Hasta La Gadget!

The first time we featured programmer Will Powell, we learned how he was able to make a crude version of Google’s Project Glass augmented reality glasses. It turns out that Powell has made another version of his hack that is capable of translating spoken language and displaying the translation in subtitles.

Like with his earlier project, Powell used a pair of Vuzix STAR 1200 glasses as the base of the hack. If I understood what Powell said on his blog, a Jawbone Bluetooth microphone picks up the audio and sends it to a mobile device, which then processes the words using translation API made by Microsoft. The translation is then passed on to a Raspberry Pi, which sends a text of the translation to the Vuzix display and a transcript of the conversation taking place to a TV. Below is a shot of the subtitle being displayed on the glasses’ monitor:

And here’s a shot of the transcript on the TV:

Finally here’s a demo of the hack in action. Note that there is a significant delay in the translation, which according to Powell occurs mainly when the audio goes through the translation API.

The sheer number of gadgets needed plus the fact that the Raspberry Pi is physically connected to the glasses via an S-video connector means that this is not a portable system, but I am still amazed at what one man armed with off the shelf parts can do. Besides, all devices – including the ones Powell needs – get more powerful and smaller in time. The time when we’ll be able to reenact Casa de mi Padre is closer than we think.

[Will Powell via Ubergizmo]

I’ve always thought one the most interesting landmarks in England was the London Eye. I would call it a ferris wheel, as I think most people from the US would, but it’s simply known as the Eye in the UK. A former British Olympic athlete named Daley Thompson has come up with a plan to help use the massive ferris wheel to promote the London Olympic Games kicking off soon.

Working with EDF Energy, the wheel’s sponsor, an algorithm will sort through positive and negative tweets sent with the tag #Energy2012. The wheel will be lit up depending on the portion of positive comments sent with the tag. The algorithm was designed by experts on sentiment analysis. For example, if 75% of the tweets are positive, 75% of the wheel will be lit. The more positivity, the more lights.

The wheel will also be lit up in various color patterns to celebrate major sporting moments of the day. If you want help control how much of the massive wheel is lit, you need to start tweeting when the games kick off. The last show will be held each night at 2100 BST that the Olympics are underway.

[via BBC]

A team of young engineers have invented a wearable keyboard. They’re calling it the G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. – the Generally Accessible Universal Nomadic Tactile Low-power Electronic Typist. I can’t decide which is more awkward, the acronym or the G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. itself.

The glove was conceptualized by Jiake Liu, who was inspired by sci-fi movies Children of Men and Minority Report. The glove pairs with devices via Bluetooth, which makes it convenient. What doesn’t make it convenient is the position of the letters, which are scattered all over the glove.

It appears that Liu and his peers invented G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. as part of a school project, so even though the device itself isn’t that practical I am still thoroughly impressed. Liu imagines a future where the glove can be used to operate almost any device: “Need to microwave something? Touch the microwave oven with GAUNTLET (version 10), and through NFC (near field communication) you are paired with the oven, whose interface will pop up on your glasses, and you can use GAUNTLET to set the cook time.  Need to print something? Touch the printer, and now you can control the printer. Etc.” But if you need to type something? Stick with your phone’s keyboard.

[Gauntlet via Ubergizmo]

Do you love 80s computer tech? Well then you’ll love Ben Heck’s BBC Micro-inspired Raspberry Pi keyboard computer. He managed to put the $35 DIY Raspberry Pi computer into a nice keyboard that definitely has some retro style.

Ben Heck thinks that the possibilities with the diminutive Raspberry Pi are endless. His keyboard computer features a vintage enclosure, cartridge slots and an add-on experimenter kit. The keyboard has a lot of wood in it, which comes as no surprise. The retro keyboard computer opens up like a desk drawer when the keyboard is lifted up. It’s possible to add an on/off switch, Ethernet connectivity, video/audio composite, DC 5V input and a USB hub. C++ programming was implemented to run tests via the experimentation kit.

He hopes that this mod will inspire kids to start coding again like many of us did back in the day. You can check out his mod over at The Ben Heck Show.

[via Ubergizmo]

We’ve featured some crazy casemods here over the years, but I can honestly say this is the first one I’ve seen that has blood coursing through its veins. Ok, there’s not actual human blood flowing through the cooling lines of this PC, but it’s still pretty awesome.

The White Silence casemod features a stark white case with clean modern lines, accented by cooling lines filled with blood red fluid and matching red cables. Of course, not all of the blood could be contained, and a bit of it has splattered into the case, for an extra gory effect. If Dexter Morgan had a PC instead of a Mac, this would be his computer. Well, the Authority on True Blood could always go for it.

It turns out the system was built about two years ago, so under the hood is a Core i7 920, a GeForce GTX 295, 6GB of DDR3-1333 RAM and plentiful storage, with two 500GB Samsung SpinPoint drives, two 150GB VelociRaptor drives, and an 80GB Intel SSD.

Check out more details of this crazy looking build over at HardwareLUXX (in German).

[via Reddit]