IlmenauUniversityOfTechnology
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German university makes objects disappear in real time, will bring the magic to Android (video)
Ever heard of diminished reality? It's much like the augmented sort, except instead of using computers to add information to one's field of vision, DR is about taking things out. That easy enough with a still image, perhaps, but the Technical University of Ilmenau's figured out a way to do it with full motion video. Just draw a circle around the object you want to disappear, and poof, it's practically gone, as the image synthesizer reduces the quality of the image drastically, removes your target and re-enhances in just 40 milliseconds per frame, using object tracking algorithms and guesswork to maintain the illusion as a camera moves around in 3D space. The framework's presently running on Windows, but the team tells us it has plans to port it to Android soon, and it will likely be free for non-commercial use. See it in action after the break. [Thanks, Lars W.]
Researchers develop flying WiFi robots for disaster relief
Researchers at Germany's Ilmenau University of Technology are developing flying quadcopter robots that can be used to form a self-assembling ad-hoc wireless network in the event of disaster. Built with off-the-shelf parts (including VIA's Pico-ITX hardware and a GPS unit) the robots are designed to provide both mobile phone and WiFi access -- and they can do it far more quickly than a technician on the ground might be able to. The device comes in a kit for €300 (about $380), which includes all but the battery -- the batteries currently run around €1,000 (over $1200) and only offer up 20 minutes of flight time. Once the device has found a perch, however, it can operate for "several hours." If you'd like to see some more of this guy, be sure to head on over to FutureParc hall at CeBIT. Either that, or check out the additional picture after the break.[Thanks, David]
