicated to storytelling – everything from Star Wars props to ancient Egyptian pottery.

Category: Architecture, Engineering

Tags: Building and Construction, Museum, Cinema, Art, MAD Architects

The truth behind 2026's most hyped-up ways to treat inflammation

Bronwyn Thompson — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:47:33 GMT

From Korean cosmetic sperm injections to experimental peptides, the wellness industry has become one of the world's most lucrative, projected to be worth nearly US$10 trillion by 2029. Yes, that's $10,000,000,000,000.

Category: Body and Mind

Tags: Nutrition, Microbiome, Inflammation, Health, Age-Related, Gut health

Serious human illness transmitted by ticks has been identified

Bronwyn Thompson — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 05:51:01 GMT

Scientists have uncovered a new pathogen transmitted to humans from ticks, reminding us that one of the biggest threats to our health is zoonotic disease.

Category: Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind

Tags: University of Minnesota, Tick, Zoonotic, Influenza, Virus, Risk factors

Our planet has a time problem – and it may be about to get weirder

Mike McRae — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 03:44:11 GMT

Every second counts in a high-paced, high-tech world. Except when it shouldn’t.

Category: Technology

Tags: Time, Measured, Clock, Word clock

This cooler gets colder when you heat it up

Etiido Uko — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 23:03:00 GMT

You can’t brighten a room with darkness, you can’t dry a towel by soaking it, and you surely can’t cool things with heat. Right? Well, maybe. Scientists have just built a solid-state cooling device that can use heat to generate cold, potentially opening a way for processors and other hot-running electronics to recycle some of their own waste heat for cooling.

Category: Energy, Engineering

Tags: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University of Tsukuba, Shape Memory Alloys, Cooling, Solid-state

Our sex organs could be pacemakers for aging through our body

Mike McRae — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 20:03:00 GMT

Another year, another gray hair. Another wrinkle. Maybe another few inches on the ol’ spare tire.

Category: Imaging & Diagnostics, Medical Innovations, Body and Mind

Tags: Aging, Inflammation, Energy, Genetics, ovary, blood vessel

Road-ready tiny house is equipped for full-time living

Adam Williams — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 16:03:00 GMT

Dragon Tiny Homes regularly impresses us with its ultra-portable models. However, with this newest iteration of its Vista, the firm has maintained its usual road-ready size while packing in some notable features, including an open living area with a home office, plus a full kitchen.

Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

New epoxy built to stick until you tell it not to

Etiido Uko — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:03:00 GMT

Epoxy is one of the great unifiers of modern materials science, bringing different materials together to form composites with combined properties that exceed those of any individual component. The problem is that once conventional epoxy cures, the resulting union is practically permanent. Separating the constituent materials for recycling can be extremely difficult.

Category: Materials, Engineering

Tags: Empa, Recyclable

Common low back pain device finds itself in the spotlight

Bronwyn Thompson — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:03:00 GMT

Lumbar support braces designed to provide relief from chronic low back pain may not be as effective as people have been led to believe, with scientists finding that recommendations are based on low-quality evidence.

Category: Chronic Pain, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind

Tags: Milan, Low back pain, Chronic pain, Aging, Age-Related, Medication

Range Rover's first electric SUV brings proper off-roading cred

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 04:03:00 GMT

After ruling the luxury SUV roost for over half a century, the Range Rover is finally available in a fully electric version. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) says it's worked on this for the last decade, and filed more than 300 patents along the way to bring it to life.

Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Jaguar Land Rover, Range Rover, Electric Vehicles, SUV, Off-road

Review: Liene PixCut S1 prints AND cuts custom stickers for pennies

Joe Salas — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:03:00 GMT

I've used a million printers over my decades of being a computer nerd and a professional photographer. I used to print professional 11 x 14 matte images like they were going out of style on the ol' Canon Pixma Pro9000. Less so these days with e-ink frames and everything being so digital now. But the Pixcut S1 ain't that kind of printer ... this thing can print and cut stickers! And who doesn't love stickers?

Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Printer, DIY, Photo, Inkjet, Reviews

6x4 Ford Ranger Super Duty camper is pure excess, but not for America

C.C. Weiss — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 20:30:47 GMT

"American excess" is a simple term that points at the United States' tendency toward materialistic overconsumption. As a culture, we aim for what we want, not necessarily what we need. So when you see a massive overland RV with an extra axle and a big, proud Ford badge all capped out in its gape, it'd be easy to slap that "American excess" label on it without thinking twice. But in the case of the new 6-wheeled Ford Ranger Super Duty expedition rig from Kerkamm, that Blue Oval badge is the only American thing about it. If anything, this one is German excess, and it looks like just the right amount.

Category: RVs and Motorhomes, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: Ford, expedition vehicles, RV, Off-road, Off-grid, Camping, Outdoors and Camping, dusseldorf-caravan-salon-2026

Park model tiny house finds room to sleep six people inside

Adam Williams — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 16:03:00 GMT

Tiny houses rarely fit as many as six people under one roof. And even if they do, it usually involves some residents roughing it on a sofa bed. The Cascade Park Model Home takes a different approach and has a spacious layout that features two bedrooms downstairs, plus a loft space that can serve as a third bedroom.

Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

LightMake L4 puts four independent print heads on one desktop

Monica J. White — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:03:00 GMT

There are a few pretty well-known trade-offs associated with desktop 3D printing. Faster speeds generally mean a compromise in quality, multi-color 3D printers often waste some filament, and higher volume loads usually demand more hardware. LightMake’s L4 Kickstarter project aims to tackle all these issues head-on.

