In 1995, roboticists Hiroaki Kitano, Minoru Asada, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Itsuki Noda, and Eiichi Osawa proposed a new initiative – a robotic world cup, where teams of robots competed in a soccer game. Two years later that dream was realised in the Japanese city of Nagoya, and has been held annually ever since in a variety of cities around the world. Football is still around – but now separated into humanoid, standard platform, middle size, small size and simulation categories. There’s the Rescue leag

While some rumors had suggested we might see a new full-frame mirrorless camera break cover, the news that the D850 has been officially confirmed is still pretty exciting. What we hope/expect to seeWhen the Nikon D800 (and D800E) arrived back in 2012, its 36.3MP full-frame sensor was a game-changer. To that end, we reckon the D850 will get a decent jump in resolution, with the rumors suggesting it’ll be somewhere between 45MP and 46MP. We think CompactFlash compatibility will also disappear, wit

Automatically connecting to Wi-Fi may seem like a simple and useful feature, but it’s not when you’re forced onto networks with poor signal. One of the newest iOS 11 features will now stop you punctually connecting to networks that have weaker signals. The feature appeared in iOS 11 beta 4 and it will stop you getting annoying notifications as you walk by Starbucks, McDonald’s or places housing other public Wi-Fi hotspots you’ve previously connected to. New in iOS 11: It learns to stop connectin

The first flagship smartphone to bear the Nokia name in years looks like it’s nearly here, after an invite for an event on August 16 was sent out to media – and we expect to see the Nokia 8 launched there. There’s no question that a new handset will be launched, with the invite reading: “HMD Global invites you to an exclusive gathering to unveil the next milestone for Nokia phones.” The Nokia 8 has been rumored for months, but the leaks and speculation are due to come to an end in just a few wee

Roomba maker iRobot has big plans for its automated vacuum bots, but it could involve gathering up something a little more personal than dust and crumbs. iRobot CEO Colin Angle thinks that the future of the company’s floor cleaning hockey pucks may lie in using them to map the layout of customers’ homes, according Reuters. Angle’s vision for this technology is to gather home layout data not just to help the vacuum stay on course, but also sell that data to third parties to improve their own smar

It appears Chromebooks are pumping the brakes on the built-in “OK Google” voice search command to make room for Google Assistant. The Chrome OS-powered laptops look to be depreciating the voice feature used for basic searches, according to repositories spotted by Chrome Unboxed. And with this shift, Google Assistant appears primed to take over for users’ Google-related needs. Previously, users could go through their Chromebook’s settings to setup instant search via an “OK, Google” prompt, but th

As a new football season approaches in both real life and the digital realm, Microsoft is offering a special Xbox One S bundle combining a copy of the upcoming Madden 18 with its current-gen console. Retailing for $279 exclusively at retailers in the US, Canada and Mexico, the Xbox + Madden 18 bundle features the standard version of the latest entry in the football franchise alongside a 500GB version of the Xbox One S, complete with a wireless controller. The bundle also comes with a free 14-day

Android O has entered its final phase of beta development with the fourth public preview. After this release, the next move for Google is to officially launch the still-unnamed Android O to supported devices. Developer preview 4 is what’s called a release candidate build, a final representation of the software that is meant to be a feature-complete look at the new operating system. Each new developer preview has introduced something new for curious users to test out, but unless you’re a develope

Data leakage is an increasing problem these days, but it’s not always hackers who are to blame for the spillage of confidential information. Sometimes it’s directly the fault of the company itself – as is the case with misconfigured Google Groups settings affecting an alarming number of firms. Going publicGoogle Groups facilitates the creation and management of online forums and email groups, but when configuring a group, RedLock observes that some companies have set the sharing option for ‘outs

I worked at a campus tech shop in college selling computers, tablets and accessories to students of all kinds, each with different needs. VoiceOver can read blocks of text out loud“Can you help me activate a few settings?” she asked. After ticking a few boxes within the settings menu, the iPad seemed to turn into a totally different device. There are too many examples of the latter, but thankfully, more tech companies than ever are assuming responsibility for building products that fulfill a bro

