The still-young virtual reality headset wars have a new competitor, though it's being sold as more of a "mixed reality" solution than purely VR. At the Intel Developer Forum today, the company announced Project Alloy, an untethered headset that packs everything into a single head-mounted display without the need for a PC or a mobile phone. In addition to the battery, display, and computing resources needed to run the headset, Project Alloy will also include Intel's Real Sense motion tracking system, which will use cameras and sensors to map the world around you and track your hands without the need …

As the Rio 2016 Olympics unfold, RIOgaleão Airport has had to accommodate an unprecedented number of travelers. A network of 3,000 newly installed beacons and a complementary app with wayfinding features are guiding Olympic hopefuls and supporters through the airport’s recently unveiled South Pier, a 100,000-square-meter extension to Terminal 2. Cathay Pacific’s flagship first- and business-class lounge at San Francisco International Airport offers visitors more than just a taste of Hong Kong. The choice between dan dan mian or fish ball noodle soup and more at the carrier’s signature noodle bar, or fresh daily menus from the deli counter, the self-service buffet …

Staples has officially announced that it's handing over sales and support for its home automation system Connect to Z-Wave Products. Though the exact terms of the deal remain undisclosed, Z-Wave has purchased Staples' inventory and licensed the Staples Connect brand to use moving forward. According to representatives at Zonoff, the company that has supported Connect's software and will continue to do so with Z-Wave, users should experience no practical change to their Connect automation systems. This transition isn't a surprise to many industry watchers. Staples stopped selling the Connect hub months ago, and rumors began to swirl that the office supply retailer …

Xiaomi's range Internet of Things (IoT) products keeps getting longer and weirder. After launching an electric screwdriver last week, Xiaomi has come out with a smart washing machine named - Mi Washing Machine. The device launched for 1,499 Yuan or approximately Rs 15,000. Following the trend of incubating IoT startups, the Mi Washing Machine too is a product of collaborating with Minij, a mini washing machine and refrigerator in China. Earlier, Xiaomi launched a smart umbrella in a similar way.

Sometimes I have to take a deep breath and remember that Apple isn’t in business to entertain me. It's in the business of selling devices that look cool and work well, to as many people around the world as possible. It won't always seem magical. Sometimes Apple products will follow perfectly reasonable roadmaps responding to legitimate market demands with perfectly reasonable sets of incremental improvements. Yes, perfectly rational—and kinda boring. If reports about the forthcoming Apple Watch 2 are correct, this may be one of those times.

Have a Volkswagen? Better buy a steering wheel lock. Researchers at the University of Birmingham, in concert with German engineering firm Kasper & Oswald, have found a wireless hack to unlock any VW built between 1995 and early this year. Translation: VW's awful year just got a lot worse. The hack doesn't require anything fancy either. Just $40 (£31) for a radio receiver and some reverse engineering allows the contraption to intercept any VW wireless key fob, so long as it's within 300 feet of the vehicle. With one intercepted signal, it can create a clone and then use that cryptographic key signal …

The Toyota Research Institute is giving $22 million to advance research on artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous driving at the University of Michigan. “We look forward to collaborating with the University of Michigan’s research faculty and students to develop new intelligent technologies that will help drivers travel more safely, securely and efficiently,” said Gill Pratt, Toyota Research Institute CEO. Toyota, along with General Motors, Ford, Nissan and Honda, is a founding partner in U-M’s Mobility Transformation Center, which oversees Mcity. The university will seek proposals from faculty across departments to learn more about autonomous mobility, safety and home robotics.

There’s both form and function built into these new flash tattoos from the MIT Media Lab. Ushering in a new generation of wearables that behave almost like a second skin, the new DuoSkin from MIT and Microsoft Research takes temporary tattoos and turns them into connected devices. So now, controlling your smartphone or computer is as easy as tapping your tattoo. Inspired by the trendy flash tattoos that are frequently seen adorning the the wrists and forearms of fashionistas everywhere, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, a PhD student at the Media Lab, decided to inject some innovation into these aesthetics. In Taiwan, she explains in an MIT video, there …

Apple Inc. has hired Flipboard co-Founder Evan Doll to help the world’s largest publicly trading technology company develop more health-related software, according to Doll’s LinkedIn profile.  Doll became a director of health software engineering at Apple last month, according to LinkedIn, which doesn’t expand further on his role. During his previous stint at Apple, from about 2003 to 2009, the software engineer helped develop the iPhone operating system. He left to found digital news magazine app Flipboard with Mike McCue.

There's more to Kansas City than barbecue and baseball, as the metro area digs in even deeper to become a smart city. In May, the Missouri city heralded the first phase of its plan to become a smart, connected city by creating a 2.2 mile smart district with 20,000 residents in the heart of downtown. The core area includes a streetcar line, free public Wi-Fi, smart LED streetlights, and 25 digital kiosks as part of an infrastructure overhaul. The first phase has been limited to the area covered, as it's served as a living lab for smart city Internet of …