News
- Two artificial whiskers give this tiny drone a working sense of touch
- Pressure sensors at the whisker base detect surface contact instantly
- Onboard software processes tactile data using only 34 kilobytes of memory
A research team from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed a tiny drone that uses artificial whiskers to navigate where conventional sensors struggle.
The system relies on physical contact rather than cameras or satellite positioning, allowing the aircraft to detect nearby surfaces through touch.
The researchers designed the technology for drones weighing below 100 grams, where adding substantial sensing equipment can quickly consume available capacity.
Tiny whiskers give the drone another way to sense surroundingsThe device carries two slender filaments near its nose, angled upward and connected to miniature pressure sensors underneath.
When either filament touches an object, pressure changes provide information that helps the aircraft estimate its position relative to nearby surfaces.
That information allows the drone to move around obstacles, maintain contact with structures, and construct a basic representation of surrounding spaces.
The approach takes inspiration from rodents and other mammals, which use facial hairs to move through confined environments with limited visibility.
“Here, we aim to equip drones with rich tactile sensing — not for manipulation in the air, but for a novel concept of tactile navigation,” said Salua Hamaza, Associate Professor of Aerial Physical Interaction and Embodied Intelligence.
The system needed to be lightweight, process rapidly, and consume limited energy before tactile navigation could become practical aboard small aircraft.
The sensing system runs on only 34KBA major hurdle was airflow, since passing wind can easily disturb whisker readings and confuse the pressure sensors beneath them.
To solve this, the researchers wrote a lightweight processing program that separates turbulence from genuine surface contact in real time with millimetric precision.
The complete onboard software occupies just 34 kilobytes of memory, keeping the computational requirements unusually low for an autonomous sensing system.
Traditional navigation software built for larger drones typically demands considerably more computing power than this compact whisker-processing system requires today
“We wanted to show that touch does not have to come at the cost of size or computational power,” said Chaoxiang Ye, a PhD candidate and researcher at Deft.
The small size allows the drone to interpret environmental information without depending on external processing.
The approach will not suit the fastest drones, but for small rescue units, sensing through touch may prove genuinely valuable.
This device is especially useful for environments where smoke, dust, darkness, or damaged infrastructure could interfere with cameras and other optical equipment.
One potential application of this drone is in collapsed buildings where rescue operations can prove to be difficult because of instability and tight spaces, and regular aerial sensing may be unreliable
Small drones could enter restricted spaces ahead of human responders, using physical contact to gather information about nearby structures and possible pathways.
The system could also provide another sensing method when GPS signals are unavailable or visual information becomes difficult to interpret.
Via TomsHardware
It’s not a Tamagotchi, but Mark Zuckerberg’s one more thing is just as cute and hopefully much more functional. Announced at the very end of Meta Connect 26 keynote — after the Meta VR Glasses and Meta Ray-Ban Audio — was Muse Charm.
A tiny silver square with a screen on the front and thicker black bezels, central to the experience is the display that shows off your custom Muse. It’s probably more of a squircle and had what looks like a wrist strap dangling from the bottom, seemingly showing off easy portability. Distinctly, you don't wear it, and since we didn't see buttons, it's a touchscreen, maybe an OLED or AMOLED.
Judging from the on-screen renders, it had a microphone on top, so you could communicate with your Muse from anywhere, essentially putting the already very popular Muse assistant quite literally in the palm of your hand.
@techradar ♬ original sound - TechRadarMark Zuckerberg was quick to note that Muse Charm is not ready just yet, but the hope is it will ship by the holidays. It’s also a brand-new device category for Meta: a true AI wearable distinct from glasses, focused entirely on Muse's capabilities and future roadmap.
Will it follow the Rabbit R1 or the Humane AI Pin and fail? That remains to be seen, but Muse is already proving powerful as a software-only, ultra-customizable personal AI assistant. Packaging that into a wearable, hopefully an affordable one, maybe cheaper than glasses, could be a winning package.
(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)It was announced shortly after the news that Muse would be arriving on Meta Glasses, affording it multi-modal capabilities of both voice and seeing the world around you. Additionally, the Muse App for macOS will be getting computer use and that will allow the AI that you can name whatever you like to complete tasks for you.
The Muse Charm doesn’t appear to be multimodal and, apparently, avoids the Looki route, as it lacks a camera.
Much more to come, but for now, stick with TechRadar for all the news from Meta Connect.
- $1.6 billion has been claimed by scammers impersonating police and government officials
- The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received almost 61,000 complaints concerning such scams between January 2025 and July 2026
- Some scams targeted foreign nationals and immigrants, threatening to cancel passports or impose extradition, unless payment is made
Between January 2025 and July 2026, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received almost 61,000 complaints concerning scams using police and government official impersonation tactics. As a result, around $1.6 billion is believed to have been scammed and extorted.
