Lenovo has trotted out four new all-in-one desktop computers this week that have some very nice available hardware. The quartet of all-in-one desktop computers have some very nice available hardware along with improved cable management and new mounting options. Those new mounting options include Lenovo’s ThinkCenter UltraFlex Stand. The UltraFlex Stand has enough adjustability to […]
Computers and sensors are quickly decreasing in cost and size, making it easier than ever before to build smart gadgets or robots. From accelerometers to thermal sensors, electronics nowadays can detect and record a variety of events and objects in their surroundings. Here’s one more sensor to add to your robot overlord-in-training. It’s called Pixy, a camera that identifies objects through color.
Pixy was made by Charmed Labs and embedded systems experts from Carnegie Mellon University. It’s actually the team’s fifth version of a smart and low-cost vision sensor, which they previously called the CMUcam. What separates the Pixy from other image sensors is that it only sends a small amount of data and it has its own microprocessor. These traits make it possible to integrate the Pixy even to microcontrollers like the Arduino.
Pixy identifies objects using “a hue-based color filtering algorithm”, which supposedly makes it consistent under different lighting conditions. It can also identify hundreds of objects at once. The image below is a screenshot of PixyMon, an open source debugging program for Pixy.
As you’ll see in the video below, Pixy can also track moving objects. That’s because it updates once every 20ms, fast enough to keep up with an object moving at 30mph. You can then gather Pixy’s data through UART serial, SPI, I2C, digital out, or analog out.
Pixy can be taught to “remember” up to seven different objects, but you can expand its memory by using color codes. Color codes are simply stickers or strips of paper with two or more different colors. Color codes increase Pixy’s color-coded encyclopedia from seven to several thousands.
Pledge at least $59 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Pixy and an Arduino cable as a reward.
What will you build with Pixy? A security camera that texts you when your cat goes out? A color-seeking water bomb? A clown-loving machine? A drone that follows you around? A box of crayons that can tell you what color you picked? A weapon that works only on people wearing red? A LEGO sorter that can tell you which pieces are missing from your collection? A camera that automatically takes pictures of the sunset? A wearable assistant for colorblind people? A ticker that counts which Premier League referee hands out the most yellow cards? A useless machine that won’t turn itself off if you’re wearing the right color? Are the things I’m saying even possible?
Robert Morris and Daniel McDuff are currently studying for their doctorate degrees at MIT. But even geniuses get addicted to Facebook. Robert and Dan confessed that they collectively spend about 50 hours a week on the social networking site. To get rid of their bad habit, they decided to undergo a literal shock treatment.
Named after the famous physiologist Ivan Pavlov, the Pavlov Poke is an Arduino-based system that connects to a computer via USB. It works with a program on the computer that monitors application usage; Robert and Dan used the UI Inspector in OS X. If it detects that you’re visiting a specified site or sites – in this case it’s Facebook – too frequently, it will flash an alert on screen and send a current to a couple of conducting strips that are stuck on a keyboard rest.
If being electrocuted won’t be enough to stop you from checking your feed, you can try the outsourced equivalent of Pavlov Poke. It still uses an application monitor, but this time it uses a Python script that asks people on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to call you whenever you’re slacking off.
I think the second one’s more effective. Not only is it more annoying, the cost for the calls alone may be enough to reform you. Head to Robert’s website to learn more about Pavlov Poke, but only if you’re done working.
[via C|NET]
After the WWDC 2013 boost given to the MacBook Air range with Intel’s 4th generation Core processor technology, it would appear that the end of Summer is appearing as the most likely landing spot for this team-up with the MacBook Pro. What better time to bring this Haswell action in a FULL reboot than the […]
This morning it was announced that Steve Ballmer would be stepping down as CEO of Microsoft within the next 12 month period – MSFT was sent soaring up 7% in trading immediately following this news blast. While the stock still sits closer to 35 than it does to its recent high back in June (and […]
HP saw Q3 2013 revenue fall 8-percent year on year, mustering $27.2bn in a disappointing quarter in which the most positive thing CEO Meg Whitman could say is that the company delivered exactly the shrinking finances it had previously predicted. “We once again achieved the financial performance we said we would” Whitman said today, as […]
A few years ago we took a look at Pranav Mistry’s Mouseless, a prototype for a camera-based pointing device. Now, a startup called Haptix Touch is raising money on Kickstarter for a very similar – and possibly better – product. It’s called the Haptix, and I would love to trade my mouse for it.
Haptix turns any surface into a multitouch interface. It connects to computers via USB and uses two CMOS image sensors and a patent-pending algorithm. Like Mouseless, Haptix also has an infrared tracking mode for low light situations. In my brief chat with Haptix Touch Co-Founder Darren Lim, he said that the Haptix can track and assign different functions to up to 10 objects. For example, you can map your index finger to the mouse cursor, your thumb for left click, and so on. You can even tell it to ignore an object. This means you can use your table or desk as a touchpad, use a pen to draw or sketch in an image editing program or – my favorite – use your keyboard as your mouse.
Pledge at least $65 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Haptix controller as a reward. The current version of Haptix works with Windows 8 and other touch-optimized programs out of the box. Lim said it will support Android and OS X devices by the time it’s commercially available, which is hopefully near the end of 2013. Lim also said they will release the developer API and dev kits after Haptix is launched.
Benchmarks for the 2013 model Mac Pro surfaced back in June. At the time there was some mixed opinions in terms of those results. The Geekbench test had returned a score of 23,901 and while that was roughly 2,000 points above the previous Mac Pro flagship — some were expecting much higher numbers based on […]
To make absolute sure you know how advanced Skype has gotten over the past few months, Microsoft has announced this week that Windows 8.1 will come with the app on user start screens right out of the box. This free upgrade to the advanced and essentially remixed bit of operating system will bring about a […]
If you had your eye on Ubi Interactive’s multitouch software, you’ll be glad to now that it’s now on sale. For those unfamiliar with the product, sit back and relax. I’ll take you to a world where any surface can become a touchscreen. As long as you have a computer that runs Windows 8. And a projector. And a Kinect. For Windows.
The Ubi program allows you to interact with Windows 8 programs from a projected display, as if your wall or canvas were a giant touchscreen. It uses Kinect for Windows – which is different from the one that works with the Xbox 360 – to map your fingers or hand and register their input.
Ubi Interactive says that Ubi will work with any projector as long as it has a “high enough intensity for the image to be visible in your lighting conditions.” The computer running Ubi doesn’t have to have a touchscreen itself. It just has to run Windows 8 and the resolution of the display being projected should be at least 720p. Its biggest restriction is that it will only work with Windows apps that have been optimized for touchscreens.
You can order Ubi from Ubi Interactive’s website; it costs between $149 to $1499 (USD) depending on the version you want. The Kinect isn’t included with the software, but then again the total cost of a Ubi setup is less than what you’d shell out for an actual wall-sized touchscreen.
[via CNET]
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