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Google patent would track objects within your gaze
Google already has a patent that would let Glass and other eyewear identify what's in front of you. However, it just received a new patent for a method that could follow your exact gaze. The proposed system would include both forward-facing and eye-tracking cameras, correlating both to determine what's grabbing your attention. It could gauge emotional responses to objects by watching for pupil dilation, and it could be used to charge advertisers based on how long wearers stare at a given ad. Google may also have an eyepiece upgrade to go along with its gaze detection, we'd note -- the company just received a patent for a quantum dot-based eye display. There's no evidence that Google will use either of these new inventions anytime soon, but we wouldn't be surprised if they represent what Glass could look like a few generations from now.
Sony's 2013 HDTVs start shipping, quantum dots are on the way
We got a peek at Sony's 2013 HDTV lineup during CES in January, and now the company has announced they're starting to roll out and confirmed official pricing. The new sets add features like NFC, MHL and Miracast support to certain models, while the top of the line W900A is its first to use Quantum Dot technology in combination with edge LED lighting. Sony's brought back its old Triluminos brand name for the technology, which it claims provides a wider color gamut while keeping prices quite a bit lower than its last TVs to rock the tag, the now-retired XBR8 series. There's no word on the XBR series, but in the lower W- and R- lines the KDL-W900A is the only one with Triluminos. It also brings an extra long internal speaker duct for improved sound and standard NFC remote, and the 55-inch model will carry an MSRP of $3,299. The step down W802A version keeps MHL standard, has the NFC remote as an option and comes in 55- and 47-inch versions that start at $1,799. The 32-inch W650A will ship for $799. The R-Series dodges some of the higher end features, but some still include 3D, WiFi, RVU and the Sony Entertainment Network suite of apps including Netflix, Hulu Plus and more. The R550A has all that and is available in 70-, 60- and 50-inch versions that start at $1,399. Hit the source link for info on more models, or just keep an eye out on (digital) store shelves as these leak into retail.
Quantum dots help return 'Triluminos' RGB LED lighting to Sony HDTVs
While 4K TVs are excellent, for the next couple of years most of us will still be selecting a 1080p model when we're out shopping, and now we've got a little more detail about some of the new ones Sony announced last week. After letting its "Triluminos" RGB LED lighting technology fall by the wayside after 2009 because of its high cost, Sony has brought the brand back in this year's HDTVs. Noted in the press release and highlighted today in the MIT Technology Review, this iteration uses QD Vision's quantum dot technology to enhance the red/green/blue LED backlighting the series is known for. According to the CTO of QD Vision, the TVs start with a blue backlight -- instead of the standard white LED -- which stimulates quantum dots that emit "pure green and pure red." Sony was very proud of its Triluminos tech at the show and our experience at demonstrations seemed to validate the quality of the approach. While we've been hearing about quantum dots for years, this is reportedly their first appearance in a mass produced consumer product, once it hits homes we'll be able to tell if the wait was truly worth it.
3M and Nanosys team-up to roll out quantum dot-enhanced LCDs
Nanosys' eye-popping QDEF (Quantum Dot Enhancement Film) might be inching closer to a display near you. A new partnership with 3M aims to get the color-loving tech commercialized and into mainstream products. The film uses quantum dots to create an LCD with a wider color gamut -- apparently translating to up to 50 percent more color. The quantum dots are packed onto this film in their trillions (yes, trillions) which is then fitted within the backlight. As the new layer would replace the existing one within LCDs, Nanosys' solution aims to avoid the need for new equipment or processes. However, we're still waiting for high-color QDEF to become that "ecosystem changer" we were promised.
Aluminum oxide 'egg-carton' could improve quantum dot efficiency
Quantum dots have been deemed the future of everything from light bulbs, to displays and solar panels. Yet, one thing has been keeping them down -- a lack of efficiency. Current has a tendency to leak in between the dots, instead of passing straight through all the time. But, researchers at Harvard have found a possible solution. By surrounding the dots with an insulating layer of aluminum oxide, which hugs them like an egg carton, they were able to direct the current, greatly increasing the light-emission yield and reducing wasted electricity. Of course, this only applies to light-producing quantum dots at the moment, but it's possible it could eventually be applied to solar panels and increase the amount of energy harvested from the sun's rays. If you're scientifically inclined, check out the latest issue of Advanced Materials for the complete research paper.
