At the behest of their board, who apparently didn’t want to discuss billion-dollar train tunnels without exploring other options, top Virginia transportation officials went to California to ride in The Boring Company’s silly car tunnel.
This week Google announced Stadia, a gaming service that runs from the cloud rather than a console in your living room or a souped-up gaming rig in your study. The concept of streaming games over the web isn’t new though—these are the other services that Stadia is going up against, and what they offer.
Ultrasonic fingerprint readers have made their mass-market debut, but there are other uses for ultrasonic technology in today’s gadgets. For example, TDK subsidiary Chirp Microsystems is powering a number of Virtual Reality (VR) systems, including the HTC Vive Focus and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile VR.
Both VR headset use 6-DoF, which means Degrees of Freedom. It means that the user can not only look around by turning his/her head around but can also move forward, backward, left, right, up and down. This is key to having immersive 3D worlds.
The SonicTrack chip’s role is to provide the data that make it possible to position the VR controllers relative to the headset, from the inside out.
From a consumer standpoint, it is much more convenient than having to setup infra-red (IR) equipment around the play area. Read our HTC VIVE Pro review if you’re not familiar with the external trackers concept.
But perhaps “how” SonicTrack works is the most impressive part. Despite being tiny, it is capable of sending ultrasonic waves 240 degrees around it, then use the bounce-back signal to construct a dataset of the surrounding. The technique is called Time-Of-Flight (ToF).
This technique for tracking controllers is also much less computationally expensive than if developers were using RGB cameras to perform the same task.
By being able to know precisely where the controllers are, wire-free VR headsets can execute the most complex VR applications that require minute positioning of the controllers (longbow, precise fencing, using virtual tools, etc.)
The first generation sensor called CH-101 could track to a distance of 120cm. But the newer CH-201 model can sense up to 500cm away, making virtually all gaming accessories, including sticks, swords, or replica rifles manageable and accurate.
When we tried the demos, things felt quite precise, and the responsiveness was good as well. At the moment, it doesn’t quite rival bulkier systems, but the added convenience, ease of setup and lower price makes SonicTrack a desirable solution.
TDK Chirp SonicTrack Power 6-DoF in The Best VR Systems , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
While other automakers were debating the merits of the electric car, Nissan was already selling the Leaf (the little EV hit the market in 2010, two years before the Model S). The automaker has sold over 400,000 units since then. That’s impressive…
The former White House photographer asks why Ivanka and Jared use private email for official communications.
“They don’t want Republicans coming into this country,” he told Sean Hannity.
Here are just some of the ways interfaith allies have been showing their love.
One of the most popular board games is Settlers of Catan. If you are a fan of Catan style games, and also love Game of Thrones, get your credit cards out. The game is called Game of Thrones Catan: Brotherhood of the Watch and asks you to protect the wall and rise to the title of Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.
It has essentially the same play mechanics as normal Catan, but with characters, locations, and themes inspired by George R.R. Martin’s universe. That means dice rolling, managing hands, building defenses, and trading supplies. Each play takes 60 to 90 minutes.
The game is for three to four people, and recommended for ages ten and up. You can the Game of Thrones Catan game over on Amazon for $63.96. There’s a 5 to 6 player expansion pack available for another $44.99.
When did board games get more expensive than video games?
Since Monday, Corey Williams has installed several air quality monitors in Houston-area schools. The state has nearly 40 that it owns littered around the city, but Williams, the policy and research director for Air Alliance Houston, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, doesn’t always trust the state, he…
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