Tactics used by scammers included unsolicited phone calls and in some cases video calls, with victims losing an average of $26,000 per scam.
Particularly concerning is the targeting of foreign nationals, international students, and immigrant citizens, often with threats to cancel visas and home country passports. Incredibly, 10% of all losses were traced to a single scam, one that targeted fewer than 3% of the victims.
Foreign national victimsAccording to the FBI, the fake cop/fake government official scam has various angles, from alleging missed jury duty to threatening arrest due to circumstantial links to an alleged crime.
The demand from the scammers, inevitably, is payment.
Making a commitment to extreme lengths of scamming and extortion, the criminals took things to a new level when it came to targeting victims. International students, visiting foreign nationals, and other immigrant citizens were given special treatment. Not only were they threatened with extradition, there was also the implication of victims losing their home country passport.
To convince the target, scammers built actual studio sets, donned uniforms or suits, and appeared in video calls to the victims, who were convinced they were talking to foreign law enforcement agents or US-based diplomats. Creating the illusion of officialdom to sell the scam, victims paid whatever necessary to stay in their adopted country.
How to spot the scamIt is important to note that not all fraud of this type takes place in the US. These may be online or offline, but the so-called fake cop scam is an international criminal phenomenon. So, how do you avoid it?
We’ll assume you’ve answered a call inadvertently rather than having spam calls blocked (that should be set already).
First, remain calm. These situations are designed to impose stress and heightened anxiety. Scammers rely on these factors to cloud their victim’s judgement and force the narrative they are selling (“you missed jury duty”/“your presence in the country is illegal.”)
Second, it is vital to request credentials. Failure to provide these is the first red flag that the person communicating with you is not what they seem. That’s your cue to end the conversation.
Third, check the credentials. It doesn’t matter how long this takes – a legitimate caller will not mind waiting for you to do the necessary background check, even if it means them calling back.
Finally, and most importantly: neither law enforcement, security services, nor the FBI will demand money. If that is happening, it’s time to end the call.
- The Z5 II C is a lighter version of the full-frame Nikon Z5 II, without a viewfinder
- Prices start at $1,399 / £1,349 / AU$2,399, on-sale date mid-October
- It's available in black or black/silver colorways, and numerous lens kit options
Nikon redefined entry-level full-frame cameras with the Z5 II, which scooped our Camera of the Year 2025 award. Now the company is upending the notion that full-frame is just for pros with its most affordable and compact model in this format yet, the Z5 II C.
As its name suggests, the Z5 II C is a ‘compact’ version of the Z5 II, and the key difference is that it doesn’t have a viewfinder (and it has a single card slot rather than dual slots). This means the ‘C’ model is smaller, lighter and cheaper.
It still has a tough magnesium-alloy body with a chunky grip, is sealed for dust and moisture resistance, and packs a healthy 3.2-inch, 2.1m-dot vari-angle LCD, all carried over from the Z5 II. The cameras share identical features too; the same 24.5MP full-frame sensor with image stabilization that’s rated up to 7.5EV.
Nikon UK's Training Specialist Ricci Chera briefed me on the camera ahead of its September 24 announcement and mid-October on-sale date, emphasizing that the Z5 II C is about choice, offering certain users the “benefits of full-frame, without paying for something they’re never going to use [a viewfinder]”.
Is Nikon onto something here? Is the $1,399 / £1,349 / AU$2,399 asking price enough of a gap to tempt first-time buyers, or sway them from the Z5 II?
NikonNikonSo, full-frame is for beginners now?The low £1,349 / AU$2,399 asking price of the ‘C’ version seems pretty appealing, especially given the spec and features you're getting: the Z5 II C has the same sensor as the Z5 II and Nikon’s latest processor, while its subject-detection autofocus can recognize subjects even when they take up as little as 3% of the frame, and which is low-light sensitive to -10EV (with a new ‘fish’ detection mode added — that’s a first),
There's also 14fps with a mechanical shutter (30fps electronic) and 4K video with 12-bit N-RAW internal recording, and much more. Besides the Lumix S9, I can't think of a better-value full-frame camera, and not one that launched for such a low price.
The price and compact size are the major selling points of this full-frame model, which Nikon says is about offering users "choice" — the pricier and larger Z5 II with a viewfinder and dual card slots, or the cheaper and smaller viewfinder-less Z5 II C. I get the logic.
However, I’d still stump up the extra cash for the Z5 II — its viewfinder is bright, big and immersive, it has the extra card slot, and I personally don’t mind the extra size and 100g in weight (the Z5 II C is around 600g with card and battery inserted while the Z5 II is around 700g).
Video-first users and even smartphone upgraders who've never experienced a viewfinder might not feel the same way, and for them the Z5 II C could prove to be the wiser choice, and one of the hits of 2026. We'll bring you our review of Nikon's latest full-framer soon.