Tokyo Institute of Technology’s SOINN robot teaches itself to serve humans (video)

Robots have been replacing more and more human workers for quite some time now, but in most instances they’re still just being programmed to perform specific tasks. As evidenced by this bot developed by the Hasegawa Group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, however, there’s also a growing number capable of teaching themselves some new tricks, and they’re getting smarter every day. This particular one employs what’s called a self-organizing incremental neural network (or SOINN), which lets it build up a base of knowledge that it can apply to new tasks and make educated guesses about how to proceed with them — in this case, pouring a glass of water and then dropping an ice cube in it (or what’s supposed to be water and an ice cube, at least). Head on past the break for a video.

Continue reading Tokyo Institute of Technology’s SOINN robot teaches itself to serve humans (video)

Tokyo Institute of Technology’s SOINN robot teaches itself to serve humans (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDigInfo TV  | Email this | Comments

Apple TV streams purchased TV shows — not just rentals — from the cloud after update

Don’t think Apple’s forgotten about its little hobby, as the second generation Apple TV is getting an update today that lets users buy TV shows and stream them (in high definition) directly to the device, with the additional bonus of streaming access to previously purchased shows. That brings a new feeling of permanence — already available from others like Zune and Vudu — to the cloud atmosphere around Apple’s hockey puck, but it also means being $2.99 invested in rewatching that episode of Leverage down the road instead of opting for a 99-cent rental. The other new feature listed for this update is access to the streaming site Vimeo, but since the official support site is still only listing info for the 4.2.2 version posted in May, any other details are unknown so far.

Update: The official notes for v4.3 are on the support page now, and yep, that’s all there is.

Apple TV streams purchased TV shows — not just rentals — from the cloud after update originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultra-pure material lets electrons discover each other on the quantum dance floor

These guys aren’t Purdue University professors, they’re DJs. That thing on the left? It isn’t a high-mobility gallium-arsenide molecular beam epitaxy system, it’s their decks. It creates an ultra-pure material so perfectly latticed that it traps electrons between its layers and stops them bouncing around like drunken fools at the high school prom. By squeezing them ever so tightly, it lulls the particles into an “exotic” slow dance, at which point they become “aware” of each other and start performing correlated motions that are essential for quantum computing. That’s a still a long way off, but if one day we find ourselves affixing gallium arsenide swabs to our quantum motherboards, we’ll raise our lighters in the air. Informative PR after the break.

Continue reading Ultra-pure material lets electrons discover each other on the quantum dance floor

Ultra-pure material lets electrons discover each other on the quantum dance floor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vonage Extensions makes mobile international calling a free-of-charge affair

Hey Vonage customers, your VoIP service of choice is about to get a bit of a mobile value-add. Announced today, the company’s new Extensions service links your existing home internet calling plan to extra phone numbers — like a cellphone– for free, so you can make that long-distance call to Tante Lulu in Gstaad on-the-go. Okay, so the feature isn’t exactly gratis — you’re still required to sign up for an unlimited international calling plan, but the bucks literally stop there. All it takes to get started with this “virtual calling card” is an access number and some foreign digits. Sound too complicated for you? Don’t fret, official iPhone and Android-compatible apps are scheduled to hit their respective markets in the coming weeks. So, go ahead and ring ol’ Lu for her 89th birthday. She’ll be glad you called.

Continue reading Vonage Extensions makes mobile international calling a free-of-charge affair

Vonage Extensions makes mobile international calling a free-of-charge affair originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAll Things D  | Email this | Comments

Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video)

Fan of recording extreme death-defying stunts, yet find your current helmet cam just too darn unwieldy? Drift’s creatively named Drift HD might fit the bill, as the firm’s managed to cram the 170-degree field of view rotatable lens / LCD combo from the HD170, into a 25 percent smaller package. The nine megapixel 1080p shooter also features a bevy of redesigned mounts, a replaceable lens and support for 32GB microSD cards, allowing it to keep chuggin’ where lesser cameras would have otherwise called it quits. Connectivity junkies will also swoon at the inclusion of micro-HDMI and a 2.5mm microphone input. We weren’t exactly smitten with the HD170, but this $369 makeover might be enough to change our minds. If you’re dying to find out for yourself, the Drift HD will be available August 31st, but do us a favor and keep your eyes on the snow — we wouldn’t want you to end up like this guy.

Continue reading Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video)

Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDrift Innovation (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Dell UltraSharp U2412M display features 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution and IPS, doesn’t cost $999


Sure, 1080p HDTVs aren’t exactly an ultra luxury these days, but a 1920 x 1200-pixel IPS panel on your desk? That’s a privilege often enjoyed by HD film editors, graphic designers, and those of us who know how to beat the technology ordering system at work. Luckily, Dell’s new UltraSharp U2412M isn’t ultra expensive, delivering over 2.3 million pixels with its 24-inch LED-backlit display. It also features in-plane switching (IPS) with a wide viewing angle, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, DisplayPort and DVI connectivity, a built-in USB hub, and height adjustability. Oh, and it retails for $399. That price tag may make you reconsider spending an extra $200 per inch for Apple’s new $999 Thunderbolt Display, though Dell’s 24-incher notably lacks a built-in webcam, and is somewhat limited in the connectivity department. Still, we like to see HD monitors that don’t cost more than many all-in-ones, and, knowing Dell, you should be able to find the U2412M for less than retail, assuming you’re willing to test your patience with that 17-inch CRT for a few more weeks.

