Hasta La Gadget!

Styku has been around for roughly a year now. The company even just wrapped up a pilot program with Nordstrom that could see the legendary retailer using it’s Kinect-based measurement taking system. While there hasn’t been much change to the Styku Virtual Fitting Room, we figured we’d swing by and actually check out how it works for ourselves. We spoke to Tommy Vo, who walked us through the process, which is pretty simple. He directed us to stand with our heels on a pair of marks on the floor, hold our arms out from our sides and stand still for roughly five seconds while the Kinect cameras mounted all around us snapped away. Then the specialized software spent about 30 seconds turning the raw data in to useable measurements for inseam, waist, chest and just about any other body part that could be of import to a tailor. While the numbers spit out could be used to purchase a custom made suit, the company is focusing more on retail sales, where the information could be used to identify articles of clothing that will fit best. To see a hairy beast of an Engadget editor get turned a collection of dots and paired with some bootcut Diesel jeans, head on after the break.

Terrence O’Brien contributed to this report.

Continue reading Styku virtual fitting room body scan (video)

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This year at CES — as always — there’s been waves and waves of new technology. Not everything of interest is always white hot, though. We’re talking about the above pair of headphones — the Orpheus HE90 from Sennheiser. Those in the know will be somewhat familiar with these headphones, as they made their initial debut in 1991. Yeah, 1991. The limited run of 300 pairs has secured these exclusive cans a special place in audio folklore. The electrostatic headphones combined with a companion all-valve amp are what many consider to be a reference point in hi-fi. As a small example, most consumer headphones offer a frequency response somewhere in the region of 60 – 20,000 kHz. The Orpheus offer from 7 – 100,000 — we’re guessing even some bats could struggle to hear frequencies that high. Of course, audio can’t truly be measured in pure numbers and specifications. There’s some clever custom technology, such as the dual-electrodes the HE90 have between the diaphragm that is the cornerstone of the push-pull principle, that go a long way to helping these cans use to produce their sound.

And what about that sound? Well, we were lucky enough to get some quality time with them, and what can we say. The first thing that hits you is the clarity. Bright, plucky, light audio dances its way from the large and comfortable ear-cups. In fact, these things are so comfortable that you could wear them for long, long periods of time and we’d wager you remain comfortable, without any ear fatigue. The build is wonderful, and the leather cushions on the cups changes to a cloth material on the part that rests on your skin. The size of the ear-cups is also a major factor in the overall luxury of the Orpheus, and the ovular design means your ears sit snuggly inside, while they dish out the delicious audio. We’d normally tell you about price and availability at this point, but in the case of the HE 90s, it’s a bit of a misnomer. These were priced in the double-thousands of dollars at launch, and with only 300 pairs produced, that price will have increased somewhat over time. If you can find some though, even if it’s at a trade show, we recommend you take the opportunity to have a listen.

Billy Steele contributed to this report.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

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Plenty of companies are experimenting with thought-reading gadgets, and in the cluttered South Hall here at CES, we came across the folks from InteraXon showing off their Indiegogo-funded “Muse brain-sensing headband.” It measures EEG signals from four forehead sensors and two tucked behind the ears, and sends those brain measurements to other gear via Bluetooth. InteraXon has developed an app suite for mobile devices to showcase the headband’s capabilities, including thought-controlled games and brain tracking, exercise and fitness software for improving cognitive function, memory, attention and for reducing stress. That’ll come bundled with any purchased units, but an SDK is also available for third-party developers to explore other possibilities.

They had a demonstration set up on the show floor, so we thought we’d sit down and take it for a spin. The headband was flexible and surprisingly comfortable, and with a bit of fiddling, we were good to go. One monitor showed brain activity on a couple of complicated graphs, while a scene on a second monitor grew busier as our concentration increased. Watching one graph react to blinking was pretty cool, and once concentration levels reached over 85% on the animated scene, it started to snow. While this obviously isn’t very relevant to any potential applications, it was fun to watch the hardware clearly working as intended. You can check out our shots of the headband in the gallery, or check out the video of us trying it out below. Unfortunately we were only allowed to use it for a limited time — the demonstration was in danger of breaking due to this editors’ massive brain.

Kevin Wong contributed to this report.

Continue reading Muse brain-sensing headband thoughts-on (video)

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals, Science

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Source: InteraXon

In addition to announcing availability for the XO tablet, Vivitar is outing the new 7-inch Camelio slate at CES. Like the XO, it has a family-friendly bent, with optional $20-$30 “personality kits” that customize the user experience with themes like Thomas the Tank Engine. Vivitar had the slate on hand — and even provided approximate pricing and availability info — but it’s mum on specs for the moment, as it still considers this device to be in the prototype phase. About that MSRP: it will be about $129, with a release date in late spring.

We spent a few minutes playing with the Camelio, and though there were no pre-loaded kiddie apps or personality kits to play with, it’s clear that this device is made for the younger set. The slate isn’t incredibly thin, but its rounded edges and textured backing make for a grippable design that looks ready to withstand a few drops. The 7-inch screen doesn’t dazzle with bright images; we’d guess the resolution is a standard 1,024 x 600. When the device ships, expect it to run Android 4.2. At least on the version we saw today, there’s not as much of a personalized skin as you’d expect with a child-friendly tablet. That’s likely because most of the customization comes via the optional theme kits. Each of those kits includes a case for the tablet along with a code that unlocks wallpapers, widgets and other branded content.

Along the edges are the standard volume toggle, power button and headphone jack, along with a microSD card slot and a micro-USB port. This is a WiFi-enabled device, and Vivitar said battery life is rated for seven to nine hours. Check out our hands-on gallery, and check back for a video soon.

Continue reading Hands-on with Vivitar’s kid-friendly Camelio tablet

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Unless you have loads of cash at your disposal or work for the federal government, chances are you haven’t heard of Robotex. The start-up, featured here at CES 2013’s Eureka Alley, specializes in creating automated solutions for a variety of security applications (think: SWAT busts, radiation level monitoring, etc.). Traditionally, these high-end robotic solutions carry a price tag in the tens of thousands, but starting this week, Robotex is targeting the consumer market with its Avatar. Set to retail for $299, the blue tank-like bot links up with iOS devices (an Android version’s coming in Q1) via USB to communicate with a companion app over Bluetooth 4.0 for remote monitoring. In its current incarnation, the Avatar doesn’t do much apart from offering telepresence — authenticated by the company’s servers — but the robot has been designed to be open source. To that end an SDK and HDK will be made available allowing tinkerers to craft up their own innovations. Unfortunately, due to the abundance of wireless signals here at the show, Robotex’s reps weren’t able to get the Avatar up and moving around the floor. But in a typical home environment, users should expect to get up to an hour and a half of “driving” time out of the robot. There’s no video of the Avatar in action, so instead, check out the gallery below.

Filed under: Misc, Software

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