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Customer service avatars coming to JFK, La Guardia, Newark airports (video)
When you're running late, you're weighed-down with DIY in-flight entertainment and your gate number gets switched at the last minute, the last thing you need is a real-life human trying to be helpful. The Port Authority knows that, which is why it's promising to install "computerized, hologram-like avatars" in La Guardia, Newark and JFK terminal buildings by early July. The virtual assistants aren't actually holographic -- judging from the video after the break (courtesy of Transportation Nation), they appear to consist of either projected or LCD video displayed on a vaguely human-shaped static board, although given their reported $250,000 price tag we might (hopefully) be missing something. Oh, and they aren't even interactive, unless you try to push them over. [Photo Credit: Jim O'Grady/WNYC]
Actroids go on sale in Japan, John Isidore not impressed
Alright, you already have a robot dancer, some robot housecats, and you even acquired a Roomba to protect your child from poisonous snakes -- what's next for your futuristic replicant menagerie? Starting in January 2010, the Japanese department store Sogo & Seibu will accept pre-orders for Actroid life-sized, animatronic female robots. Unlike some available models, these ones can't walk (or do a two-step, for that matter) but they will sit still and smile politely -- which might be all you really want in a robotic companion anyways. That's OK, we're not here to judge you. Quantities are extremely limited: only two will be sold, at a price of $225,000 each. Get a closer look after the break. Update: One of our friends at Engadget Japanese has filled in a few more of the details: Apparently the robots will only be manufactured in the likeness of the purchaser, so if you were hoping that this would be a good way to get started on populating your own Hall of Presidents, it looks like you're out of luck. Unless, of course, you happen to have a strong resemblance to Chester A. Arthur.
Logitech plans to acquire LifeSize Communications, coming soon to a boardroom near you
There's a good chance you've owned a Logitech webcam at some point in your life, and if all goes according to plan your company's executives might soon be buying them, too. Logitech has announced intent to acquire LifeSize Communications, makers of high-end, high-def video-conferencing systems that primarily find themselves installed at one end of long, richly stained tables, flanked by tall leather chairs and positioned such that the CEO can gesture vaguely toward the camera and proudly say how expensive it was without actually knowing how to use it. If approved, the $405 million deal will put Logitech in competition with industry stalwarts like Polycom and Cisco, creating a no-holds-barred rumble for boardroom domination that will leave no golden parachute untouched.
Lifesize and Radvision hook up soldiers, NFL stars via HD videoconferencing
The Navy's not the only one getting a special taste of the Super Bowl, the U.S. Army is teaming with LifeSize and Radvision to let NFL legends send real time greetings to soldiers at Fort Lewis, Washington. The video calls will use Lifesize's HD videoconferencing technology and Radvision's networking to let the stars and troops feel as though they're in the same rom , despite being many miles apart. We haven't checked our maps, but hopefully Fort Washington's got the necessary OTA coverage and/or necessary cable/satellite agreements to make sure they get the game in HD too.
LifeSize unveils low-cost HD video-conferencing solutions
The corporate videoconferencing market has taken some baby steps towards HD resolutions, but a company called LifeSize is trying to jump the rest of the pack with an array of 720p devices that sell for much lower prices than anything else we've seen. The company's basic solution, the $5,999 LifeSize Express, comes with a microphone, remote, and 720p camera, and features HDMI input and output to pipe additional content over a 1.5mbps connection. Stepping up, the LifeSize Team MP and LifeSize Room add support for more than two participants, with the $8,999 Team MP supporting 4-point single camera communications over a 2.5mbps connection and the Room bumping the specs to 6 points with two cameras and two screens each over 5mbps. Linking two MPs and a Room together in what LifeSize bundles as a turnkey telepresence solution will set you back around $40K, which sounds steep until you compare it to competing $200K SD-res systems on the market. All these are shipping now, according to the company.[Via ZDNet, thanks James]
Casting gets easier thanks to live HD videoconferencing
While you've probably heard how Peter Jackson relied heavily on his trusty iPod to complete the production of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it looks like casting work for the Halo film could take place from afar. Thanks to a "high-definition video communications technology" known as LifeSize -- which has apparently stepped up since its humble beginnings -- casting agents, producers, and directors alike can catch more than a glimpse of potential candidates from around the world without ever setting foot on their private jet. Gearing up to become a hot commodity around Hollywood sets, the LifeSize room features video panels to display the 1,280 x 720 resolution feeds, full-room audio coverage, a camera, wireless remote, and a sweet speakerphone to boot. The video and data are captured in real time and sent instantaneously through an IP address, so long as the bandwidth can handle the pressure. So if you're itching to become an extra in that forthcoming Spielberg flick, but don't exactly reside in LA or NYC, you just might be in luck.
