futurelab
Latest
Sony’s ‘open-ear’ Xperia Ear Duo buds ship in the US May 25th
Sony's Xperia Ear Duo "open-ear" buds will debut on May 25th in the US. Sony had already opened pre-orders at Amazon, and now you can place an advance order via brick-and-mortar gadget retailer b8ta. They'll set you back $280, with a choice of black or gold designs.
Sony shows off its first set of weird and wild Future Labs prototypes
Last week, Sony took the wraps off its Future Lab initiative -- an R&D arm of the company showing off early prototypes of products and gathering feedback to help shape their development process. Today at SXSW, Sony showed off some of those prototypes to the press. As expected, the company had a new type of wearable to show off. It's called "Concept N," and its arc-like design reminded me of some Bluetooth headphone sets out there -- but the device is quite a bit different from a simple pair of headphones.
Super Crate Box, Fuel Tiracas free on PS Mobile
Sony continues its PS Mobile promotion with another pair of free downloads today. If you have a PlayStation Certified device or PS Vita, you can grab Super Crate Box and Fuel Tiracas for free right now. Super Crate Box, from Vlambeer, is an arcade action game where players must battle waves of encroaching enemies while collecting crates – which have weapons inside of them – on a multi-tiered 2D level. We found the PS Vita installment to be the definitive version. Fuel Tiracas, a PS Mobile launch game from FutureLab, is a resource-management puzzle variation on the classic Whac-a-Mole carnival game. Players must boot up generators in the correct order so the titular planet of Tiracas can have breathable air. To grab either (or both) of these games, simply head into the PlayStatin Mobile section of the PlayStation Store on PS Vita or, if you're on a PlayStation Certified device, simply head into the PlayStation Mobile store.
GM teams with Future Lab on interactive Windows of Opportunity, MI:4 tech lives on
Wishing your vehicle had a better-integrated entertainment system than the iPad you're forced to futz with in the backseat? If GM has its way, you may be in luck. The auto manufacturer has joined forces with the Future Lab at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel to transform boring rear windows into interactive touchscreens. Since there are no plans to work the tech into production models right now, R&D gave the students a blank... er, clear canvas on which to create solutions.The results include apps that allow an animated character to respond to scenery outside the window and finger drawing on window steam. Two other applications enable a look into users' windows worldwide and a music stream-and-share with your mates on the road. "Traditionally, the use of interactive displays in cars has been limited to the driver and front passenger, but we see an opportunity to provide a technology interface designed specifically for rear seat passengers," said Tom Seder, GM R&D lab group manager. Check out the apps in action or the particulars in the PR after the break.
Update: Teaching with Games project discovers school computers are not up to date, holding students back
Last September, when Teaching with Games project* workers headed into UK schools with stacks of CD-ROMs, they didn't anticipate that the schools' computers would not be equipped with CD-ROM drives. Futurelab's Annika Small believes that technology is affecting the UK education system's ability to adapt to the times. "If you look at a classroom, it has hardly changed at all in the past 150 years," says Small.The current education system is at odds with technology, scrambling to combat tech-savvy kids who are using devices, like their cell phones, to cheat. Small argues that if schools embrace technology and train teachers to tap into its educational potential, students will readily reform.*The Teaching with Games project is run by Futurelab, an education charity, in collaboration with Electronic Arts.See also: And today's homework is: play videogames
