Archive for July, 2007
Cute Friends to Collect, and Plug in to the Internet
“The U.B. Funkeys starter kit ? which is being shipped to stores in the United States ? contains a hub that can accommodate several of the colorful little figurines, each of which looks vaguely like an animal or a space alien. The hub also comes with two Funkeys characters, which transmit data to the base when placed on top. Once the Funkeys are set up, their owner will be able to go to www.ubfunkeys.com (which is not yet operational) and enter Funkeys Town. There, each Funkey on the base will appear in avatar form on the screen, ready to play games.”
New York Times
VisualSize To Give Accurate 3D Measurements From Photos
“To measure things accurately they need two photos of the same thing, but from different angles. The VisualSize algorithm automatically detects feature points in the two pictures and finds the matching pairs. It then uses the matching pairs to calculate coordinates of the two camera positions (x, y, z axes and origin in a 3D coordinate frame), and uses triangulation from the image to plane to the 3D coordinate frame to reconstruct the 3D scene. VisualSize can then measure length, angle, area and volume with a high degree of accuracy.”
TechCrunch
Greenbox converts carbon emissions into biofuel
“The cleverly-dubbed Greenbox was designed to be fixed underneath one’s vehicle where it could gobble up carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide until the next fill up, at which point the box would be switched out for a new one while the filled canister headed to a bioreactor for processing.”
Engadget
Directions via phone ringing true / Alameda company makes it simpler for cellular users to get free help without GPS
“Users call (347) 328-4667 from a cell phone and begin explaining where they want to go, either an address or an intersection. The voice recognition service discerns your intended location and asks where you’re coming from. The system is smart enough to search for nearby cities, just in case you’re uncertain where you’re headed. And it can understand where you’re going, even if you don’t know whether your intended location is a street, road or boulevard. Before the call is over, Dial Directions will have sent you a text message with simplified directions supplied through MapQuest.”
SFGate
Backseat GPS for kids teaches mindless compliance early on
“Using Volkswagen‘s prototype child navigation system, children can watch an animated worm eat down the time until they reach the destination, and play games and “in-seat” exercises (hopefully not involving hitting the nearest sibling) as instructed by the all seeing screen. Personally, we’ll not rest until someone develops a direct video link with the driver, so parents can yell at their kids while keeping their eye on the road. Dem kids gotta get teached.”
Engadget
Researchers develop multi-gigabit WiFi
“The system is still in its infancy, as data rates drop off steeply with just a little added distance (10Gbps at two meters, 5Gbps at five meters), but the possibilities for speeds of this sort are promising. At 10Gbps, researches say you could download the entire DVD of Beaches to a cellphone in five seconds, although the ultra-high frequency 60GHz band used for transmission is unable to pass through human skin, creating line-of-sight issues which engineers have yet to unkink.”
Engadget
Printed organic RFID circuits set to collect statistical data
“about 1,000 printed organic RFID tickets will be tested at the Organic Electronics Conference this September in Frankfurt, Germany. The badges will be converted by Bartsch and are “set to be used to monitor the flow of attendees during the two-day conference and exhibition.” Deemed the “first ever printed, low-cost organic tickets,” these devices will be trialed in order to judge their data collecting abilities and to show whether or not these would be good candidates for use in “public transportation and logistics” applications.”
Engadget
Ricoh unveils bizhub that understands QR Code
“Reportedly, users can scan the QR Code before – Engadgetgetting down to business, and the machine will automatically interpret and adjust to match your desired settings — you know, duplex, 400dpi, compressed PDF with a personalized header on top — rather than forcing you to use the intern’s arrangement.”
Engadget
NC State researchers working up longevous capacitors
“Thanks to their research on the electromechanical properties of the commonly used polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), they have discovered that when combined with CTFE (that’s yet another polymer), it may allow capacitors to store “up to seven times more energy than those currently in use.” According to Vivek Ranjan, the process moves atoms within the material “in order to make the polymer rearrange with the least voltage,” and this storage booster could even be used to allow electric cars of the future to sport the “same acceleration capability as a gas-powered sports car.”
Engadget
Gadgets: GPS Rings Should Point You Toward a Mirror
“If you have a terrible sense of direction but are too proud to be seen getting directions from a GPS device, this GPS jewelry is for you. It consists of a couple of rings, one for each hand, and they vibrate to tell you where to go. Need to turn left? Your left-hand ring will vibrate. Need to turn right? You know where I’m going with this.”
Gizmodo
Spray on Solar Uses Buckyballs
“Somenath Mitra, PhD of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has developed an inexpensive solar material that can be sprayed on surfaces or printed on plastic with an ink jet printer. The process is simple, said Mitra, Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations. Well…if he says so! Though I don’t want to think about how much an ink cartridge of fullerene is going to cost us.”
