A new Kinect hack surfaced from Willow Garage. This is the company behind that crazy expensive PR2 robot that is used for research into human-robot interfaces. The guys over at Willow Garage took the Kinect and hacked it to allow motion control of their PR2 robot.

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This sounds like the tech the little boy used in the horrible remake of Lost in Space with Joey in the lead. The hack is very cool though, and Willow Garage is working on hacking two of the devices to give 3D input for gestures.

[via Fast Company]

If you watch the video, you will see that when you put the dropper section near a file on your computer screen and squeeze, the file is transferred to the device or at least across the network. When you go to another computer, you can squeeze the dropper and the file is placed onto the other machine.

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The dude in the video then turns and squeezes the bulb and sends the file he has been moving to a set of speakers. Guess what plays- Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. Any geek worth his salt knows that is the infamous Rickroll tune. I call BS. What do you think?

[via Make:]

Created by Jinhee Kim, this thing is called Stamp.y and it’s clearly a concept – and a strange one at that. You would use the special Stamp.y-enabled camera to snap a picture of someone and then the camera would turn that into a digital pixel stamp. Exactly why you would want your digital pictures to be a stamp escapes me right now. Kids would like it though and you could totally stamp a pic of some really gross hairy dude on someone as a prank, which would honestly get my to buy this thing no questions asked if it were real.

Ol’ Stamp.y even has a handle like a normal stamp to let you stamp with a better grip. Important things like exactly how the picture is turned into something you can ink is unknown. Strange concept, but it might be fun.

[via Yanko Design]

I am glad to see companies making strides in displays that will show 3D and don’t need glasses to view. Toshiba Mobile Display has unveiled a new 21-inch screen that shows 3D images without needing glasses.

The screen does this by using multi-parallax technology with wide viewing angles. A special filter layer also makes the panel as bright as conventional 2D screens. Hopefully, this is the sort of tech that will get more people to move to 3D at home.

June 1st marked a milestone for robotkind, when Willow Garage alpha robot PR2 successfully made his way through 8 – not 1, not 2, but 8! – doors, and some pesky humans, and then plug its power cord into 9 outlets. How long do you think would it take you to go through 8 doors and plug a cord into 9 nine outlets? 5 minutes? 15?

Well PR2 took all of 58 minutes. Not an hour. Those are two different values.  I guess we could say that PR2 savors every minute of its life. If it’s even alive. Okay enough with the lame jokes, here’s PR2 in (super fast forwarded) action. He’s a good ‘bot.

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Listen to them applaud. If I went through our office opening doors and plugging cords into outlets I’d be laughed at. Maybe even punched in the face. But hurray for robots! Store this timestamp in your drives, and remember: we applauded your door-opening, cord-plugging antics, like parents at Little League games we cheered for your mediocre shit. So when you’re all grown up don’t kill us all or enslave us okay?

[via robots.net]

As you can see the mouse has two parts. The base is where the optical tracking device is, nothing new here, you move the mouse to move the cursor-on screen. The bobblehead on top is the wobbly one, and theoretically it should minimize the strain by being wobbly.

We don’t have a video of the TRU:MOTION mouse in action, so we can’t say how well this translate into actual usage. But if Smartfish’ brochure (pdf) is to be believed, the wireless mouse – along with other ergonomic peripherals and devices – will be available this year. We’ll be on the lookout for reviews then. For now, why don’t you try mashing a bobblehead figure to a mouse, just to see how it works. Come on. It’ll be fun.

[via Chip Chick]

According to gizmag‘s Ben Purvis, the infrared cameras can detect heat signatures up to 300 meters (almost 1000 feet) away. The range  of the cameras is also going to be used in the 1400GTR’s collision avoidance technology, which is basically an (ultra) early warning system that alerts drivers of possible obstacles up ahead. Purvis adds that the warning may come in the form of a Bluetooth alarm that’s also mounted on the rider’s helmet.

We don’t have pics of the HUD or the high-tech helmet, so for now we can still hope that maybe, just maybe, the headgear will look like Shaider’s. or the one from Daft Punk. No not that one. The other helmet. The cooler one.

Damn. That’s 128 GB in a box just a bit bigger than a wristwatch. The nano SSD has a maximum write speed of 160 megabytes/sec, and read speed of up to 150 megabytes/sec. To give you a better idea of how nano it is, here’s the full shot, with the SSD compared alongside a 3.5-in HD and a 2.5-in SSD:

InnoDesk also showed that the tiny drive can take a beating too; they setup a motherboard with the nano SSD hooked up to it, and subjected it continuously to 20gs of “accelerative force.”

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I wasn’t there so I don’t know how InnoDisk proved that their drive survived the test, but apparently it did. Let’s just believe them for now and imagine a future with tiny computers and even tinier PMPs running on nano hardware like this. Mmmmm. The future looks expensive. And tiny.

