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Video: da Vinci Si robotic system wants to be your surgeon
Oh boy, from the looks of that picture the only perquisites for using the updated da Vinci Si surgical system are video game skills, a preference for interacting with the physical world on a high-def display, and an abnormal interest in robots. Sound like anyone you know? Intuitive Surgical's latest robotic system features two separate HD optical channels that the manufacturer claims will give "highly accurate depth perception" when merged. The surgeon console features touchpad control of the video, audio, and system settings while providing "precise, dexterous control" of a an extensive array of surgical tools held by the robotic flanges. Perfect for all your minimally invasive, WebMD-inspired home surgery needs when not performing transplants at county. Check the video after the break -- amazing is an understatement.[Via MedGadget]
Neuros ships HD-capable OSD 2.0 set-top-box
Was it really 2006 when Linux lovers were sinking their gums into Neuros Technology's OSD? Two years later, we're finally seeing shipment of the OSD 2.0, which diverts quite significantly from the original in terms of design and ups the ante by adding support for encoding high-definition video at 720p in MPEG-4 and D1 resolution in the H.264 format. It's built around a Texas Instruments Davinci-based CPU module and a mini-ITX motherboard / enclosure, but rather than just being a very hackable consumer product, this one is described as a "super-reference design" by CEO Joe Born. You'll likely remember the WhereverTV, which is of course based on the OSD 2.0, and the firm has already landed another partner for the box in Hupla. For the individuals who just want an undisturbed unit, you can latch on now for $250.
Researchers add eye control to Da Vinci robosurgeon
Eye-controlled interfaces are far from revolutionary, but giving one of the world's most famous robotic surgeons the ability to interpret eye movements is most definitely a huge leap forward in the pursuit of making operations less invasive. Reportedly, British researchers have implemented new software into the Da Vinci robosurgeon in order to enable human surgeons to "sit at a viewing console directing the movement of the robot's mechanical arms inside the patient's body." Additionally, the program can track eye movements and "build up a 3D map of the area of tissue the surgeon is looking at," and it seems as if the developments could eventually be used on a variety of other ER-based robots. Just make sure your doctor chugs a couple of Red Bulls before putting you under -- wouldn't want those eyes wandering aimlessly, now would we? (Psst, "no-go zones" are included, thankfully.)[Via Slashdot]
Cowon's all singing all dancing A3: November 14th
Rumored forever before its CES debut in January, Cowon is finally releasing their A3 personal media player. So tell us oh gentle reader, was the DaVinci chipset; 4-inch, 16M color, 480x272 800 x 480 (!!) pixel display; USB host; FM radio and recorder; MPEG-4 video recorder; 1280 x 720 HD output; and vast codec support including DivX, FLAC, OGG, and wide variety of lossless audio worth the wait? Available November 14th in 30GB and 60GB flavors for ???349,000 (about $387) and ???419,000 (about $465), respectively. %Gallery-9884%[Via AVING]
Texas Instruments' DaVinci chip brings high-def to a new low
Texas Instruments has launched their latest low-cost DaVinci MPEG-4 video encoder / decoder intended to bring high-def to a new product set. The $12 DM355 handles MPEG-4 and JPEG processing on an ARM9E CPU core with uber-low power consumption making it perfect for digital photo frames, IP video cameras, digital still cameras and even video baby monitors. If that's not enough, the chip is also equipped with additional coprocessors for resizing, histogram generation and an on-screen display. The low-cost chip of course has its limitations as it cannot encode and decode at the same time but it should work just fine for the stated on-way applications. Oh, and yes, a high-def baby monitor is a good investment even though the old one works fine.
Maxian looks to educate with dictionary-equipped E900DIC PMP
Not willing to be left behind by all those other dictionary-packin' PMPs out there, Maxian has decided to launch a device of its own to both entertain and educate. The E900DIC boasts a stylish white enclosure, simplistic control scheme, and a "Saydic" dictionary that even touts text-to-speech capabilities. Details regarding the actual formats that this thing supports are scant, but we do know it features a DaVinci chipset and plays nice with H.264. Unsurprisingly, this one looks to be a Korean exclusive, but those parked near Seoul can reportedly snag one for between ???400,000 ($430) to ???500,000 ($538).[Via MobileWhack]
odd-i's P480 conglomerate gets DaVinci chip
We'll admit, odd-i's P480 has been around the proverbial block a time or two before, and while the design sure ain't changing much, the internals are yet again seeing a refresh. The latest iteration adopts a Samsung 4.8-inch WQVGA display (love the shirt, bro!), SIRFstarIII GPS receiver, DMB TV tuner, built-in extendable antenna, up to 60GB of internal hard drive space, TV in / out, USB connectivity, uPIM scheduling software, an e-dictionary, and most notably, a DaVinci chip that reportedly "enables users to enjoy a variety of video files without encoding." Slated for release this month in South Korea (where else?), interested consumers can expect it to start around ???458,000 ($498). Peep a few more shots after the jump.
Diasonic's forgettable 4.3-inch portable media player
While we wish that each and every PMP to come flowing out of Korea could be distinguishable from the rest, Diasonic's latest does just about everything it can to fit right in with the crowd. This apparently unnamed PMP sports a matte black finish, touch-sensitive controls on the face, Windows CE 5.0, a DaVinci chipset, text / image viewer, voice recording capabilities, and the obligatory MP3 / movie playback functions. Additionally, you'll find an SD slot to carry your media, a headphone jack, USB connectivity, and a noticeably long antenna that we assume picks up the nearby terrestrial TV broadcasts with ease. The device is said to have been co-developed with Sharp, and will be showcased at the upcoming Sviaz-Expocomm 2007 in Moscow, but there's no word yet on when this run-of-the-mill PMP will be hitting shelves.
PSP has its own Da Vinci puzzle
Alright, so maybe this puzzle doesn't involve Tom Hanks with bad hair and an albino monk, but that's probably a good thing. While browsing new Capcom Puzzle World screens on Gamespot, I came across the image above. It's from one of the Buster Bros games and damn if it don't look trippy. I can't say I have a lot of Buster Bros experience, but I'll likely get this collection regardless since it has a puzzle game I love even more than Lumines; Super Puzzle Fighter II. As a refresher, here is the list of games in this collection: Super Puzzle Fighter II Block Block, Buster Bros (3 versions of it) Capcom Puzzle World puzzle fights its way onto store shelves next month.
Google's Da Vinci Code: two weeks in
The Da Vinci Code web-based game from Google is on its fifteenth day of twenty-four, and we've had time to figure out quite what the game is all about. It's effectively a serialised puzzle game, with daily challenges which increase in difficulty as time wears on. What's more interesting is the sheer weight of Google's cross-promotion. For example, a link to the game appears on standard search results, and the game itself plugs into Google's personalised homepage service. While the logic-based puzzles are straightforward, follow-on questions require some searching, promoting Google's more obscure services such as SMS translation.With the entire Google machine behind it, this game could become very popular indeed -- this seems like a lightweight experiment to test the model, but we wouldn't be surprised if more 'casual' games come out of Google in future.