EcoGeek
Interactive Model of Lower Manhattan Wins IDSA Award
“The model, developed on the concept of a communal table, creates a shared space where visitors to the center can gather to learn about the history and opportunities of the area. Using a gyro-mouse, users can highlight streets, buildings and other points of interest, receive practical information about local museums, restaurants, shops and neighborhood events, view historic and contemporary photographs or watch short documentary films. These graphics are all seamlessly projected onto the 3-D model from two digital projectors hung from the ceiling.”
Pentagram
GeoVector: Walk This Way
“The invention acts like an electronic compass in a cell phone and can sync with a global positioning system toliterallypoint you in the right direction. Anyone lost in Tokyo’s labyrinthine back streets or dying for a soy-milk latte only has to link to the Net, then choose from a list of restaurants, shops or hotels. But unlike a car navigation system, which shows you as a moving point on a two-dimensional map, Ellenby’s technology requires no map. Instead, an arrow on the phone’s screen swivels as you walk to keep you going in the right directionconnecting the virtual and real worlds in real time. “That’s very important because most people don’t read maps and much prefer to be guided by a simple arrow,” says Ellenby.”
Business Week
Green laptop blueprint from Popular Science
“Most people will keep a laptop for just three years or so before shelving it or tossing it onto a junk heap. Here’s how designers plan to make this ubiquitous gadget more eco-friendly across its entire life span, from manufacture to recycling.”
Core77
Wee PCs: Computers That Fit in Your Pocket
“Wired has a really awesome gallery of tiny, tiny computers. You can’t help but love a full computer crammed into something the size of a box of matches, can you? Sure, some of these aren’t really at that small (Mac Mini? Come on, dudes.), but there are some pretty awesome examples of wee ‘puters in here.”
Gizmodo
Playing Footsie: Foot Mouse Gives You an Extra Pair of Hands
“Slide your foot into the FootTime Foot Mouse’s slipper attachment and then you’re off and running, controlling the cursor with one foot and pressing six buttons and a scroll wheel with the other. Yeah, there was a foot mouse making the rounds a couple of years ago, but this one is more configurable and actually makes good sense.”
Gizmodo
Robotic Insect Takes Off
“Weighing only 60 milligrams, with a wingspan of three centimeters, the tiny robot’s movements are modeled on those of a real fly. While much work remains to be done on the mechanical insect, the researchers say that such small flying machines could one day be used as spies, or for detecting harmful chemicals.”
Technology Review
The Curious Home
“Designers from the Interaction Research Studio at Goldsmiths, University of London, are challenging this notion with some novel devices on display at The Curious Home exhibit in London. The Plane Tracker, which looks like a television set from The Jetsons (see image, left), picks up transponder signals from planes flying overhead, determines their registration number and flight path, and then projects a visualisation of their journey using Google Earth. Another device called the Local Barometer (see image, below right) displays classified ads from a nearby postcode determined by the speed and direction of the wind outside. These technologies dont have a specific purpose, and part of the project involved having people keep the objects in their homes to see how they interacted with them.”
New Scientist
Time For You To Get A Watch: Fossil OLED Watches Tell Time, Impersonate Better Gadgets
“Fossil will soon be joining the ranks of the OLED purveyors with their officially unannounced men’s watches. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an OLED watch, but this one isn’t being billed as a miniature theater for your wrist.”
Gizmodo
Featured Download: Take and share screenshots and screencasts with Jing Project
“You can invoke Jing via keyboard shortcut or the unobtrusive yellow half-orb that it adds to your desktop. Then select the area you want to capture, tell Jing whether you want a video or an image, and then let Jing do its work. When you’ve finished your capture, you can either save the results to your desktop or upload them to Screencast.com. If you upload, the URL of your screenshot or screencast will automatically be copied to your clipboard.”
Lifehacker
Security Ring Keeps Nosy Co-Workers at Bay
“You put the ring on one of your fingers, and when it gets a certain distance away from the base station (which is connected to your computer), all your programs get locked. We’ve set up our machines to do the same thing with Bluetooth cellphones, but a ring is much easier to remember.”
Gizmodo
Mercury “Black Eagle” GPS unit boasts built-in black box
“Apparently, the system uses a camera to track vehicles in front of you, with it able to detect when a car’s break lights go on. If there’s an accident, the system kicks in to store 12 seconds of video before from the accident and six seconds after — it’ll also try to warn you if it thinks you’re headed for an accident.”
Engadget
Elastic visualization
“The 6pli system connects to your delicious database and uses the bundles to bridge between very different content. I find this tool amazing; it is finally an answer to my struggle in navigating among my delicious catalog.”
Architectradure
Designer shows off handsfree video camera concept
“As you can see, the device is designed to wrap around your neck which, in addition to making a fashion statement, keeps your hands free to do other work. Other less than common features include a fisheye lens to capture your surroundings, and no storage on the camera itself, with everything instead transmitted wirelessly to your cellphone (or other device, presumably).”
Engadget
The Sound of One Hand Waving
“Source Audios HotHand device, shown here, uses a musicians gestures to control the wah, phaser, and flanger effects that are popular for electric sound.”
