BERLIN – Scientists have developed a mind-controlled robotic hand that allows people with certain types of spinal injuries to perform everyday tasks such as using a fork or drinking from a cup. The low-cost device was tested in Spain on six people with quadriplegia affecting their ability to grasp or manipulate objects. By wearing a cap that measures electric brain activity and eye movement the users were able to send signals to a tablet computer that controlled the glove-like device attached to their hand. Participants in the small-scale study were able to perform daily activities better with the robotic hand than without, according to results published Tuesday in the journal Science Robotics. The principle of using brain-controlled robotic aids to assist people with quadriplegia isn't new.

Robotics lends a helping hand. Using a brain-controlled exoskeleton, six paralysed people regained the ability to do everyday tasks such as using cutlery or signing documents. The system required no surgery and is mobile enough to use outside a laboratory. "The patients were amazed by what they could do with the system," says Surjo Soekadar from the University Hospital of Tübingen, Germany. "Previously, they couldn't have a meal with a knife and fork, so changing that was amazing for them."

Over a shaky WebEx connection, NoHold CEO and Co-Founder Diego Ventura showed me how one can take form in just a few moments. TNW Conference is back for its 12th year. The chatbot had a very simple job. It was created to be an Amazon Kindle savant. You could ask it anything, like "Where's the Wi-Fi settings?"

Instagram is making huge changes to comments, intended on making it a "welcoming place". The changes include the ability to stop comments from showing at all. It also lets people put little hearts next to any specific comment, the equivalent of liking them on Facebook. Previously, the ability to stop comments was a limited to a small number of high-profile accounts. But it will be made available to everyone in a few weeks, Instagram said.

Uber is now able to see where people are all the time – even if they've just finished their journey or aren't using the app at all. The app now asks for permission to see people's location always. That means that as long as the app has been opened and is on a phone, the company can see where its customers have been. Uber says that the feature has been added so that the app can see where people go just before and after they are being picked up. But it has also been described as "scary" by people who say that they don't want to use the app if it involves having their location known. In its facilities, JAXA develop satellites and analyse their observation data, train astronauts for utilization in the Japanese Experiment Module'Kibo' of the International Space Station (ISS) and develop launch vehicles 32/39 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to the music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight.

The US Supreme Court told a lower court to take another look at a $399 million award won by Apple from rival Samsung for copying the design of the iPhone. The unanimous decision extends a legal battle that dates back to 2011 and at one point spanned the globe and engulfed every major maker of smartphones. Writing for the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Apple might not be entitled to Samsung's entire profit on 11 infringing smartphones. She told a federal appeals court to consider whether Apple should be able to recoup profits attributable only to particular components. The high court stopped short of deciding that question itself.

Putin's 50ft underwater'robot' that can imitate any submarine in the world and carry out 600-mile spying missions 1,800ft below the surface Russian military engineers have unveiled design of a submarine called Surrogat'Robot' will be able to imitate conventional and nuclear-powered submarines 600-mile range unmanned sub is to be used for'mapping and reconnaissance' 'Robot' will be able to imitate conventional and nuclear-powered submarines On the drawing board: Vladimir Putin's 50ft underwater'robot' will be able to imitate any submarine in the world and carry out 600-mile spying missions 1,800ft below the surface, experts claim The design was unveiled as Russia continues to build up its forces on Europe's borders amid heightened tensions between president Vladimir Putin (pictured in a submarine last year) and the West Russia MOCKS British war games, saying: 'Polish-assembled... Russian tanks will be equipped with'Pterodactyl' DRONES,... Vladimir Putin praises Donald Trump AGAIN, ...

This week we are celebrating Computer Science Education Week around the globe. In this "age of acceleration," in which advances in technology and the globalization of business are transforming entire industries and society itself, it's more critical than ever for everyone to be digitally literate, especially our kids. This is particularly true for women and girls who, while representing roughly 50 percent of the world's population, account for less than 20 percent of computer science graduates in 34 OECD countries, according to this report. This has far-reaching societal and economic consequences. By 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that there will be 1.4 million computing jobs but just 400,000 computer science students with the skills to apply for those jobs. Computer science is a top-paying college degree and computer programming jobs are growing at a rate that is double the national average, according to a National Association of Colleges and Employers report.

Google DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet that's focused on making fundamental progress toward general artificial intelligence, is releasing a new 3-D virtual world today, making it available for other researchers to experiment with and modify however they wish. The new platform, called DeepMind Lab, resembles a blockish 3-D first-person shooter computer game. Inside the world, an AI agent takes the form of a floating orb that can perceive its surroundings, move around, and perform simple actions. Agents can be trained to perform various tasks through a form of machine learning that involves receiving positive rewards. Simple example tasks that will come bundled with the platform include navigating a maze, collecting fruit, and traversing narrow passages without falling off.

Every driver has experienced a spot of road rage on their travels - but what if your car then tried to calm you down? A new concept car from Honda features AI that can experience human emotions. Honda has equipped the'automated, electric commuter vehicle' with an emotional engine, which can react to its driver's conversations and emotions. A new concept car from Honda, named'NeuV' (pictured), will have AI that can experience human emotions. Honda have equipped the automated, electric commuter vehicle with an emotional engine, which can react to its driver's conversations and emotions Honda is not the only big company to dip its toes into emotional technology.