BuzzFeed News announced on Monday the addition of Forbes staff writer Ryan Mac to its expanding team of reporters in San Francisco who cover Silicon Valley. Mac, who’s already based in San Francisco, joins a BuzzFeed News tech team of 20. He’ll be covering “the intersection of wealth, tech and power” under BuzzFeed San Francisco Bureau Chief Mat Honan and technology editor John Paczkowski. Rather than focus […]
They became the latest casualties of a long war that is leaving children dead or wounded in record numbers. Continue reading the main story On Monday, the United Nations said that the violence across Afghanistan in the first four months of the year had killed 283 children and wounded another 704, a 21 percent increase over the same period last year. “The children were playing outside their […]
A newly developed printable elastic conductor retains high conductivity even when stretched to as much as five times its original length, says a Japanese team of scientists. The new material, produced in paste-like ink form, can be printed in various patterns on textiles and rubber surfaces as stretchable wiring for wearable devices incorporating sensors, as well as give human skin-like functions to robot exteriors. The development of […]
Mr. Qalibaf had been under pressure from fellow hard-liners to fall in behind Mr. Raisi. Two other minor candidates are expected to withdraw before Friday, making the race a showdown between Mr. Raisi and Mr. Rouhani, clerics who hold strongly opposing views of Iran’s future. Mr. Rouhani said on Monday that he needed a strong victory to gain the mandate to carry out changes leading to more […]
In November, Mr. Sadeghi gave a speech in Parliament accusing the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Amoli-Larijani, of maintaining a secret bank account to collect diverted public funds. After the speech, representatives of the judiciary tried to arrest him, but were stopped when dozens of people gathered in front of his house to protect him. Continue reading the main story Nevertheless, change for Mr. Sadeghi and many […]
Edmonton International Airport in Canada will become the first airport in the world to use the Robird on a daily basis. The Robird is a lifelike robotic bird that will scare real birds away from the airport, starting at the end of May. (via WSJ)
People walk past a Megafon mobile phones shop in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 13, 2017. A top Russian mobile operator said Friday it had come under cyberattacks that appeared similar to those that have crippled some U.K. hospitals. Pyotr Lidov, a spokesman for Megafon, said Friday’s attacks froze computers in company’s offices across Russia. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) The cyberattack that spread malicious software around the world, shutting […]
Nearly 70 years after he produced Hong Kong’s first plastic duck, toy industry veteran LT Lam’s factories in China now churn out everything from Transformers to Play-Doh. But with costs rising in China and the industry fragmenting because of technological advances and changing consumer tastes, the 93-year-old worries that Hong Kong could lose its decades-long role at the heart of the global toy industry. “We started with […]
But conservatives have targeted Mr. Rouhani for what they regard as his softness toward the United States and tolerance of Western culture. They also have sharply criticized him for what they call his misleading prediction that the nuclear agreement would herald an economic boom in Iran, where joblessness remains pervasive and the economy is the most pressing campaign issue. Still, Mr. Rouhani is considered the front-runner. Photo […]
High schoolers who are extroverted, mature, highly intelligent, or interested in arts and sciences have a fighting chance against the robots and computers that will steal jobs in the future. A new study finds that people with certain personality traits are more likely to choose jobs that won’t be automated in the future . Job preference is especially important now, since economists estimate that 47 percent of […]
Researchers are developing a bio-inspired robot equipped with special chemical sensors able to detect the pH of water. (via WSJ)
A recent study found that people who watched live interactions with a robot were more likely to consider the robot to have more human-like qualities. (via WSJ)
The scene at the Rouhani campaign rally in Tehran on Tuesday has been replicated in other cities in recent days. In what appeared to be a warning that they not get out of hand, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday that anyone who disrupted the elections would get a “slap in the face.” Continue reading the main story Mr. Rouhani’s supporters did not care […]
Scientists unveiled a lightweight, robotic, outer “skeleton” Thursday that can detect when someone loses their balance, correct their gait, and prevent their fall. Designed to limit stumbles among the elderly, the device has sensors that can discern in real time when a limb starts to buckle or flail, and lightweight motors which exert instant force on both legs to restore balance. “Wearable machines that enhance your […]
In this Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, file photo, a self-driving Uber car stops at a red light on Liberty Avenue through the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In just a few years, well-mannered self-driving robotaxis will share the roads with reckless, law-breaking human drivers. The prospect is causing migraines for the people developing the robocars and is slowing their development. But experts say eventually the cars will coexist […]
A one-of-a-kind 3D printer built at the University of Minnesota can print touch sensors directly on a model hand. Credit: Shuang-Zhuang Guo and Michael McAlpine, University of Minnesota, “3D Printed Stretchable Tactile Sensors,” Advanced Materials. 2017. Copyright Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Engineering researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a revolutionary process for 3D printing stretchable electronic sensory devices that could give robots the […]
But the candidates still provide significant choices compared with elections in many other Middle Eastern countries. Continue reading the main story The incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, promotes economic and social freedoms. His main opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the country’s wealthiest religious foundation, opposes many such ideas and wants Iran to become more self-sufficient. Televised debates this year have been held with new restrictions, in contrast […]
A shake-up of the overarching Israel Broadcasting Authority — widely considered an outdated and wasteful enterprise — has been decades in the making. At one point it was said to have had up to 18 unions for about 1,800 employees. Israeli officials and experts across the political spectrum said that reform was essential. Continue reading the main story But the way it is unfolding appears chaotic and […]
Domino’s DRU autonomous robot (Image: Domino’s) Domino’s has announced that its autonomous delivery vehicle is now operating commercially, delivering pizzas to customers in Hamburg, Germany. The robot delivery system was created in partnership with Starship Technologies, a European startup founded by two of Skype’s co-creators Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis in 2014. “Robotic delivery units will complement our existing delivery methods, including cars, scooters, and e-bikes,” Don […]
On Wednesday, Mr. Erdogan’s prime minister added another warning: that arming the Kurds could have “consequences” for the United States and a “negative result.” He did not go into detail, promising only that Mr. Erdogan would elaborate when he meets President Trump at the White House next week. Continue reading the main story Mr. Erdogan also sharply criticized the Trump administration’s decision in remarks quoted by Turkish […]
The lead characters are a Norwegian couple who had Middle East experience and thought they might be able to broker an agreement. This was high-octane audacity. Yet the two of them — Terje Rod-Larsen, a social scientist, and his wife, Mona Juul, an official in Norway’s foreign ministry — pulled it off. Continue reading the main story The play’s Mr. Larsen, portrayed by Jefferson Mays, seems a […]
Engineering researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a revolutionary process for 3D printing stretchable electronic sensory devices that could give robots the ability to feel their environment. The discovery is also a major step forward in printing electronics on real human skin. The research will be published in the next issue of Advanced Materials and is currently online. “This stretchable electronic fabric we developed has […]
Israel was clearly trying to undermine the mass hunger strike, which prisoners say is aimed at better conditions in confinement. The strike is also meant to rally Palestinians, who have carried out numerous protests in support of the prisoners and plan another general strike in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. Continue reading the main story In an interview here in the Palestinians’ administrative capital, Ms. Barghouti […]
New research has found that IQ, along with an early interest in the arts and sciences, predicts who is likely to fall victim to automation in the workplace. (via WSJ)