Technology Review
Mylight lamp by lars spuybroek
“we can now print an object directly from digital information molds will just disappear. people have no idea yet what an incredible change in technology that is. and what that means for design. all design will become meta-design: objects can now be a range-of-objects like in a family or a species. not one is the same, but they are similar enough to be recognised. they can be big on top, big in the middle, or big below. they can have many holes or just a few. but they will always be private, each lamp you buy is different from the other, its unique.”
Architectradure
Milestone for unique bionic hand
“Juan Arredondo, from Texas, who lost his hand in Iraq in 2004, has also been fitted with one of the hands. “Every day I have the hand, it surprises me,” he said. “Now I can pick up a Styrofoam cup without crushing it. With my other hand, I would really have to concentrate on how much pressure I was putting on the cup.”
BBC NEWS
Downloadable Design
“Once live, users will be able to digitally submit furniture designs and select materials on a central website – those designs will then be sent to a local Ponoko manufacturer to be constructed, eventually being shipped back to the users door step. The system also allows users to save their designs and sell them to other Ponoko users.”
PSFK
Delicate Boundaries
“Delicate Boundaries, a work by Chris Sugrue, uses human touch to dissolve the barrier of the computer screen. Using the body as a means of exchange, the system explores the subtle boundaries that exist between foreign systems and what it might mean to cross them. Lifelike digital animations swarm out of their virtual confinement onto the skin of a hand or arm when it makes contact with a computer screen creating an imaginative world where our bodies are a landscape for digital life to explore.”
We Make Money Not Art
Featured Firefox Extension: Script repetitive actions with iMacros
“The potential uses for web macros are only limited by your imagination; for example, you could automatically navigate into your bank’s web site and to export your latest statement, fill out forms or make web snippets. Record macros visually using the iMacros interface or code them manually using the iMacros IDE.”
Lifehacker
Making Colors with Magnets
“A material developed by researchers at the University of California, Riverside can take on any color of the rainbow, simply by the scientists changing the distance between the material and a magnet. It could be used in sensors or, encapsulated in microcapsules, in rewritable posters or other large color displays.”
Technology Review
A PC That Uses Less Energy, but Charges a Monthly Fee
“This summer the pair will begin selling a simplified Linux-based PC for $99 and a $12.95 monthly subscription charge. They say that the deal is better than it looks because the 15-watt PC can save up to $10 a month in electricity compared with a standard 200-watt PC.”
New York Times
Emotion-Recognition Software Knows What Makes You Smile
“Some 300 women in six European countries were filmed as they ate five foods: vanilla ice cream, chocolate, cereal bars, yogurt and apples. Not surprisingly, ice cream and chocolate produced the most happy expressions across the Old Continent.”
Wired
Gesture-based television control developed
“the system works by monitoring the “movements” of a slothful couch surfer, and then reacts to a set of seven hand motions such as clenching your fist (“start”), thumbs-up (“up”), and a sideways peace-sign (“channel”). The researchers say the software can also distinguish between actual “TV gestures” and the movement of pets or small children.”
Engadget
The AHKY wrist worn translation device
“The AHKY currently has ten phrases which have been programmed in English, Arabic and Kurdish. Phrases such as nothing will happen to you; turn around slowly; and come here. Other languages and phrases specific for a users specific mission are uploaded prior to each use.”
gizmag
Lightweight robot bridges gap between industrial and domestic functionality
“industrial robotics manufacturer KUKA has developed a Light Weight Robot (LWR) that hints at a new era where intelligent machines perform service-oriented roles alongside humans. Though still designed for a role in industry, the LWR is able to sense its human counterparts and work alongside them in a more harmonious fashion.”
gizmag
Cool displays: the transparent rear-projection screen
“Totally transparent projection screens can now become part of interior architecture with the invention of a rear projection screen that looks simply like a piece of glass when it’s not in use, producing crystal clear images that appear to be floating in the air. The CristalLine glass and acrylic screens come in flat sheets that can be cut, bent, folded and shaped to produce unique projection media that will no doubt be popular in retail, corporate and trade show applications, not to mention the awesome stage effects they could help create.”
gizmag
Virtual marketers have second thoughts about Second Life
“Land developed by users, rather than real-world companies, is among the most popular places in Second Life. But the sites of many of the companies remaining in Second Life are empty. During a recent in-world visit, Best Buy Co.’s Geek Squad Island was devoid of visitors and the virtual staff that was supposed to be online. The schedule of events on Sun Microsystems Inc.’s site was blank, and the green landscape of Dell Island was deserted. Signs posted on the window of the empty American Apparel store said it had closed up shop. McGuinness said Starwood’s venture into Second Life did accomplish something. Feedback from denizens gave Aloft ideas for its physical hotels.”
Los Angeles Times
Korean researchers develop uber-cheap solar cells
“The team — led by Lee Kwang-hee of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology — has reportedly created a diminutive plastic solar cell that touts “6.5-percent efficiency,” and while that number pales in comparison to other alternatives, it’s the pricetag that’s of interest here. Apparently, existing solar cells that use silicon semiconductors cost around “$2.30 to generate one watt of electricity,” whereas this group’s solution costs just ten cents per watt. Better yet, plans are already in motion to increase efficiency up to 15-percent, after which we could see these things hitting the marketplace at large “by 2012.”