[via TweakTown]

The T30 is the one on the left, and the T20 is the one on the right. Amazingly, the T30 seems to be the more feature-packed of the two, as it not only offers AV-in recording, it can also project images at up to 50-in, 8 inches wider than the T20. It also uses RGB LED tech instead of white LED, which, according to Electronista, should result in higher quality display. Engadget also thinks that the iPod/iPhone compatible T30 will have internal storage.

Keep an eye on Aiptek’s website for future updates on these tiny drive-in theaters. I know I will. Because they’re something to write about.

The demo video shows how the new interface allows for eyes-free browsing of contacts. The most important part of the setup is the square of 8 letters/symbols that appears as soon as you touch the screen. The square is centered on your finger, so any of the 8 surrounding alphabets is just a swipe away. Swiping to a letter causes the phone to vibrate, indicating that you have reached a letter.

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As soon as you swipe to a letter, a new set of 7 letters/symbols fills the rest of the square. According to Google, this ensures that all letters/symbols are at most only 3 swipes away. You then raise your finger off the screen upon reaching the desired letter/symbol to select it. A voice prompt announces the letter/symbol you have selected, after which the phone searches your contacts and goes to the first name that starts with the selected letter/symbol.

It doesn’t sound extremely complicated, but if ever it’s implemented into future phones, it will surely take users quite a while to learn and adjust to the interface. Read the full article for Google’s other planned eyes-free features, such as gesture-based commands. I’m curious to know how much impact such an interface would have on the battery life of phones.

[via Technology Review]

The source image is on the left, and the CG is the one on the right. Currently, MotionPortrait can modify the CG face by adding glasses or facial hair, as well as changing hairstyles. Click here or here to see an example of a MotionPortrait in action.

The CG face is still obviously artificial – the color is too pale, and the movements are a bit stiff – but it’s not that far off. MotionPortrait technology has been used in commercials in Japan, but I’m really hoping that the technology could be incorporated into video games someday.

Think of it: you snap a picture of yourself, upload it into your console, and it generates a CG face that you can use in games, complete with facial expressions. How awesome would it be to see a CG version of yourself playing basketball with the pros in NBA 2k15? Or be able to play Final Fantasy 25 with you as the hero? Technology: it’s the bee’s knees.

[via Tech on!]

But we can’t say the same about “realistic” peripherals. Imagine playing Need for Speed using a guitar controller, or Guitar Hero using a steering wheel peripheral. These specialized controllers are too specialized for their own good; it doesn’t help that they’re quite pricey. So how will the gamepad-less revolution succeed? Israel-based Cam-Trax technologies has a simple answer: let’s just make it so we can use anything as a controller.

Cam-Trax is currently developing CamSpace, a computer program that allows users to use pretty much anything as a controller for PC games. The best way to understand how CamSpace works is to see it in action:

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As you can see, users first “show” CamSpace the object that they want to use as a controller; once CamSpace remembers the object, you can customize the controls depending on the motion or gesture that you’ll make. Unfortunately there’s no detailed explanation on CamSpace’s interface so I can’t tell you more about that.

I’m guessing that the object has to be brightly and evenly colored; I think CamSpace uses the object’s color to distinguish it from its background.

But the important thing is that Cam-Trax’ technology has the advantages of both a “realistic” peripheral and a gamepad: it’s versatile, yet you can use an object that’s more appropriately shaped or structured for the game you want to play. It’s also cost-effective: instead of buying a different controller for every game, all you need is CamSpace and a webcam.

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I don’t think I can play an FPS that way; my arm would probably cramp up after 5 minutes. Anyway, I hope CamSpace becomes integrated not only in future PC games but in future console games as well. It won’t totally kill off companies that create third party peripherals because there will always be gamers who want a more sophisticated controller. But if you ask me, I’m down with using a cardboard wheel if it means saving myself a hundred bucks. Maybe in the future we can even use real instruments to play Rock Band.

CamSpace is currently Windows only; you can download it for free at their website. Remember it’s in beta, so don’t expect it to be problem-free.

[via gizmo watch]

However, the technology is more like a Room of Silence, in that it requires the room to be shielded to be fitted with speakers, sensors, microphones and circuitry. In other words, the shielding will most likely be ridiculously expensive. Guess the rest of us will have to stick to murmuring by the office cooler.

[via New Scientist via The Raw Feed, image via Would You Believe]

To start using SpotLight, users will purchase a tracking device along with a service plan (price TBA). The tracking device is rechargeable, durable and waterproof. PAW says that the device can last up to 10 days between charges. Aside from tracking a dog’s location, the device also has a LED beacon that’s visible from over 100 yards; customers can activate the beacon through text message to make night-time searching easier.

