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MIT’s color-changing ink could let you customize your shoes
Imagine if, rather than buy your favorite shoes in blue or red, you could buy one pair of shoes and change the color depending on how you feel each day. Maybe you'd decide to add multicolored flames or zebra print. A new, reprogrammable ink might let you do just that. PhotoChromeleon Ink, developed by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), can change the color or pattern of an object when exposed to UV light.
Nanoleaf's colorful wall tiles now act as Razer gaming controls
Nanoleaf and Razer teamed up last year to making gaming an even more immersive experience. Thanks to integrations between Nanoleaf's modular lights and Razer's Synapse IoT platform, gamers could enjoy everything from event-based flashes and explosions to instant notifications when a spell is ready to fire, all in glorious technicolor across their gaming space. Now the partnership has expanded to bring game controls to the illuminated touch-tiles, too.
Brain-controlled VR lightshows could lull you to sleep
By most accounts, technology wreaks havoc on our sleep. Even tools meant to help us sleep better can make insomnia worse. But sleep and tech don't have to be mutually exclusive. Artists and researchers from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University have created a virtual reality tool to induce sleep. The device, Inter-Dream, combines ambient music controlled by artists with kaleidoscopic visuals controlled by the user's brainwaves, via EEG.
Withings' entry-level Move smartwatch arrives with custom colors
Back in January, smartwatch maker Withings announced the Move, a low-cost fitness tracker watch that could be customized by the user. Now, a month after the company initially promised shipments would begin, you can finally get hold of the first versions.
Garmin gives its Vivomove smartwatch more style with four new colors
It's been a long time since smartwatch wearers had to settle for boxy lumps of plastic around their wrists. Now manufacturers are able to cram these wearables full of features, style is firmly back on the agenda, as demonstrated by Garmin which has just announced four new color options for its Vivomove HR smartwatch.
GE adds color lightbulbs to its Made for Google lineup
GE unveiled its first Made-for-Google lightbulbs in October last year. Now, it's expanding the range to include full-color LEDs, accessories and smart wall switches, which, like the previous bulb release, can be used without an extra hub and controlled via a single app.
Researchers find a way to fix the purple halo effect in images
While cameras and cutting-edge microscopes have come on leaps and bounds in recent years, the optical technology these kind of products use hasn't really changed since the mid-1700s. Even the highest spec gear relies on compound lenses, which were invented around 1730. Their main function is to bring together different wavelengths of light that otherwise focus in different spots. This corrects what's called "chromatic aberrations," or in other words, the purple halo that appears in images when the wavelengths are focused at different points. The problem is, these lenses are bulky, expensive and not as effective as they could be. But researchers at Harvard have found a solution with its newly-developed "metacorrector".
Sony has some colorful new DualShock 4 pads for your PS4
The DualShock 4 wireless controller has been kicking around for a while now, so it was only a matter of time before PlayStation did something to give it a little marketing boost. And what's the easiest way to do that? New colors, of course. Joining the already extensive color lineup are four new schemes: Berry Blue, Sunset Orange, Blue Camo and Copper. They'll be available across retailers in the US and Canada from September, at $65 USD / $75 CAD each. Take a look at the new colors below.
Samsung's ISOCELL Plus camera sensor upgrades low light performance
While Samsung may be playing catch up in some fields, it continues to charge ahead with its smartphone camera tech. Today it's unveiled its new ISOCELL Plus technology, which means sharper and more accurate photos even in challenging light environments.
Philips' Hue app is actually good now
At this year's CES Philips announced a forthcoming update for its Hue smart lights app. The company kept details to a minimum, but now we know exactly what the promised improvements look like, as v3.0 rolls out on the Play Store today. Alongside a raft of feature additions, it's had a complete makeover.
Color's new DNA test kit can identify inherited heart conditions
Genetic testing company Color is mostly known for its DNA tests for cancer, but its most recent test kit is all about the heart. Color's new kit can detect predispositions to various inherited heart conditions, such as abnormal heart rhythms and any disease affecting the heart muscle and arteries. It does that by analyzing and looking for mutations in 30 genes that determine the heart's structure, function and rhythm. Color admits that hereditary heart conditions aren't that common, but the odds are still one in 200 people.