Engadget
GW Micro’s VoiceSense: PDA for the blind
“The assistant runs a modified version of Windows CE and features a vocal guidance system, a full function PIM, web browser, MP3 player, Daisy talking book player, FM radio tuner and MSN Messenger — all accessible through its custom Perkins-style Braille keyboard.”
Engadget
Lenses that bring everything into focus
“Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a new lens device that will shrink huge light waves to pinpoints. The superlens looks like a plate and “is etched with a specific pattern. As the waves pass through the patterned lens, it is sculpted into different sizes and shapes. The lens does not refract, or bend the light waves — which is how conventional lenses work — but rather it reshapes the wave.” This discovery could lead to CDs or DVDs holding 100 times more information than current ones.”
Primidi
Robot Love: Mitsubishi Hiring Out Robots as Receptionists
“These Mitsubishi robots, named Wakamaru, are being hired out in Japan as receptionists for $1000 a day or $25,000 a year. It turns out these goofy-looking yellow droids are pretty good at the job, recognizing faces and even chatting it up with the customers, using their 10,000-word vocabulary to amaze and entertain, and possibly annoy.”
Gizmodo
Gadgets: Yamaha BODiBEAT Mixes Up Your Workout With Tempo-Changing Music
“Using an acceleration sensor and an ear clip pulse monitor, the BODiBEAT observes your workout and changes your song to match your running pace. If you’re feeling a little more proactive, you can use the built-in Fitness Mode to challenge yourself. In Fitness Mode, songs with increasing tempos will be chosen and it is your task to speed up to match them.”
Gizmodo
Aviary’s Incredibly Ambitious Art Project
“When completed, Aviary will consist of 14 online tools
of varying complexity: an image editor, color swatch generator, pattern generator, vector-based editor, 3D modeler, audio editor, music generator, video editor, desktop publishing tool, word processor, painting simulator, custom image product creator, photo analyzer, and file system to store it all on. Each of the applications is programmed in Flex, making them ready to meld with your desktop upon Adobe AIR’s public release. Adding an artsy twist, each tool will be named after a different bird. All items created in these programs will be stored on their own file system called Rookry. From there, artists will be able to sell their creations on the open market. Even small pieces, such as patterns or sound effects will be marketable.”
TechCrunch
Talking Web Site eyes Fashion for the Blind
“The sound-activated www.whitecanelabel.com Web site, due to go online in the fall, will ask users what their fashion likes and dislikes are and recommend clothes ranging from casual to evening wear based on those preferences. A braille tag that includes the designer’s name, type of clothing such as a “blouse” or a “t-shirt,” size, color and symbols to help in piecing together certain look like “business casual” is attached to the clothes ordered and then mailed out.”
I4U News
Water-skimming robot will probably attack you
“Researchers discovered that the 1-gram bot could carry a 9.3-gram payload without breaking the surface by utilizing a sculling motion for movement. The robot is 10-15 times slower than the actual insect and 10 times larger, but the engineers hope to lower the bot’s size and increase its speed by downsizing its build, along with expanding its capabilities by harnessing technologies such as sensors, wireless communication, and autonomous control.”
Engadget
Tutorial – Quick and Easy Augmented Reality from SketchUp/3DMax etc
“Making sure your webcam is plugged in navigate to the ‘compiled_demos’ folder and double click on 3d_augmentations_usb.exe. This will launch a window in which the view from your webcam is displayed. If you move your cam towards the two marker sheets you printed out a series of 3D models will appear – as pictured below”
Digital Urban
Featured Windows Download: Add face recognition login with BananaScreen
“To use, just install BananaScreen and create a face model. Then set up BananaScreen to lock after a predefined amount of inactivity (or hit Alt-L to lock at any time). Once locked, BananaScreen will keep an eye on faces coming and going in front of the camera. When it matches yours, it immediately unlocks your computer. Cool, right?”
Lifehacker
A math lab in your cell phone
“As most of us are using cell phones today, Israeli scientists have decided to put a math lab in your pocket. They developed a library of math modules which can be installed on almost cell phones available today. So you’ll be able to see graphs or solve equations on your phone while on a train or a bus ride. You’ll also be able to send graphs or formulas by SMS to other students — and to send the results of your exercises to your teacher. Did I mention you can download these applications for free?”
Primidi
Logitech’s MX Air Mouse: a witches brew of lasers, MEMS, and RF geekmagic
“The Air Mouse attempts to bridge the gap between mouse and remote control with a touch-sensitive scroll-panel (instead of a scroll wheel) and dedicated pause/play and volume control buttons positioned down the center of the device. Push the volume button and flick the mouse right or left to increase or decrease the volume, respectively, at distances up to 30 feet away from your PC. Niiice.”
