Matthew Stock

Courier company Evri is trialing Iris, a two-legged robot delivering parcels to homes in northern England, in what it says is Europe’s first trial of its kind

A remote hunting lodge on a volcanic outcrop off Iceland's south coast, dubbed the 'loneliest house in the world' on social media, has been fitted with its first solar-charged battery power, reducing its reliance on propane and petrol generators

An AI-powered device designed to make travel safer for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, using vibrations and light to alert them to sounds such as fire alarms and doorbells, has won this year’s UK James Dyson Award

Scientists at Imperial College London say they have made the world's first biodegradable party balloon, made from rubber treated to break down organically. Rachel Graham reports

Dutch students are testing Stella Juva, a solar-powered ambulance able to power ultrasound, X-ray and vaccine-fridge equipment off-grid, aiming to bring healthcare to remote parts of Kenya lacking reliable electricity

Would you eat a cookie that began life as a discarded plastic bottle? Researchers in Illinois have used engineered yeast to turn compounds derived from plastic bottles and crop waste into protein-rich, 3D-printed snacks called µBites

Former fighter pilot Andy Green drove a JCB hydrogen-powered Hydromax car setting a world land speed record of 406 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah reut.rs/4wQMwd5

Britain's national mapping agency is using location data to identify homes, transport links and other infrastructure that may be exposed to wildfires, flooding, coastal erosion and extreme heat

The moon will blot out the sun for millions of people in a total solar eclipse, best seen from parts of Spain and Iceland. Noelia Noel, astrophysicist at the University of Surrey, explains what a solar eclipse is, where it will be visible, and what to expect

Atlanta-based startup Undaunted says robotic dogs provide proactive security at half the cost of traditional guards, patrolling properties and deterring crime

Five endangered secretarybird chicks have hatched at Chester Zoo in Cheshire, England, marking the first successful breeding of the species in the zoo's 95-year history

From a US ban on some of China's robots to air taxis taking flight, here are the major tech stories of the week

Vertical Aerospace's Valo electric air taxi made its first public take-off flight at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, aiming to fly up to 100 miles on a single charge reut.rs/4xn7Wyw

GRAPHIC WARNING: A 12-year-old western lowland gorilla named Mizani has recovered after becoming the first known gorilla to undergo a mastoidectomy, a surgery that involved draining an infection and removing diseased bone behind the ear after it spread into parts of his skull

British land speed record holder Andy Green will be behind the wheel of JCB's 32-foot Hydromax car, powered by hydrogen-fueled combustion engines, as it attempts to set a new speed record by exceeding 350 miles per hour

Farnborough Airshow opened with defense firms vying for a share of booming military budgets fueled by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East reut.rs/4bVRJb3

UK-based Jenson8 is developing immersive team-training tools for employers. Its browser-based Boomathon platform looks like a game but acts as a live diagnostic of team behavior, using AI to help facilitators assess communication, collaboration and decisions under pressure

The Farnborough Airshow opened with defense and aircraft orders in focus, as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East drove demand for stronger air-defense capabilities and planemakers secured the first commercial deals reut.rs/4wYhHDc

Researchers at Northwestern University have used artificial intelligence to design a drone 'Phantom Twist' that is far less visible in flight, exploiting motion blur rather than camouflage to make the aircraft appear as a faint haze

Researchers at South Korea's KAIST and Stanford University have unveiled clothing embedded with air-powered 'vine' robots that dress the wearer hands-free in about 10 seconds, with potential for use in chip factory cleanrooms and emergency services reut.rs/4bHOuDZ