Building a robot?

Until recently, designing and fabricating robotic devices required access to expensive milling machines, lathes, drill presses and other complex hard metal cutting, boring and industrial bending tools.

Today, ready access to  low-cost 3D printing, laser cutters, and other advances in manufacturing technology is ushering in the new age of “soft robotics” which is based on fabrication principles drawn from conventional rigid robot design applied to a new generation of pliable materials.

Amid growing concerns about the connected car security threat, Japanese auto maker Toyota’s ITC (InfoTechnology Center), the R&D arm of the Japanese car giant, will host a connected car hacking event in Tel Aviv next month.

Cybersecurity has emerged as a critical concern in the automotive industry, especially the fear of hackers taking control of smart vehicles and creating hazards like turning off engines, head lights, disabling brakes, and taking over steering control.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) intends to make the connected automobile a reality, sooner rather than later. Last month NHTSA announced an “advance notice of proposed rule making” that seeks public input on technical feasibility, privacy and security, and preliminary estimates on costs and safety benefits of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications technology.

Broadcom’s USB hub and Wi-Fi adapter for Raspberry Pi

Any announcement by Broadcom around the Raspberry Pi microcomputer board bears watching. After all, Broadcom’s BCM2835 applications processor (a multimedia system-on-chip built around an ARM core) is the computing engine. And, Eben Upton, the man responsible for the hardware and software architecture of the board (and a former trustee of the Raspberry Pi foundation) is a technical director at Broadcom.

Four decades after it fled the watch business, Intel is going to try again. It’s chosen the apogee of the fashion industry calendar – NY Fashion Week — to announce that it’s getting into smart watches that masquerade as high-end jewelry.

Mica, an acronym for My Intelligent Communication Accessory, is a smart bracelet designed by cult fashion label Opening Ceremony and infused with Intel’s technology.

Four decades after it fled the watch business, Intel is going to try again. It’s chosen the apogee of the fashion industry calendar – NY Fashion Week — to announce that it’s getting into smart watches that masquerade as high-end jewelry.

Mica, an acronym for My Intelligent Communication Accessory, is a smart bracelet designed by cult fashion label Opening Ceremony and infused with Intel’s technology.

Mobileye NV, the market leader in driver assistance systems for automobiles, made its stock market debut only a month ago. The stock has been on a tear since; it’s doubled its initial listing price. Mobileye’s “monocular vision” technology uses proprietary algorithms, custom made systems-on-chips and a single camera to interpret the visual field for possible collisions — with other vehicles, pedestrians, animals, debris and such.

The only thing standing between the rollout of the next wave of fashion tech has been summer, and finally, the Labor Day Weekend, the official end to summer in the Hamptons and surrounding beachside getaways. With summer over, New Yorker’s minds turn instantly to fashion, and beginning today, the arrival of New York Fashion Week (NYFW). It’s also the beginning of a month-long series of runway shows and high tech fashion launches that will next travel to Europe – to London, Milan and Paris – to highlight what designers have in store for spring/summer 2015.