Drone startup Skydio has launched Skydio R1, an AI-powered autonomous drone that flies all on its own. It locks on to a subject (like you, going on a run) and follows along with a camera through trees and obstacles, without losing track. It's seen as a quantum leap in tracking and following technology. www.skydio.com

Supermarket chain Ekoplaza has piloted a ?world first? plastic-free supermarket aisle in Amsterdam, prompting calls from campaigners for retailers to roll them out in more places. Goods within the aisle will carry the Plastic Free Mark, a label introduced by A Plastic Planet to help shoppers easily identify products that are completely free of plastic packaging. Plastic-free aisles are seen as an innovative way of testing the compostable biomaterials that offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic packaging. www.inkl.com/glance/news/netherlands-opens-world-s-first-plastic-free-supermarket-aisle-as-uk-urged-to-follow-example?

Many people develop nearsightedness or farsightedness during their lifetimes. "Nanodrops," a new eye drop developed by Israeli ophthalmologists, has successfully fixed corneas in pig eyes, and could potentially do the same for people. Developed by researchers from the Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Bar-Ilan University in Israel, the drops could someday improve both our nearsightedness and farsightedness. Patients would have to launch an app on their phones to measure their eyes? refraction and create a laser pattern. This pattern would then be ?stamped? onto the corneal surface of the eyes. Not ready for human trials yet, but it?s encouraging research. https://futurism.com/nanodrops-repair-corneas-replace-glasses

One of the big steps necessary to roll out self-driving cars is getting the public to trust them, and Waymo's latest attempt to achieve that is with a new 360-degree experience. Viewable on a computer, your phone or a VR headset, it feeds a simulation of mixed video and sensor data from one of the company's minivans to give you a feeling of what it "sees" while driving along. https://youtu.be/B8R148hFxPw

HOVER is the first platform that provides an interactive 3D model of a home and accurate exterior measurements using photos taken with your smartphone. A minimum of eight photos are taken capturing every angle of the home. Once the photos are uploaded, HOVER?s patented technology transforms them into a fully measured and customizable 3D model. https://hover.to

An international team of scientists has developed a transparent, self-healing, highly stretchable material that allows ions to flow through it. The material, which was inspired in part by the regenerative ability of the comic book antihero Wolverine, could someday be used to improve the lifespan of electronic devices or develop self-repairing robots. Imagine a new class of robots that are based on soft, elastic materials, being powered by stretchable electronic circuits and thus much more closely resemble the elegant design of biology, This is the type of robot that may help us out in the household or care for elderly people in the future. https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2017/0102/Scientists-develop-Wolverine-inspired-material