In the movie Minority Report, precrime chief John Anderton is able to interact with a holographic display using a series of gestures, as seen here: When Microsoft recently released its Xbox 360 peripheral, called Kinect, they intended it to be primarily used for gaming. However, a number of enterprising hardware hackers have re-purposed Kinect for a [...]
Posts under ‘Electronics’
Microbatteries to be “smaller than a grain of sand”
While portable electronic devices continue to get smaller and thinner, battery sizes have become a sticking point. These days a good deal of engineering goes into designing devices to fit around the battery, which takes up the bulk of devices like smartphones and tablet computers. As electronics shrink and approach microscopic sizes, they’ll need a [...]
Panasonic announces hair washing robot
Japanese companies have worked to develop robots that will one day be able to assist with caring for the country’s rapidly aging population. The latest addition? Panasonic’s hair washing robot, which will be unveiled next week at the International Home Care & Rehabilitation Exhibition. Two robot arms guide the 16 fingers, which have the same dexterity as [...]
High fashion goes electronic
Designer Diana Eng is on the cutting edge of integrating electronics with high fashion, as seen in the above footage from one of her shows. While most of us can’t go out and pick up an LED-enhanced Eng gown or tuxedo just yet, advancements in materials and electronics, including small batteries and conductive thread, make [...]
Human body used as conduit for transmitting data
Researchers in South Korea have successfully transmitted data at broadband speeds between two points on a person’s arm using the body itself as a conduit. The technology is very energy efficient when compared to alternatives like wireless data transfer, and therefore may lend itself to health applications: It is difficult to monitor vital signs, such [...]
Computer gives Roger Ebert his voice back
World-famous movie critic Roger Ebert lost his ability to speak, eat or drink when he was treated for thyroid cancer and had his jaw removed in 2006. Now, a Scottish company called CereProc has literally given Ebert his voice back via software that uses old recordings of his voice to determine speech patterns and how [...]
Google takes a shot at a “universal translator”
The “universal translator” is a crucial plot device in science fiction, giving aliens from far off worlds the ability to, at least from the perspective of the protagonists and audience, speak perfect English. They’re what enable a multi-species crew to effectively serve together on the Enterprise. The “babel fish” enabled Arthur Dent to understand the many [...]
Video games benefit adults, says U.S. Office of Naval Research
We all know video games are a waste of time and rot your brain, right? Not so, says the U.S. Office of Naval Research. In fact, adult gamers can see increased “perceptual abilities,” increased short-term memory, longer focus and expanded field of vision compared to non-gamers. Ray Perez, a program officer at the ONR’s warfighter [...]
Fuel cell to power military exoskeleton for 72 hours
With the extremely heavy packs modern soldiers are expected to carry (upwards of 150 pounds), a robotic exoskeleton that provides support and improves mobility makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, these exoskeletons require a lot of power to function – power that has been provided in the past via gasoline engines or traditional lithium-ion batteries. Gas engines [...]
Augmented reality glasses unveiled at CES
At the moment, most augmented reality applications run on mobile phones, which is actually a good fit – modern cell phones have nice screens, cameras and enough processing power to make this a practical platform. Holding your phone out in front of your face, however, is far some seamless. I have no doubt that at [...]