To ensure that the service won’t nag or annoy people with endless updates of their dog’s whereabouts, customers will define “Safe Spots”, or the home areas of their pet. The tracking device will only actively alert customers (via text message or email) when their dog leaves its Safe Spot. Customers then have the option to track and search on their own or call on SpotLight’s recovery team for help.

Of course, none of these will be able to help you if the gadget becomes separated from your dog. Perhaps someday we’ll be able to inject fool-proof nanotrackers in our pets. Check out SpotLight’s website for more details.

[via the gadgeteer]

Seriously though, computers waste a lot of energy while performing such tedious tasks. But fear not, Mother Earth, a bunch of geeks are working on an energy saving device that will maintain a computer’s essential functions while consuming as low as 10% of the power normally used by a regular PC.

Computer scientists at the University of California in San Diego and  *gasp* Microsoft Research have come up with the Somniloquy, a USB dongle that is basically a barebones PC, complete with an OS, flash memory, and network connectivity. The idea behind Somniloquy is simple: if your computer has to perform nothing but a single time-consuming task – downloading all episodes of Top Gear for example – Somniloquy will take over while your computer goes to sleep: “Somniloquy essentially takes over as the computer’s presence on the network while the actual PC is asleep by operating at the computers’ network interface. In effect, it impersonates the sleeping PC to other hosts on the network.”

What’s more, Somniloquy can wake up the “main” computer if needed. For example, if its flash memory gets filled up, it can wake up the main computer and transfer its files, and then tell the big guy to go to sleep again. The people behind the device hope to shrink it further so that it can be installed into a network card, and hopefully into all computers.

[via apc via GetUSB]

So they went and tried to see if they could strengthen another biological material – in this case spider silk – by adding metals to it. After trying various metallic compounds, the scientists found that “all of the compounds dramatically increased both the tensile strength of the silk, as well as its extensibility. In short, the researchers had taken an unusually tough material and made it even tougher, with the best results produced by the aluminum and titanium treatments. ”

Here’s where it gets better: The scientists further theorized that this sort of spider silk can be mass produced. Woohooo! Segway schmegway: web slinging is the future of pedestrian transportation. Please let it be so.

[via Ars Technica]

For example, Johansen explains, if we multiplied the 2.1 gallons of fuel by 250,000 people, then the resulting amount would be “enough to operate 80 buses for 100,000 kilometres (62,000 miles) each.” The Agence France Presse article that talked about Oslo’s plan also adds: “In addition to being carbon neutral, it (biomethane) emits 78 percent less nitrogen oxide and 98 percent fewer fine particles — two causes of respiratory illnesses — and is 92 percent less noisy.” Producing biomethane from sewage is also cheaper than buying plain old diesel. But the project isn’t perfect: Anne-Merete Andersen of Ruter, the operator of Oslo’s public transport system, says that all in all the project will be 15% more expensive because of the cost of the new buses and their maintenance. Personally I think it’s worth it in the long run; having readily available biomethane will lessen Oslo’s dependency on fossil fuels and will lead to decreased pollution.

Will other cities emulate Oslo’s plans? Will pooping become a civic duty in the future? Is it appropriate to call poop power “clean energy”? Food for thought. Not really.

[via Slate]

The Scarpar runs on two tracks and is powered by a four stroke engine. The board that you see above and in the video below is a prototype, so expect the design to change when – and if – the product is released. Braking and acceleration are controlled by hand. I’m no engineer but I think that’s where things might go horribly wrong. Skis, surfboards and skateboards are more or less directly controlled by our bodies; for a board that can go as fast as 35 mph (60 kph), a controller malfunction – or mistakenly activating accelerate instead of brake – will probably lead to some serious injuries. Unless of course the controls are intuitive; like grip the controller tight to accelerate and relax to brake.

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Scarpar Pty Ltd originally planned on releasing their board this year, but due to financial constraints – in their words:”Blame Wall Street!” – they had to move the release date to 2010. While I’m content with watching other people perform extreme sports, I think the efforts of the people behind Scarpar will lead to more user-friendly all-terrain pedestrian transports. So to all inventors and engineers out there: these guys are onto something! Forget the Segway, work on the Scarpar!

[via Gadget Grid]

They call their designs “soundshelf.” While it’s true that Pottery Barn is already selling speakers that also double as bookshelves, the soundshelf sets itself apart from Pottery Barn’s product in a couple of ways. First of all, if you look closely at the design you’ll see that the whole thing is a speaker. Pottery Barn’s bookshelf has speakers. The soundshelf is a speaker. Second of all, it’s way sexier.

If the soundshelf does end up being produced and sold I hope that they won’t be too expensive. It’s a product that maximizes space and function and we all need things like that. Maybe someone at MAKE can whip up a cheap version. Maybe Ben Heck can make a PS3shelf. That can read your books aloud. And doubles as a jet pack.

[designboom via ForeverGeek via Coolest Gadgets]