Nanosys QDEF screen technology ships in Q4, slips into iPad at SID 2011 (video)
We dropped by Nanosys' nook at SID 2011, and not only was it showing off its new Quantum Dot Enhancement Film, but had hacked the tech into an off-the-shelf iPad. A company representative presented the modified slate as an example of how quickly QDEF's high color gamut magic could be integrated into existing devices, offering "OLED color depth without OLED power consumption and OLED price." Sure enough, we were told to expect to see QDEF in a "mobile device," probably an Android tablet, sometime in Q4; when pushed for details, our rep could only tell us that the device would come from a Korean firm. (LG or Samsung, take your pick.) Integrating QDEF into new devices may be a snap, but company representatives told us the film could add as much as 100 microns to a screen's thickness, suggesting that smartphone manufactures aren't too keen on the idea of a thicker display. Still, Nanosys has high hopes for the new film and told us that it expects high-color QDEF to become an "ecosystem changer," as industry-altering as HDTV. The firm even suggested "wide color gamut" apps could be in our near future -- we love our color depth here at Engadget, but somehow it's hard to see Angry Birds: High Color (its suggestion, not ours) taking off. Check out our hands-on after the break. %Gallery-123854%
Nanosys unveils Quantum Dot Enhancement Film for LCDs, promises all kinds of colors
Another day, another step closer to quantum dot reality. Today, Nanosys unveiled its new Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF), marking the first time that the nanotechnology is available for LCD manufacturers. According to the company, its optical film can deliver up to 60 percent of all colors visible to the human eye, compared with the 20 to 25 percent that most displays offer. To create QDEF, Nanosys' engineers suspended a blend of quantum dots within optical film and applied it to a blue LED, which helped get the nanocrystals excited. Once they started hopping around, the dots emitted high-quality white light and a rich, wide color gamut, without consuming as much power as white LED-based materials. No word yet on when we can expect to see QDEF in consumer displays, but Nanosys claims that the film is "process-ready" and easy for manufacturers to integrate. For now, you can amuse yourselves by comparing the two frogs pictured above and guessing which one is covered in quantum dots. Full PR after the break.
NanoPhotonica develops S-QLED, OLED to develop inferiority complex soon
Ahh, the wonders of OLED -- flexible displays, great viewing angles, and low power consumption. However, the folks at NanoPhotonica have "perfected" a quantum dot display technology called S-QLED that allegedly has superior picture quality, uses 30 percent less power, and costs three-quarters less than its OLED competition. The company is gearing up for mass production and is in talks with several OEMs to start producing S-QLED displays, but unfortunately there's no timetable for when they'll get to market. Guess we'll have to wait a bit longer to see just how perfect these QLEDs really are.
Samsung creates first full-color quantum dot display, threatens to make Dippin' Dots obsolete
We haven't been serving up quantum dots news for quite as long as we've been regaling you with tales of quantum computers, which is just as good because we're about to tell you the technology is still at least three years away from showing up in something you can buy. But, it is getting closer, with Samsung demonstrating a four-inch quantum dot display with full color. Quantum dots are nanocrystals that emit light when they get excited, perhaps on Christmas morning or when waiting for the list of school cancellations on a snowy morn. The size of the crystal dictates the wavelength of light emitted, and by laying precise grids of different sized crystals Samsung creates RGB pixels of the sort needed to make a display. Pixels can be applied directly to glass or to a flexible surface, and in theory they'll be far more efficient than an LCD while brighter and longer-lasting than OLED. Right now, however, they don't achieve any of those benchmarks, which is unfortunately where we circle back to the whole "three years away" thing.
LG and QD Vision unite for QLEDs: the quantum dot displays of our power-efficient future
Seems like LG really has a thing for those quantum dot LEDs. After hooking up with Nanosys earlier this year, the Korean giant is now stretching out another of its tentacles -- LG Display, to be specific -- for a partnership with a competing QLED designer in QD Vision. What's being promised by this joint venture falls right in line with your generic pipe dream -- better color accuracy than OLEDs, up to twice the power efficiency at a given color purity, and a cheap and straightforward manufacturing process. In fact, because QLEDs do not require the same glass substrate as most current display technologies, they offer unmatched flexibility (olé!) in terms of how and where they may be used. The only downer, and you had to know there would be one, is that QD Vision describes its tech as still in the "development stage," but hey, at least we have another cool acronym to add to our library.