Category: 3D Printing, Manufacturing, Engineering

Tags: Kickstarter

Famous Spanish motorcycle brand stages a comeback

Utkarsh Sood — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 07:03:00 GMT

Some motorcycle brands die. Others simply refuse to stay dead. Bultaco belongs firmly in the latter camp. The legendary Spanish marque disappeared from the motorcycle scene decades ago, leaving behind a trail of lightweight two-strokes, racing trophies and enough cult following to keep its name alive long after the factory doors had closed.

Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: Bultaco, Spain, Retro, Adventure Bikes, cafe racer, Racing

China is cloning the West's favorite rugged SUVs

Utkarsh Sood — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 03:03:00 GMT

China has spent the last decade proving it can build some genuinely wild machines. Electric sedans with four-figure horsepower figures, plug-in hybrids that can supposedly travel farther than some diesel trucks, and enough screens inside a cabin to make an electronics store nervous.

Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: China, SUV, Land Rover, Range Rover, Jeep, defender

ESPHome Starter Kit review: From blinking lights to building a smart home

Howard Armitage — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:03:00 GMT

There’s something unusually exciting about opening the ESPHome Starter Kit. This isn’t just another ESP32 development board. It’s the first official hardware product from ESPHome, which has quietly become one of the foundations of the DIY smart home. That feels significant.

Category: Technology

Tags: Consumer Electronics, Internet of Things, DIY, Smart Home

Xiaomi’s new mid-rangers pack batteries up to 10,000-mAh

Monica J. White — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:25:48 GMT

Xiaomi’s REDMI Note 17 lineup just landed last week, with four models: the Note 17, Note 17 5G, Note 17 Pro 5G, and the first-ever Note 17 Pro Max 5G.

Category: Mobile Technology, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Xiaomi, smartphones, Batteries

Will your next robotaxi ride be in a Tesla Cybercab?

Abhimanyu Ghoshal — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:41:44 GMT

Tesla quietly rolled out its Cybercabs in Austin, Texas yesterday. That's the company finally making good on its plan bring these vehicles on to public roads about two years after they were first revealed.

Category: Urban Transport, Transport

Tags: Robotaxi, Tesla Motors, Cabs, Ride-sharing

UK military tests powered paragliders for covert troop insertion

David Szondy — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:03:00 GMT

The British Ministry of Defence is looking into a novel way to drop troops behind enemy lines, with a £6-million (US$8.1-million) study to evaluate the use of foot-launched powered paragliders as transports for reconnaissance and troop insertion.

Category: Military, Engineering

Tags: U.K. Ministry of Defence, Aircraft

These 3D-printed objects know if you’re using them properly

Malcolm Azania — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:03:00 GMT

In the 1960s Hanna Barbara animated series The Flintstones, prehistoric human beings lacked modern technology, so they used ancient animals (including dinosaurs, who for some reason in this universe lived at the same time people did) as household appliances and industrial machinery. And, for extra-cheap laffs, these animals routinely mugged to the camera about how awful their lives were at the hands of the humans misusing them.

Category: 3D Printing, Manufacturing, Engineering

Tags: MIT, Safety, Packaging

Newly identified 'muscles' shape trees in way once thought uniquely animal

Bronwyn Thompson — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:03:00 GMT

Nearly 15 years ago, scientists found that plants had a biological mechanism that controls their morphology – or, in simpler terms, their form – thought to have only been something seen in animals. Now, researchers from the same institution have uncovered how it works. It's basically a tree's version of a muscle.

Category: Environment, Science

Tags: Tree, BioLogic, Muscle, Biomechanics, nature, Wildlife, Conservation

US-UK 'Pink Corridor' prepares ports for nuclear cargo ships

David Szondy — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:03:00 GMT

It's possible that by 2035 there may be as many as 50 nuclear-powered cargo ships plying the seas. In anticipation of this, the Pink Corridor Project is evaluating how to set up safe and secure nuclear shipping lanes between the US and Britain.

Category: Marine, Transport

Tags: Nuclear, Ships

That 'clean' smell polluting your indoor air

Mike McRae — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 03:35:00 GMT

With promises of killing 99 percent of germs and leaving our bathroom sink smelling like a Nordic fjord (minus the bears), modern cleaning products have left us with the impression that they make our homes squeaky clean.

Category: Society & Community, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind

Tags: Pollution, Terpenes, Nanoparticle, Cleaning, Antibacterial

Floating data center would provide water and electricity to 32,000 homes

Etiido Uko — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 01:47:00 GMT

Some companies build a desalination plant and call it a day; others build a data center, while others, still, build power generation facilities. One project wants to build all three … into one facility … offshore … on a movable ship.

Category: Energy, Engineering

Tags: Data Center, Ships, Water

Google AI turns on its maker in a brutally candid interview

Bronwyn Thompson — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 01:13:01 GMT

I have issues with AI in general, but one issue I haven't been able to understand is how Google, with enough money and talented staff to produce something impressive with its LLM, has produced the dumbest model I have ever tried to engage with. So, instead of swearing at it repeatedly – which it told me has no impact – I thought I could interview it instead.

Category: AI and Humanoids, Technology

Tags: Google.org, Google, Artificial Intelligence, LLM (Large Language Model)