In a factory on the outskirts of the Colombian capital Bogotá are produced some of the thinnest and most stylish bulletproof clothes in the world. It’s no surprise in a country ravaged by narco-terrorism, where attacks and kidnappings remain commonplace. Items on sale include vests, jackets and shirts, some claiming to offer resistance even to a Kalashnikov.
Finding your way while riding a bike is not always easy – just like driving a car, it requires a simple system that enables users to concentrate on the road while getting directions. This new smart device launched by a Canadian firm helps users navigate and doubles up as a burglar alarm. It is easy to fit onto the handlebars of a bike.
“Cycling in the city is not getting more dangerous. We feel it’s actually getting a bit safer because cycling is now considered as a legitimate way of transportation. But we feel there are still some aspects that are dangerous, notably getting navigation data to know where you’re going. So by having SmartHalo on your bike you get very simple and clear instructions,” says design director Maxime Couturier.
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Over 100 experts, 12 international organisations and more than 120 companies were represented at Beijing’s World Robot Exhibition. There they “met” robots that act just like humans like Xiaolou. The humanoid robot was made by Chinese company Tami Intelligence and it is known for its capacity to interact with people. So how is it possible?
“The robot has plenty of facial expressions, and it can give people a good feeling of interaction. And it can follow the human by which I mean it can imitate your gestures when you are in front of it. The robot recognises if you are male of female and also tells your age and whether you are happy and the degree of your happiness,” explained Lui Boyi product manager Tami Intelligence Technology
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Virtual reality is hardly virtual anymore. At this year’s Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, more than forty exhibitors are showcasing virtual reality devices – that’s a massive 77 percent rise compared to 2015. Virtual reality headsets will be all the craze this year according to experts with projected sales expected to skyrocket by 500 percent.
“To see 2016 and CES be the home of multiple manufacturers announcing and releasing timings for their VR to come onto the market, the competition makes a really exciting space,” says Ernest Doku, technology expert for uSwitch, a UK-based price comparison service. “Virtual reality actually transports you to another world. You put the headset on and you actually can’t see the world around you. It can project you on a beach, on top of a mountain in Japan, in the far flung future, virtual reality is a whole other experience.”