Fujitsu's quantum dot laser fires data at 25Gbps, not just for show
Fujitsu just announced what's reportedly the world's first quantum dot laser capable of 25 gigabits per second of data transmission. Go on -- there's no need to hold your applause. Now, we've seen lasers beam packets at 1.2 terabits per second over miles of open ground, and up to 15.5Tbps through a fat optical pipe, so why would a measly 25Gbps attract our attention? Only because we hear that the IEEE is hoping to create a 100Gbps ethernet standard by 2010 (that's now!) and four of Fujitsu's new nanocrystal lasers bundled together just so happen to fulfill that requirement. It also doesn't hurt that the company's quantum dot solution reportedly uses less electricity than the competition, and that Fujitsu has a spin-off firm -- QD Laser -- champing at the bit to commercialize the technology. All in all, this tech seems like it might actually take off... assuming early adopters are more successful than major corporations at deploying the requisite fiber. Either that, or we'll just enjoy some seriously speedy displays and external drives, both of which sound downright delightful in their own right.
InVisage envisions a world where cell phone cameras don't suck, embraces quantum dots
The invention of nanocrystal semiconductors -- more commonly called quantum dots -- has spurred scientists to create everything from precisely-colored LED lamps to higher-density flash memory. There's also been some talk of applying a solution of the tiny crystals to create higher sensitivity cameras, and according to a company named InVisage, that latter utility is almost ready for commercial production. By smearing light-amplifying quantum dots onto the existing CMOS sensors used in cell phone cameras like so much strawberry jam, InVisage claims it will offer smartphone sensors that have four times the performance and twice the dynamic range of existing chips by the end of the year, and roll out the conveyor belts in late 2011, just in time for the contract to end on your terrible new cameraphone. [Thanks, Matt]
Nanosys and LG Innotek agree deal for newfangled LED-backlit displays
For the nitty gritty of how Nanosys' proprietary LED backlighting technology works, check out our earlier coverage here -- what you really need to know is that the company promises a significantly wider color gamut from its displays, while reducing power consumption by up to 50 percent. Quantum dot LEDs have shown their faces before, but now there's the big hulking heft of LG Innotek -- LG's component manufacturing arm -- behind what Nanosys is offering, which indicates we might actually see the release of nanotech-infused displays within the first half of this year as promised. The early focus appears to be on mobile phones, which gives us yet another next-gen feature to add to our list of requirements for our next phone. Check out the full PR after the break.
Quantum dots make for more pleasing LED lamps
Many who grew up beneath a warm, inefficient incandescent or halogen glow are having a hard time coming to grips with the stale, stiff, efficient illumination provided by CFL or LED bulbs. Two companies, Nexxus Lighting and QD Vision, have paired up to change that, with the former providing an 8 watt (75 watt equivalent) LED bulb, and the latter providing a thin film of quantum dots that can precisely control its color. The dots are microscopic particles that filter light into different colors depending on their size, from red to blue as the dots get smaller -- some only 10 atoms in diameter. The first bulbs are due later this year, and while no word on price is given, Nexxus's current LED bulb costs $100 on its own and surely that layer of dots won't come cheap. Also, no word on whether you'll need to use a Handlink to turn the thing on and off.[Via Physorg]
New nanotechnology augments vision, optic blasts not included
It wouldn't be as much of an icebreaker as saying you have a bionic eye, but University of Colorado Hospital's Jeffrey Olson has developed a procedure for improving eyesight that involves injecting nano-sized semiconductors called "quantum dots" into the retina. These dots stimulate electrical activity in working parts of the eye and slows degradation in the rest, and early tests on rats have been shown to successfully increase perception. Although intended for those with damaged vision, this might be just the thing for watching your neighbors' HBO from the comforts of your windowsill -- hey, we won't judge you.[Via New Scientist]
Researchers using pulses of light to quickly decipher codes
While we imagine most Wolverines are focusing their efforts on gathering up the requisite tailgating gear for the onset of fall, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan are busy finding ways to decipher encryption codes "within seconds." The crew has apparently discovered that by "using pulses of light to dramatically accelerate quantum computers," these systems could not only crack "highly encrypted codes" in moments versus years, but it could also "lead to tougher protection of [sensitive] information." Additionally, the findings rely on "quantum dots and readily available, relatively inexpensive optical telecommunications technology to drive quantum computers," which could lead to quicker implementation of quantum level applications. Hackers, meet your dream machine.[Via TGDaily, image courtesy of Technovelgy]
