Created by Japanese manufacturer Shimadzu Corp, the Aether Clock OC 020 is a strontium optical lattice clock advertised as the most accurate clock in the world and sold for over $3 million.

The world’s most accurate clock looks less like you’d imagine and more like a small refrigerator. Its rectangular case is around three feet tall and has a volume of 250 liters. Frankly, it doesn’t look like much, but this contraption is so precise that it would take about 10 billion years for it to deviate by a single second, according to Kyoto-based manufacturer Shimadzu Corp. The Aether Clock OC 020 is reportedly 100 times more accurate than cesium atomic clocks, which set the standard for the current definition of a second. Although optical lattice clocks have been around for a while, the Aether Clock OC 020 is the world’s first commercially available model.

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The CL1 is an innovative biological computer that combines living cultured human brain cells with silicon hardware in an advanced computer case that also acts as life-support for the cells.

Australian biotech company Cortical Labs recently made international news headlines by announcing what it calls “the world’s first code deployable biological computer.” The innovation behind the CL1 consists of placing brain nerve cells cultured from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) on a silicon chip. These cells respond to electrical signals, forming networks that process information similarly to a living brain. These responses are recorded and analyzed by AI software allowing it to learn faster than traditional artificial intelligence systems. Cortical Labs believes that integrating biological elements like neuron-based systems can improve efficiency in tasks that traditional AI struggles with, such as decision-making in unpredictable environments and situations.

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Developed by the American-Polish company Clone Robotics, Protoclone is a unique humanoid robot that features a skeleton based on 206 human bones, 1,000 artificial muscles, and a water-based cooling system.

Clone Robotics first attracted attention online back in 2021, when it released a series of videos showcasing its artificial muscle system based on the McKibben pneumatic muscle. Back then, the company only had a functional robotic arm capable of grabbing and handling various objects, but it recently released footage of its first humanoid robot, dubbed Protoclone. The twitching, human-like figure suspended in mid-air is a far cry from the uncanny valley, in fact, it doesn’t even look capable of standing on its own two feet, but its muscle and skeletal are certainly intriguing. The metallic skeleton replicates 206 human bones, and the so-called “Myofiber” muscle system features 1,000 artificial muscles.

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Scientists at China’s Zhejiang University recently announced that their Black Panther robot has achieved a constant speed of 10 meters per second, a world record for quadruped robots.

Black Panther has been in development at Zhejiang University’s Hangzhou International Science and Technology Innovation Center since 2018, but over the first six years, scientists struggled to exceed the speed of 6 meters per second. In early experiments, once the robot went over this speed threshold, it suffered severe damage, such as ruptured “calves” and in some cases, the entire torso disintegrated. However, after numerous trials and attempts to mimic the joint and muscle structures of various animals and even humans, researchers managed to make important modifications, such as adding springs between the leg joints to cushion impact, and earlier this year Black Panther reached a record speed of 10m/s.

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Chinese robotics startup Engine AI recently launched a new humanoid robot that stunned everyone with its natural human-like gait which many attributed to CGI.

Major robotic companies around the world have been trying to replicate the smooth human gait in their humanoid robots for decades, with relatively modest results, but last October, Chinese company Engine AI unveiled the SE01, its most advanced humanoid robot yet. Featuring an advanced end-to-end neural network system, the SE01 robot learns to walk like a human in a simulation, getting feedback for how well it does and constantly improving over time. It is powered by dual processors from Nvidia and Intel and features three stereo cameras that help it navigate and interact with complex environments.

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Designed to power giant container ships, the 14-cylinder Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C two-stroke turbocharged diesel engine is the world’s largest combustion engine.

Measuring thirteen meters high, twenty-six meters long, and weighing a whopping 2,300 tons, the 14-cylinder Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C is a metal monstrosity worthy of the title of ‘largest combustion engine ever built’. The giant crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons, while each of the 14 pistons weighs 5 tons. At 102 rpm, it has a power output of 108,920 bhp (80,080 kW) and burns through about 250 tons of heavy fuel oil per day. Even at its most efficient setting, the enormous Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C consumes 1,660 gallons of heavy fuel oil per hour.

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Laibo 2, a quadruped robot developed in South Korea, has become the first robot to ever complete a full marathon on a single charge after running the 42.195-km Sangju Dried Persimmon Marathon.

Developed by Professor Hwangbo Je-min and his team at the Korea Advanced Insitute of Science and Technology, Laibo 2 is an advanced quadruped robot designed with a focus on endurance. It recently became the first robot to run a full marathon after completing the 22nd Sangju Dried Persimmon Marathon in Sangju, South Korea with a respectable time of 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 52 seconds, on a single charge. The 42-kg robot had to navigate difficult terrain, including two relatively steep hills, gauge its distance from the other runners, and maintain course, all the while mitigating power consumption to ensure it reached the finish line.

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The Zefiro is a clever little MIDI controller that plugs into the USB-C port of your smartphone essentially turning it into a playable musical instrument.

