It's a tabletop version of London colour-coded for architects. In this view of the interactive model of the city, unveiled yesterday at The Building Centre in London, red and yellow sections represent sightlines – restricted areas where construction cannot take place to preserve views of famous landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral. The 12.5-metre-long reconstruction, built by design company Pipers over five months, reproduces more than 85 square kilometres of the city. One-tenth of its 170,000 buildings were constructed recently enough to have existing digital versions that could be used to fabricate scaled-down copies with a 3D-printer. Older buildings, however, had to be laser-cut or fashioned by hand, at a cost of about £250,000, before the city's landscape was assembled with the help ofOrdnance Survey, the UK's mapping agency. The final model contains many elements that are accurate down to the nearest centimetre. (Image: NLA/Paul Raftery, Pic 2 Nils Jorgensen/REX ...

Mighty things come in small packages. The little robots in this video can haul things that weigh over 100 times more than themselves. The super-strong bots – built by mechanical engineers at Stanford University in California – will be presented next month at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Seattle, Washington. The secret is in the adhesives on the robots' feet. Their design is inspired by geckos, which have climbing skills that are legendary in the animal kingdom. The adhesives are covered in minute rubber spikes that grip firmly onto the wall as the robot climbs. When pressure is applied, the spikes bend, increasing their surface area and thus their stickiness. When the robot picks its foot back up, the spikes straighten out again and detach easily. The bots also move in a style that is borrowed from biology. Like an inchworm, one pad scooches the robot forward while the other stays in place to support the heavy load. This helps the robot avoid fall...

Electrodes attached to legs can guide people wherever you want them to go via an app. Welcome to the bizarre world of electro-stimulation For a few days last summer, a handful of students walked through a park behind the University of Hannover in Germany. Each walked solo, but followed the same route as the others: made the same turns, walked the same distance. This was odd, because none of them knew where they were going. Instead, their steps were steered from a phone 10 paces behind them, which sent signals via bluetooth to electrodes attached to their legs . These stimulated the students' muscles, guiding their steps without any conscious effort. Max Pfeiffer of the University of Hannover was the driver. His project directs electrical current  into the students' sartorius, the longest muscle in the human body, which runs from the inside of the knee to the top of the outer thigh. When it contracts, it pulls the leg out and away from the body. To steer his test subj...

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed this article to Live Science's  Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The future of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) – often referred to in the popular press as “killer robots” – remains uncertain following a week-long meeting in Geneva to discuss their legality. While the LAWS debate in Geneva was deeper and richer than previous discussions, key definitions – which are needed to word a protocol to restrict them – remain unclear and up for continued debate. And with nations like the United Kingdom openly opposed to a ban, a protocol may end up being blocked entirely, much to to the chagrin of activists. The British say existing international humanitarian law (IHL) is sufficient to regulate LAWS. While there was universal agreement among delegations that key IHL principles such as distinction, proportionality and precautions in...

Price:  $440 (plus $50 for compatible heart-rate monitor) Mobile compatibility:  iOS and Android Data transfer:  Bluetooth, USB Features:  tracks indoor and outdoor running, cycling and swimming; multisport or triathlon mode; daily activity tracking; vibration alerts; ability to create and follow custom workouts; live race tracking (i.e., send live GPS data to others); smart notifications from mobile device Design/Comfort: The FR920XT is fairly wide, but it's thin enough to slip inside your wet suit or under your running glove. Credit: © Jeremy Lips / LiveScience.com The FR920XT may not be the smallest GPS watch (in fact, it's rather bulky), but it is slim enough to slip under a wetsuit or tuck under your sleeve. And though it's large, it's very comfortable to wear when you're working out, and the device's four buttons are easy to press. The watch also has a bright backlight that makes it easy to read, even if you're underwater. User-friendliness: The FR920X...

Price:  $250 Mobile compatibility:  iOS and Android Data transfer:  Bluetooth, USB Features:  tracks indoor and outdoor running, vibration alerts Design/Comfort: The Runner Cardio has an unconventional design that makes navigating the watch easy. Credit: © Jeremy Lips / LiveScience.com The TomTom Runner Cardio has a large, brightly lit display that's easy to read while running. And unlike most watches with buttons along the outer edges, this watch has a single button located underneath the display that can be pressed up, down, left or right. While unconventional, this design makes it easy to navigate the watch during a workout. User-friendliness: Not only is the watch easy to navigate while running, but it's also easy to figure out how to work the Runner Cardio without reading any kind of instruction manual. You can upload data from the watch to your computer by plugging the device in with a USB cord, or you can upload data wirelessly to a mobile device via Bluetooth...

