Out of darkness: Solar power sheds a little light on the powerless

August 13, 2013 by Matt Rivera

Anna Begay lives on a remote plot of land in the Navajo reservation. To reach her home, you drive through twisting, unmarked trails of dust and mud along the edge of Coalmine Canyon, in northwest Arizona.

A grandmother in her late 80s, Begay lives alone in a traditional, eight-sided house called a hogan. She raises sheep with the help of a nephew and a couple of fast sheepdogs. When the dogs bark, it’s the only sound you will hear for miles.

This far out, it’s too expensive to connect her home to the electric grid. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have electricity.

Space for all: Small, cheap satellites may one day do your bidding

July 14, 2013 by Matt Rivera

It all starts with a hobbyist computer called an Arduino. For less than $200, anyone can buy an Arduino — basically a stripped-down motherboard — and start building gadgets like a self-balancing skateboard, a band of LEGO robots, or a flame-throwing pumpkin.

Echolocation helps kids, adults learn to 'see' with sound

May 27, 2013 by Matt Rivera

Within two hours, Kish and his students were walking down Church Street, a busy restaurant arcade in the center of the city. For 14 year-old Alek Wolfe, it was the first time he could walk around unaccompanied by his mother. Though his mom wasn’t far behind, Alek walked unescorted, and the young teenager was ecstatic with what felt like independence.

Fake company, real robots, perform at SXSW

May 31, 2012 by Matt Rivera

While manning a power point presentation and occasionally snickering at his own slides, Tosa was surrounded by a small band of nonsense machines that produce music and sounds when given a small electrical impulse.