Seven tech highlights from CES 2021
Coronavirus pushed Las Vegas' annual Consumer Electronics Show online, but there was still plenty to see. Here are seven highlights, including heated sex toys, an AI pet robot and a toilet with its own app. More
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Comments update
Comments update
"Only a train would think that's a cool city layout" says commenter
In this week's comments update, readers are discussing plans to build a linear city in Saudi Arabia and sharing their views on other top stories. More
Saudi Arabia announces plans for a 100-mile, car-free linear city called The Line
Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, has unveiled plans for a 100-mile belt of zero-energy walkable communities for a million people. More
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Video conferencing with Google Meet Series One is like "being in the same room"
Google and design agency Aruliden have created an AI-enabled video-conferencing kit for that automatically senses the number of participants in a room and optimises sound quality and video framing for each. More
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Syrinx is an artificial larynx that mimics the wearer's former voice
Japanese engineer Takeuchi Masaki has developed a wearable voice box called Syrinx, which can be strapped on like a neck brace so that people who have lost their larynx to cancer are able to produce speech. More
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AI-generated brutalist buildings feature in hypnotic Moullinex music videos
Lisbon musician Moullinex has shared an exclusive short music video showing an endlessly changing landscape of brutalist buildings drawn up by a generative design algorithm with Dezeen. More
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Sidewalk Labs creates machine-learning tool for designing cities
Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs has launched Delve, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to create "millions of design possibilities" for urban developments in minutes. More
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BIG plans artificial intelligence-run city campus in China
Danish architecture studio BIG has designed Terminus AI City Operating System as a campus in Chongqing, China, that will be operated by an artificial intelligence system. More
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Moxie is a smart robot companion that teaches children life lessons
Technology company Embodied has developed a robot companion for children that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to process and respond to natural conversation and facial expressions. More
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Elon Musk unveils updated Neuralink brain implant design and surgical robot
Elon Musk's neuroscience startup Neuralink has revealed the "dramatically simplified" design for an implant that aims to create brain-to-machine interfaces, alongside the robot that inserts it and several pigs that have the device installed. More
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Clova Lamp is an AI-powered light that reads books to children
South Korean technology company Naver Corp has developed a smart reading light called Clova Lamp that helps children to cultivate healthy reading habits by narrating their books aloud. More
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Exclusive tour of AI exhibition Hyper Human with designer Monica Förster for VDF x Stockholm Design Week
As part of VDF's partnership with Stockholm Design Week, designer Monica Förster takes us on a tour of the exhibition Hyper Human at the Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm. More
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Hyperganic uses AI to design 3D-printed rocket engine
German software company Hyperganic has developed a 3D-printed rocket engine prototype, which was completely designed by artificial intelligence. More
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Seven customisable skincare brands harnessing artificial intelligence
Bespoke, smart and made-to-order is the new face of the skincare industry, where product designers are applying artificial intelligence and machine learning. Rima Sabina Aouf spotlights seven brands demonstrating this. More
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Ben Ditto examines "underbelly" of the internet for The 1975 music video
Cults, memes and incel culture informed The 1975's music video for their song The Birthday Party, which sees band members transformed into digital avatars. More
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Samsung launches Galaxy S20 smartphone with 108-megapixel camera
Samsung has launched its first full range of 5G smartphones that have AI-powered camera systems, a 108-megapixel sensor and 100x zoom. More
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Samsung's artificial Neon humans are "a new kind of life"
In a bid to "make science fiction a reality", Samsung's future factory STAR Labs has developed Neon, AI-powered virtual beings that look and behave like real humans. More
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Scientists make first living robots from frog cells
A team of scientists at Tufts University in the US have created xenobots, tiny robots made from frog skin and heart cells that can walk, work together and heal themselves. More
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Carlo Ratti's Eyes of the City exhibition in Shenzhen tracks visitors with facial-recognition tech
Architect and MIT professor Carlo Ratti stokes the surveillance debate with his biennale exhibition, which is set in a working train station in China and uses facial-recognition technology. More
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Refik Anadol uses AI to create mesmerising film of New York City
Turkish artist Refik Anadol has used artificial intelligence to turn millions of photographs of New York into the Machine Hallucination film. More
