The Evolution of The Mouse

The mouse has been with us for almost three decades. If you’re thinking that the time has come to take it to the next level, you’re right and that’s exactly what Nick Mastandrea thought. Unlike most people who have had a million, million-dollar ideas, Nick decided to do something about it. He got down and designed Mycestro. What is it? Well, Mycestro is little device which you strap on to the intermediate phalange of your index finger – in fact, it’s about the size of your intermediate phalange too. It has some pressure sensitive buttons on its side that you can access with your thumb.

Ford Surveillance Mode gives police cars protection from rear approaches

A new technology that could make its way to production cars is being tested in a handful of Ford police interceptors. The new tech is called “Surveillance Mode,” and it essentially gives police officers eyes in the back of their heads when they’re in their cars to prevent sudden sneak-ups coming from the rear.

Screen Shot 2013-07-20 at 12.07.54 PM

It’s a fairly simple technology and it uses current rear cameras used for backing up to detect movement going on behind the car. When it detects a person moving in the camera’s view, the inside of the car makes a beeping noise and all the doors automatically lock and the windows automatically roll up to prevent any possibly sudden attacks.

The technology is obviously designed to keep police officers safer while they’re out on patrol, especially when they’re alone. Interestingly enough, the idea for this was thought up by Ford engineer Randy Freiburger who went on a ride-along with a police office in Los Angeles. The officer had to get out of the car to chase down a suspect on foot, leaving Freiburger alone in the car.

A screen in the rear-view mirror shows the video footage of the rear camera, and unlike in production cars when the camera is only enabled in reverse gear, this camera can stay on at all times and remain activated until the driver chooses to disable the feature when it isn’t needed.

The technology will come standard in all 2014 Ford police cars, and older models can have the system retrofitted for just a few hundred dollars. No word on whether or not this technology will make it to production cars at some point, but everyday drivers could certainly benefit from such a feature to prevent robberies and carjackings.

SOURCE: Ford


Ford Surveillance Mode gives police cars protection from rear approaches is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Odor Camera Concept: Scentography

These days, even a cheap phone has the ability to record sights and sounds using its camera. But that’s just two of our many senses. With her concept for an “odor camera”, designer Amy Radcliffe hopes that she can encourage electronics makers to make devices that can record scent.

madeleine odor camera by Amy Radcliffe

Amy named her scent recorder Madeleine, after the French pastry popularized in Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Time. In the novel, the pastry – combined with the taste of tea – causes a character to remember something from the past (I wonder if Amy realizes that that scene involves the sense of taste, not the sense of smell). To record a scent with Madeleine, you place its funnel over the object whose scent you want to record. Madeleine’s pump will suck the air surrounding the object and mix it with a resin. Then you send that mixture to a fragrance lab. The lab will replicate the scent and send the replica back to you.

In an interview with The Atlantic, Amy said she deliberately imagined a slow development process for the Madeleine because she wants to bring back the curation that consumers had to enforce back in the days of film photography. Nowadays we can take dozens of pictures in an hour then forget we even have them – or what’s in them – before the day ends. But with film, you had to choose which pictures to develop. In other words, you had to choose which memories to keep. Now imagine if you could keep a thousand scents in your phone. You’d be tweeting recordings of stranger’s farts every 10 seconds. #IRegretNothing.

[via Amy Radcliffe & The Atlantic via The Verge]

Motorola Mobility job listing hints at future wearable technology ambitions

Google is no stranger to wearable technology, having created Glass and all. But a job listing that has cropped up for Google-owned Motorola Mobility hints at a larger picture of the company’s wearable technology ambitions, with things like “the new Motorola” and its “future in Google” being mentioned alongside a description for the prospective hire.

Motorola, likewise, has more than dabbled in the areas of wearable technology, with one of its examples visible in the image above. Where it is heading with its new ambitions is yet to be seen. What we do know from the looking at the job listing, however, is that whatever it is will be aimed at the consumer in a way that has mass appeal.

The job listing calls for someone who has extensive experience in design, and one of the requirements for the position is “7 years plus in a senior position of Industrial Design,” with it being preferred that the candidate have “15+ years of work experience in design of tech, consumer product and/or apparel.” We also get a glimpse of the larger picture: “The wearables design team will lead the establishment of our brand in the massive competitive and growing space of wearable connected products.”

The question as this point is where Motorola – and Google by proxy – is heading. Smartwatches are one area of wearable technology where companies are scrambling to get their own devices onto consumers’ wrists, but the potential extends beyond that and smartwatches have received more than a bit of criticism, among them being claims that the younger generations won’t want to wear them.

At the D11 conference, we got a good look into how the company sees the next generation of wearable technology. Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects Group chief Regina Dugan showed off an electronic tattoo that would decrease authentication processes, for example. Also discussed was a “smart pill” that transforms one’s body into an authentication token.

Says the job listing: “Our ambition is to make Motorola a recognized leader in design of all things mobile. We will do this by creating product experiences that are lead by consumer insight and intuition, keen design sensibility and cutting edge technologies. We want our products and brand to be experienced and loved by millions of people worldwide. We want to create the new Motorola.”

SOURCE: TechCrunch


Motorola Mobility job listing hints at future wearable technology ambitions is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Disney’s AIREAL Creates Tactile Feedback in Mid-Air

The technical magicians at Disney Research are at it once more. This time, they’re working on a technology which allows users to feel sensations without actually having to touch a surface.

disney aireal air haptic feedback

AIREAL is a combination of hardware and software which can create tiny air vortexes in 3D space. It was developed by researchers Rajinder Sodhi, Ivan Poupyrev, Matthew Glisson, and Ali Israr. A set of these small haptic-feedback devices can be used in combination with gesture-based control devices to let users feel sensations and virtual textures while interacting with their computers and video game systems. This is truly some science fiction stuff made real.

Check out some examples of AIREAL in action in the clip below:

Pretty amazing concept, no? Wouldn’t it be cool to combine this with a head-mounted display like the Oculus Rift? The wind could blow in your hair as you run through a virtual world, or you could feel bullets whizzing by when you’re being shot at. Crazy stuff. Or it might just turn up in a next generation of Disney’s Haunted Mansion – where you can actually feel the ghosts surrounding you. Hopefully the Disney Research guys talk to the Imagineers.

You can read the entire research paper on AIREAL here. [PDF]

Fan TV Entertainment Center: The Zen Way of Watching TV

I’ve seen many different kinds of clunky TV boxes, and many are forgettable. There are quite a few that are basically eyesores in your living room, and it’s not always easy to find a way to make them appealing, except if you completely hide them away.

fan tv fanhattan fuseproject yves behar

Fan TV was developed by Yves Behar’s Fuseproject studio. The design was created for the company Fanhattan. The remote and set-top box are quite unique.  They are supposed to mimic nested stones. The pebble-shaped remote is supposed to respond to the slightest touch, and you can tap as well as swipe it to navigate through your movies and shows.

fan tv fanhattan fuseproject yves behar in use

The system itself is designed to integrate live TV, DVR and streaming media in a single interface. Though it’s not clear what other devices will be required in order to use the live TV and DVR features. There will also be companion apps for iOS devices so you can watch and control your content on the go.

fan tv fanhattan fuseproject yves behar remote

Here’s a brief demo of the Fan TV in action:

There’s no word yet on pricing or a release date for the system.

[via designboom]

Lumenplay Smart String Lighting: 16 Million Reasons to Leave the Christmas Lights Hanging

Rigado LLC multiplies the appeal of smart LED bulbs with Lumenplay, a modular LED Christmas light set. Like LIFX and Philips HUE, you control Lumenplay using your smartphone – in this case, via a Bluetooth connection. Pick from 16 million lighting colors and a variety of effects and even synchronize the bulbs to music.

lumenplay christmas lights

The basic Lumenplay kit comes in two variants: a 10′ strand with 15 bulbs or a 20′ strand that has 30 bulbs. You can then purchase more as needed and connect the strands up to 340′. The bulbs have a lifespan of about 20,000 hours – that’s about 2 years and 3 months – and you can replace their bulb covers.

The downside? Unlike other smart LED bulbs, its mobile app doesn’t seem to have a timer feature. Lumenplay is also quite expensive, but at this point all LED bulbs are pricey. Pledge at least $54 (USD) on Crowd Supply to get a Lumenplay set as a reward.

[Thanks Alan!]

Da Vinci Robot System Under Scrutiny

The da Vinci surgical system robot has gotten a lot of hype in the
recent past. It has been used to help famous athletes repair damage done to
their body from their job related injuries. But those issues are not without their risks. The company that makes
the da Vinci surgical system, Intuitive Surgical, is coming under fire for a
few concerns around the system.

United Airlines Boeing 737 fleet getting new winglets to cut fuel costs by millions

You may remember the urban legend that claimed that American Airlines saved $70,000 per year by simply removing one olive from each of its salads. It sounds too good to be true, since the airline made a change that passengers wouldn’t notice that would save thousands of dollars. However, United Airlines is making a similar breakthrough that isn’t an urban legend.

united-winglets

United Airlines has installed split scimitar winglets to its Boeing 737-800 plane and took it for a test flight. It was a successful run and the airline has decided to implement the winglets on all of their Boeing 737 planes. The winglets are designed to improve aerodynamic efficiency by routing air around it, thus cutting down on drag and using less fuel.

Boeing says this will cut fuel costs by 2% when factoring in only the 737 fleet, but along with their Boeing 757 and 767 fleet (who already have last-generation winglets installed), United Airlines says this will save them $200 million per year in fuel costs. That’s an incredible savings for just a little bit of added metal to the airplane wing (although that isn’t counting the money spent on R&D for the new winglet).

Of course, winglets have been around for awhile now, and several airlines use them, but this new split scimitar winglet is said to be much improved over the current models, providing even more efficiency. The winglets essentially add another fin to the plane’s wing that faces downward, adding to the current winglet that points upward on the plane. The added winglet further reduce the vortices formed behind the wing, which increases performance even more than just having the upward-pointing winglets.

The new winglets will begin to roll out to the Boeing 737 United fleet starting at some point early next year, as further testing is still needed, as well as approval and certification from the FAA is still underway.

SOURCE: United Airlines


United Airlines Boeing 737 fleet getting new winglets to cut fuel costs by millions is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tech Deals of the Day: 7/19/2013

Our friends at TechBargains.com compile a list of daily deals to help you save money. Keep in mind that as with any good deal, products are limited in quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now.

If you’re looking to buy a product from a specific store, save money with updated and verified coupon codes here.

Computers & Peripherals:

Home Entertainment:

Personal Electronics: