Technology

Troisdorf - Germany's Deutsche Post is testing robots that could help postal workers cope with increasing numbers of parcels on their delivery rounds, a company manager said on Thursday. The volume of parcels being delivered by Deutsche Post in Germany is rising steadily as more and more Germans buy goods online from retailers such as Amazon.com and Zalando. That is making up for declining letter volumes, but posing problems due […]

A new “smart boot” can warm up cold feet, thanks to a built-in heating system controlled by a smartphone app. Called the “world’s first luxury heated smart boots,” the footwear will work with both iOS and and Android headsets, connecting over Bluetooth. Wearers of the Lundí boots can adjust the temperature of the smart footwear by using a temperature slider on the mobile app. According to the maker, the boots […]

Back in 2012, a team of experts determined that Leonardo da Vinci's only universally recognized self-portrait was damaged beyond repair, breaking the nerdy little hearts of art history buffs around the world. The delicate red chalk drawing, created in 1512, was accidentally exposed to sunlight while being framed for an exhibition in 1929, which is believed to have led to what scientists call "foxing" -- simply, unwanted marks manifested on the […]

The rise of the machines came to a halt, temporarily at least, when the champion Go player Lee Sedol beat a computer program on Sunday to prevent a whitewash after losing the first three games. AlphaGo, developed by the Google subsidiary DeepMind, has an insurmountable lead in the series, but Sedol’s win restored some human dignity. Fans of the ancient Chinese board game cheered when AlphaGo quit after five hours […]

Google has hit a milestone for artificial intelligence, as its AlphaGo computer outwitted the world champion of the ancient Chinese board game of Go. “We are very excited about this historic moment,” said Demis Hassabis, chief executive of Google DeepMind, the London-based unit behind AlphaGo. Lee Se-dol, the South Korean who has been the top Go player for a decade, said after the game that he was in “shock” and […]