Price:  $150 (plus $50 for compatible heart-rate monitor) Mobile compatibility:  iOS and Android Data transfer:  Bluetooth, USB Features:  tracks indoor and outdoor walking, running and cycling; daily activity tracking; ability to create and follow custom workouts and create custom sports profiles; vibration alerts Design/Comfort: You only have to press one button on the M400 to start tracking a workout. Credit: © Jeremy Lips / LiveScience.com The Polar M400 is made from durable materials, like stainless steel and rigid plastic, that make it seem sturdy and ready for anything. But despite its brawn, the watch is comfortable to wear while working out, and the device's five buttons are easy to press, even when you're running. I like that this watch comes in solid black or white. Many of the watches I tested were brightly colored and too bold for my taste. User-friendliness: Navigating the M400 is easy, which is more than I can say for many of the GPS watches I've teste...

Our rating : 8.5/10 Price:  $250 (plus $50 for compatible heart-rate monitor) Mobile compatibility:  iOS and Android Data transfer:  Bluetooth, USB, ANT+ Features:  tracks indoor and outdoor running, walking and cycling; tracks indoor swimming and golf; smart notifications from mobile device; daily activity tracking; vibration alerts; music controls Design/Comfort: The Vivoactive combines a touchscreen with conventional buttons, which makes navigating the watch easy. Credit: © Jeremy Lips / LiveScience.com The Vivoactive has a slim design that sets it apart from other bulky, multisport GPS watches like the Suunto Ambit3 and the Polar V800. It has a modern-looking square face that is easy to read and makes the device seem more like a smartwatch than a sports watch. Like the Fitbit Surge — another fitness watch with "smart" features — the Vivoactive combines a touch screen with conventional buttons, making it easy to navigate (once you get the ...

After testing more than 20 GPS watches, we recommend the Garmin Vivoactive as the best GPS watch overall. If you want the most bang for your buck, we recommend the Polar M400, a $150 watch that tracks running, cycling and a variety of other sports. We rounded up a total of 21 watches, including devices designed specifically for runners and triathletes. We tested these products out on runs, bike rides and, when applicable, in the pool for swim workouts. Then, we evaluated each watch based on its comfort, design, accuracy, user-friendliness and the value of the information it provided. Here are our top picks:

Type:  Gaming Processor Name:  Intel Core i7-4860HQ Processor Speed:  2.4 GHz Operating System:  Windows 8.1 Pro RAM:  32 GB Storage Capacity (as Tested):  1512 GB Graphics Card:  Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M Screen Size:  17.3 inches Weight:  9.06 lb Screen Type:  Widescreen Native Resolution:  1920 x 1080 Graphics Memory:  4096 Storage Type:  HDD, SSD Rotation Speed:  7200 rpm + SSD Networking Options:  802.11ac (2.4+5.0 GHz Dual-band) Battery Type:  88 Whr (Watt hours) Battery Rundown - Standard Battery:  3:04 PCMark 8 - Work Conventional:  3369 3DMark - Cloud Gate:  22458 PCMark 8 - Work Conventional:  3369 3DMark - Cloud Gate:  22458 3DMark - Fire Strike Extreme:  4324 Heaven 4.0 - Medium Quality - 1366 x 768 - Off:  154 Heaven 4.0 - Ultra Quality - Native - 4X:  55 Valley 1.0 - Medium Quality - 1366 x 768 - Off: 114 Valley 1.0 - Ultra Quality - Native 4X:  59 Han...

Top 10 Most Expensive Laptops in the World 10) Alienware 18 $ 5,400 Alienware 18 Alienware 18  acquired 10 th  position as  most expensive laptop  in the world. Alienware 18 is a laptop which you will definitely love. It will not only impress you with its looks but also by its stunning configuration. The processor is outstanding with ample of RAM, Intel  Core i7 Quad-Core  Processor and  32GB RAM . Alienware will definitely not disappoint you on Graphics, it is packed with dual  NVIDIA GTX 780M  graphics card. And surely you will enjoy gaming in  18.4-inch  widescreen. Alienware 18 9) Rock Xtreme SL8 $5,500 Rock Xtreme SL8 Rock Xtreme SL8  is among the  most expensive laptops  because you will be amazed when you will get to know about Rock Xtreme SL8 configuration. Being most expensive laptop in the gaming arena, it will give you best performance. The notebook is packed with  2.83GHz  Intel  Core 2 Quad...