One of the UK's earliest humanoid robots has been unearthed after spending 45 years stored in a garage. The robot's creator, Tony Sale, talks about how George came about. Rationing during and after World War II gave rise to the make do and mend ethos that saw many people exercise their ingenuity to feed and clothe themselves. Some, such as Tony Sale, took the scavenging attitude far beyond simply unravelling woollen socks to help patch a pullover. In 1950 Mr Sale, then aged 19, created a robot named George out of scrap metal that came from a crashed Wellington bomber. Pilot Officer Sale, as he was then, was stationed at RAF Debden where he was employed to teach pilots how to use radar.

They hope their findings could lead to better treatment for stroke victims. It might also explain the secret behind the concept of feminine intuition. The researchers found that boys and girls use different parts of their brains to recognise faces and identify facial expressions. Boys tend to use more of their right brain, while girls use more of their left brain. This suggests that the brains of males and females are organised differently before adulthood.

For everyone who recycles their batteries, good for you! Your efforts won't be wasted, at least not in Sweden and the U.K., where a machine with artificial intelligence is being developed to sort all of those batteries so they can be sold for their still-usable components. University of Gothenburg, in Sweden, has a camera and a computerized brain that runs on a neural network. That kind of system works more like a human brain in that it can learn to "see" patterns and respond to them. It's an ability that's important for sorting batteries, which come in a range of different sizes and shapes and contain materials, such as lead, cadmium and steel, that need to be distinguished from one another because they're valuable for resale. At the recycling plant, batteries are fed to the machine on a conveyor belt.

Korean children, already fast becoming a robot-friendly lot, have a new companion in Kibot, a monkey-faced bot that can read fairy tales, sing songs, take pictures, and make video calls via a display embedded in its tummy. Wireless operator KT Telecom started delivering the multitasking monkey today for 485,000 won ($447), plus wireless packages that can be purchased in 12- or 14-month installments. "It's really cute," said my 9-year-old friend Stella, a co-worker's daughter who visited CNET's offices today. "I would get one if it was in blue." Parents can also remotely control the 8-inch-tall wheeled robot via mobile phone and, using Wi-Fi, monitor their children (a feature that made Stella a tad apprehensive).

The waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm. China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University. But nearly every country in the region had massive increases between 2010 and 2015, including those least equipped to deal with the growing mountain of discarded smartphones, computers, TVs, air conditioners and other goods. On average, electronic waste in the 12 countries in the study had increased by nearly two thirds in the five years, totaling 12.3 million tons in 2015 alone. A worker arranges used electronic equipment at a repair shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

JAKARTA – The waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm. China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University. But nearly every country in the region had massive increases between 2010 and 2015, including those least equipped to deal with the growing mountain of discarded smartphones, computers, TVs, air conditioners and other goods. On average, electronic waste in the 12 countries in the study had increased by nearly two thirds in the five years, totaling 12.3 million tons in 2015 alone. Rising incomes in Asia, burgeoning populations of young adults, rapid obsolescence of products due to technological innovation and changes in fashion, on top of illegal global trade in waste, are among factors driving the increases.

Volkswagen's new I.D. Buzz concept is a self-driving, battery-powered minivan with a style that hearkens back to the Type 2 "Microbus" of the 1950s and 1960s. The very green machine can go 270 miles on a full charge and also sprint to 60 mph in 5 seconds, thanks to the combined 369 horsepower of its front and rear electric motors. When its autonomous I.D. Pilot mode is engaged, a rectangular, spokeless steering wheel tucks away into the dashboard as small disc-shaped laser scanners rise up from the four corners of the roof. This LIDAR system works along with cameras, ultrasonic sensors and cloud-connected navigation to take full control of the vehicle. The three-row interior allows for both front captain's chairs to be turned toward the rear of the vehicle when it's doing the driving to create a lounge space, complete with a central table.

It was actually about when technology goes wrong: In many ways, 2016 was the year of the exploding batteries. A little over a year ago, hoverboards topped many holiday wish lists. By December 2015, they were being recalled by the thousands. According to Popular Science, "…cheaply made hoverboards have exploded and caught fire, forcing Amazon to stop selling specific models and Overstock to discontinue all sales." Rolling into 2016, major computer companies recalled batteries for fire hazards, baby monitors were pulled from shelves and major airlines diverted flights for emergency landings when tablets caught fire onboard.

Following earlier production tests, Tesla's Gigafactory is now pumping out Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy storage products at full speed, with Model 3 cell production set to follow next quarter. By 2018, it'll produce 35 GWh of lithium-ion cells per year, "nearly as much as the rest of the entire world's battery production combined," the company wrote. The Gigafactory, a joint venture between Tesla and Panasonic, is still less than 30 percent of its eventual 4.9 million square foot size. However, the company needs lots of batteries and needs them fast, considering that it received 400,000 pre-orders for the $35,000 Model 3. So, it's using a phased approach by starting now and expanding later, which "also allows us to learn and continuously improve our construction and operational techniques," Tesla wrote. The company said battery cell costs will decline as much as 30 percent by 2020 as economies of scale and increased automation kicks in. At full tilt, it will produce enough for 1.5 million cars a year, about half of Ford's annual production.

Apart from the flowers, the most exciting attraction at the 1959 Chelsea Flower Show in London was probably Queen Elizabeth II. The most exciting attraction for Queen Elizabeth herself may well have been H.C. Webb & Co.'s radio-controlled electric lawn mower. The machine made its debut there as part of The Times' Garden of Tomorrow, and was on display at the Miracle Garden Exhibition in Paris [above] the following year. Video footage shows the queen and Prince Philip watching the lawn mower with the same sort of bemusement exhibited by people watching robot demonstrations today. The September 1960 issue of Radio Control Models and Electronics called the machine a "lazy gardener's dream of heaven" [PDF].