Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED
“That’s where Samsung’s new concept phone shown off at the FPD International show in Yokohama comes into play, opening like a book to reveal a flexible OLED big enough to handle those cute puppy videos that no plain-vanilla, 2.5-inch display can do justice.”
Engadget
Tongue Control
“The tongue stimulator consists of a thin-film array of 144 electrodes–it’s a bit larger than a quarter–that sits on the surface of the tongue. A stimulator delivers electrical signals based on visual information–in this case, the movement of a dot on a computer screen. “It acts like a low-resolution monitor with a 12-by-12 array of pixels,” says Williams. A similar device is already in use for people with balance disorders–tongue stimulation tells the user whether her head is upright–and is also being tested as a visual aid for the blind.”
Technology Review
Project Palantir: Facebook Interactions Visualization
“Each Facebook action is geo-located on a 3D globe, becomes a particle that floats off the surface of the Earth, and then disappears. Facebook interactions (e.g. friend requests, pokes, wall posts) are shown by 3D splines or a trailing mesh connecting 2 locations, with each color representing a different sort of interaction.”
information aesthetics
On Virgin America’s inaugural GoGo WiFi flight: this post published from 35,000 feet
“GoGo has a built-in traffic shaper that keeps an eye out for those using more traffic than others. If you’re consuming too much, it’ll scale you back (although no one has a hard cap). If you’re the only one on GoGo (say, on a red-eye at 4am) then you can go crazy, you won’t be scaled back. Still, I’m sitting next to my old pal Brian Lam from Giz, and I’d wager the two of us are somehow taking up about 80% of the plane’s bandwidth.”
Engadget
The Doctor Will See You Now — Online
“Patients who are members of the health plan pay a co-pay, just like at the doctor’s office. Doctors hold 10-minute appointments, which can be extended for an optional fee, and can file prescriptions through the system. Uninsured patients can also use it, for a fee that the health plans choose but which will be less than $50, much less than a visit to the emergency room, which is where the uninsured often end up. Health plans pay American Well a license fee per member to use the software, as well as a transaction fee of about $2 a patient each time a patient sees a doctor. Doctors, meanwhile, pick up a few extra dollars on the side. They get paid less than an office visit but more than a phone consult and do not have to worry about scheduling, overhead and paperwork. They just log on and wait for patients to come to them. American Well files all the claims, and the money is deposited into the doctor’s bank account.”
NYTimes.com
Fujifilm’s 3D camera gets the hands-on treatment
“Unlike other tech we’ve seen that does 3D in one shot, this one sports a pair of lenses and sensors to capture light in stereo, while on the back a 2.8-inch LCD alternates between the two images at 60 fps to give an apparently convincing 3D effect. Better, though, should be the 8.4-inch 3D photo frame under development, and Fuji’s Frontier photo labs are also being upgraded to produce lenticular prints (the sort you can tilt left and right to see different things) that are said be “really good.”"
Engadget
Webcam Interpreters for Australian Deaf
“The Multi-Media Response Service allows deaf users to make phone calls by signing in to their webcam or video phone, using interpreters to relay signed communications. Previous text-based forms of communication such as telephone typewriters, email, SMS and chat rooms permit information exchange, but are often a slow process and fail to recognize emotion.”
PSFK
360 Cities Brings Stunning Spherical Panoramas To Google Earth
“A collection of the panoramas just became visible automatically to every user of the free 3D earth visualization software, and the rest of the 360cities database, which is nearly 10,000 spherical images strong, has been added to the Gallery in Google Earth as well.”
TechCrunch
Twilio: Powerful API For Phone Services That Can Recreate GrandCentral’s Core Functionality In 15 Lines Of Code
“The startup has developed a simple API with pay-as-you-go pricing that allows developers to quickly implement phone services into their applications, opening the door to a number of services that were previously only accessible to the small sliver of engineers trained in the dark magic of phone calls. [...] Lawson says that Twilio is looking to commoditize these phone services by making them much more accessible to developers, by introducing a set of very intuitive commands. The API primarily consists of 5 commonly used phone actions (Say, Play, Record, Dial, and Gather a phone number), each of which behaves exactly as you’d expect it to.”