Engadget
Tailgate: Fully Transactional Web 2.0 Banners
“Tailgates technology delivers ecommerce transactions from the banner itself. Essentially users can purchase items by interacting with the banner as opposed to having to click through to another page. The benefits from web sites owners are immediately obvious: using Tailgate, advertisements will no longer take users from their sites. For advertisers, capturing impulse buyers just became that much more easy.”
TechCrunch
2nd life meeting visualization
“avatars are positioned depending on their agreement of a particular topic being discussed. the meeting space provides a visualization of an avatar’s complete movement & chat history in the space. as avatars move in the space, their paths are traced out in the sky above the space, showing any change in opinion.”
information aesthetics
See The Unseen: EyeClops Magnifies Anything 200x, Sends Images to TV Screen
“The EyeClops is a handheld microscope that looks like a grotesque eyeball, but can help you see that strange world that’s teeming with life right there in front of you, right under your nose. It magnifies everything 200x , but its design is about 800x as goofy as a typical microscope.”
Gizmodo
Sort My Package: Yaskawa Sorting Robot Scares Mail Boys
“Yaskawa’s Motoman-DIA10 is like your average mail boy, only on steroids. It can sort through an impressive 1,000 pieces of mail in under an hour with its two fully positionable He-Man sized arms.”
Gizmodo
Wii Fit: Official Wii Fit Video Shows Off Hula Hooping, Soccer Headers
“The Balance Board features a pressure sensor which detects your weight shifts and predicts the movement for the rest of your body. -There are a number of standard fitness activities included such as balancing exercises, pushups, yoga, BMI calculation and other calisthenics. -Also included are a number of mini games such as hula hoop, soccer and a marble madness-type game which use the Balance Board in interesting ways.”
Gizmodo
Breaking: Playstation Home 3D Chat and Avatars on Sony Ericsson Cellphones
“They’ve gotten a version of PS Home working on a Sony Ericsson cellphone. It’s not 3D, but the communication and chat features working on the phone.” Can automatically send photos to PS Home’s 3D environment (say, as a picture on a wall of your virtual home.) They’re bragging about being able to launch your games on you PS3, using your in home handset.”
Gizmodo
Full provenance sweaters
“Every item in young Dutch designer Christien Meindertsmas collection can be traced back to its source. Since one sheep supplies exactly enough wool for one sweater, each sweater is tagged with a specific animals ID number, and comes with a certificate: the animal’s passport. Information provided includes breed, weight, year and place of birth, and a picture of the sheep. Sweaters are priced from EUR 475.”
Springwise newsletter
Router Wars: Belkin N1 Vision Router Makes 802.11n Sexier Than Ever With Built-In Screen
“Belkin’s latest N1 series router, the N1 Vision, isn’t just hands-down the smokiest 802.11n draft 2.0 router we’ve seenit tries to one-up everyone else with a built-in LCD screen that displays info ranging from a bandwidth speedometer to the number of neighbors leeching your internet.”
Gizmodo
Color Matching by Phone
“The idea, explains Nina Bhatti, principal scientist at HP Labs, is that consumers use their mobile phones to take pictures of themselves or objects, and then send these pictures to HP servers. Within seconds, the consumer receives a text message with a color recommendation for matching makeup to skin tone, or for finding the right paint hue for the home.”
Technology Review
Google lets users overlay data on personalized maps
“MyMaps, as the new feature is known, allows consumers to select from more than one hundred mini-applications created by independent software developers. These allow users to overlay data on top of Google’s popular online map service.”
Reuters.com
Sprint to Sponsor File-Shared Songs on PSFK
“Yet another creative measure to combat the quicksand enveloping the music industry: sponsored songs. According to the New York Post, Sprint has signed on as the first company to underwrite a song to be distributed on file-sharing networks, agreeing to embed its logo on copies of tracks from Atlantic Records hip-hop artist Plies.”
PSFK
Acoustic amplifier turns headphones into speakers
“Without the use of external power or batteries, the Phonofone inventively exploits the virtues of horn acoustics to boost the audio output of standard earphones to up to 55 decibels* (or roughly the maximum volume of laptop speakers)”
Boing Boing
Digital Cameras: New Casio Exilim Cameras Have YouTube Capture Mode and Easy YouTube Uploading
“Casio today announced it was getting cozy with YouTube, introducing two Exilim cameras that will have a YouTube Capture mode640x480 H.264 video at 30 frames per secondplus bundled YouTube Uploader for Casio software that boasts “three easy steps.”
Gizmodo
Design Concept: Ring, The Vibrating Alarm
“Here’s a design concept that’s long overdue: It’s a vibrating alarm that you wear on your finger, bypassing all that morning racket for a gentle jostling. Each of the two rings can have its own separate wake-up time, designed for comfort with an elastic band so you’ll hardly know you’re wearing it.”
