Lego's Smart Brick Gives the Iconic Analog Toy a New Digital Brain The new sensor-packed Smart Play Brick will land this spring as part of a special Star Wars collection. The update adds interactive lights and sound to the Lego experience--including the minifigs. At CES in Las Vegas today, Lego has unveiled its new Smart Play platform, aimed at taking its distinctly analog plastic blocks and figures into a new world of tech-powered interactive play--but crucially one without any reliance on screens. Smart Play revolves around Lego's patented sensor-and tech-packed brick. It's the same size as a standard 2 x 4 Lego brick, but it is capable of connecting to compatible Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags and interacting with them in real time.

A viral video of a Star Wars–style hoverbike zipping across the landscape divided opinions earlier this year, with many suggesting computer trickery had been used. Now, Polish company Volonaut has confirmed that the futuristic vehicle was not generated by AI, and is very much real. In fact, the vehicle, called the Airbike, will go into production in limited numbers next week. However, if you want to get your hands on one, you'll need to start saving. The Airbike will retail at the eye–watering launch price of 649,000 ( 880,000).

A company say they have developed a Star Wars-inspired speeder bike that can zoom to 124mph. Poland-based Volonaut says their Airbike is the first'hoverbike' vehicle of its kind that does not use propellers to fly. Incredible videos show someone sitting on the device as it appears to effortlessly glide through the air. At one point it hovers remarkably steady as the rider lifts a hand to wave at the camera. The firm says: 'This groundbreaking design shares a lot of similarities to'speeder bikes' featured in popular science-fiction movies.'

Since filmmaker George Lucas introduced audiences to the ways of the Jedi with Star Wars (now titled A New Hope) in 1977, the chronicles of that galaxy far, far away have grown to 11 movies, nine animated shows, five TV series, and a slew of non-canon shows, miniseries, video games, books, and other media. Even if you just stick to the canon stuff, it can be overwhelming, especially if you're trying to figure out how to watch Star Wars in order. But before we dive in, we'll emphasize that there really isn't a "correct" viewing order. There are several ways to enjoy the Star Wars universe as you proceed along your Jedi journey, and you may even be able to create your own method. The prequel trilogy dropped in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the sequel trilogy hit theaters in the 2010s. Various standalone films were released intermittently throughout this timeline, offering fans opportunities to explore specific characters and events more deeply.

One of the most appealing aspects of games set in the Star Wars universe is that you get to concoct scenes and stories we would never see in the movies. Whether you're playing Knights of the Old Republic, Jedi: Fallen Order or the old Star Wars role-playing board game designed by Greg Costikyan in the 1990s, there will be individual moments unrepeatable on the big screen. I know this, because I just won a round of the new trading card game Star Wars Unlimited thanks to a heroic C-3PO wielding Luke Skywalker's lightsaber. On a basic level, Star Wars Unlimited works like most modern trading card games, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! You and an opponent each have a deck of cards, most of which feature a single character or vehicle, with a number for health and another number for power/damage.

In the midst of unprecedented volumes of e-commerce since 2020, the number of digital payments made every day around the planet has exploded – hitting about $6.6 trillion in value last year, a 40 percent jump in two years. With all that money flowing through the world's payments rails, there's even more reason for cybercriminals to innovate ways to nab it. To help ensure payments security today requires advanced game theory skills to outthink and outmaneuver highly sophisticated criminal networks that are on track to steal up to $10.5 trillion in "booty" via cybersecurity damages, according to a recent Argus Research report. Payment processors around the globe are constantly playing against fraudsters and improving upon "their game" to protect customers' money. The target invariably moves, and scammers become ever more sophisticated.

At the end of season 2 of The Mandalorian (which aired in December 2020, so spoiler alerts are meaningless but here we are), a DeepFaked CGI version of Luke Skywalker makes a surprising appearance to recruit the young Grogu for his upcoming Jedi revival scheme. It was both a cool and creepy moment, with the impressive digital imaging nestling way too comfortably in the heart of the Uncanny Valley. It was so ineffably unsettling that a random YouTuber tried to fix the scene himself -- and did such a good job that Disney hired him. When CGI DeepFake Luke Skywalker returned in The Book of Boba Fett, his robotic performance was noticeably more convincing. But there was something about his voice that was still … off.

AI and machine learning technologies are leading the change in almost every area of life. From business and medicine to entertainment and education, AI disrupts how we use tech. One of the most notable examples of this shift in technology is the multimedia industry, where AI continues to deliver results that were simply unimaginable. One of the newest innovations is that of generating AI voices. Three of the most impactful instances of technological innovation for multimedia in 2021 took place when AI helped clone the voices of cultural icons for social and entertainment initiatives.

Deepfake technology is on the rise in Hollywood, and here's how it will change the movie industry as time goes on. There has been an increased desire in Hollywood recently to use various forms of de-aging technology to bring back performers who are no longer alive or achieve realistic depictions of their younger selves. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, for example, digitally recreated Peter Cushing in a controversial decision to bring Grand Moff Tarkin back to the franchise. Meanwhile, de-aging technology has become incredibly common as everything from the MCU to The Irishman has used it to recreate younger versions of their stars. Hollywood is now in the early stages of figuring out how to apply deepfake technology in various ways to achieve similar results.

Remember the robotic prosthetic arm the Rebel fleet replaced Luke Skywalker's hand with after Darth Vader severed it in an epic lightsaber duel in The Empire Strikes Back? Of course you do--and so do scientists. Luke's cybernetic replacement limb was pretty badass, but not exactly replicable in the medical world at the time, or even now. But a team of researchers at the National University of Singapore are hoping to change that with a new kind of artificial nervous system. Think of it as electronic "skin."