TechCrunch
SnapTell Explorer Instantly Looks Up Any Product via Photograph
“Similar to a bar code scanner (except you photograph the item cover, not its bar code), SnapTell automatically looks up your item and gives you links to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Wikipedia, and straight-up search engines so you can compare prices and find out more about it. SnapTell’s results aren’t 100% accurate—once it gave me a strategy guide result when I photographed a video game cover—but everything else I tried it on, the results were spot-on.”
LifeHacker
“Interplanetary internet” passes first test
“Images of Mars and its moon Phobos were sent back and forth between computers on Earth and NASA’s Epoxi spacecraft. Instead of TCP/IP a new protocol, named “Disruption/Delay Tolerant Networking” (DTN) was used. Information is only sent once with DTN, and stored at each node until another node is available to receive the information. To prevent hackers from interfering with the network, information that is transmitted over DTN is encrypted. The team at NASA is hoping to get the protocol accepted by the international community and setup a permanent node at the International Space Station next year.”
Hack a Day
On the Back of Identity
“The latest venture from Netherlands-based apparel company W-41 gives users the ability to ‘carry their websites with them” using their barcoded logo apparel; each logo entirely unique to its owner. People can photograph your logo with their camera phone and use the free ShotCode mobile application to access the wearer’s Linked In, Facebook, Myspace or W-41 profile.”
PSFK
Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing
“The study, part of a $50 million project on digital and media learning, used several teams of researchers to interview more than 800 young people and their parents and to observe teenagers online for more than 5,000 hours. Because of the adult sense that socializing on the Internet is a waste of time, the study said, teenagers reported many rules and restrictions on their electronic hanging out, but most found ways to work around such barriers that let them stay in touch with their friends steadily throughout the day. “Teens usually have a ‘full-time intimate community’ with whom they communicate in an always-on mode via mobile phones and instant messaging,” the study said.”
NYTimes.com
Etherpad Shows Google Docs How It’s Done
“It’s comparable to Google Docs or a wiki, but it’s far more useful. You start off by creating a new workspace. You type basic text on numbered lines at will. Then invite someone else in and have them type as well. Each user’s edits are highlighted a different color. Changes are made in absolute real time, something even Google hasn’t been able to do (Google docs update every fifteen seconds). Users can also chat in the sidebar, save versions and make a few tweaks to the settings like removing line numbers. One great feature optionally highlights Javascript syntax (making this a great way to write code collaboratively) And that’s it for now. There is very little bling to the site at this point.”
TechCrunch
Power-sipping Funai Dynamic ECD display don’t need no backlight
“Funai has just announced the development of a swank new panel that consumes just 0.16-milliwatts of electricity per square centimeter, or around 1% as much as traditional LCDs. The Dynamic ECD is made of a reflective display that uses color-changing dyes that light up and morph as electricity flows through. In other words, there’s no need for a backlight, and it even boasts 80% reflectivity (compared with 50% on reflective LCDs) for easier viewing in broad daylight. The real kicker? It should cost around one-third as much as an LCD to manufacture.”
Engadget
Digital Photos Act as Unique Fingerprints in Finding Criminals with Digital Cameras
“The colors and brightness levels that we can physically see in our digital pictures are created by a demosaicing software, which is custom built for every camera model due to each camera’s individual specs and subtle differences. Because of this, a certain camera model will generate distinct pixels—and unique relationships between its neighboring pixels—which can pinpoint the exact make and model of the camera. Knowing this information could greatly help forensics teams since each digital camera has a shelf life of about 18 months, which would significantly narrow the pool of where and when it was sold. Although it is not perfect, early tests have shown this technique has proven to be 90 percent accurate, which is still an A in my book!”
Gizmodo
Fnk (alpha)
“Given its dataflow approach, Fnk works as a node-based visual representation of a functional language. This means that, within the Fnk environment, you don’t write code, but rather, create nodes and links between those nodes to perform data transformations. That way, you do not program the flow of program execution – like you would in an imperative language – but, rather, the flow of the data inside a diagram.”
Fnk (alpha) » About
Micro generator produces power from movement
“Zinc oxide generates electric potential when put under mechanical stress, in a phenomenon known as the piezoelectric effect. By using movement in the environment to stretch and release zinc oxide wires, the miniature generators can operate self-sufficiently, and transfer 7% of the mechanical force into electricity. The “flexible charge pump” generator is the fourth generation of zinc oxide generator designed by the team, and the first one to exceed the nanonano scale. However, Wang claims that the design can be scaled down if necessary.”
