Awesome Tech

These days, the military uses powerful computers and high-end graphics cards to simulate missions. But in the 1970s, one of the ways to simulate driving a tank was using a miniature city, a motion camera rig, and a remote screen that displayed the first-person perspective to the pilot. Tom Scott took this vintage sim for a ride.

These over-the-ear headphones from Sennheiser offer exceptional sound, comfort, and luxurious styling. They have an open-back design for an ultra-wide soundstage and detailed, natural sound with an outstanding 12 Hz – 38,500 Hz response. Softly-cushioned earpads mean hours of uninterrupted listening.

We’re not sure if we should be amazed by or terrified by Advanced.Farm’s wheeled robot that autonomously harvests apple crops. Its six mechanical arms are fitted with custom-built stereoscopic cameras to identify ready-to-pick apples, then pluck them off with their grippers. The machine can pick roughly 30 apples per minute.

This puck-shaped device plugs into an HDMI port on your TV set and lets you stream video from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop wirelessly to a bigger screen. It supports DLNA, Airplay, Miracast, Ezcast at up to 1080p HD resolution. (Requires Android for encrypted apps like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO MAX.)

The CyberOne is an adjustable standing desk for gamers. It adjusts 29″ to 47″ tall and has dual pull-out drawers, USB/USB-C ports, a wireless charger, and cable management. The upgraded Plus and Pro models add features like a perforated backboard, a storage bin with a cup holder, LED lighting, and a tower PC bracket.

This gadget can increase the speed of 3D printers from 200% to 500%. Incorporating Klipper tech, it connects to most FDM printers via their USB ports to supplant typically slow internal controllers with a fast new brain. It can preview models on its screen and connect to a camera to shoot time-lapse printing videos.

This portable power bank has an huge 40,000 mAh capacity with a 100-watt input and output. It can charge an iPhone 13 eight times and can also charge USB-C laptops. It has two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and an LCD status display. It’s also IP67-rated waterproof and has a built-in 500-lumen LED flashlight.

Spotify’s Basic Pitch is free-to-use, Open Source software that uses machine learning tech to convert tunes you hum, sing, or play on a single instrument into a MIDI file that can be used to control digital synthesizers. You can download and run the software locally, or try it out right now on their demo website.

Duck Hunt is one of the OG light gun games. The NES game used a photosensor in its gun to detect its position as you aimed at the birds on screen. Atari Video Music CRT Garage rigged up the game so it could be played on the world’s smallest CRT monitor – just 0.5″ across. It looks like the zapper can’t hit anything at this size.

Thermal cameras can be useful for finding people in the dark and for conducting inspections, but would having heat vision as a full-time superpower be a blessing or a curse? Louis Weisz strapped on a thermal camera and head-mounted display and wore them for 50 hours to see what life would be like with thermal vision.

This small tabletop display lets you keep track of to-do lists, reminders, and other stuff you might normally jot on sticky notes. It uses NFC tech to sync notes from your phone and needs no battery or charging cord to update its high-contrast 4″ e-paper screen. It can also display images and quotes you send to it.

This engineering sandbox game lets players make their own working machines, structures, and interactive objects. It features a robust visual programming interface for controlling movements and encourages players to share their creations. Coming to Steam in early 2023. A PC demo is available now.

Marshall celebrates “60 Years of Loud” with this limited edition Emberton Bluetooth speaker. It has a black diamond finish, 60th anniversary badging, and a diamond-faceted control padd. Expect 20 hours of playtime per charge and crisp, enveloping sound from its dual 10-watt Class D amps. It’s also IPX7-rated waterproof.

It took 56 people four years to build Gremlin Symphony inside Convergence Station, Denver. The room is an art installation made from trash sculpted around instruments that play themselves using robotics or can be played by a human. Reggie Watts got together with co-creator Meason Wiley to give it a test run.

JGVision Media used AI image-generation technology to create the haunting scenes in this video, set to the music and lyrics of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. To add to the mood, they incorporated stretching and warping effects. If you’d like to hang any of these creepy images on your wall, you can order prints from RedBubble.

Could your winter jacket use an extra warm-up on cold days? The CALDO-X is an insulated puffer jacket with built-in heating panels in its upper back, collar, and front pockets. Attach an 8000mAh+ USB power bank (not included) to the USB connector, and the jacket will heat up. Offers three temperature settings.

Adafruit Industries shows off a fun DIY project using oversize Kailh key switches to build three ginormous macro keys. The keys work just like the keys on a regular keyboard, only 64 times larger in volume. We want to see someone build an entire QWERTY keyboard with these things.

Sugar Lab’s mad scientists went batty for Halloween, using 3D printers to make edible sweets in seasonal shapes like Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Apple Covered Caramels turn the classic inside out with a caramel and apple butter filling, while Day of the Dead Glitter Skulls dissolve into edible glitter when plopped into cocktails.

With enough power, lasers can engrave and cut materials. In this video from WIRED, laser expert Alexander Sellite explains the physics at work as a fiber laser works its magic, vaporizing designs into sheet metal. By adjusting its scanning speed, pulse length, and power level, it can mark different metals and even create colors.

This portable PC has a 17.3″ foldable 2.5K OLED touchscreen that transforms from a tablet to a dual-screen laptop. You can use part of its screen as a keyboard or attach the included keyboard and trackpad. It also has a Harmon Kardon 4-speaker audio system, a 5 MP AI webcam, and an HD IR camera for face login. Starts at $3500.

After seeing a video by Allen Pan in which he gave a snake legs, engineer James Bruton thought his robotic legs could use a more snake-like motion. So he got to work building a 6-legged robot which incorporates a mechanism he got from LEGO builder Akiyuki. Now he needs to give a snake a ride on it like Allen did.

There are many ways you can shoot an action sequence, from doing stunts on location to working in front of a green screen in a studio. SoKrispyMedia shows us how they shot a convincing action sequence using CGI backgrounds and the same kind of virtual production technology they use to make The Mandalorian.

Most smartwatches look similar with a basic square or round face. The Blacktime Celestial 11PM stands out with a pair of domed AMOLED displays. Use the dual screens to display time and another function or split the hours and minutes across them. It has health sensors and its makers are aiming for 10-day battery life.