Google's AI scans and tags millions of 'Life' magazine photos
Google is pretty big on art. Its technology has turned clumsy doodles into masterpieces, transformed smartphones into virtual exhibitions and, in a move that caused momentary internet hysteria, helped selfie-takers find their fine art doppelganger. Now it's unveiled a new set of machine-learning experiments that not only make exploring art more engaging, but help solve some of the biggest challenges faced by curators and museums.
HP's new 4K display lineup has USB-C connectivity
HP made its focus on its business audience clear with its latest range of laptops, and now the brand has rolled out a new lineup of 4K displays, and a multiple display dock, to further reinforce its commitment to professional users. The collection includes the new EliteDisplay S270n, plus three Z-series displays in sizes from 27 to 43 inches.
Samsung made an app that adjusts its TVs for color blindness
Samsung has launched an app that makes watching TV a more vibrant experience for people with color vision deficiency (CVD) -- the inability to distinguish certain shades of color (also known as color blindness). Through the SeeColors app, users can test their visual color spectrum, and based on their unique diagnosis their QLED TV will adjust settings to give a more accurate color display (something a number of video games have been working on for a while, too).
Instagram photos now look better on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
When Apple announced that its latest iPhone would snap brighter, more vivid pictures with its "wide color capture" feature, Instagram was quick to promise an updated app to support that expanded color gamut. Turns out they were half right: today Instagram co-founder and CTO Mike Krieger announced that Instagram users on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus can now take full advantage of their phone's new camera -- and they don't even need to update the app.
Xiaomi flaunts a white model of its bezel-free Mi MIX phone
At Xiaomi's CES event today, it revealed a new, white color for its Mi MIX concept, a phone that is about as close to bezel-free as you'll get. As a reminder, it has a 6.5-inch 1080p, rounded-corner screen, but it's packed into a ceramic body that Xiaomi says is around the same size as a regular 5.5-inch smartphone. That's thanks to the lack of bezels, including almost no "forehead" at the top of the Philippe Starck-designed phone.
Spice up your Facebook timeline with colored backgrounds
Are you tired of that boring black and white text on Facebook? Do you long for the days of MySpace where you could throw caution to the wind and just paint your profile page neon green? Well, you can't quite do that, but Facebook has introduced a new feature that could let you do the next best thing: adding background color to your posts. To do so, tap the "What's on your mind" question (also known as the the empty text field) and start writing. You'll immediately see a color palette option below. Tap your favorite hue and, voila, your Facebook post will be bathed in color as in the image above. Right now, the feature is only available to Android users, but anyone on Facebook should be able to see those stylized posts. It's rolling out to the world starting this week, so get ready for your News Feed to be way more colorful, whether you like it or not.
Exotic bird inspires cheaper light-based camouflage design
Colors usually come from pigments or dyes, but are also created when light is refracted and reflected by microscopic structures. Those iridescent hues, known as "structural coloration," are often seen in nature on bird or butterfly wings. While durable and potentially useful for military and industrial applications, it's difficult and pricey to produce. However, Harvard University researchers have developed a robust and inexpensive way to build materials with structural coloring that could be used for camouflage, solar cells and optical switches.
Microsoft's iOS app augments hues for color-blind folks
Color Binoculars landed on the App Store today, promising to infuse the real world with color for anyone with the three most common forms of color blindness. This isn't the first app designed to help color-blind folks see a broader spectrum of colors, but it comes from two Microsoft software engineers (one of whom is color blind), and its straightforward filter method is simple to use.
This color-changing polymer warns of tiny damage you can't see
Tiny cracks can actually be a big deal when they're forming inside parts of your car or, say, a metal shell that's flying into space. University of Illinois research, led by Professors Nancy Sottos and Scott White, has lead to a polymer coating that could be an important early warning system, making it easier to find trouble spots before something really bad happens. When cracks form in the polymer, micro-beads also crack open, causing a chemical reaction that visibly highlights the damage with color. The capsules are pH sensitive, meaning any damage will cause a strong color change, from yellow to red, with no additional chemicals needed. Deeper, more serious, scratches and damage will create stronger hues of red as more capsules break open.
