Hasta La Gadget!

You have to hand it to the tireless folks toiling away within Microsoft’s Research department. They’re hard at the task of making tomorrowland today’s province. Perhaps spurred on by the rapturous response to their HoloDesk, the Cambridge gang’s previewing yet another virtual reality, and this time it’s a handheld trio. The palm-friendly devices, split up into camera, room and SLAM models, incorporate pico projectors, coaxial IR cameras, inertial measurement units (IMUs) and the company’s Kinect (for the latter two only) to project augmented visions onto surrounding surfaces. If you’ve been honing your shadow puppetry game over the years, that oft-used skill’s about to get very useful. The environmentally aware (no, not the Go Green! kind) systems allow for shadow- and touch-based interaction with the CG overlays, offering pinch functionality, icon selection and even painting — don’t worry, it’s definitely removable. This neat tech hat trick could one day soon spare you a trip to IKEA, letting you test out potential decorative pieces from the comfort of your home. Unfortunately, we can’t get handsy with the futuristic projectors just yet, so the video after the break will have to suffice.

[Thanks, Pradeep]

Continue reading Trio of Microsoft projectors lets you get quasi-physical with AR interaction (video)

Trio of Microsoft projectors lets you get quasi-physical with AR interaction (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen our fair share of pico projectors, so takes a bit to actually get us excited about one, but the Seeser from ESPlus is showing a lot of potential. Inside the tiny black box is a laser-based projection system which, unlike traditional lamps, doesn’t need to be focused and can output a 25-lumen, 800 x 600 image up to 100-inches in size. There’s an SD card slot around the side, which appears to be of the micro variety and it has an integrated 1seg tuner for pulling in broadcasts. All of this is powered by a 1GHz processor running Froyo — so there’s no actual need to hook up an external content source. Sadly it doesn’t appear that it boasts access to the Android Market though, without a touchscreen, you wouldn’t be able to make good use of the apps anyway. The Seeser should be available in Korea soon, but there’s no word yet on how much it’ll cost.

Seeser laser pico projector is always in focus, powered by Android originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 03:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This pico projector is more than meets the eye. Underneath that bland, plastic exterior the Tursion TS-102 is actually a dual-core Android computer. That pair of 624MHz cores is pushing the surprisingly outdated Eclair through a lamp that can project an 800 x 600 image up to 100-inches in size at 20 lumens. While you can hook the TS-102 up to another device, there is no need to. It’s capable of displaying media stored on the internal 8GB of flash or on a microSD card, and you can navigate apps with the integrated touchpad. Tack on a WiFi radio and an 80-minute rechargeable battery and you’ve got the makings of a pretty awesome little toy. You can order your own now on Amazon, but the luxury of owning your own pocketable, big-screen computer (and the bragging rights that go with it) will set you back a steep $449.

Tursion TS-102 is an Android computer disguised as a pico projector originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you were distracted by all the Sony fuss this morning, Nikon also chose today to announce a gaggle of fresh cameras. Most of the new models are incremental updates that will demand in-depth reviews when they’re released in September. In the meantime, however, two cameras stand out as warranting a bit of quick hands-on attention. Firstly, there’s the Coolpix S1200pj priced at $430, which is the third generation of Nikon’s line of projector cameras and appears to house some significant improvements. Next up, we have the $380 AW100, which represents Nikon’s first foray into the all-weather niche since the days of celluloid. It’s a rugged Rambo of a camera that is waterproof down to ear-stinging depths and is a heck of a lot more expensive than the Fuji FinePix XP30 we just took fishing. So, it was only proper that we harpoon pre-release versions of both these cameras in order to provide you with some initial impressions and videos, which you’ll find directly after the break.

Continue reading Nikon unveils S1200pj and AW100 cameras, we go hands-on

Nikon unveils S1200pj and AW100 cameras, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a recent Apple patent, embedded projector technology may be closer to a reality than previously thought. Image: Patently Apple

Maybe an iPhone with an embedded projector isn’t so far off after all.

A patent uncovered by Patently Apple reveals Apple’s intention to eventually include a mini projector in the iPhone and iPad and a pico projector-like accessory for MacBooks.

But the most incredibly novel and useful part of the patent description isn’t the projector. It’s the advanced gesturing analysis that would be used in conjunction with the projector to interpret shadow or silhouette movements when presentations (or even workspaces) are displayed in a dark environment.

In Patently Apple’s words, “The level of detail associated with this patent would suggest that Apple’s development teams are moving full steam ahead on the projection system project.”

Just last week we saw the development of a new glass lens tiny enough that it could eventually be used in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. And although interactive displays, typically in the form of holograms, long have been a staple of science fiction, such technology has in recent years moved increasingly closer to a reality. Intel researchers, for instance, have developed a projected display that behaves like a touchscreen.

The gesture-detecting technology would involve a library of gesture commands that could be used to easily share data. For instance, an image could be shared from one projected display to another. Figures in the patent show a swipe-type motion, not unlike what’s already used in iOS, would instigate the image transfer. Shadow or silhouette gestures would be detected with a camera, then analyzed with image-processing software.

Since the projector lens would be mounted on the side of the iPhone or iPad, an image could be projected on a wall simply by placing the device on a flat surface. Alternatively, a tripod could be used for displaying the projected image on a surface.

Two devices could also be used to display one single, larger, unified image in a “Unified Display Mode.”

Apple first revealed it is working on projector display technology in 2009, and has issued a series of related patents since then. This, by far, is the most detailed yet.