Loomo, the Mobile Robot Sidekick from Segway

On Indiegogo now, an electronic companion with advanced computer vision, carrying capabilities and an expressive personality

A visual analysis of Loomo gives quite a bit away. First, its wheels and connective feet-platform nods to its parent company, Segway Robotics, which makes sense as Loomo is a personal, self-balancing transporter itself. But when you look Loomo in the face, or screen, something else is evident: personality. The robot has an emotion engine, powering lighthearted expressions that are actually quite endearing. Everything in …

BrainQ’s Mind-Reading Technology Aims to Treat Neurological Diseases

Rather than embed chips in the human brain—as proposed by two of its better-known competitors, Israeli start-up BrainQ is developing a non-surgically embedded EEG machine to accrue and analyze data on stroke and spinal cord patients. BrainQ isn’t the only company utilizing EEG technology, but their application is unique. Its “mind-reading” capabilities are already being put to the test in two human clinical trials. Read …

Amateur Astronomer Photographs Exploding Star

An Argentinian amateur astronomer was simply testing out his new 16-inch telescope by taking a bunch of short-exposure photographs when he managed to snap an image believed to be one in 10 million—or even one in 100 million. The photo is of an exploding star in a distant galaxy—a visual that professionals have been hoping to capture for a long time. UC Berkeley astronomer Alex …