The ePawn Arena is designed for games which use physical pieces, such as Dungeons and Dragons style RPG games and the demo below shows how figurines placed on the arena can interact with each other. For instance, the figures can attack each other with weapons and magic spells, but if a map is programmed with walls the attacking figure’s spells will be blocked. Pretty cool no?

This device won’t just work with RPGs, of course. It’ll also work well for games like chess, backgammon, and even air hockey. They are also offering an SDK for iOS (current), Android and PC platforms (future) so developers can make their own games which use the technology.

They’re also working on a version of the technology which doesn’t use a display at all, but allows you to play with pieces on top of a traditional gaming surface, and then send the information back to your device.

ePawn is hoping to have their first device in stores later this year for about $400(USD) for a 26-inch LCD gaming board. That’s not a terrible intro price and it will come down in time. Keep in mind that’s the board itself will require a smartphone, tablet or PC to work, but since most of us already have one or all of those, that shouldn’t be a problem.

[via Dvice]

The first thing you notice when you first look at the ARENA is its unique is its 3-D user interface options. Which offers something like an iTunes cover flow on its side. And it doesn’t just work for your media, but for navigating all of your applications. There’s also a 3-D cube layout which lets you find your way around your media and applications by manipulating a 3-dimensional cube. And yes, Virginia, the ARENA offers tactile feedback under your fingertip as you interact with the display.

The ARENA packs a substantial 3-inch touchscreen display running at super-sharp WVGA (800 x 480) resolution. Oh, and did I happen to mention that the ARENA offers Dolby Mobile surround sound? With a screen like that and surround, if you want to watch movies on a mobile device, this could be the one. There’s also a built-in FM transmitter to send your audio to your car or home stereo without wires.

Looking to take some photos or shoot some video? The ARENA offers a 5-megapixel digital camera, which lets you access the type of adjustments that you’d normally only get on a standalone camera. And you can shoot DVD quality video at up to 30FPS. There’s even a manual focus mode, and you can shoot slo-mo video at up to 120FPS.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The ARENA is a full 3G phone, running on HSDPA 7.2 networks, and also has built-in Wi-Fi and A-GPS. There’s 8GB of onboard memory, and MicroSD slot which lets you add up to 32GB of additional storage.

Want to see it in action? LG has launched the online ARENA emulator, in case you want to see the device in action.

And it packs all of this into a case that measures just 105.9mm x 55.3mm x 11.95mm, smaller than the svelte iPhone 3G. The iPhone might finally have a true challenger. Expect the ARENA to hit Europe this March, then go worldwide later this year.

[LG ARENA Website]

Traditional (if you can call them that) MoCap systems usually start around $30,000, and often much more. The OptiTrack ARENA system uses anywhere from six to twelve digital cameras to capture 3-dimensional body movements in real time, then store them in a data format that can be used by 3D animation systems.

The ARENA foundation system costs $4999 and will come with everything you need to make your own animations (other than the actor’s motion capture suit and markers, which will set you back around $400 to $500 extra.)