Tag: Motion Sensor

If you aren’t afraid of drone attacks on humans in the near future, you should be. And if your plan was to simply knock them out of the sky, well, forget that. Drones can now dodge balls that are thrown at them.

Step into the surprisingly floppy robotic body of a Pokémon trainer with Pokémon VR. YouTuber misterbunbun – there’s a 90% chance he’s a 4-year old’s pet rabbit – made the short virtual reality game for the Leap Motion 3D Jam.

Late last year we talked about the Cyberith Virtualizer, an omnidirectional treadmill and motion sensor for use with virtual reality devices like the Oculus Rift. After three prototypes, Cyberith is now raising funds on Kickstarter to finalize and produce commercial versions of their promising device.

Many gesture detection devices, including the Kinect and the Leap Motion, use infrared cameras to sense movement. They also have dedicated chips that process the data from the cameras. These components are power-hungry, especially if they’re turned on at all times.

We’ve seen robots that move about using wheels, two legs, four legs and even ones that slither like snakes. The Cubli can move despite being just a cube. Actually it does have wheels, but they’re inside its body.

When the Omni VR treadmill was announced, many anointed it as the perfect companion to the much-awaited Oculus Rift. But a group of students at the Vienna University of Technology may have a better VR treadmill at their hands (and feet).

Last year when I saw YEI Technology’s Unreal Engine demo of their 3-Space Sensors, I mentioned how it might be able to integrate with the Oculus Rift for a more immersive virtual reality experience. Turns out the company had the same plan all along.

Earlier this year we heard about Lernstift, a concept for a pen that helps kids spell and write correctly by vibrating to point out mistakes. The folks behind this promising invention have now launched a fundraiser on Kickstarter.

Earlier this year we saw AirHarp, a virtual harp that uses the Leap gesture controller, letting the user make music by playing an imaginary harp. The developer behind the AirHarp recently introduced a similar program but for a more popular instrument.

A week ago, we learned about the Mycestro, a pointing device that, despite its unusual form, only has a humble goal: to replace your mouse. The Ego! Smartmouse on the other hand is quite the opposite.

Wearable mice have been done before, but Nick Mastandrea’s Mycestro might be the best implementation of the form factor yet. Like other wearable mice, Mycestro – it’s pronounced “mice-tro”, get it? – is designed to be worn on your index finger.

Inventor Falk Wolsky and his better half Mandy, a child care worker, were inspired to make the Lernstift (“Learning pen” in German) after seeing their son struggle with writing. They came up with a prototype that detects “writing movements” and alerts the user if he makes a mistake.

It didn’t take long for hackers to use the Kinect to create 3D models by scanning real world objects. Microsoft has also pitched in to the scene, but an upstart company from Austin, Texas could introduce the next step in affordable 3D modeling.

Early demos of the much-awaited Leap motion sensor mostly showed how it can be used to control graphics programs, browsers and video games. But the motion sensor can also be used to make an audio program, as shown by software developer Adam Somers with his AirHarp demo.

Looking for a fun stocking stuffer that I’m pretty sure your intended recipient doesn’t already have? Then check out Quantum Bits. They’re little light up thingies that react to motion.

Microsoft’s Kinect sensor has proven to be quite versatile and accurate, but in the end’s it’s only one motion sensor. A company called Yost Engineering Inc. or YEI recently showed off how multiple motion sensors can be used in videogames, enabling real-time motion capture and virtual reality.