This year’s CES, like every show since the exhibition’s origins in the late ’60s, is all about the trends. Virtual reality, smartwatches, and autonomous drones continue to dominate the showroom floor, along with smart gadgets designed to bring convenience and functionality to your personal abode. However, there’s one sector of consumer technology that grows solidly with every passing year — 3D printing.
XYZprinting was one of the first companies to make a name for itself in the space, and since then, the company’s product lineup has expanded and evolved to accommodate consumer hobbyists and professionals alike. The newly-announced da Vinci Junior 1.0 3-in-1, da Vinci Junior 2.0 Mix, and the da Vinci Mini are three such examples, the last of which is the company’s most accessible yet.
When it comes to size and affordability, the da Vinci Mini is a standout. The device is 30 percent smaller than the da Vinci Junior, yet it maintains an identical build size of 5.9 x 5.9 x 5.9 inches. The smaller footprint and Wi-Fi capabilities render it ideal for those who prioritize space above all else, while the equipped casing renders it ideal for those looking to protect their investment. It also uses a one-button printing process and proprietary PLA filaments, a fact that restricts your filament options but also erases any questions you might have when it comes to compatibility. The best part? The da Vinci Mini is set to retail for a mere $269 when it hits shelves later this year.
The da Vinci Junior 1.0 3-in-1 and the da Vinci Junior 2.0 Mix are a bit more elaborate. The 3-in-1 features both scanning and Wi-Fi capabilities, along with an optional laser engraving module. The printer’s auto-calibration feature also lets you move the 3-in-1 extruder around the print bed with the simple touch of a button, while simultaneously determining the distance between the nozzle and the print bed. The hallmarks of the aptly-titled da Vinci Junior 2.0 Mix, on the other hand, lie in its ability to blend two colors with a dual-extruding nozzle. Both 3D printers are slated for release at an undisclosed date later this year, with a retail price tag of $549 for the Junior 1.0 and $499 for the Junior 2.0. And the color options just give you something more to think about.
San Francisco startup Dimensional advertised for people to walk robot dogs through city streets. The New York Times reported that the job could include carrying a roughly 33-pound robot back to the office if it overheated. A lift home is an awkward requirement for a labor-saving machine.
Keeping the hardware running is only one challenge. Anthropic's robotics tests found that language models mostly failed when controlling joints directly, but did better when directing trained controllers. Giving an AI agent a body doesn't teach it to handle ordinary household objects.
Soon, a mattress protector may be more than a bed cover. Australian medtech company Sleeptite and researchers at RMIT University have received a US patent for FlexiSense, a smart bedding technology that tracks body position and posture to help caregivers identify when older residents may be at risk of falling.
The technology is being developed for Sleeptite’s in-bed monitoring system, REMi, and was recently on display at The MedTech Conference in Boston. A peer-reviewed study in Flexible and Printed Electronics says the sensors can also be made at scale without sacrificing performance or durability.
AI companies spend enormous amounts of time convincing us their technology is safe and secure. But what happens when those same companies become targets of increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks? Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is now facing that question. According to a Washington Post report, cybersecurity startup Cathedral discovered vulnerabilities that let its researchers access sensitive information in Anthropic's internal systems.
The researchers used AI agents to identify potential entry points in less than 12 hours. Interestingly, they didn't need to crack Claude itself. Instead, they exploited weaknesses in third-party business applications that Anthropic uses for everyday operations. Anthropic's security testing program disclosed the findings, which allows outside researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities.