If you’ve ever tried to use your smartphone while standing in a cramped subway car, or while carrying a bag of groceries, you soon realize the limitations of a touchscreen UI. You need two hands free, particularly in the age of the jumbophone. So as an alternative means to interact with your device—not a replacement—NTT Docomo in Japan has developed a handset that detects and responds to squeezes. More »
[CEATEC 2012] While charging your electric vehicle (EV) isn’t exactly challenging, it looks like companies are trying to make it easier than it already is. At CEATEC 2012, TDK showed off its upcoming contactless charging system. What it basically does is it allows drivers to charge their EVs by just parking in the right spot. This technology works with the use of coils at the bottom of the car and on the charging platform which the car parks at. The magnetic field generated by the coils will allow the transfer of electrical power from the base to the car, charging the latter without any contact at all.
At the moment (in its prototype stage) it is represented by an ugly extension sticking out from the back of the car, but we’re pretty sure it’ll go through some design changes before we see the final product. TDK plans to let car manufacturers use this technology first in the future, and then they’ll probably sell it as an aftermarket solution if it takes off. Seems like a pretty good solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist, but hey- it’s never a bad thing to make simple tasks in life easier, right? Problems I see with this technology – you’ll need to park at the same spot, facing the same direction all the time. Unless you’re willing to shift around the charging base. And if the final product does end up looking like the prototype, I doubt it’s going to sell well. TDK could take a leaf out of Nissan’s book for its upcoming LEAF wireless charger if they need some design cues.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Toyota Smart INSECT is aptly named, Clarion full digital speakers are power savers for your vehicle,
[CEATEC 2012] Adding to the list of weird names for products we’ve seen at CEATEC 2012, we’ve now got the Toyota Smart INSECT. However, instead of a six-legged creature as its name implies, we get a fully-electric vehicle with aesthetic stylings that make it resemble one. The Toyota Smart INSECT (acronym for Information Network Social Electric City Transporter) is a one-seater car with two doors that flip up gull-wing style and a curved windshield that make it look like some sort of mechanical bug. Not many details about the car have been released (mileage, speed etc) but it does have some interesting features we haven’t seen in other cars. Motion sensors and facial recognition capabilities allow the car to recognize its driver when he/she walks towards it, so they can unlock the car without having to do anything. Users can then open or close a door without touching it. Pretty cool for folks with their hands full after a trip to the supermarket.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: TDK’s contactless charging system makes it easy to charge your EV, Clarion full digital speakers are power savers for your vehicle,
[CEATEC 2102] In Japan, phone scamming is a regarded as a pretty big issue, but there aren’t a lot of ways to prevent it right now. However, it looks like Fujitsu is currently working on a solution to the problem. For those of you not in the know, these phone scams usually involve perpetrators calling up victims and asking them to wire money to their account because of some outrageous reasons (i.e. “your son was just hit by a car and if you want me to save him, bank the money into my account first.”) that a lot of people, especially the elderly, fall for. Fujitsu’s phone scam detection technology aims to put an end to that.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Fujitsu brings pet care to the cloud, TDK’s contactless charging system makes it easy to charge your EV,
Ubergizmo co-founder Hubert Nguyen preparing for retirement… 
[CEATEC 2012] We’re still a long way off from having self-replaceable, robotic legs but that isn’t stopping companies from trying to pave the way for such technology. Murata is one such company. Back in 2011, the company exhibited a concept model of an Electric Walking Assist Car, and this year they’ve managed to create a fully-working prototype. Looking like a smaller version of a Segway, users don’t stand on the “Car”. Instead, they lean on it, putting their weight on its handlebars, pushing forward, pulling backwards or turning into the direction they wish to go. From what we can see, it works like a regular walking aid – except that it looks a lot fancier and has some additional features over its normal counterpart.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: TDK’s contactless charging system makes it easy to charge your EV, Toyota Smart INSECT is aptly named,
Neilson Navarrete has designed the Retractable Printer Concept. As its name suggests, this printer can be easily retracted into a small size whenever needed. It also accommodates all sizes of paper and printing formats. The picture shows that the internal hardware of the printer will respond to size adjustments. More pictures after the jump.
[Yanko]
[CEATEC 2012] Remember the NEC PaPeRo robot that was said to possibly end up in homes this year? Well, it looks like we’re a step closer to seeing that happen. At the moment, it is available as a research prototype for developers but not regular consumers like you and me and Docomo wants to change that. At this year’s CEATEC, the Japanese company showed off its Shabette Robo. Seeing how Docomo worked together with NECT, it’s no surprise that the robot looks exactly like the PaPeRo. However, it has some interesting features that make it more valuable to consumers. First up, it will feature Docomo’s voice recognition service that will allow users to communicate with the robot using natural speech (think of it as Siri on a robot – except that it only works with Japanese, at least for now).
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Docomo helps commuters with one-handed smartphone/tablet use, Docomo works on video-calls for glasses-shaped phones,
In 1965 Ford’s forward-thinking engineers actually proposed that drivers should steer using just their wrists. The company’s radical Wrist-Twist system promised a more comfortable ride, a better view of the road and dashboard instruments, and a guaranteed two thousand percent increase in vehicular accidents. More »
[CEATEC 2012] It is usually frowned upon to talk on the phone when using public transport, but the same can’t be said when it comes to using your phones for other purposes. Well, Docomo has come up with some new ways to help commuters use their mobile devices when they’ve got one hand holding onto the rail (or bags) and only one hand free. First up is a solution called Grip UI. During the demonstration, they outfitted an Android smartphone with a bunch of sensors on the side of the phone. These sensors can detect the pressure from your hand that’s holding the phone and can let you operate it differently. Instead of having to swipe your finger across the screen to unlock your phone, you can just grip the sides of the phone to turn on the display, and then a bit harder to fully unlock it.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Docomo Shabette Robo keeps you in the know, Docomo works on video-calls for glasses-shaped phones,
Printers are usually a must-have at offices. You never know when you may have to snatch a few quick prints of that important document that needs to be in hard copy. In fact, printers have also find a space at homes where they are utilized for a whole host of things, from printing written assignments to doing that from-home job at the last minute.
However, the size of the printers can be a problem. Put it in your work-space and it seems like a giant machine occupying the greater part of the desk. The usefulness admitted, the clutter of a printer can be a little annoying. Neilson Navarrete has now presented a concept design of a really cool printer which adjusts to different sizes. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Brother MFC-J4510DW Business Smart Series color inkjet all-in-one printer, 100,000 dpi full color images possible thanks to nanotechnology,
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