An artificial Christmas tree that pulls faces and plays appalling tunes is
what you really, really need for the last festive season of the century. At
least, that鈥檚 the message from Cheng Chung Huang of Taiwan, who has invented (GB
2 334 899) a plastic tree with an electric motor hidden inside. The motor drives
a crankshaft that has a tongue, eyes and eyebrows attached. These poke through a
funny face mask that sits on the branches. A sound-sensitive switch controls the
motor, so any noise in the room makes the face wag its tongue, roll its eyes and
raise its eyebrows. At the same time, a music synthesiser plays a tune.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Feeding our books into generative AI risks creating a cultural void
91色情片
Technology
Quantum computing may be facing a replication crisis
News
Technology
Rogue hacking AIs have changed the cybersecurity landscape
News
Technology
Test moderators use AI-generated writing to judge literacy standards
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles