A new project has produced an umbrella that's smart in its application, its appearance and its aims - as you're huddled beneath it in the rain, it measures and records air quality in the immediate vicinity to inform you about pollution. Designed by a team of students at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, the 'sensing umbrella' works…

The ability to mind-read is fast becoming a reality, thanks to a brand new app for Google Glass, which allows you to take photos and share them using only your brainwaves. Called MindRDR, the app was developed by London-based user experience company This Place and requires the NeuroSky EEG Biosensor to work. It's this additional sensor, which…

Thanks to Portuguese start-up ColorElephant, it's now possible to scroll back through everything that ever compelled you to click the 'Like' button on Facebook. Oh dear... Be it a page, a status or a story, the LikeManager app helps you 'rediscover the things you like'. Or Like. The app works by recording your Liking activity, and then…

Scientists across the pond at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a prototype of a new wearable ring, but instead of keeping you safe or tracking your steps, it assists in reading out printed text. Aiming to help the visually impaired, the so called FingerReader can be used with books, magazines, restaurant menus and even…

We've had detailed nutritional information on most packaged goods for years, but calorie-counting can still prove confusing and problematic. That's why GE (General Electric) has developed this prototype of a microwave that does the work for you. By passing low-energy microwaves all the way through your food, it determines how many calories are in it using just three…

Italian developer Vittorio Cuculo has managed to create a lamp which changes colour according to your mood when it's linked up to facial recognition software on his computer. Described as a ‘Natural Interaction System’, it works via a webcam and OpenCV image processing, which both work to track certain features such as eyebrows, lips, eyes…

Yesterday, Google announced that it has bought Songza. Never heard of it? Us neither – until now, it’s been a relatively small venture, so we decided to put together a Q&A to straighten out the deal … What is Songza? It’s an app that's been around for three years, and is currently based in New York.…