Hrkn to .. Gadgets & Gizmos

In the latest robot developments, Steve Caplin discusses robots that can mine and cut overgrown trees beside railways, as well as those which have established a world record for synchronised dancing. Astronauts will now be able to take eyedrops with them into space. Scientists in Singapore have developed a screen that can be woven into the sleeve of a sweater. Others have found a way to send smells via the internet. The new Virgin Galactic plane will take half a dozen passengers to the edge of space: there's a waiting list of 675 even though it costs $850,000. A bitcoin miner can heat your hot water tank at the same time as it mines. And an AirTag has been used to locate a thief stealing valuable stones from old walls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Caplin explains the problems Apple's customers are having with the new iPhone Duo. Chinese scientists have found a way to make salt saltier so we don't need to consume as much. There are clips from Elon Musk's Grok-created version of Odysseus, which he thinks is better than the cinema version. A smart treadmill is aimed at those who use standing desks. Steve is impressed by TwinGrip pliers which, with an irregular tooth layout, can handle some jobs far better than the standard sort. Sony have produced a gold-plated Walkman which is expensive but unavailable to buy. There's an e-ink self-charging canvas. And the French supermarket fridge attack has been followed by something similar targeting US military bases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Caplin explains that the world is slowing down and that there will be a leap hour to solve the problem – in about 1,000 years. The new Tesla has a model that will flip the car as it jumps over a truck. A planned space mission to our nearest star will take 80,000 years. A crowd-funded AI screwdriver that has 52 bits sounds very useful but is also very pricy. After a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz hit a mine, fishermen have been hauling in new iPhones. Just Eat has had to halt AI providing images for food after it bizarrely misinterpreted items like "breakfast soda". However, AI has managed to crack the code Napoleon used in a letter to his generals in 1809. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Caplin thinks Apple's new Homeview gadget is too expensive for what it does. He is happy to celebrate Japan's Gboard Day, in which local Google engineers conjure up wacky keyboard ideas. Although the Mayor of Tirana is in prison, he is still running the city, using an AI avatar of himself. Hackers turned hundreds of French internet-connected supermarket fridges up to 50°C. Anthropic has warned that AI worms could infiltrate smart fridges, TVs and create an automomous AI that couldn't be shut down, yet it still bans users who are rude to its AI, Claude. If you want to let somebody hear what you're listening to on headphones, Neo's new phones will twist to become speakers, for a stiff price. Chinese scientists have developed microrobots with recharging batteries, but only if they walk over certain materials. And there's a crowd-funded computer monitor that many might think threatening rather than useful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Caplin says that Google Maps will now guide you to find the cheapest – well, less expensive – petrol. With AI prompts often going wrong, scientists in Korea have developed a mind-reading AI which monitors brainwaves to realise when it's made a boo-boo. Starship Technologies' delivery robot has finished its trial in Sheffield, but not all its robots emerged unscathed. Barnsley, however, now has a two-legged delivery robot which is proving very popular. There's an e-ink Kindle display for the back of your phone to avoid distracting notifications. IKEA has set up a secondhand marketplace for buying or selling its used products. And the University of Glasgow is to send whisky into space to see if the rapid heating and cooling of space will speed up the maturation process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices