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STMicroelectronics' 3-axis MEMS gyroscope gives a new level of control to your mobile

by Darren Murph posted Nov 16th 2009 at 9:32AM

Man, talk about timely. We heard right around 11 months ago that MEMS gyroscopes would be hitting an array of handsets in 2009, and while it's looking like that estimate will be just a touch off, you won't catch up kvetching with "early 2010." STMicroelectronics has just announced its new 3-axis MEMS gyroscope, which promises 360 degree "angular-rate detection for high-precision 3D gesture and motion recognition in mobile phones, game controllers, personal navigation systems and other portable devices." The gyro is said to provide two separate outputs for each of the three axes at the same time: a 400dps full-scale value for slow motion, and a 1,600dps full-scale value to detect and measure speedy gestures and movements. We're told that samples of the tech are available now with mass production scheduled for Q1 2010; and yeah PSP, it's totally cool if you keep sweating. NGage is about to be back... with a vengeance!

[Via FarEastGizmos]

Samsung and Uni-Pixel team up for better, cheaper TMOS displays

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 19th 2009 at 11:41PM

Uni-Pixel has developed a new display technology that could succeed LCD and LED displays, and if all goes according to plan we might see something come to market as soon as next year. Opcuity uses one layer of MEMS film in in a TMOS (multiplexed optical shutter) device for results that are said to be ten times brighter and sixty percent cheaper to manufacture than LCDs (which use five layers). Since TMOS displays are very similar to LCDs, existing manufacturing lines can be used -- lowering start-up costs and rescuing older assembly lines in the process. According to the company's CFO, the manufacturing process "subtracts from existing LCD lines--you just need to remove some equipment that is no longer needed." Samsung and Uni-Pixel have teamed up to produce 4-inch displays using the technology, but who knows? Maybe Microsoft Research's interactive office will become a reality sooner than you think.

[Via OLED-Info]

Mizzou's nuclear battery to power things smaller than your brain can imagine

by Darren Murph posted Oct 10th 2009 at 11:52AM

Oh yeah, everyone loves the extended battery, but are we really kosher with the added bulge? A team of boffins at the University of Missouri certainly aren't, as they've spent the last good while of their lives researching and developing a new nuclear battery that could be used to power devices much smaller than, well, most anything. The radioisotope cell, as it's called, can reportedly "provide power density that is six orders of magnitude higher than chemical batteries," and while some may question the safety of this potentially volatile device, the liquid semiconductor (used instead of a solid semiconductor) should help ease concerns. The current iteration of the device is about the size of a penny, and it's intended to power a variety of MEMS systems. Now, if only these guys could find a way to make a standard AA last longer than a week in our Wiimote, we'd be pleased as punch.

[Via BBC, thanks Jim]

Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2009 at 6:11AM

Here's hoping every pico projector outfit on the planet is paying attention to what's going down at CEATEC, otherwise they can pretty much forget about competing with what Funai is boasting. Seen here in Japan, this prototype projector utilized a Nippon Signal MEMS scanner and a great deal of top-secret technology in order to actually add multitouch capabilities to whatever surface is lucky enough to receive the projected image. You read right -- if you use this PJ to beam up an image on your bathroom wall, school whiteboard or any other surface, you can count on that surface having multitouch capabilities while the image is live. Once projected, users simply twist and turn the image in order to have it modified in real-time, and while there are obviously far more enterprise-based uses for this than consumer-based uses, there's no denying the awesomeness. Have a peek of the beamer in action after the break, and expect it to go commercial sometime in 2010 (if we're lucky).

[Via Tech-On!]

Gallery: Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall

Continue reading Funai Eco Scan projector adds multitouch capabilities to your bedroom wall (video)

NEMS takes step forward, MEMS looking nervously over shoulder

by Vladislav Savov posted Jul 27th 2009 at 8:42AM

Just as it's starting to seem like MEMS motion sensor technology is gaining more widespread use, we're now hearing rumblings of activity from the developers of its eventual successor: NEMS (Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems). To contextualize this discussion (and to give laypeople a shot at understanding), MEMS sensors are the magic behind the Wii MotionPlus as well as a stunning tech demo recently conducted on a Toshiba TG01. The nascent nano version promises even greater sensitivity, and now scientists from TU Delft in the Netherlands claim they have successfully measured the influence of a single electron on an 800nm-long carbon nanowire. Just detecting such an event is a feat in itself, while the ability to measure its effects can be used in a huge range of ways: from transportation and medicine to ultra-sensitive gaming controllers. While accurate comparisons between the Dutch breakthrough and current generation sensors cannot yet be drawn, we can confidently say that this marks an important step toward making our dreams of playing a nanoscale piano a gargantuan reality.

Toshiba TG01 gets third-party motion sensor for large picture viewing, not virtual golf

by Ross Miller posted Jul 22nd 2009 at 7:44PM

Looking for a way to further push the Snapdragon processor while constrained with a 4.1-inch screen, the Japanese-based Usuda Research Institute and Systems Corp has tacked on a MEMS motion sensor to Toshiba's T-01A, also known as the TG01, for motion-based navigation around what it's touting is a 2,000-inch picture. According to Nikkei, this "MotionPlus" like adapter has been shown to work alongside the camera, potentially paving the way for some AR application like we've seen with Tegra. It's hard to tell from the videos just how accurate it is, but we'd love to see this go official -- after a few cosmetic improvements, of course. Check out footage of the dongle in action after the break.

[Via WMPoweruser]

Continue reading Toshiba TG01 gets third-party motion sensor for large picture viewing, not virtual golf

InvenSense gloats about world's first 6-axis MEMS-based motion sensing solution

by Darren Murph posted May 28th 2009 at 2:06PM

We tell ya, some proud folks work at InvenSense. After boasting last year about its Wii MotionPlus-powering IDG-600 motion sensor, the company is set to gloat once more at E3 this year. The cause for celebration? Its 6-axis motion processing solution, which it's calling a world's first. Said solution weds its IME-3000 3-axis accelerometer with its IDG dual-axis family of gyros in order to produce a wicked small 6-axis motion sensor. In theory, at least, this creation is small enough to add MotionPlus-like capabilities to smartphones and other ridiculously small devices, with even TV remotes holding the promise of one day letting you "roll through" the EPG. Currently, the only big-name devices utilizing 5- or 6-axis motion functionality is Logitech's MX Air Mouse and the aforementioned MotionPlus accessory, but obviously InvenSense is hungry for more. Too bad that DSi already launched, right?

Samsung's MEMS shutter could massively improve high megapixel cameraphones

by Darren Murph posted May 15th 2009 at 7:05PM

We won't go so far as to say that SE and LG are waiting for this here technology to go commercial -- after all, we're still years (at best) away from that -- but considering that the ninth iteration of your favorite smartphone is likely destined to boast a 453 megapixel camera, we're thrilled to see someone working to make those captures worth looking at. Over in Japan, Sammy is teasing a new MEMS shutter that measures just 2.2 millimeters in diameter and would essentially allow cameraphones to grab blur-free images even with ultra-high megapixel sensors. Feel free to dive into the read link if you're into technobabble; otherwise, just be sure to pay attention in around a decade when this stuff actually has a bearing on your life.

Quantum PI's nanoTrek sensors pick up vibration and motion your Wiimote could never dream of

by Paul Miller posted May 1st 2009 at 9:52AM

Quantum PI has just built the first motion sensor chip to use "quantum tunneling," which sounds theoretically unsafe, but we'll follow along. The nanoTrek sensors are classified as NEMS (Nano Electric Mechanical Systems) as opposed to the "bulky" MEMS sensors that can be found everywhere from the Wii to the iPhone. nanoTrek's sensing area is a mere 50 x 50 microns, and its sensitivity is 5 to 10 times greater than MEMS chips. There are all sorts of boring industrial applications to such a sensor, but we're looking forward to the not-too-distant-future when we can be completely disappointed by a brand new version of Super Monkey Ball.

[Via The Inquirer]

Inventec's mirasol-equipped V112 smartphone goes on display

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 3rd 2009 at 8:44PM

We couldn't get the thing to turn on -- prototype buffoonery, zapped battery, or a classic case of trade show jitters, we figure -- but Inventec's curious V112 was on display inside Qualcomm's booth at CTIA. Why Qualcomm, you ask? Well, Qualcomm owns Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, which has been pushing its mirasol display tech for several years now; the main draw is that it's super high-contrast which eliminates the need for a backlight in many situations where a traditional LCD would need a little help, and the WinMo-powered V112 uses a small mirasol strip as a secondary display surrounded by nav controls. Even though we weren't getting any Windows Mobile action, we did manage to engage the mirasol display (also known as "the cool part") where we saw an example of what the V112 might be able to do without turning on the battery-destroying LCD up top: show basic status information and the current time. It's a good idea; we're not sure that the V112's implementation is perfect since there's zero tactility to the d-pad, but you've got to start somewhere, and mirasol could use as many commercial implementations as it can get.

Gallery: Hands-on with Inventec's Mirasol-equipped V112 smartphone

Cyborg beetles commandeered for test flight, laser beams not (yet) included

by Ross Miller posted Jan 29th 2009 at 3:02AM

Remember that DARPA initiative from a few years back to create cyborg insects? With funding from the agency, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have managed to control a rhinoceros beetle via radio signals, demonstrated in a flight test shown on video at this week's IEEE MEMS 2009 conference. A module placed on the arthropod uses six electrodes affixed to the brain and muscles to commandeer its free will. The device weighs 1.3g -- much less than the 3g payload these guys can handle, and with enough wiggle room to attach sensors for surveillance. Ultimately, scientists say they want to use the beetle's own sensors -- namely, its eyes -- to capture intel and its own body energy to power the apparatus. Keep an eye on this one, we expect it to play a major role in the impending robots vs. humans war.

[Thanks, Mimosa]

Qualcomm's mirasol display tech shuffles into GPS prototype

by Darren Murph posted Jan 8th 2009 at 12:01AM

Qualcomm's mirasol display technology has had quite a rough time gaining mass appeal, but if it could really break into, say, the GPS market, it might just be onto something. Here at CES, G-CORE will be showcasing the first ever GPS device to utilize the tech, though it's probably not the GPS you're dreaming of. The Mini Caddy is simply a GPS Range Finder, though the application makes sense given just how frequently such a device will be viewed in direct sunlight. Within it will be a 1.2-inch bichrome mirasol display, 1GB of internal memory and map data of up to 25,000 golf courses worldwide. Obviously, no pricing or release information has been decided upon, but you catch the release in full after the break.

Continue reading Qualcomm's mirasol display tech shuffles into GPS prototype

MEMS gyroscopes rumored to hit array of phones in 2009

by Darren Murph posted Dec 12th 2008 at 2:59PM

Details on this one are freakishly scarce, but DigiTimes has it that a number of recognizable handset makers are looking to incorporate MEMS gyroscopes into their 2009 smartphones. It's anticipated that such devices would be used to sense motion in one form or another, with brands like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and Apple (we know you're thinking, so stop) expected to welcome the tech with open arms. So, why the sudden interest in G-sensors? Falling prices, of course -- and the natural expectation of consumers for their future phones to be entirely more sensitive to their feelings than the one they're using currently.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Color mirasol-equipped Freestyle Audio DAP gets spec'd, no closer to release

by Darren Murph posted Sep 12th 2008 at 8:51AM

Well, wouldn't you know it? Just after we bash Qualcomm for talking up its second color mirasol-based design before shipping the first, along comes a little justification of our actions. Over in San Francisco, said company is trumpeting an item that we first heard about back in May, but regrettably, it doesn't sound as if we're any closer to getting a release date. What we are told is the device's name: the Freestyle Audio Soundwave Ltd. Edition, or -- more formally -- the FA300. It'll boast a 0.9-inch color mirasol display, a waterproof casing, built-in Bluetooth, and a whole host of other niceties that we're sure to find out about before the next decade dawns. 'Til then, we'd suggest a hearty helping of patience.

Skullcandy to cram color mirasol display into MFM Pro headphones

by Darren Murph posted Sep 12th 2008 at 4:02AM

Remember that Freestyle Audio player that was supposed to blow folks away with its integrated color mirasol display? Yeah, that one that still hasn't shipped? Qualcomm is apparently uninterested in that tiny little factoid, as it's proudly pumping the MFM Pro headphones as the "second color mirasol-enabled design for the US market." According to Jim Cathey, vice president of business development for Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, the deal with Skullcandy is being made to "move mirasol displays into the hands of more consumers," but considering just how long we've been waiting for the aforementioned DAP, we'd say the burden of proof is squarely in its court. Oh, and the ship date for these cans? There isn't one.

[Via Slashgear]