Hasta La Gadget!

I’ve always wanted to play with R/C aircrafts, but even with my “easy to fly” AR.Drone 2.0, I find myself crashing the thing into walls and the ceiling indoors. Thanks to some impressive work by MIT’s Robust Robotics Group, we might someday be able to fly autonomous planes that are so smart that they can avoid obstacles on their own.

By using a special set of algorithms to calculate the plane’s trajectory, as well as its state (i.e. location, orientation, velocity and acceleration), the fixed-wing plane is able to fly quickly through cramped quarters, avoiding obstacles with ease. In fact, this plane can fly within centimeters of obstacles at a high rate of speed without crashing. The plane uses a laser rangefinder, accelerometers and gyroscopes to figure out its state, and a hugely complex series of computations to navigate through its environment.

While autonomous helicopters and quadrotors have been around for a while, a 2-meter-wide plane that can negotiate confined spaces with aplomb poses a much greater challenge, as it cannot hover, go sideways or make up arbitrary motions like those other aircraft. At this point, it appears that the system requires at least a rough, pre-existing 3-D map of its environment to work properly, but I’m sure with time they can figure out a way for the environment to be mapped in real-time as well. Kinect, anyone?

At this point, MIT isn’t specifying the exact applications for their design, but beyond military and rescue operations, I REALLY want to see a consumer version so I can stop crashing my AR.Drone.

Not content with turning inanimate objects into touch sensitive interfaces, Disney Research is now developing a noninvasive technology they call Botanicus Interacticus, which turns plants into touch sensitive input devices.

In simple terms, an electrode is buried into the soil where a plant has taken root. This allows Disney’s researchers to apply a weak current to the plant at multiple frequencies. The use of multiple frequencies helps the researchers identify not just when but also where the plant is being touched. These signals can then be used in a variety of ways – the demo below shows plants being used to play music and video.

Imagine having just a couple of plants inside your room instead of switches. Or perhaps you can make it so your door will only unlock when you touch a nearby plant in a certain way. That sounded wrong, but you get what I mean.

[via BuzzFeed]

The potential design of the iPad mini was fervently detailed in several reports this week, but not much is known surrounding the specs or technology behind the device. DigiTimes reports that Efun Technology, a company that produces film coatings for touchscreens on smartphones and tablets, has been tipped for a profit increase over a possible deal with Apple. The company would supply ITO film coatings for the iPad mini as well as future iPads.

The indium tin oxide coating is a transparent substance that can conduct electricity, designed to act as an EMI shield in order to reduce interference from radio waves. That should help reduce interference to 3G or WiFi radios located on mobile devices, with the technology already reportedly in use on various Samsung handsets. Efun has seen its profits double as a result of the production of the technology, with recent favourable financial information tipping a deal with Apple.

This week design details were alluded to in several separate reports. The iPad mini will reportedly use a much thinner bezel, with users being able to grasp the tablet from the back rather than with a thumb grip from the sides. The volume buttons may also feature separate physical buttons rather than the volume rocker found on the current iPad.

Schematics that were first discovered back in April back up the design reports, suggesting that the tablet will also be much thinner than the current iPad. Apple had to make a thickness concession with the current iPad due to the Retina display and huge increase in battery capacity, features which won’t make the jump to the iPad mini, allowing for a thinner device as a result. Reports all seem to point towards a 7.85-inch screen, with Apple tipped to unveil the iPad mini on September 12th alongside the next iPhone.

[via Apple Insider]

iPad mini tipped for ITO coating tech is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The LCD multi-touch trackpad on Razer’s Blade gaming laptop was just about the only truly unique thing about it. Fortunately that cutting edge device is no longer exclusive to the laptop, because Razer has incorporated it into its latest gaming keyboard.

The 4″ trackpad is available on the high end variant of the DeathStalker keyboard, the DeathStalker Ultimate. As with the Blade, the LCD can be used either to display information when you’re gaming or browsing, but it can also be used as a multi-touch trackpad. It also comes with 10 buttons with customizable icons and functions – bind commands, macros and other things that need to be bound.

There are also a variety of apps built-in for use with the trackpad, such as a macro recorder, apps for Gmail, Facebook and Twitter, and two game specific apps, one for Battlefield 3 and one for Star Wars: The Old Republic. That’s kinda sad, but I guess it’s better than nothing.  Razer has also launched a cloud service called Synapse to make it easier for users to save and sync their configurations.

As for the keyboard itself, it has anti-ghosting technology enabling up to 10 simultaneous key presses, chiclet keys with changeable backlighting, a fixed wrist rest, braided fiber cable and a name that absolutely cannot be topped. Unless Razer names its next keyboard the DeathDeader. The DeathStalker Ultimate will be available on Razer’s online store in September and will be sold for $250 (USD).

[via Electronista]

We’ve seen it leak out a couple of times, but Sony’s next eReader is finally upon us. Those looking for something revolutionary won’t find it here, but Sony has made little tweaks here and there that should make your reading experience somewhat more pleasant. You’re still looking at the same 6-inch screen, with the E-Ink Pearl display refining touch support and adding more graceful paper-esque page turns and zooms along with improved continuous page turns.

Just as we learned last week, the dimensions of the eReader have been tweaked slightly, with the PRS-T2 coming in a 0.38-inches thick and weighing 5.9 ounces. The four navigational buttons beneath the screen have also been adjusted, with Sony making them larger and easier to push. The company says that the device should get up to two months of battery life (assuming WiFi is turned off, of course), and there’s 2GB of storage of all your digital books.

Sony is still offering access to its online services too, and a nice little bonus is the ability to borrow around 15,000 ebooks from its public library system if you have a valid library card. Sony’s Reader store is still on tap as well, offering magazines and newspapers via a web-based store. Anyone choosing to read a novel via web browser can do so via Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Finally, Sony is throwing in a free copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone from the Pottermore store. The company will bundle a download code that will grant you access to the ebook once you’ve purchased the ereader. The device itself will set you back $129.99, and Sony says it’s shipping right now via its online store.

Sony PRS-T2 eReader finally official for $129.99 is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.