Johnson & Johnson’s Listerine brand is rolling out a new mobile application that enables blind people to “feel” when a person is smiling by tapping facial recognition technology, underscoring the opportunities for consumer packaged goods brands on mobile.

Google, a leader in efforts to create driverless cars, has run into an odd safety conundrum: humans. Last month, as one of Google’s self-driving cars approached a crosswalk, it did what it was supposed to do when it slowed to allow a pedestrian to cross, prompting its “safety driver” to apply the brakes. The pedestrian was fine, but not so much Google’s car, which was hit from behind by a human-driven sedan.

Intel's on a mission to find its purpose in the post-PC era, and now it's looking to the skies for a sign. Last week, the chipmaker said it will invest $60 million in Hong Kong-based electric aviation company, Yuneec Holding, to develop consumer drones.

There has been a lot of talk about wearable devices in recent years, but where exactly are these gadgets hiding? Frost & Sullivan, www.frost.com, finds there is a very specific and small customer base using wearable technology, and this audience is set to expand as manufacturers advance and adapt wearables to various target markets.

The Internet of Things (IoT), put simply, is a way to infuse computing power into the world around us. But Ron Evans, an IoT developer, sees it a little differently. The Internet of Things, said Evans (the self-described “ringleader” at California-based boutique consultancy The Hybrid Group), “is about closing the last meter between customers and businesses.”

Real estate brokerage service Re/Max is targeting time-strapped consumers looking for new homes by rolling out a new application for the Apple Watch that enables users to scroll through for-sale listings and agent contacts with the swipe of a finger.

Has the encroachment of facial-recognition software made you a little uneasy? Are you concerned that cameras are tracking your every movement in public? Are you not ready to commit to makeup-based camouflage? Well, the National Institute of Informatics of Japan is rolling out a first-of-its-kind commercial product next year that might be for you.

At an indoor shopping mall in downtown San Francisco recently, a few developers from a startup called IndoorAtlas walked around several stores using a smartphone as their guide. Aaron Liao, the company’s “director of developer evangelism,” carried an iPhone like a compass, as if he were lost in the woods.

In the second quarter of 2015, Apple shipped 3.6 million units of the Apple Watch globally, just under Fitbit’s 4.4 million units, according to a report on wearable devices from the International Data Corporation (IDC). Fitbit still has the largest market share, 24.3 percent, though it’s share is 6 percent less than it was in the second quarter of 2014. 

Sony has unveiled an understated smartwatch with technology in the wristband itself, while LG Electronics is showing off one with a gold finish. The electronics rivals are taking different approaches, but both timepieces. The electronics rivals are taking different approaches, but both timepieces look more like conventional wristwatches than high-tech gizmos like the Apple Watch.