To Prevent Wildfires, Treat Utilities Like Railroad Barons
PG&E’s electrical equipment likely caused California’s massive Camp Fire. That’s particularly maddening because science knows full well how to stop that.
A Crocodile-Like Robot Helps Solve a 300-Million-Year Mystery
Researchers use a fossil, fancy computer work, and a complex robot to tease apart how an early land-walking animal moved.
Desalination Is Booming. But What About All That Toxic Brine?
Desalination plants turn seawater into drinking water, but also pump hypersaline water back into the environment. That's especially troubling because desal has become extremely popular.
Nevada City, California’s ‘Goat Fund Me’ to Prevent Fires
Spooked by massive wildfires, a California city launches a crowdfunding campaign to hire goats to clear brush at the edges of town.
Ocean Cleanup’s Plastic Catcher Is Busted. So What Now?
First, the 600-meter-long plastic catcher didn't catch plastic. Then it split in two. What is the right way, then, to cleanse our oceans of the plastic menace?
The Clever Clumsiness of a Robot Teaching Itself to Walk
Researchers make robots teach themselves how to walk through trial and error, like babies, to navigate the real world.
We Need to Not Freak Out About the Robot Revolution
A former Obama advisor says we’ll work alongside the machines—but we also need to be smarter about apprenticeships and job retraining.
The Year in Robots (2018): Boston Dynamics, Baxter, and More
Look back on the biggest moments in robotics in 2018, from the continued ascendance of SpotMini to the rapid rise and fall of the home robot.
Don’t Fear the Robot Overlords—Embrace Them as Coworkers
In factories across the world, machines are beginning to work more intimately with humans without sending them to the unemployment line—or the grave.
Don’t Fear the Robot Overlords—Embrace Them as Coworkers
In factories across the world, machines are beginning to work more intimately with humans without sending them to the unemployment line—or the grave.