Awesome Tech

The adidas Originals Ozworld sneaker collection has launched a personality-based, AI-enabled avatar generator. Users create their unique digital selves, which work with Ready Player Me, a cross-app avatar platform for the metaverse that lets anyone explore virtual worlds across 1,500 apps and games with a consistent identity.

This lightweight, pocketable touchpad offers remote on-screen control for all kinds of devices. It works with Apple, Windows, Android, and as a TV remote control. Its touchpad supports one- and two-finger gestures, and it has a built-in laser pointer for presentations. It runs for up to 20 days on a charge.

Python is one of the most versatile and widely used programming languages in the world. This series of 12 online courses will get you up and running in Python and will have you going from entry-level coder to advanced app dev techniques in days, not months. Another great e-learning deal from The Awesomer Shop.

AnkerMake claims its upcoming M5 3D printer can run up to five times faster than other FDM printers (250 mm/s) while producing details as small as 0.1 mm. It has a built-in camera that can monitor your print, capture time-lapse videos, and AI tech to notify you of print problems.

Manufacturing motors for EVs and hybrids is a very different process from making conventional engines. In this video, you’ll go inside the factory where Audi produces its EV motors, and robots and humans work in concert to transform metal, plastic, and coils of copper wire into a modern and powerful mode of propulsion.

The wake that motorized boats leave behind can disrupt smaller craft as well as the marine ecosystem. This extremely efficient Candela hydrofoil electric boat leaves only the smallest wake as it cruises through the water. The boat floats above the water, minimizing drag and surface contact, and maximizing battery life.

Nostalgic for the ’90s? Skullcandy goes retro with this limited-run earbud collection, borrowing the neon-pink, purple, and blue splatter colorway from Pit Viper, the lifestyle brand conceived on the ski hill and born in the back of a van. Options include the popular Grind, Push Active and Dime true wireless earbuds.

EV maker Tesla takes us on a high-speed drone flight around and inside of its Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory in Germany. Along the way, you’ll get closer to the incredible metal stamping and robotic assembly machines than most humans will ever get.

This unique effects pedal offers hot-swappable audio effects packaged in Nintendo 64 cartridges. The Console Pedals 3D-printed base station can hold two effect cartridges at the same time, and runs on batteries for portability. Harpist Emily Hopkins got her hands on a demo unit and put it through the test.

This professional-grade lens lets you shoot bloomy and soft vintage-style images using modern interchangeable lens cameras. It offers six different aperture settings from f/36 to f/233 and an 18-36mm variable focal length for fine-tuning your shots. It will be offered with EF,RF,F,Z,A,E,PK,M43, and X mounts.

An old-fashioned hourglass is a handy way to count down fixed increments of time. While a traditional hourglass is filled with sand, Engineercly’s 3D-printed version is completely digital, counting time on a pair of LED matrices controlled by an Arduino Nano. He used an accelerometer to track its angle and to direct the LED dots.

This handy accessory turns Leatherman multitools into a portable battery tester. It takes advantage of the metal construction of the tools to conduct power and can display voltages from 2.5 to 30 VDC using a set of yellow, red, and green LEDs. It’s compatible with the Leatherman Signal, Wave, Skeletool, Surge, and Bit Extender.

This substantial bit of kit from radio maker Eton can tune in radio broadcasts on just about every wavelength. It can receive signals in AM, FM, LW, SW, SSB, and VHF aircraft bands, and has a built-in 360º rotating AM antenna to help pull in the most distant signals. Its digital tuner can store up to 100 channels per band.

This super-bright bike light is as brilliant as some car headlights, improving nighttime safety. The Focus can blast out up to 5000 lumens on command. A remote trigger mounts on your handlebar so you can operate it without taking your hands off. It offers up to 500 high-beam flashes per charge or 20 hours in beacon mode.

Vornado’s uniquely-styled heater circulates hot air throughout the whole room while remaining cool to the touch. Its aircraft engine-inspired mid-century modern design features a 20º tilting head for directing heat where you want it.

These days, it’s pretty easy to find a clock that tells time with words. But this clock from Twisted&Tinned is the coolest variant we’ve seen. Behind each of its 114 letters is an individual servo motor that moves the letters into focus as they light up, adding a sense of depth to the display. A DIY kit is coming soon to Tindie.

In the early days of Netflix, they shipped movies on DVD through the mail. Before that, movies came on VHS tapes from places like Blockbuster. Modder Marina Fujiwara was feeling nostalgic, so she decided to rig up an old VHS tape player to stream Netflix shows when a cassette is inserted into its mechanism.

Unity is one of the most powerful graphics and gaming engines out there, and it keeps getting better. Led by Creative Director Veselin Efremov, the Unity Demo Team put together Enemies, a short film that shows off Unity’s HD render pipeline, adaptive probe volume lighting, strand-based hair, and lifelike digital human capabilities.

LEGO builder and coder ord shows off a machine they built using Mindstorms components that can draw images on paper. They programmed it using Pybricks, a framework for controlling LEGO motors and hubs. While it’s not as precise as an off-the-shelf plotter, it’s impressive for a LEGO build. It also looks like a tank.

At first glance, this hurricane lamp looks like a classic oil lantern, but it’s actually packed with modern technology, using a vintage-style LED bulb as its light source and cranking out tunes from its Bluetooth speaker. Its light is dimmable and burns for up to seven hours, while its speaker plays for five hours per charge.

VivoMeetings offers a premium video conferencing solution for businesses. It’s built from the ground up for security and offers unlimited recordings and real-time transcription. It works on mobile and desktop and in hardware-equipped meeting rooms. Grab a 1-year subscription in The Awesomer Shop for 17% off.

When we first read the headline for Nick O’Hara’s Golf Club Shooter, we thought it was for throwing clubs when you’re having a bad day. But it’s much more helpful. This machine is a remote-controlled caddy that rotates to the specific club you want then tosses it to you. It can also recommend a club using a voice assistant.

Researchers at MIT CSAIL have been working on improvements to its Mini Cheetah quadruped robot, among them a model-free learning that helps it figure out how to traverse varied terrain through trial and error. Along the way, the little guy managed to set a new speed record for its platform – 3.9 m/s (~8.7 mph).

The first portable computers weren’t exactly compact or lightweight. DIY Perks’ briefcase PC follows in these footsteps, but the payoff for the heft is a high-end gaming PC with a wrap-around 144Hz triple display, a 16-core AMD Ryzen 5950X CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 3080 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and a premium audio system with a subwoofer.

These colorful LED pixel displays from Neutronshop come pre-programmed to display stock tickers, cryptocurrency prices, a COVID-19 tracker, NBA scores, Twitter trends, and more. Each one can also display animations. After a USB-based setup, they update via Wi-Fi so don’t need to stay connected to a computer.

The powerful Mac Studio is small enough to take on the road. Waterfield’s handcrafted Shield case offers protection and style when transporting your precious Mac. It’s made from full-grain leather and ballistic nylon or waxed canvas and has a padded interior lined with a soft cashmere-like material. A shoulder strap is available too.