Virtual town sheds light on how our brains perceive places

By having people navigate a virtual town, researchers gained new insight into how our brains perceive places and help us navigate our environment.

Carol Clark-Emory • futurity
Oct. 9, 2019 ~7 min

Movement doesn’t help us learn virtual reality spaces

For learning about digital spaces in virtual reality, it may not matter whether we control our movement with a joystick or our bodies.

Alexis Blue-U. Arizona • futurity
Sept. 26, 2019 ~6 min


Better device tracking with Wifi could help indoor navigation

A new technique can boost tracking for devices while they're indoors where GPS doesn't work. It could help us get around places like airports.

Matt Shipman-NC State • futurity
Sept. 13, 2019 ~3 min

Device pinpoints sound like a barn owl’s brain

The way a barn owl can use sound to home in on its prey could pave way for electronic navigation devices that mimic an owl's brain.

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State • futurity
Aug. 5, 2019 ~5 min

Rat brains have special map cells for navigation

A part of the brain called the striatum helps rats make a mental map of their surroundings, research finds. The findings could improve autonomous robots.

Boston University • futurity
July 26, 2019 ~6 min

‘Navigational goals’ help fruit flies move in a straight line

The way fruit flies navigate the world isn't as simple as you might think. Now, researchers understand more about their surprisingly complex calculations.

Katherine Fenz-Rockefeller • futurity
July 22, 2019 ~5 min

App and suitcase aid visually impaired people at the airport

A smart suitcase called BBeep and a wayfinding app can help visually impaired people get around the airport quickly.

Byron Spice-Carnegie Mellon • futurity
May 9, 2019 ~7 min

Math paves the way for fleets of connected drones

Getting fleets of drones to work together won't be easy, but new research is a step in the right direction.

Angie Hunt-Iowa State • futurity
May 3, 2019 ~4 min


Indigenous leaders put ‘the language of the Earth on the agenda’ at Harvard

At Harvard, indigenous Alaskan elder Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq and Polynesian navigator Nainoa Thompson offered a close-to-the-earth perspective on climate change.

Clea Simon • harvard
April 8, 2019 ~6 min

‘ANYmal’ robot stalks dark sewers to test its navigation

Researchers are testing a four-legged robot's ability to find its way through the sewers under Zurich.

ETH Zurich • futurity
Jan. 9, 2019 ~10 min

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