Hasta La Gadget!

One way that sensors can track your position without using an array of satellites is by measuring your acceleration as you move around — but unless you’re piloting a jumbo jet, current devices aren’t very accurate. Researchers at Caltech hope to change all that with a new, ultra-sensitive accelerometer they developed, which uses laser light to detect motion changes. The scientists managed to shrink a so-called large-scale interferometer down to micro-scale sizes, creating a device “thousands of times faster than the most sensitive sensors used today.” That could allow a smartphone with such a micro-sensor to detect your exact position even while inside a grocery store, and flash “ads and coupons for hot dog buns” while you’re in the bread aisle, according to Caltech. All that sounds good, but we can perhaps think of more inspiring uses for the new tech.

Filed under: Cellphones, Science, Alt

Caltech laser accelerometer research may bring fine-tuned position tracking, grocery ads originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Laser attacks are serious business. According to the FBI, they’ve reached “epidemic levels,” with 3,700 expected to occur by the year’s end. But we’re not talking about some kind of futuristic death rays. No, no. This is about people with laser pointers blinding pilots. More »

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Dimensions, they’re like buses. You wait for ages, and then three come along at once. And then another one right after that. While that might be about where the analogy ends, this week sees us off to the moon, where we then leap from the third, right into the fourth. Once there, we’ll learn how we could eventually be controlled by lasers, before getting up close and personal with a 300 million-year old bug. Sound like some sort of psychedelic dream? Better than that, this is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 9.29.12: 3D pictures of the moon, 4D clocks and laser-controlled worms

Filed under: Misc, Science, Alt

Alt-week 9.29.12: 3D pictures of the moon, 4D clocks and laser-controlled worms originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists have developed a technique that uses an inkjet printer to make lasers—which could lead to a future filled with cheap laser-driven displays and smart surfaces. More »

Being able to project a full-sized QWERTY keyboard onto any surface makes the idea of ditching your laptop for a tablet a lot more plausible. And since CTX Virtual Technologies’ new compact keyboard projector is barely larger than a lighter, it would barely add any weight to your gear. It’s just too bad this technology is nearly unusable. More »