Hrkn to .. Gadgets & Gizmos

Steve Caplin rounds up his favourite gadgety stories of the year. Learn how best to let oral meds work, to grow your own teeth, to hear in a noisy room, write a detective story, stop cows falling in the river and what to do if a velociraptor is chasing you. He explains why it can be cheaper to go from Cornwall to Manchester via Malaga, the over-complicated scientific way to boil eggs, the eyebrowi...

Steve Caplin is intrigued by a ring for your index finger which will capture audio to take notes or set up timers or reminders. Dutch students have invented a modular electric car which has parts you can swap out yourself, including the battery, motors and even body panels. Wacky inventor Colin Furze has come up with a bicycle that has magnetic suspension. There’s a personal AI chef, an AI monitor...

Steve Caplin says it's been a bad week for Elon Musk. X has been fined €120m for breaching EU digital laws, his Optimus robot demo was disastrous and X's new location facility may help Iranian authorities identify dissenters. He discusses the researchers hoping to make robot hands from lobster shells, the glasses that change focus automatically, a crowd-funding project redesigning a loose-leaf tea...

Steve Caplin plays Santa with Simon his little helper as he unveils his 2025 gadgets Christmas gift guide. Many inexpensive stocking fillers come from AliExpress, like Apple Watch chargers, car phone holders, rechargeable fans and micro wire cutters while, from Amazon, you can get contact cleaner and USB extension cables. Steve even explains where to get winter strawberries. More substantial are p...

Steve Caplin says the new location feature in X shows that thousands of pro-Trump accounts aren't US-based. The Grok chatbot has been bigging up Elon Musk. Avoid cheap Fire Sticks that offer free streaming services: they can steal your bank details and identity. Voyager 1 is now a light day from Earth. Plans are afoot to launch things into space with a 6-mile-long space gun. The 200-year-old Stirl...

Steve Caplin discusses the way the University of Vienna got details of 3.5 billion people from Whatsapp in the largest data leak in history. He was mystified by the in-built questions for Laura, Skoda's in-car AI. More worrying is the misleading financial advice AI has been giving about ISAs and travel insurance. Among gadgets Steve does not recommend are a tiny Kodak camera for a keychain, a Swis...

Steve Caplin reports that Australian researchers have found that coffee sharply reduces heart problems. Nottingham scientists have produced a gel that can strengthen and rebuild tooth enamel. There's a voice-controlled electric blanket that kills dust mites – only on sale in China. Many UK buses made in China have a kill switch which can be operated remotely. There's advice on how to avoid scams o...

Steve Caplin is surprised that, despite AWS's massive internet failure, OpenAI will pay it $38bn for computing power. Robot dogs are to be used to deal with Sellafield's nuclear waste. A humanoid housekeeper apparently has to have a human operator. An Australian company has devised a way of skiing indoors in something resembling a giant hamster wheel. Tesla's Cybertrucks are losing their headlight...

Steve Caplin says that the massive Amazon outage was caused by nothing more than an empty data record. Google has been providing misleading information on pensions and driving licences. There's a clever AI military helmet. Customers of Starling Bank have a new way of avoiding scams. A device attached to your lavatory can monitor your gut health. A German company is offering to 3D-print personalise...

Steve Caplin explains about the Amazon AWS outage, the biggest in the history of the internet. He also points out how many Amazon book titles, even best-sellers, are fake and written by AI. He warns against OpenAI's internet browser. He wonders how wise it is using dead animals' DNA to help endangered species. Police in Islington soon intend sending drones to incidents. There's a concept "robot ph...

Steve Caplin says that Figure AI's mass-produced Figure 03 is the Model-T of humanoid robots. He reveals the truth about the greenness of plug-in hybrid cars. Ferrari have brought out their first electric car – but what noise does it make? Honda are making an "adventure scooter", but so far only in China. Anker are crowdfunding an outdoor projector with inflatable screen. Temu has made £90m profit...

Steve Caplin marvels at Google's weird Japanese keyboard. Australian engineers think giant spiders could 3D-print buildings. The Chinese are training robot dogs for lunar missions. The sawfly's precise way of cutting plants to lay eggs could be adapted for human surgery. The boss of Instagram denies his app is listening to us. There's a projector for the bedroom ceiling, an expandable cargo bike a...

Steve Caplin says that northern train passengers can soon trial a ticketless system which will automatically find the cheapest fare. A new hypersonic plane has an engine with no moving parts. New weapons have been developed to shoot down drones. There's a wireless microphone which Steve has already ordered. An electric jet ski can take 3 people and tow a water skier. Mining trucks could soon have...

Steve Caplin celebrates some of the bonkers research that has won scientists this year's Ignobel Prizes. A Denver designer thinks he can reinvent the wheel. Austin have a very neat-looking open-top EV roadster. There's a cyberpunk digital candle. Amazon Fresh are closing all their UK stores. Waymo are to launch driverless taxis in London next year. Northumbrian Water have found a way to catch sewe...

Steve Caplin tells an incredulous Simon Rose that Albania has appointed an AI cabinet minister which is 100% corruption free. AI is also apparently writing speeches for many MPs. BA's Avios points can now be used for buying iPhones. Tesla's electric doors have a recurring problem. Amazon's Zoox driverless taxis are free to use on the Las Vegas strip. Mega have launched their new smart glasses. Sle...

Steve Caplin explains the features of the new iPhones and their clever cameras. Elon Musk has been offered a $1trillion salary – with tough conditions. Mark Zuckerberg (not that one) is suing his namesake. Amazon's drone delivery service has been partly stymied by a model airplane club. Porche has introduced inductive charging. MIT scientists have invented a wearable device to turn thoughts into w...

Steve Caplin says Tesco are trialling tech that knows if avocados are ripe while Waitrose is testing ways of paying for shopping without needing to check out. Chinese scientists have developed houseplants that light up while, in Taiwan, they think lives could be saved if couriers carried defibrillators. Steve's kettle has told him it's time he cleaned it out. A new Kickstarter project will locate...

Steve Caplin says a robot dog can now play badminton – as well as a 7-year-old. Mobile phone conversations can be picked up by radar, with limitations. After a trial, 3,500 solar-powered postboxes which accept parcels are being rolled out. The Guinness Book of Records is 70 years old; Steve tells us his favourites. The African Union is complaining that Mercator maps skew the size of land masses. T...

Steve Caplin tells Simon Rose that scientists have worked out how to use nanoparticles to end the misery of sensitive teeth while others believe they can regenerate lost tooth enamel. Californian boffins say they can improve eyesight without laser surgery while, bizarrely, Chinese technologists think their artificial womb can give birth to a live baby. A British robot submarine is being controlled...

Steve Caplin tells Simon Rose about the new iteration of ChatGPT which is less sycophantic or likely to make mistakes. Singapore scientists can transform cockroaches into cyborgs in 68 seconds. There's a multitool with a pivoting wrench head. Chinese scientists have made a robot antelope while, in Portugal, a robot crab was attacked by males jealous of its large claw. Steve loves a gadget that wil...

Steve Caplin is puzzled by Jack Dorsey's new messaging app – with a range of just 300 metres. A clip on your ear can improve your fitness. Tiny, edible micro lasers can help with food safety. With bricklayers in short supply, robots could be pressed into service. A 3D-printed house made from soil, lime and fibres could be returned to the earth when no longer needed. Cigarette butts can be used to...

Steve Caplin laments Google's new AI search which means far fewer people will ever click on links. ChatGPT apparently causes psychosis but could also be far more useful for admin tasks such as planning holidays. Meta is to build a data centre the size of Manhattan and has developed a wristband that can control a computer. The first UK air taxi flight has just taken place. The Sirius AI robotic dog...

Steve Caplin discusses an electric MPV, an e-scooter with a treadmill, a bike charging pad, a 100 mph e-scooter with faster acceleration than a Tesla and a humanoid robot that can change its own batteries. An Instagram influencer at Wimbledon turns out to be AI-generated while AI is gradually taking over from traditional film and TV effects. Peter Jackson is spending £11m on trying to recreate the...

Steve Caplin discusses an app that uses AI to create illustrated books for children, as well as AI being used to mark exams. Uber is making it easier for oldies to use their service, as well as trialling robotaxis in London next year. The Chinese have come up with a self-driving motorbike. The band Velvet Sundown, fantastically popular on Spotify, turn out to be an AI creation. There's an internal...

Steve Caplin feels sorry for the Norwegian lottery players told they'd won big, only to find it was a basic maths error. Monzo has been fined over "weak financial controls" while the gov.uk app still isn't ready. Amoral AI models gave alarming responses to being told they would be replaced, including blackmail and even contemplation of murder. Project Vend suggests AI isn't the best at operating a...