Discussions
The New Money
Square, founded by the creator of Twitter, lets people accept credit cards with their smart phones. That innovation could transform transactions in surprising ways.
Small Factories Give Baxter the Robot a Cautious Once-Over
Rethink Robotics invented a $22,000 humanoid robot that competes with low-wage workers.
Share-Your-Car Startup RelayRides Acquires New Hardware
Making it easier for people to rent their own cars could lead to growth in car sharing.
Government Lab Reveals It Has Operated Quantum Internet for Over Two Years
A quantum internet capable of sending perfectly secure messages has been running at Los Alamos National Labs for the last two and a half years, say researchers
A More Efficient Jet Engine Is Made from Lighter Parts, Some 3-D Printed
Composite and 3-D-printed components will mean jet engines that use 15 percent less fuel.
Researchers Create “Hate Map” of the U.S. With Twitter Data
The same researchers previously mapped racist Tweets about President Obama. In both cases there’s reason to be a little skeptical.
Renewables Can’t Keep Up with the Growth in Coal Use Worldwide
An International Energy Agency report calls for more research, carbon price, to help renewables compete.
Why Obama’s Brain-Mapping Project Matters
Obama calls for $100 million to develop new technologies to understand the brain.
We Need Nuclear-Powered Airplanes, Not Solar-Powered Ones
Making liquid fuels from low-carbon sources is better than mounting solar panels on planes.
Deep Learning
With massive amounts of computational power, machines can now recognize objects and translate speech in real time. Artificial intelligence is finally getting smart.