Author: Brett Venter

Soft robots are, perhaps obviously, robots built from a softer material than metal. But, as researchers from Rice University have shown, these robots can still be pretty metal. Called ‘necrotic grippers’ by the team who figured this out, researchers have turned dead spiders into robot hands. Which is, amazingly, easier than you would expect. Everyone’s seen a dead spider at some point. Provided you didn’t flambe the critter with an improvised flame-thrower, you’ll have noticed that its legs curl up against its body. It’s this property that turns it into a surprisingly capable robot hand. Necrobotic airs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JOS6hMHIUM It turns…

For South Africans, the word Huntsman brings to mind the spiders that tend to show up just before it rains. If you’re Australian, it also refers to a spider — but it’s large enough that you can count its eyes. The word also has a little something to do with space exploration. From the ground, obviously. Canon and Macquarie University have created an optical instrument called the Huntsman Telescope. It uses a collection of ten Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super-telephoto lenses, working in unison. At the moment, you can buy these Canon EF lenses, but they’ll cost you…

Stuff has been on the Jaguar I-Pace’s trail since at least 2018. Our most recent encounter, with the Jaguar I-Pace Black, has done nothing to diminish the awe we have for this vehicle series. Everything about it is impressive. Its lines, its interior, its acceleration, and even its range is impressive now. But, unfortunately, that’s not the only thing that’s awesome. It also features an awesome (in the literal sense of the word) price. Specifically, R2.25 million in the case of the 90 kW I-Pace Black that was sent to us. That’s a little over R200,000 above the base price…

Earlier this month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that a plan to sort Eskom out was on the way. An accelerated plan, specifically, that would chart the country’s path out of load shedding. Last night, in an address to the nation, Ramaphosa detailed the steps that will be taken to keep the country’s lights on. The steps mentioned were identical to points leaked prior to the president’s speech yesterday. SA politicians were briefed by a presentation, ahead of Ramaphosa’s speech. If you were hoping for something groundbreaking and new, though, you’re in for some disappointment. Making light of Eskom…

If you’ve been paying attention to the skies, you’ll know that China recently launched its Tianhe space station module into orbit. The living section has already played host to astronauts, who moved in to get the place running. The country’s presence in space is about to get more complicated, however. Over the weekend, a China-made Long March 5b rocket took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center. It was carrying the country’s Wentian lab module, bound on a mission to Tianhe. When the two connect… well… Not so Tianhe anymore The two bits, Tianhe (heavenly river) and Wentian (quest for…

Almost every kid goes through a dinosaur-crazy phase. Well, six-year-old you would be doing backflips if they knew about this. Sotheby’s, the staid auction house, is selling a triceratops skull this week. That’s right, the entire thing. It’s not fragments that have been combined to make up a whole skull. It’s a single unit of stone and bone, excavated from the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota. Triceratops of the charts You’re not just buying a dinosaur’s dome, though. It’s a substantial chunk of rock, weighing in at 200kg. So you’ll also get a stand along with it. It’s not…

At Stuff, we’re always on the search for interesting-looking gear. Occasionally, we find some. The GravaStar Mars Pro is one of the more remarkably-designed Bluetooth speakers we’ve ever encountered. That’s because the Mars Pro looks like an articulated robot of the sort that would prove irritating in a video game. You know, the type of enemy that relied on swamping players in numbers before exploding. Or a surveillance droid that clambers around on the walls and ceiling, where you can’t see the little buggers. GravaStar of the show Sure, it looks like a plasma grenade or a Seeker in a…

Amazon is a very, very large company. It might even be too large, given how it treats workers in order to make that magical line go up for shareholders. Well, it’s about to get larger still, in a somewhat unexpected direction. Amazon has, according to the Wall Street Journal, dropped R66 billion ($3.8 billion) on a company called One Medical. You only get one guess about what it does. If that guess was “One Medical operates more than 180 medical offices in the US,” well done. That was an awfully specific target to nail. Amazon Medical It’s not really an…

Games companies are battling with NFTs, mostly because players… really don’t seem to like them. Occasionally they’re forced on players. Sometimes NFTs are tried, but not especially hard. Square Enix has gone a slightly different — and pointless — route. The Japanese games company has chosen to kinda, sorta release an NFT, by releasing a physical product. It just happens to be NFT adjacent. A figure of Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife is set to launch in November 2023. When it does, it will (probably) include an NFT. Specifically, the certificate of authenticity will appear as an NFT. You know,…

Car brands and tech go together like spaghetti and custard. Occasionally, you run into a good version of it. Time will tell whether Master & Dynamic and Mercedes-Benz getting together to release headphones is a good idea. Odds are, they’ll sound fine. But it’s a couple of the design choices we take exception to. Mercedes and Master & Dynamic are launching five different sets of headphones, as well as a wireless charging pad. Of these, two are… shall we say, creatively badged. The MW65 over-ears and MW08 earbuds feature absolutely massive Merc logos. Like, visible across the street logos. Just…