Originally designed as a solution for the absent-minded, the AirTag digital tracking sensor is also sometimes employed for a more sinister function, with manufacturer Apple now finding itself the subject of anger—and lawsuits—from Americans who have been harassed with the help of the brand's product.

AirTag harassment victims unconvinced by Apple's fixes

Take apart your laptop screen, and at its heart you'll find a plate patterned with pixels of red, green, and blue LEDs, arranged end to end like a meticulous Lite Brite display. When electrically powered, the LEDs together can produce every shade in the rainbow to generate full-color displays. Over the years, the size of individual pixels has shrunk, enabling many more of them to be packed into devices to produce sharper, higher-resolution digital displays.

Stacking LEDs instead of placing them side by side could enable fully immersive virtual reality displays

What if you could feel raindrops or a beating heart, or train in competitive archery, all from the comfort of your home? That game-changing immersiveness could bring a new dimension to virtual environments, allowing users to experience the world of imagination with a high degree of realism.

Novel VR glove levels up user experience in the metaverse with a more realistic sense of touch

Adding random, short expressions of understanding in a conversation may turn smart speakers, such as Alexa and Siri, into robot therapists that allow people to open up more without violating their privacy, according to a team of researchers.

People open up more to smart speakers that listen actively, find researchers

Wearable devices have garnered attention for their potential as sensors that could monitor various biomarkers, a means of drug delivery, medical devices and more. In order for these wearable devices to be functional and practical, they need to have batteries that are stretchable and highly deformable.

Stretchable battery packaging with moisture and gas barrier could power the future of wearable devices

Power management systems that harvest ambient energy will power billions of small devices on the Internet of Things.

Battery-free smart devices to harvest ambient energy for IoT

As meetings shifted online during the COVID-19 lockdown, many people found that chattering roommates, garbage trucks and other loud sounds disrupted important conversations.

First wireless earbuds that clear up calls using deep learning

For years, there's been a cardinal rule for flying civilian drones: Keep them within your line of sight. Not just because it's a good idea—it's also the law.

The next frontier for drones: letting them fly out of sight

Cheaper and far more abundant than lithium, sodium is increasingly appealing as a foundation for a next generation of high-voltage rechargeable batteries. Development of commercially viable sodium ion batteries lags significantly behind that of lithium batteries, which were widely adopted in the 1990s. But researchers worldwide aim to change that with the hope of eventually creating a more economical alternative to lithium. Advances in sodium ion battery performance could eventually lead to more widespread renewable energy adoption in power grids and drive down the cost of electric vehicles.

A new approach leads to better sodium ion battery

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science have discovered a way to make a versatile thermal conductor, with promise for more energy-efficient electronic devices, green buildings and space exploration.

Researchers harness the power of a new solid-state thermal technology

A new study by Stanford University researchers lights a path forward for building better, safer lithium-metal batteries.

New mathematical model offers potential solutions for next-generation battery challenges

Researchers in Sweden report that they are closing in on a way to replace batteries for wearables and low-power applications in the internet of things (IoT). The answer lies in an ink coating that enables low-grade heat, which is generated by devices, to be converted to electrical power.

Ink coating could enable devices powered by heat

A new Imperial-developed "dual robot" drone can both fly through air and land on water to collect samples and monitor water quality.

Shape-shifting drone flies and dives to find aquatic environmental clues

A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has demonstrated for the first time that the Bluetooth signals emitted constantly by our mobile phones have a unique fingerprint that can be used to track individuals' movements.

In a first, researchers use Bluetooth signals to identify and track smartphones

Axon, the company best known for developing the Taser, said Monday it was halting plans to develop a Taser-equipped drone after a majority of its ethics board resigned over the controversial project.