Asus has just launched a new Google WiFi rival in the US priced at $400 (around £305, AU$505). Asus Lyra is a Wi-Fi mesh network system joining a number of offerings such as as the Google Wifi and Netgear’s Orbi. Just like Google WiFi, Lyra’s base package consists of three hubs, which are compact and unobtrusive white cylinders. Smart protectionAnd on the security front, there’s a major boon with Asus AiProtection, which the company describes as a commercial-grade network security system. The se

Stroll through the entrance of Volcano Bay, Universal Orlando’s newest theme park, and you’re immediately struck by its namesake, the stunning Krakatau Volcano. While this man-made mountain could proudly sit alongside the world’s natural wonders, it only represents the second coolest piece of technical engineering at the water theme park. The first-place honor goes to the TapuTapu, a wearable device that aims to eliminate many of the inconveniences that come with spending a day in a crowded them

Microsoft has made a fresh revelation about the next version of HoloLens, with the next-gen mixed reality headset set to benefit from a new Holographic Processing Unit (HPU). The company further notes that this is just one new capability for the next-gen HoloLens, and plenty of other features are in development. In a Microsoft Research Blog post, Marc Pollefeys, Director of Science, HoloLens, commented: “This is the kind of thinking you need if you’re going to develop mixed reality devices that

As Nikon celebrates its 100th anniversary, we take a look back at some of milestones in the company’s history. Immediately after it was established, Nippon Kogaku merged with Fuji Lens Seizo-sho in 1918. 1948: Nikon Model IThough it’s now a brand, the name ‘Nikon’ was originally ascribed to the first camera produced by company Nippon Kogaku. Like that camera, the Nikon I also used a bayonet lens-mount system, instead of Leica’s screw mount. 1959: Nikon FThe first SLR camera made by Nikon.

Perhaps even more importantly, with all these tabs open Firefox 54 used up just over 2GB of system memory, whereas with Firefox 55, memory usage is less than 0.5GB. As mentioned, Chrome has something of a reputation for using up a lot of system resources, particularly with a lot of tabs active, and we’ve certainly experienced our PC having serious issues with large numbers of tabs open. Mozilla will be hoping to attract power users with this freshly streamlined operation and added nippiness, alt

Since the middle of the 20th century we’ve been hunting, without success, for any indications that life exists beyond the narrow confines of Earth’s atmosphere. When the ice cracks, Enceladus’ weak gravity means that massive plumes of water vapour shoot out into space. It’s in these plumes that researchers hope to find the first living extraterrestrial microbes, and space scientists are hoping to one day send a probe through those jets to collect water samples that could be analysed for life. No

They show a phone that looks a lot like the Moto Z Force, with a slim design, a metal shell and a connector for Moto Mods, but with a silver strip running all the way around the back. This is likely an antenna band to help with signal, in place of the large glass panels at the top and bottom of the Moto Z Force. Speaking of the launch, we’ve also heard courtesy of reliable leaker Evan Blass that all four US carriers will offer the Moto Z2 Force. That’s worth noting, as the original Moto Z Force

We’ve talked a lot about the smart new features coming with the Fall Creators Update, but it has just emerged that Microsoft is cutting some of Windows 10’s capabilities with the upgrade, too, and that includes the likes of Microsoft Paint and Outlook Express. As mentioned, Microsoft Paint, the simple graphics app which has been a part of Windows since the very beginning, will be dumped. Of course, that’s mainly because it’s been superseded by Paint 3D, but still, some folks might shed a nostalg

When Apple launched the game-changing iPhone, many people in the business world – including Microsoft’s CEO at the time, Steve Ballmer – sneered at it. It didn’t have a keyboard, was expensive, and didn’t even have 3G in its original form. A lot has changed since then, and the numerous updates and tweaks that Apple has made and apps that have been released have turned it into the perfect on-the-go smartphone for business. The App Store is the main driver behind the surge in productivity on Apple

Dive into the comments below any YouTube video and it’s not always the most pleasant of reading experiences, but the site is introducing new measures to try and cut down on the number of unwanted spam comments that get left below the line. The new setting can be found by following the Community then the Community settings links inside the Creator Studio portal. Activating the option doesn’t retroactively block older comments, so you may need to go back and delete some of them manually. Meanwhile