Gizmodo
Lockheed Martin achieve autonomous navigation milestone
“The MULE’s Engineering Evaluation Unit (EEU) climbed a 30-inch step and bridged a 70-inch gap without operator intervention, relying only on parametric descriptions of the obstacles and the vehicle’s self-awareness. This brings the project a step closer to its aim of providing robotic vehicles by 2013 that can keep pace with dismounted soldiers on any terrain whilst providing firepower support, casualty evacuation or enough payload capacity to support two dismounted infantry squads”
gizmag Article
Concept: Musipen MP3 Player Surrounded by Lots of Screen
“Musipen is a cylindrical MP3 concept with a curved glowing screen, twisty-knob controls, and a pretty power button. There’s a play/pause/off button up top, knobs to control everything else. Despite it being only a little bit bigger than a pen, this thing is all screen.”
Gizmodo
TUN3R: Internet Radio Search With A Dose Of Web 2.0
“TUN3R departs from traditional radio portals by greeting users with The Dial: a grid containing top-rated internet radio stations. By simply dragging the needle around The Dial, listeners can hear audio samples streamed from stations, as well as browse through an abridged version of the broadcasters recent playlist.”
TechCrunch
Nintendo’s DS Lite orders food, shows replays at Safeco Field
“The quietly introduced pilot program has brought several kiosks to the park, which uploads a program to the DS Lite and enables the WiFi-equipped handheld to take part in the bonus festivities. Eventually, the Big N hopes to expand the system into other stadiums, but for now, Mariners fans can get in on the action for $5 per game, or $30 for ten games.”
Engadget
Good Touch, Bad Touch: Another “Minority Report” Touch Computing Interface, But With Less Touching
“The “Minority Report” interface is a popular one to namecheck recently. The latest company to do so is the Swiss outfit Atracsys, whose interactive system, dubiously dubbed “beMerlin,” optically (surprise) tracks hand movements and promises to deliver the same intuitive awesomeness Tom Cruise experienced, minus the awesome gloves. But the demo video on their site so far mostly shows off stuff we’ve seen touch/surface computers do before: move stuff around in really slick ways. That said, the fact that you don’t actually have to put your fingers on anything is a slight twist, and if done correctly, could be more intuitive than having to leave actual smudge marks on glass.”
Gizmodo
Green And Lean: Carbon Hero Calculates Your Eco Soundness
“This is the Carbon Hero, a gadget-software combo that registers your location, velocity and pattern of activity. Then it downloads the data to either your PC or mobile and calculates how much carbon you have used.”
Gizmodo
Plastic Transistors for Flexible Displays
“Transistors made of organic polymers can be used to make flexible displays using simple printing techniques. But one of the best-performing types of conductive polymer has been difficult to use in flexible displays because it is brittle and difficult to print. Now researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have demonstrated that this material can be combined with another common polymer currently used to make Plexiglas and sunglasses. The technique makes it more resilient and easier to manufacture and use in devices, without sacrificing its electronic properties.”
Technology Review
Physicists detect new type of electron wave
“The existence of this wave means that the electrons on the surfaces of copper, iron, beryllium and other metals behave like water on a lakes surface, says Pohl, associate professor of physics at UNH. When a stone is thrown into a lake, waves spread radially in all directions. A similar wave can be created by the electrons on a metal surface when they are disturbed, for instance, by light. [...] Along with the improvement of our understanding of chemical reactions on surfaces, the research will be significant in a range of areas including the development of new catalysts for cleaning exhaust systems, the undistorted transmission of optical signals to enable processing on a nano-scale and to enhance the understanding of high temperature superconductivity.”
gizmag
Featured Mac Download: Add mouse gestures to your Mac with FlyGesture
“With FlyGesture running, hit F1 to bring up the drawing interface. As you move your mouse across the 5×5 grid of circles, FlyGesture highlights the points you’ve hit and previews the matching action. When you’ve drawn the action you want to launch, click the mouse and FlyGesture takes care of the rest.”
Lifehacker
Free Energy Isn’t Free: Here’s One Magnetic Free Energy Machine That Actually Works
“Scientists at the University of Southampton have created a generator that is fueled by the tremors of everyday life. It makes a trace amount of electrical current, but it’s enough to power sensors and, eventually, small machines. The trick with this generator is efficiency: Its vibrating magnets are 10 times better at generating current than other machines of this sort. The obvious use for this is in wireless sensors, that currently use batteries that need to be replaced, and therefore must be located in accessible spots. With a vibration generator like this, you can stash a sensor wherever you like.”
Gizmodo
Researchers devise thermally-activated flexible display
“The team has reportedly developed a “flexible, thermally-activated electronic display made from a mixture of metal nanoparticles and plastic,” which costs far less than most similar alternatives to create and measures just 150-microns in thickness. Moreover, these units are able to change hues based on the surrounding temperatures, and while only fixed patterns are available for viewing at the moment, the crew hopes to implement an array of “thermal pixels” in the future for more dynamic opportunities.”
Engadget
Turtle Starbucks Next: TurtleNet, Turtles Have WiFi
“Used to track movement patterns of endangered snapping turtles, TurtleNet relies upon periodic turtle-to-turtle WiFi relays as turtles pass other turtles. Then, when one of these turtles comes close to the UM base station, all turtle data is uploaded and sent to the lab 15 miles away.”
Gizmodo
Oh My Fisheyes!: Olympus Shows off Snazzy 360º Cam and Projector
“This is the lens for Olympus’ new experimental camera and video projector system. The lenses have an “axial symmetrical free curved surface” (no, I am not sure, either) and together with their new system, they can capture and project 360 degree video, which will be as spectacular as probably dizzying. More pics after the jump.”
Gizmodo
The tent as HCI
“The paper describes a very curious project that propose the use of a projection screen in the shape of a tent in order to immerse users in a virtual world (of course based on the metaphor of camping): RFID aerials at its entrances sense tagged children and objects as they enter and leave. Video tracking allows multiple flashlights to be used as pointing devices. The tent is an example of a traversable interface, designed for deployment in public spaces such as museums, galleries and classrooms. on interactions that fit naturally with the tent metaphor.”
pasta and vinegar
Energy saving power-strip cuts the waste
“The system uses modular plugs which link together to form a power-strip of connectors, these hang from the side of a desk (where they can be added or taken away as necessary), and each module monitors the energy status of a single device and displays that information via blue LED lights on the surface. When a connected device goes into “standby” mode, the lights alert the user, and within three minutes the module automatically shuts down, thus conserving otherwise wasted energy.”
Engadget
A Smarter Car
“Goldshmidt says that through a combination of computer modeling and driving simulations, the company can better determine how all the data generated by today’s high-tech cars and roadways can be gathered and organized, then processed and prioritized in a way that’s most helpful to the driver. He uses the example of two smart cars approaching an intersection: “Maybe there’s an algorithm that figures out the safest, most efficient procedure to let those vehicles pass through without danger or conflict. We’re trying to find that algorithm.”
Technology Review
Denser Data Storage
“The researchers at Brown University and Sandia National Laboratories have announced new ways to create iron-platinum nanorods and nanowires. The materials can potentially provide a way to make far denser magnetic media. In doing so, the new materials could make possible devices that do not have the limits that many scientist anticipate conventional magnetic storage technologies will soon encounter.”
Technology Review
Tetsuya Mizuguchi to build Virtual Tokyo in Second Life
“What makes Mizuguchi’s Tokyo different than other architectural projects in Second Life is his intent in building the city. 1UP reports that rather than building an exact replica of the Japanese city, Mizuguchi wants to fashion his facsimile based on the perceptions of both locals and visitors. Speaking to 1UP, he states his hope that the project, which is a collaboration between himself and advertising firm Dentsu, can become a “museum of Japanese pop culture.”"
Joystiq
User-captioned video
“fter uploading a video to dotSUB’s website, its first transcribed in the original language. Sentence by sentence, a user can then translate the resulting text into his or her own language. Subtitles are automatically imbedded in the video and can be viewed on dotSUB in everything from Korean to Ukrainian. The system also allows for collaborative captioning on a single video. If a work is still in progress, the amount of speech that’s been subtitled is displayed (e.g. Italian 12%), and other users can pitch in to finish the work. Like Wikipedia, anyone can edit or add to the captions.”
Springwise
reddot
“It reacts to the human interaction that takes place daily in the corridor of the company’s lobby. [...], the installation dialogues with the surrounding space displaying color flows onto a three-dimensional plexiglas grid, following the flow of people moving into and out of the entrance area. The detection technology used turns out to be the peculiarity of this piece, due to the small red dots projected on people’s legs by the fine red light thread emitted from laser sensors. Thought as an “interactive architecture organ”, the installation assumes the function of a message archive too, displaying sms text messages received from visitors as fluctuating words among the rows of the grid.”
Lim->0
USB Virtual Friends
“Here we have yet another wacky USB gadget. USB Virtual Friends are plastic figures that can be customized with a photo and interact with via software. The boxy plastic figures come with a personality and knowledge base editor. You can choose a naughty or nice personality for your virtual friend. There are 100 pre-programmed dialogues that simulate dialogs between boyfriend and girlfriend. The USB Virtual Friends come as girl or boy shaped figures and measure 162x94x80mm.”
I4U News
Respectance: Social Networking With A Deadly Twist
“Respectance is a social networking site for online tributes, or as the email sent to me so nicely put it: MySpace for dead people. Respectance provides a space for family and friends to honor their dead loved ones by creating online tributes. Whilst similar tribute profiles do appear on MySpace or Facebook, Respectance differs by being dedicated entirely to the dead.”
Respectance: Social Networking With A Deadly Twist
Pentagon to Merge Next-Gen Binoculars With Soldiers’ Brains
“U.S. Special Forces may soon have a strange and powerful new weapon in their arsenal: a pair of high-tech binoculars 10 times more powerful than anything available today, augmented by an alerting system that literally taps the wearer’s prefrontal cortex to warn of furtive threats detected by the soldier’s subconscious.”
Wired
Scientists find drug to banish bad memories
“Researchers have found they can use drugs to wipe away single, specific memories while leaving other memories intact. By injecting an amnesia drug at the right time, when a subject was recalling a particular thought, neuro-scientists discovered they could disrupt the way the memory is stored and even make it disappear. The research has, however, sparked concern among parliamentary advisers who insist that new regulations are now needed to control the use of the drugs to prevent them becoming used by healthy people as a “quick fix”.”
Telegraph
Researchers develop scalable circuit printing technique
“The group, which includes scientists from DuPont and Organic ID, has reportedly “fabricated a printing plate used to print the source-drain level of an array of thin-film transistors,” essentially solving some of the low-resolution constraints seen on prior competition. The goal is to eventually posses the ability to “print large, flexible circuits using machines similar to printing presses,” and while it seems to be a ways from commercialization, initial testing and comparisons to more traditionally-created transistors have produced glowing results.”
Engadget
Is That A Theater In Your Pocket?: Cellphone Projectors on the Way?
“South Korea’s Iljin Display has been crowing about its coin-sized laser projector module for more than a year with no haps, but now the company says it’s inked a deal with South Korea Telecom (SK Telecom) to mass-produce the projector for use inside cellphones. Is Iljin’s so-called Nano Projector finally for real? Iljin says the diminutive projector will be installed in SK Telecom’s cellphones beginning this September, and those pocket-theater-toting cellphones will be for sale both in Korea and perhaps even here in the US soon thereafter.”
Gizmodo
Catching Cheaters with Their Own Computers
“Researchers at Intel are working on a system that could make it much harder to cheat at online games. Unlike current software-based anti-cheating technology, Intel’s Fair Online Gaming System would be built into a player’s computer, in a combination of hardware, firmware, and software.”
Technology Review
GPS notification software informs managers of your tardiness
“those insistent on being late now have an amazingly easy way to notify their peers that traffic is being unkind, as the Oops I’m Late! application enables your GPS-equipped mobile to calculate your estimated arrival time and then notify your team members of your impending lateness.”
Engadget
A new nanowire light source
“Californian researchers have created a bio-friendly nano-sized light source capable of emitting coherent light across the visible spectrum. According to the researchers, this is ‘the first electrode-free, continuously tunable coherent visible light source that’s compatible with physiological environments.’ When the technology becomes available, maybe in 10 years, our computers might be thousands of times faster than our today’s tools. Other applications are envisioned, such as single cell endoscopy and other forms of bio-imaging.”
Primidi
Calling In Pros to Refine Your Google Image
“She sued for defamation and won an $11.3 million verdict, but the attacks only got worse. In December, Scheff turned to ReputationDefender, a year-old firm that promised to help her cleanse her virtual reputation. She no longer dreads a Google search on her name. Most of the links on the all-important first page are to her own Web site and a half-dozen others created by ReputationDefender to promote her work on teen pregnancy and teen depression.”
washingtonpost.com
Wishpot: Social Shopping Goes Mobile
“Social shopping site Wishpot went mobile this week with a product that seeks to extend social shopping to the bricks and mortar world. Mobile support with Wishpot allows users to save and share all interesting things they find by sending a text message or picture to Wishpot from their mobile phone. When online, users can later view saved items, research prices, view ratings and reviews, ask friends for opinions or share recommendations.”
TechCrunch
100 times HDD speed possible thanks to lasers
“Using laser technology that we’re not even going to pretend to understand, they’ve figured out a way of transferring data in speeds measured in quadrillionths of a second — a measurement so fast even our spell checker doesn’t recognize it. The technology is around 100 times faster than traditional magnetic storage methods, but it still has some way to go until it can replace your hard drive: for one thing, the researchers need to figure out a way to reduce the footprint of the laser, currently at an apparently massive 5 microns width.”
Engadget
MyThings Tracks Your Things
“MyThings is a service that allows users to create an online portfolio of valued belongings. [...] MyThings offers a integrated one stop shop for collectibles. Items can be included in the database, with tags and pictures. Once listed users are able to obtain a valuation for the item, buy (or extend) the items warranty, purchase insurance, sell the item on eBay and even donate am item to a worthy cause.”
TechCrunch
Dave Winer launches TwitterGram — or Twitter meets podcasting
“Dave Winer of RSS fame has introduced the TwitterGram and a TwitterGram web service, which lets you send 200K MP3 sound files instead of text messages.”
Guardian Unlimited
BubbleScope promises simple 360 degree photography
“Boasting a single megapixel sensor, the camera will let you capture 360×140 degree images at the press of a button, with 16MB of internal memory and an SD/MMC card slot at your disposal to store your panoramic creations.”
Engadget
Augmented Sculpture v 1.0
“The piece investigates space-time not only as a 3D environment, but as space in transformation revealed by two layers that overlap each other: – the physical layer, which controls the real space and shapes the volumetric base that serves as support for the next level. – a virtual projected layer that allows to control the transformation and sequentiality of space-time.”
Augmented Sculpture v 1.0