Gizmag
Geocoding Genes for Cartographic Comparisons
“shows a 2D plot of genetic similarity across Europe, colour-coded by country, alongside a political map of Europe using the same colours. A simply striking way to illustrate the complex process of reducing a multi-dimensional data set.”
information aesthetics
Complexcity
“The Complexcity project explores major cities around the world focussing on how their urban sprawls have evolved over time. Using the patterns formed by roads in each city, Korean born designer Lee Jang Sub creates complex graphic configurations, combining the idea of natural and man made systems. In the process he finds a concealed aesthetic within the convoluted pattern of urban networks. He started with his hometown Seoul, and has already completed Paris, Rome, and Moscow. The first image illustrates the intricate urban pattern of Moscow”
visualcomplexity.com
Skyla Memoir Digital Photo Frame Has In-Built Photo Scanner
“Skyla’s Memoir photo frame has an in-built 600dpi scanner so it’ll digitize your hardcopy photo archive for you. It’s got a 1GB memory, apparently good for about 200 4 x 6-inch prints (the maximum size the scanner can take).”
Gizmodo
Harry Potter-ish Photos With Moving Shadows Invented
“Essentially an object is photographed from multiple angles in different lighting conditions, and a cleverly-processed composite image is then placed behind a plastic sheet of micro lenses in a hexagon array. As the lighting angle changes—for example as the sun moves relative to the image—the lenses focus illumination on different parts of the composite image, creating the effect that shadows and highlights in the photo change. The result makes for a pseudo 3D dynamic image, and is exactly the sort of thing that billboard ad makers like to catch your eye with.”
Gizmodo
Fujitsu develops Wraparound View for Cars in Real Time
“The new driver assistance technology adapts to different driving situations, enabling the driver to peripherally view the entire surroundings of a vehicle, from the point of view and field of view that is most appropriate for each driving situation. The technology improves driving safety by assisting the driver in a variety of situations, such as parking, passing on a narrow street, and seeing around corners at intersections with poor sightlines.”
I4U News
1,000-device personal networks in 2017?
“According to ICT Results in ‘The Network of Everything,’ wireless experts estimate that our personal networks will include about a thousand devices in 2017, including dozens of sensors checking our health and our home. This is why European researchers have launched in 2006 a networking project called ‘MAGNET Beyond.’ The name is an acronym for ‘My personal adaptive Global NET and beyond.’ The article suggests that the researchers have in fact built the Smart Personal Network, which integrates the concepts of Personal Networks (PNs) and Personal Area Networks (PANs).”
Primidi
‘Odourprinting’ could be used to identify people
“Eating powerful foods such as chili or garlic may change how we smell, but it does not disguise our underlying genetically-determined aroma, tests on mice have shown. Creatures who were given strong-smelling foods were still recognised by their peers. The signature smells may have evolved to help in choosing mates and marking out territories. Jae Kwak, lead author of the study at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, said that the research suggested that “odourprinting” could soon have a practical use. “These findings indicate that biologically based odourprints, like fingerprints, could be a reliable way to identify individuals,” he said.”
Telegraph
Oblong’s g-speak: the ‘Minority Report’ OS brought to life
“One of the science advisors from the Steven Spielberg film — along with a team of other zany visionaries — has created an honest-to-goodness, real-world implementation of the computer systems seen in the movie. Dubbed g-speak, the mind bending OS combines “gestural i/o, recombinant networking, and real-world pixels,” to deliver what the creators call “the first major step in [a] computer interface since 1984.”"
Engadget
Scratch input
“Scratch input allows us to use solid surfaces as an input devices by capturing the sounds they produce. Using a stethoscope and a high pass filter, they capture the unique sounds of specific gestures. Custom software then translates this to actions for applications. The video shows some really cool stuff, like turning an entire wall into an input device. It goes around corners and past doorways.”
Hack a Day
Swarms of small satellites coming soon
“researchers from the University of Florida (UF) are building small satellites able to work as a team to take multiple and distributed measurements or observations of weather phenomena for example. These small satellites should cost only about $100,000 to produce. The first one should be launched next year by a NASA rocket and should not be larger than a softball.”
Primidi
It’s Alive: DNA Strands Converted Into Tiniest Fiber Optic Cables For Optical Computing
“…scientists for the first time have used human DNA to build the smallest fiber optics cables yet created. And as is typical with organic computers, said cables are capable of assembling themselves. The technique, spearheaded by Bo Albinsson at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, encodes DNA in a way that, when mixed with light-receptive molecules called chromophores, self-engineer themselves into a natural photo-sensitive wire that can accurately transmit light—similar to those found in some algaes. The technique may also someday be used for artificial photosynthesis systems that may power next-gen solar cells. “
Gizmodo
Mobile Phone Meets “8″
“The mobile phone has dual touch screen and 8 shape frame which help to move dual touch screen. Moveable dual touch screen is easy to use and has various functions according to its shapes. It can be used electronic dictionary by moving touch screen and can be used to displayphone . These changes in functions according to these shapes will bring out special feelings from users.”
Yanko Design
“Cycle Life” Watch by Andy Kurovets
“Car. PC. Car. TV. -These are the days of our lives. Andy Kurovets gets silly with his “Cycle Life,” breaking up life into the four segments of an average computer-using persons working day. Each segment is assigned the machine most used: TV, PC, or Car, beginning with WAKE UP! and ending with GO TO SLEEP! Don’t let the wit-bugs bite!”
Yanko Design
Digital Photos: iGala Wireless Photo Frame Has Touchscreen, Own Gmail Account
“But it’s actually got its own Gmail address so you can email photos to it directly from anywhere.”
Gizmodo
Mojo Mobility’s induction charging tech: best thing to happen to discs since Tron
“Mojo Mobility Inc. might just have a winner with its Near Field Power technique, relying on thin, inexpensive coiled discs to both send and receive up to 4 watts of power with 70 percent efficiency. Unlike the competition no exposed contacts are required, and while it looks like you’ll still need to place the device onto a charging pad, with multiple transmission discs that pad could charge all your gadgets at once.”
Engadget
Google hits to warn of flu epidemics
“By tracking searches for terms such as ‘cough’, ‘fever’ and ‘aches and pains’ it claims to be able to accurately estimate where flu is circulating. Google tested the idea in nine regions of the US and found it could accurately predict flu outbreaks between seven and 14 days earlier than the federal centres for disease control and prevention. Google hopes the idea could also be used to help track other diseases. Flu Trends is limited to the US.”
guardian.co.uk
Credit Cards: Techie Visa Card Features Buttons and Screen to Generate CCV Dynamically
“Using what appears to be Visa’s mutant hybrid of a credit card and a pocket calculator, users can enter their PIN into the card itself and have a security code generated on the fly. The method can stop thieves in two ways. Those who copy down your credit card information will find that your account number and expiration date is not enough to place an order. And those who actually steal your physical card will find that they still don’t know your pin.”
Gizmodo
Keian Japan P71-A2-JP: part photo printer, part photo frame, all modern marvel
“The P71-A2-JP from Keian Japan houses a 7-inch, 480 x 234 LCD for doing the photo frame thing, complete with SD card and Memory Stick support, a USB host plug and even a little bit of MP3 playback. What’s surprising is that there’s a full-on photo printer in back to print out those shots worth cherishing a bit longer than ten seconds on a repetitive cycle. The 300 dpi prints probably won’t blow minds, and that screen is depressingly low-res, but all-in-all this is a pretty neat little solution to a problem you didn’t have.”
Engadget
Land and re-localisation
“Within days of registration being opened, thousands of landowners and would-be gardeners have signed up. A website, hosted by a television network, Channel 4, enables people to find land where they can grow their own; offer land in return for produce; identify land suitable for planting; and build a growing community. “The sort of land could be a garden share, a yard behind a company, a slice of a farmer’s field, or a flat roof capable of taking the weight of a few pots” say the producers. “We don’t limit the variety or size of plot, nor who should get involved. The scheme is for individuals, families, businesses and organisations”.”
Doors of Perception
SNIF Tags go commercial, promise to monitor your dog’s activity
“Unlike some other devices that track your dog’s whereabouts with GPS, these make use of an accelerometer and some motion analysis software to determine exactly how active your dog is, all of which gets logged online via the included SNIF base station that connects to your router. Even more ambitiously, the tags also promise to let you and your dog engage in a bit of social networking, with the tags able to recognize when they’re close to another tag and record the encounter online when you get back home which, of course, depends on plenty of other dogs having the tags as well.”
Engadget
Bike Thefts? RFID to the Rescue
“Students can park their bikes in designated safe zones and register their position via mobile phone. If their bike is moved without calling and entering a pin code, cctv cameras will zoom in on the area to see if anything is amiss. Oregon State University takes a similar approach, “bugging” participating student’s bikes with RFID tags. It’s used mostly as a bike recovery and theft deterrent method and the bugs are free to OSU students. And finally, the city of Copenhagen is working with the Danish Technical Institute to create a better chip to help locate some of the city’s many stolen bikes.”
PSFK
momo – haptic navigational device
“A haptic navigational device that requires only the sense of touch to guide a user. No maps, no text, no arrows, no lights. momo sits in the palm of your two hands and navigates you to an end location by leaning and vibrating. Akin to someone pointing you in the right direction, there is no need to find your map, you simply follow as the device gravitates to your destination.”
MAKE
Febot Recharges Batteries
“Febot, created by Korean designers Ji-yun Kim, Soon-young Yang and Hwan-ju Jeon, is a torpedo with wings looking object that uses energy created by the wind to recharge a single battery. All you have to do is stick your Febot on an outside window and let the wind work its magic – just make sure it is your Febot.”
Yanko Design
STREET WITH A VIEW
“On May 3rd 2008, artists Robin Hewlett and Ben Kinsley invited the Google Inc. Street View team and residents of Pittsburgh’s Northside to collaborate on a series of tableaux along Sampsonia Way. Neighbors, and other participants from around the city, staged scenes ranging from a parade and a marathon, to a garage band practice, a seventeenth century sword fight, a heroic rescue and much more… Street View technicians captured 360-degree photographs of the street with the scenes in action and integrated the images into the Street View mapping platform. This first-ever artistic intervention in Google Street View made its debut on the web in November of 2008.”
Robin Hewlett & Ben Kinsley
Honda debuts groin-clutching walker exoskeleton
“Honda say that the machine reduces load on the hip joints, and helps not just with walking but also standing – and especially with maintaining a crouched position. The whole thing, including shoes and li-ion battery, weighs just 6.5kg. Apparently it can maintain “walking or in a semi-crouching posture” for two hours before recharging.”
The Register
Tomy xiao digital camera has built in Zink printer, the spirit of Polaroids
“Polaroids may be dead, but the basic concept lives on — remember Zink, that company whose technology prints digital photos on the spot without ink? It’s joined forces with toy-maker Tomy to make the xiao TIP-521, a digital camera with a printer built in. The xiao has a modest five megapixel resolution, so we might wait and see how Polaroid’s own Zink camera turns out, but in either case we’re stoked the tactile experience is back.”
Engadget
The astrometry pool on Flickr automatically adds labels to the astronomy photos you upload
“Input an image and we’ll give you back astrometric calibration meta-data, plus lists of known objects falling inside the field of view. We have built this astrometric calibraton service to create correct, standards-compliant astrometric meta-data for every useful astronomical image ever taken, past and future, in any state of archival disarray. We hope this will help organize, annotate and make searchable all the world’s astronomical information.”
MAKE
Statistical Visualization Ueber-Widget Dashboard
“Sprint introduces a huge widget mosaic dashboard [sprint.com] that attempts to document the “now”. The statistical data shown through slick designed bar charts, counters and various iconography ranges from the “World Energy Used Now” over a “Live White House Cam” to amount of “People Stuck in Elevators”.”
information aesthetics
LCD that scans fingerprints
“Each pixel is equipped with 4 optical sensors, so a 320×240 screen would have a scanning resolution of 640×480. They have also experimented with different sensors, such as UV. You can see an LCD panel that detects and displays the UV index above. Why did they use a secondary display to show the data though?”
Hack a Day
Nanotech: Scientist Designs Nanoparticle Optics That Self-Assemble
“The self-assembly of the nanoparticle silver crystals can be controlled to produce different nano “devices” and it’s a a neat way of putting together nanotech that is more typically produced top-down by lithography. The devices can be as diverse as color-changing paint, optical computer elements, and ultrasensitive chemical sensors.”
Gizmodo
Mintpass’ tiny Mintpad brings handwriting back from the 20th century
“We can’t remember the last time we stealthily scribbled a note to a coworker instead of shooting an IM, but Mintpass (a Korean firm founded by former iriver minds) believes some folks want to do both at once with Mintpad, a wireless handheld that’s one part Nintendo DS, one part iPod, and another part Post-it note. Yes, it surfs the web on 802.11b/g WiFi and plays 4GB (or more with a microSD card) of music and videos on its sub-3-inch 320 x 240 display, but the draw is handwriting with a stylus. Don’t pick it up if you’re looking for handwriting recognition, though — you just jot down notes the old fashioned way, though you can pass them over the internet to others who have their own Mintpads”
Engadget
Your body as an input device
“Everybody knows that it will definitely become irritating if your computer starts zooming in and out depending on your position… but this research doesn’t have to result in a 1:1 implementation. It would be interesting to put the researchers in one room with a physiotherapist and an interaction/industrial designer. I think they could come up with interaction solutions that can cut back RSI.”
Johnny Holland
E-Ink: Soken E-Ink Wall Looks Tacky But Promising
“Japanese company Soken showed off a wall made entirely out of 12×12 inch, 0.1mm thick e-ink paper displays at the FDPI conference in Yokohama this week. Called “Twist Ball,” after the rotating fine particles the paper is made of that change when voltage is applied, Soken’s e-ink vaguely represented something made out of tacky Christmas wrapping paper. Even if it doesn’t look so great, the technology behind Soken’s e-ink is pretty impressive.”
Gizmodo
Butt Power: Bicycle Seat Generator Harnesses the Power of Your Butt
“The device attaches underneath the seat and collects power generated by the compression of the seat springs, braking, pedaling etc. As a result, the electricity could be used to power headlights/taillights and any portable gadgets you bring with you on the road. As you might have guessed, it is only a concept at the moment, but at least it doesn’t sound completely far-fetched.”
Gizmodo
Distributed network of laptop accelerometers used as seismic detector
“The Quake-Catcher Network
keeps track of laptops using several methods. Participants can input locations into a Google Maps web interface through the site and a rough location can also be established using your IP address and the server location. The advent of GPS enabled laptops also has the potential to provide more accuracy for network. The software also caters for circumstances where laptops are not on a level surface by zeroing out each directional acceleration before it begins to monitor the sensor and the value of having a network rather than a single sensor also comes into play when establishing whether data is valid – i.e. if one laptop transmits a high-energy signal it may be an anomaly, but if numerous signals are received from one area then it’s likely that an earthquake is taking place.”
Gizmag
Visual Context Communicator by Bram Knaapen
“A user wears a small device with an integrated camera. This real time image is then translated into an abstract representation.Therefore the receiver gets (at least a part) of the visual stimuli the remote person encounters throughout the day. So you can get a glimpse of the kind of visual context the other person is in. This allows for a feel of connectedness and empathy with the remote user.”
Yanko Design
Amazing Batteries Run on Any Liquid
“Just immerse them in a liquid bath and they’ll generate power within 10 seconds. It’s guessed that they use a process similar to plant photosynthesis to generate power. They’re cheap too. It would cost only 3 to 6 cents a piece to manufacture. The downside is that they don’t produce as much power as regular batteries (though they can store twice as much), and use liquids -which would severely limit where they can be used.”
PSFK
Totlol: The New Saturday Morning Cartoons
“Totlol uses the YouTube API and reskins all the videos with its own player (much like we do with Elevator Pitches). Viewers can rate and collect videos. Collections act like playlists. Plop your child in front of the computer, and it plays all the way through (not that I would ever do that, of course). So why not just watch these videos on YouTube? Totlol acts as a filter for these videos and presents them in a more child-friendly format. Every video on the site has been vetted at least once by a parent (hopefully).”
TechCrunch
cell phone vibrations might let us watch soccer games without actually watching
“Phones should be somehow synchronized with the ball the game is actually played with. This can be done via video, since there are lots of TV cameras that constantly follow the ball’s movement on the field. So, whenever someone kicks the ball, your phone should vibrate. The vibrations should be of different frequencies and lengths, according to the area where the ball is located. If it’s in midfield, for example, the phone should produce a weak, short-time vibration. When someone scores a goal, the vibration could be long and more powerful.”
