Hasta La Gadget!

Did you think Microsoft was done with Bing Maps updates after it threw a whopping 165TB of satellite imagery at virtual explorers? You’ve got another thing coming. The mapping crew in Redmond has thrown another 215TB of data over the fence, this time targeting its Bird’s Eye views. Most of the attention is on Australia, Europe, New Zealand and Tokyo, although Microsoft has seen fit to sharpen up some of its US visuals in the process. All told, there’s over 88,800 square miles covered by the new and updated aerial shots — enough to make sure that we’ll never have trouble finding Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland.

Filed under: GPS, Internet

Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird’s Eye imagery, proves it’s a small world after all originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Formation-flying quadrocopters have already given us hours of entertainment, but now they’ve also accomplished something serious. Earlier this month, mini choppers developed at Japan’s robot-loving Chiba University assisted in an emergency drill that simulated an explosion at a chemical plant. Four machines and a host computer (shown off after the break) used spherical markers, image processing and a heck of a lot of math to autonomously scan the site for survivors. The researchers claim the exercise went “very well” and that the local police force would like to “introduce this system” for genuine reconnaissance. That could include monitoring volcanic eruptions or inspecting power lines, but alas there’s no mention yet of using quadrocopter swarms to sneak up on yakuza.

Continue reading Swarming quadrocopters complete trial recon mission for Japanese police (video)

Filed under: Robots

Swarming quadrocopters complete trial recon mission for Japanese police (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan is known as a country that is big on preserving the environment, and 80km from Oi, Fukui Prefecture, lies the village of Sanno, Hyogo Prefecture that comprises of 11 households, which makes up the rather paltry population of 42 folks with an average age of slightly more than 60. What is so special about Oi? Well, it has its fair share of nuclear reactors, where one of them was reactivated recently after the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear meltdown crisis happened sometime last year. Well, when we take into consideration a different village – Sanno, which has gone solar. Located alongside the riverbank lies 216 solar panels, where the sign shows, “Sanno Neighborhood Association Solar Power Generating Installation.”

Sanno is said to be the first municipality in Japan that actually gains its entire electrical need from a renewable energy source, which is a way of showing the world that it can be done, being possible under the right circumstances. Will the rest of the world under similar circumstances be willing to follow the steps of the Sanno village?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Japan University to install photovoltaic panels on building, 70 Megawatt Solar Plant Project in the Pipeline for Southern Japan,

Data transmission via visible light is no longer a technological novelty, but it has yet to make its way into consumer’s hands. Japanese firm Outstanding Technology is aiming to change that with its Commulight location system, which relies on a pair of receivers to get smartphones and tablets downloading info using photons instead of radio waves. One dongle is of the USB variety, but since most mobile gadgets lack such a socket, there’s another that plugs into any device’s 3.5mm jack. Each employs a sensor that grabs relevant location-based info from an overhead data-transmitting LED light. According to its maker, Commulight’s destined for use as a way to give museum goers exhibit info, to transmit coupons, and even provide precision indoor location services more accurate than GPS or WiFi. Want to know more? Check out the video of tech in action after the break.

Continue reading Outstanding Technology brings visible light communication to phones and tablets via dongle and LEDs

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablet PCs

Outstanding Technology brings visible light communication to phones and tablets via dongle and LEDs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the intention of eventually using it as an energy-saving device, Japanese electronics firm Omron has developed a thermal area sensor that can use a smartphone camera to detect heat. Dubbed the D6T non-contact MEMS thermal sensor, it can effectively detect people even when they remain completely stationary. A lot of sensors these days rely on motion for detection, but Omron’s super-sensitive infrared temperature sensor works without it.

Omron has plans to continue working on bringing the sensor to consumer electronics, hoping that people will use it to detect devices that use a lot of power and thus opting to shut off lights or other household appliances and electronics. “We are aiming to contribute to the creation of new advanced energy-saving household appliances as well home and building energy management systems plus a wide variety of factory automation applications,” Omron said in a press release.

The sensor can also be used to monitor the temperature of a room since it can detect even the slightest temperature changes, which could help identify possible factor line stoppages or areas that may be prone to overheating. Of course, if you really want, you could just use it to see how hot your coffee might be (as seen in the video) and figure out where your cat might be hiding in your house.

[via Omron]

Omron develops super-sensitive thermal detector for smartphones is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
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