Dell UltraSharp U2412M display features 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution and IPS, doesn’t cost $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell UltraSharp U2412M display features 1080p resolution and IPS, doesn’t cost $999


Sure, 1080p HDTVs aren’t exactly an ultra luxury these days, but a 1920 x 1080-pixel panel on your desk? That’s a privilege often enjoyed by stock brokers, graphic designers, and those of us who know how to beat the technology ordering system at work. Luckily, Dell’s new UltraSharp U2412M isn’t ultra expensive, delivering 1080p resolution with its 24-inch LED-backlit display. It also features in-plane switching (IPS) with a wide viewing angle, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, DisplayPort and DVI connectivity, a built-in USB hub, and height adjustability. Oh, and it retails for $399. That price tag may make you reconsider spending an extra $200 per inch for Apple’s new $999 Thunderbolt Display, though Dell’s 24-incher notably lacks a built-in webcam, and is somewhat limited in the connectivity department. Still, we like to see HD monitors that don’t cost more than many all-in-ones, and, knowing Dell, you should be able to find the U2412M for less than retail, assuming you’re willing to test your patience with that 17-inch CRT for a few more weeks.

Dell UltraSharp U2412M display features 1080p resolution and IPS, doesn’t cost $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: 3.5 million 3D Blu-ray discs ‘sold’ in first year, half were bundled with hardware


If we’re looking at sales figures of 3.5 million units in the first year for a new laptop, smartphone, or camera, then we might be impressed. But 3D Blu-ray discs? When half were included in the box with a Blu-ray player? Man, that’s gotta sting. Those numbers are based on an IHS Screen Digest estimate, tallying US sales beginning in June of 2010 and ending last month, though many larger titles didn’t make their debut until later in the year. Still, if those results are even in the ballpark of official (unreleased) numbers from BD distributors, then things really aren’t looking up for 3D. With fewer than 100 titles even available on Blu-ray, however, we’re not really surprised that discs aren’t exactly flying off the shelves. Obviously, as a growing number of movies are filmed in 3D we’ll see BD title availability increase as well, but with the technology’s lackluster beginnings over the last year and no sign that consumers are ready to spend more to embrace that new dimension, 3D may continue its slow crawl toward the mainstream for some time to come.

Report: 3.5 million 3D Blu-ray discs ‘sold’ in first year, half were bundled with hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TG Daily  |  sourceIHS Screen Digest  | Email this | Comments

Insert Coin: Prosthetic eye digital camera (video)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.


Nobody with binocular vision would consider replacing a functional natural eye with a digital camera. But Tanya Vlach’s vision is monocular, after losing one of her eyes in a car accident. A matching ocular prosthesis gives the San Francisco native a normal appearance, but it’s unable to provide vision — in its current state, at least. Vlach turned to Kickstarter for donations that would allow her to install a unique, waterproof in-eye camera, theoretically capable of transmitting 720p HD video wirelessly to a mobile app, and zooming and capturing still images using a blink-activated sensor. Features also on the wish list: facial recognition, a dilating pupil that changes based on light, infrared / UV capture, and geotagging, just to name a few.

The embedded camera obviously can’t replace a natural eye, but it certainly brings more life to an otherwise useless cosmetic shell. Vlach needs to raise $15,000 by August 3rd in order to achieve her funding goal and commission an engineer to design the new optic. Donations of less than $5,000 will be rewarded with a variety of small-ticket items, while a pledge greater than that amount will net the donor their very own “souvenir eye camera” — whatever that means. You can jump past the break for a video explanation from Tanya, who may very well be on her way to being the first human to use a digital pseudo-bionic eye.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Prosthetic eye digital camera (video)

Insert Coin: Prosthetic eye digital camera (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKickstarter  | Email this | Comments

Moto mysteries abound: Droid HD posts to Flickr, new blurry cam pics

Droid HD? Bionic? Targa?

Gadget news, like dating and crate digging, is all about the thrill of the hunt. Sure, big press events where you get to manhandle the objects of your desire are fun, but give us Mr. Blurry Cam and some EXIF data any day. With that in mind, we present to you an out of focus pic of what looks like that tweaked Bionic and a reference to the Droid HD on Flickr, coming straight out of the Motorola campus in Libertyville, Illinois (since removed). Now, the two things are not necessarily related, but it’s possible that the dual-core LTE handset is getting a new name to match its updated internals and redesigned exterior (though, if it’s different inside, outside, and has a new name, is it really the Droid Bionic any more?). We do know that, what began life as the Targa, can capture 1080p video, which matches up nicely with the HD moniker. It’s also possible that the pic taker is an as yet unseen device and our (moto)blurry friend above is simply a Bionic destined for another carrier. Either way, we’re hooked — at least until the PR hits our inbox, then it’s back in the Mystery Machine.

Continue reading Moto mysteries abound: Droid HD posts to Flickr, new blurry cam pics

Moto mysteries abound: Droid HD posts to Flickr, new blurry cam pics originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Central, Electronista  |  sourcePop Herald, PocketNow  | Email this | Comments