Unwired View
Electronic nose boasts “snoot full of sensory neurons”
“This latest effort from some researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology looks to have quite a bit going for it, however, including a collection of eight different types of sensors and 16 “microheaters,” which can be tweaked ever so slightly to effectively create 5,600 virtual sensors or, as the researchers helpfully describe, the “analytical equivalent of a snoot full of sensory neurons.” That, the researchers say, could let the “nose” sniff out everything from nerve agents and environmental contaminants to trace indicators of disease”
Engadget
Tinkling by Lufdesign
“The idea is quite simple. Nobody wants to stand around their computer all day waiting for would be important messages. RELAX, kick off your shoes and go enjoy a glass of wine on your balcony or deck. Whenever you do receive a message, the Tinkling rings, its blowing tail changes color, and a message is displayed across the embedded screen.”
Yanko Design
The 3D Printing Revolution
“Treehugger reports that desktop 3D printing has crossed over into being a reality. Desktop Factory is releasing a 3D printer that’s not much bigger than a laser printer – and relatively inexpensive too. It will retail for $5,000, which is less than 1985’s $6995 Apple LaserWriter – which is considered the device that sparked the desktop publishing revolution.”
PSFK
Sharp: We Have an ePaper Challenger! (And Its Name is LCD)
“The 14.1, 6.1, 2.4 and 1.7-inch displays are believe to use a cholesteric LCD material to freeze the images. Power specifications were not provided, but freezing data into the display apparently takes a “relatively large” amount of energy. And while Sharp hasn’t pitched the tech for displaying the newspaper, they do see a lot of potential in the commercial market. One Osaka grocery is already testing several smaller displays that are hooked up to Wi-Fi and can change prices easily.”
Gizmodo
Duplicating your keys without your knowledge
“Some clever computer scientists at UC San Diego (UCSD) have developed a software that can perform key duplication with just a picture of the key — taken from up to 200 feet. One of the researchers said ‘we built our key duplication software system to show people that their keys are not inherently secret.’ He added that on sites like Flickr, you can find many photos of people’s keys that can be used to easily make duplicates. Apparently, some people are blurring ‘numbers on their credit cards and driver’s licenses before putting those photos on-line,’ but not their keys. This software project is quite interesting, but don’t be too afraid. I don’t think that many of you put a photo of their keys online — with their addresses.”
primidi
RealFiction’s Dreamoc 3D / holographic display demoed on video
“RealFiction’s latest blend of holographic technology, 3D imagery and mind-blowing eye candy has resulted in the device you see above. Hailed as a 3D display system designed “especially for high profile brands in a competitive retail environment,” this box possesses the innate ability to “mix free-floating animation and video images with physical objects.”
Engadget
Oled: Translucent OLEDs Go Large, Turn Your Windows into Crappy TVs
“By stretching their translucent OLED panels to about 12 inches, tiling them together and dropping them into a frame, Samsung has reached a symbolically important touchstone: an OLED window. The display is desaturated, claims a wimpy 840×504 resolution and requires distracting frames that break up the image. Seeing this, though, gives the impression that even if it is years and years away, the day when we can control the natural light in our houses, watch video or displays a HUD on the living room window will come.”
Gizmodo
Using pictures to give directions
“BreadCrumbz is a mobile navigation application that lets users create directional routes on the fly. The software uses the phone’s camera and GPS to take geo-tagged pictures of the user’s route while Android’s location APIs and Compass sensor track their progress as they navigate. Android’s Maps API is then used to overlay route information such as arrows or notes on top of a map. The result is a personalized, picture-based map that users can email to friends or upload to the web to show others how to navigate a specific building or landscape.”
Springwise
Tony Player takes online playlists to the dance floor
“Twones is a new online music service that automatically tracks every song a user plays while online—whether via iTunes, YouTube, last.fm or services—and then creates a single timeline of the music they’ve been listening to. Users can share their timelines and discover new music by exploring a friend’s musical history. The service, which launches in December, works via a small browser plug-in.”
Springwise
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