Editor Uno

Could 'hover homes' protect California from the big one? Firm reveals plans to raise houses on giant magnets in event of quake

System will be connected to ShakeAlert early warning system. Homes will rise up from ground moments before quake hits. System will use powerful magnets to raise homes above the ground. Firm is also developing a hoverboard for personal use.

In Japan eröffnet das erste Hotel mit Roboter-Personal. Gesichtserkennung statt Zimmerschlüssel. Schlechte Laune gibt’s bei diesen Mitarbeitern nicht – höchstens schlechte Programmierung ...

Für kommende Generationen könnte die Zusammenarbeit mit Robotern völlig natürlich werden. Was die Maschinen schon heute alles können. Sehr lässige Pose, wirklich – aber wen interessiert’s? Der junge Mann, der einen fahrerlosen Gabelstapler mit dem Gewicht eines Kleinwagens auf sich zu fahren lässt, keine Miene verzieht, aufreizend regungslos verharrt, bis der Metall-Koloss nur Zentimeter vor ihm wie von Geisterhand zum Stehen kommt, ist im Grunde eine Attraktion von gestern.

With fewer young people around for company and tighter healthcare budgets, an aging population is rightfully concerned about their futures. But engineers are working hard to change that outlook by developing robots that not only allow seniors to continue to live independently, but also cheer them up when they’re feeling low.

People are living longer. In 1956 a 60-year-old British female retiree had a life expectancy of just under 20 years; by 2010 that had extended further by an additional 12 years. Male longevity has similarly increased; a U.S. male born in 1950 might hope to reach his 66th birthday, while his 2010 counterpart can reasonably expect to enjoy at least a decade more.

In Brussels last month for the annual European Business Summit, I heard a lot of familiar complaints about the EU’s persistent failure to develop a digital economy to match that of the United States and Asia. But with Europe’s industrial economy finally showing signs of recovery, regulators are now turning their attention back to the deferred information revolution — for better and for worse.

A sporting event where a contestant opens a door, promptly falls on their face, and then stands up again sounds like less than riveting, but on Friday some 10,000 people at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, cheered and screamed encouragement as exactly that happened.

Social robots are coming, but will we enjoy their company? Chris Baraniuk explains why it might not always be easy to adjust to our new companions.

Factories are about to get smarter. The machines that make everything from our phones to our sandwiches rely on creaking technology -- but not for long. "It will make manufacturing more affordable in high wage countries [and be a] major threat to China" Detlef Zühlke, director of innovative factory systems at DFKI

If we're really going to outsource walking -- as a professor in Germany proved earlier this year is possible (with the help of some electrodes) -- we'll end up automating all physical activity, from chewing to smiling. This is a dystopian future that Evan Selinger, associate professor of philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology, hopes we will never want.

Jetman Yves Rossy has been taking his delta-winged jetpack out for brief jaunts at exotic locations around the globe for years. Each time, he learns a little more, and makes his flying machine a little more powerful.

Companies are competing to turn data into advice on how to farm better, and attracting investments from the likes of Google Ventures and Monsanto.

Blind-deaf people are often forced to live in a small and isolated world. But can a new glove open the way for easier communication? Lesley Ogden Evans reports.