Hasta La Gadget!

[CEATEC 2013] In-vehicle technology has certainly progressed by a fair amount these days, where we are starting to see Heads Up Display units being integrated in various ways depending on the manufacturer, not to mention a futuristic looking driving cockpit that is further augmented by the use of a smartphone. One thing is for sure, the kind of interactivity which we have with our devices are a whole lot more intuitive using touch and gesture controls, and here we are with Mitsubishi and their free form display that is intended to be used in a car display system.

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Mitsubishi Car Display System Sports Free Form Screen original content from Ubergizmo.

[CEATEC 2013] All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and the folks over at Mazda have definitely realized that. Sure, they are pretty serious with their Mazda Connect system as well as Heads Up Cockpit, but there also needs to be a balance of play as well, and this comes in the form of the Shakin’ Racer smartphone app. There really isn’t that much to it other than the fact that the Shakin ‘ Racer app would make full use of the gyroscope in your mobile device to detect just how much vibration it is experiencing at the moment.

Up to 4 visitors to the Mazda booth were handed out smartphones with the app preloaded, and the “racecourse” was projected onto a large screen so that everyone is able to have a bird’s eye view of the entire situation. Once the light turned green, it signalled the moment to burn some of the proverbial rubber on the asphalt! That would involved a healthy amount of vigorous shaking using your hand, and it is a race of endurance as well as strength, so make sure you have had a breakfast for champions before giving it a go! I am quite sure that there is an optimal way to figure out just how much shaking is required to hit top speed.

Mazda Shakin’ Racer App Gives Your Arm A Workout original content from Ubergizmo.

[CEATEC 2013] NEC claims that their face recognition technology on display at the CEATEC 2013 showfloor happens to be the one with the highest precision rate in the world, although we have also seen Omron’s offering that does seem to work pretty well, guessing your age at the same time (the ladies might not like that so much, actually). Well, NEC’s face recognition technology is known as the NeoFace, where it is touted to be precise enough to see action across a wide range of applications, from office level going all the way to national level security controls.

That secure, huh? NEC’s booth also did demonstrate how their face recognition technology comes in handy where security is concerned, making use of what they call a “Bio Key” which will open up a door once it detects the actual face. I’m taking a guess that the Z-axis will be included here so that no one will be able to fool the system with a photo of someone else. This would also come in handy as a mobile device security measure, where smartphones and tablets will now unlock only for the rightful owner. Again, it has not been tested to the point where there is a ready and willing market who want to implement it in new hardware, so time will tell if the NeoFace technology will remain in the domain of corporations and enterprises as well as governments, instead of being used across the mass market.

NEC NeoFace Face Recognition Technology original content from Ubergizmo.

[CEATEC 2013] Don’t you just love the wonders of miniaturization? Not only does it make life a whole lot easier and more convenient for the masses, it is also one way to maximize our living space around us. Normally, a bidirectional DC/DC converter would not get too much of a glance from the passing consumer electronics enthusiast, but ALPS might have just turned the tables with their latest idea on what an ALPS Bidirectional DC/DC Converter should be like.

In the first place, modern portable DC/DC converters tend to rank low on the efficiency level – at least relatively speaking, but ALPS decided to pick up the challenge by working alongside another two companies, MyWay and ROHM, to change things for the better. These three companies have come up with a far more efficient DC/DC converter, which is 10% of the original size (which you can see the bulky machine on the left hand side), 80% lighter, and of course, with it comes a higher degree of efficiency compared to traditional systems. MyWay has plans to sell this Bidirectional DC/DC Converter from this month onward, and for those who ask what use is this module for in everyday life? It would result in far smaller and more efficient charging stations as well as electric vehicle power systems.

ALPS Bidirectional DC/DC Converter original content from Ubergizmo.

[CEATEC 2013] How green can cars get? We have started to see a slight shift among buyers of cars who have jumped aboard the hybrid bandwagon, with Toyota’s Prius leading the way. Of course, the move to fully electric cars have yet to catch the imagination of the masses because of charging stations, the relatively limited range of an electric car compared to one that runs on gas, and of course, the entry cost which can be prohibitively high. Regardless, it is nice to see companies work on future forward technologies when it comes to vehicles, and this is where Clarion’s EcoAccel app comes into play.

To know whether you are driving in an eco-friendly manner could prove to be challenging if your vehicle does not already arrive with such an integrated system in the first place. Clarion’s EcoAccel app will be powered by a head unit that runs on the Android operating system, where it will read the relevant data picked up by sensors to rate your Eco driving habits. Right, it does not seem as though the folks over at Clarion intend to deliver this product across the Pacific to the US, but hopefully they will change their minds about that.

Clarion EcoAccel App Helps You Driver Green(er) original content from Ubergizmo.