Developed by Italian startup ARTinoise, the Zefiro is one of the most ingenious gadgets we’ve seen in quite a while. The small, colorful mouthpiece may look like a vape, but it’s actually a lot more than that. It’s a MIDI controller that plugs into your smartphone’s charge port and relies on an app to turn the handheld into a variety of playable instruments, from the humble flute, to violins and even fantasy sounds. Equipped with lip sensors and an air pressure sensor, the Zefiro sends breath power data directly to the dedicated app, which is then used to adjust the volume, length, and harmonics of the sound. Keys or air holes are displayed on the screen of the smartphone, so you can effectively play the instrument with your fingers, as you low into the mouthpiece.

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Australian scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed a method of accurately checking if milk has gone bad by using the vibration motor inside every smartphone.

The modern smartphone has been a jack-of-all-trades for a while now, but the ubiquitous gadget is getting new functionalities virtually every day. On of the most ingenious ways you’ll probably be able to use your handheld in the near future is to test if milk has gone bad, either in the comfort of your own kitchen, or at the store,without even having to open the container. Reserachers at UNSW Computer Science and Engineering recently developed a new smartphone sensor called VibMilk that relies on the gadget’s vibration motor and inertial measurement unit (IMU) to check the freshness of milk without having to open the container. The high-tech method could one day curb the current waste of 20% of dairy products.

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The Arc’tryx MO/GO Hiking Pants come with a built-in exoskeleton powered by powerful motors that can increase the wearer’s leg strength by 40 percent and make them feel 30 pounds lighter.

Motor-powered exoskeletons have been a reality for years, especially in the medical field, but not so much in the leisure department. That is about to change, as outdoor brand Arc’teryx and Google spinoff Skip recently teamed up to create the “world’s first powered pants”. Called MO/GO (short for ‘mountain goat’), the innovative garment is more than a piece of clothing; it comes with bespoke carbon fiber support structures that feed power from integrated AI-controlled motors at the knees to the wearer’s leg muscles during ascents and decreasing pressure on their knees during descents. Marketed as a mobility device, MO/GO pants are designed to make hiking more accessible to people who may not have the endurance for it.

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The aptly named IMALENT MS32 Brightest Flashlight is capable of outputting up to 200,000 lumens of light, more than any other commercially available flashlight.

Imagine having the ability to turn night into day in the palm of yourself and you kind of get a sense of what using the world’s brightest flashlight feels and looks like. The Imalent MS32 is so incredibly powerful that the only other flashlight you can even compare it to is the Imalent MS18, the previous holder of the title of ‘world’s brightest flashlight’. And that one was virtually half as powerful as the MS32, with a peak brightness of “just” 100,000 lumens. The LED-powered light beam of the Imalent MS32 can reach as far as 1,618 meters and is the equivalent of 100 car lights in terms of brightness.

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A Japanese company has developed an artificial intelligence filter that can detect angry screams and translate them into calm speech in order to reduce the stress experienced by call center operators.

Large tech companies have long been aware of the stress their call center operators are exposed to every single day, with many customers taking out their anger and frustrations on them. Some of them have even introduced stress management programs that include relaxation techniques, meditation, yoga, or therapy meant to irritability and anxiety. However, one Japanese company may have come up with a much more efficient solution – using AI to completely take screaming and aggressive speech out of the equation. SofBank claims to have spent three years creating a voice filter that detects screaming and automatically translates it into calm speech.

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An artificial intelligence model developed by an international team of researchers has demonstrated the ability to predict future events in people’s lives, including the time of their death.

Life2vec, a so-called transformer model trained on a massive volume of data to predict various aspects of a person’s life, was created by scientists in Denmark and the United States. After being fed data from Danish health and demographic records for six million people, like time of birth, schooling, education, salary, housing, and health, the AI model was trained to predict what would come next. According to its creators, Life2vec demonstrated an eerie ability to predict when people would die based on data analysis. For example, when tested on a group of people between the ages of 35 and 65, half of whom died between 2016 and 2020, it was able to predict who would die and who would live, with 78% accuracy.

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Scientists at South Korea’s Chung-Ang University have created an ultra-light exosuit that can help runners cover short distances faster.

They may not be mainstream yet, but exoskeletons have been a part of our world for a while now. We’ve seen some that make carrying heavy loads a breeze, and others that help physically disabled people move around with ease. But wearable technology that helps people run faster has been pretty rare, especially in the super-light form recently presented by scientists at Chung-Ang University’s School of Mechanical Engineering in South Korea. They created a contraption that only weighs around 2.5 kg (5.5lbs) but can help the average person run a 200-meter sprint almost a second faster than without the suit.

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Chinese engineers once set a Guinness World Record After Rotating a 30,000-tonne bus terminal in Xiamen 288 meters by using hundreds of hydraulic jacks and rolling tracks.

The Houxi Long Distance Bus Station is situated in the Jimei District of Xiamen, China’s Fujian Province.  Four years ago, local authorities decided to move one of its terminals from one street to another in order to make room for a new high-speed railway project. After weighing their options, engineers decided that the best solution was to rotate the gigantic building at a 90-degree angle, using one of its narrow sides as the center point. The far side of the terminals needed to slide along the ground for about 288 meters, which is hard to do with a structure that weighs 30,000 tons, or as much as 170 Boeing 737 passenger planes.

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