PrimeSense shows off tiny Capri sensor, yearns for 3D-sensing future (hands-on)

PrimeSense shows off tiny Capri sensor, yearns for 3Dsensing future handson

Though we wrote about it last month, PrimeSense is showing off its Capri sensor for the first time at CES 2013. As a refresher, the Capri is about ten times smaller than the company’s existing 3D-sensing chip, which incidentally make up the guts of Microsoft’s Kinect. With the help of potential OEMs, the Tel Aviv-based firm hopes the cheaper and tinier sensor will make it in tablets, laptops, cell phones and many other consumer-level products beyond the niche realm of video games. We saw an example of how it could be built into a Nexus 7 tablet as seen above, though the company didn’t have any Capri-compatible applications it could show us. Combined with implementations in retail, robotics, healthcare and more, the Capri is just the latest attempt by PrimeSense to create a ubiquitous 3D-sensing environment. President and founder Aviad Maizels told us he would like it to be so universal that it’s a “new way of living.” We have a PrimeSense-produced concept video of just such a world after the break, along with close-up shots of the teeny weeny system-on-a-chip.

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Caltech laser accelerometer research may bring fine-tuned position tracking, grocery ads

DNP Caltech laser accelerometer research may bring finetuned position tracking, grocery ads

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.

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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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