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NFL reportedly using ball tracking chips in pre-season games
The NFL is using sensors inside footballs during pre-season to track quarterback throwing speeds, running back acceleration, ball position and other stats, according to Recode. The chips are reportedly made by Zebra, a company that already already tracks player statistics for the league using shoulder pad-mounted chips. The NFL used the same ball tracking tech before at the Pro Bowl last year, but the experiment is a first for pre-season. Officials haven't decided if they'll continue it once the regular season starts.
Disney Research uses RFID tags for low-cost interactive games
Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon University have developed a way to use RFID tags to make interactive games and controllers so cheap, they're "essentially disposable." Their system called "RapID" can sense if you're moving or touching objects attached with cheap, battery-less RFID tags in near real time. RFID readers typically take up to two seconds to read tags on luggage or other items, but RapID can recognize movements in as little as 200 milliseconds.
Disney scanner identifies gadgets by their electromagnetic field
If someone placed your naked smartphone on a table alongside two identical models, how would you determine which one is yours? If you're an engineer at Disney Research, you would pull out a little scanner and immediately pinpoint the handset based on the noise it emits. It definitely sounds a little futuristic, but a team of researchers at Disney's innovation labs found that every single piece of technology has its own unique electromagnetic signal, even if they're exactly the same make and model, and built a radio scanner to read them.
Delta is rolling out RFID luggage tags by the end of summer
In an honorable attempt to make air travel slightly less terrible, Delta announced a new program this week that will track of checked baggage via paper RFID tags.
PillDrill does smart medication tracking in style
Folks who rely on medication for a long period may forget their routine once in a while, especially the elderly or anyone with memory loss. It also gets rather dull when every conversation with the family starts with, "Have you taken your pills yet?" This is where PillDrill comes in. The system consists of a hub that resembles a cute-looking alarm clock, a couple of weekly pill strips containing RFID pods (you can add more strips, too), a dozen alphabetical RFID tags for your own bottles, a "mood cube" and a mobile app. You don't need to learn how to program your schedule: Just take your pills the way you're used to -- be it with the pods on the pill strips or with the original pill bottles -- and scan their RFID tags onto the right hand side of the hub as you go along.
Malaysia will use RFID stickers to track vehicles
If you're planning to drive in Malaysia in the next few years, don't expect to maintain a lot of privacy. The country plans to implement RFID-equipped road tax stickers that will help authorities track all vehicles, whether they're local or foreign. It'll start with a pilot program at a border checkpoint this October, but it should expand to cover the whole of Malaysia by 2018. And don't think of trying to take the sticker off -- it'll shatter and transmit a warning if you try to tamper with it.
IKEA's future kitchen tells you how to cook
For IKEA, your future kitchen shouldn't just have the occasional smart appliance -- it should be a technology hub. The furniture store's Concept Kitchen 2025 includes tech and other helpful additions meant to save both time and resources, such as a pantry with induction cooling (to preserve food longer) and a disposal system that automatically packs your recyclables. The highlight, however, is the Table For Living. It packs a camera-equipped projector that both shows recipes on its surface and recognizes ingredients, giving you an idea of what to make with what you have on hand. There's an induction cooktop hidden in the table, too, so you wouldn't have to run between counters to get that hot stew ready. This is just a vision rather than something you can actually buy, but all of IKEA's technology is realistic enough that you could find some of it in your home within the next decade.
Disney World starts accepting Apple Pay and Google Wallet this week
Making a trip to Walt Disney World during the holidays? You might not avoid the long queues or endless parking lots, but you won't always have to pull out your wallet. As promised back in September, the Orlando area theme park will start accepting mobile payments on December 24th. The launch will let you use Apple Pay, Google Wallet and tap-to-pay credit cards to buy tickets, shop at stores and order from both bars and fast service restaurants. There are a few gaps. The system doesn't yet work at places that need a portable payment terminal, so you'll still have to break out the cash or plastic at a table service restaurant. You'll also have to wait until 2015 to get similar treatment at Disneyland in California. But hey, it's a start -- and it may save you a few headaches the next time you're jonesing to take a ride at Space Mountain. [Image credit: Kent Philips]
NFL players to wear shoulder pad RFIDs for on-field stats tracking
The NBA isn't the only professional sports league in the States getting serious about accurate stats accounting. With some help from Zebra Technologies' location system, 17 NFL stadiums will use receivers and RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags inside player's shoulder pads to track movement. The setup provides real-time position data for each player, offering up precise info on acceleration, speed, routes and distance as part of the "Next Gen Stats" initiative for fans. Referees are getting the tags too, in case you've ever wanted more info on those fellas. "Zebra's tracking technology will help teams to evolve training, scouting and evaluation through increased knowledge of player performance, as well as provide ways for our teams and partners to enhance the fan experience," says NFL VP of Media Strategy Vishal Shah. The 15 venues that are hosting Thursday night games are getting outfitted, with Detroit and New Orleans added in to make sure each team gets tallied.
London's Tube to accept contactless payments from September 16th
The contactless payment feature on your bank card is ideal for speeding up minor purchases, and soon it'll be able to replace your Oyster, too. London buses have supported contactless payments for some time, and Transport for London (TfL) has today announced that come September 16th, they'll get you through the barriers at Tube, Overground and DLR stations as well. The benefit of using your bank card is you never have to top it up, and in addition to the daily cap on travel charges already in place, any method of contactless payment will also be subject to a new weekly cap (Monday to Sunday), whereby TfL figures out the cheapest possible fare for that period. You'll be able to keep track of your journey and payment history via an online account, much like you can with a registered Oyster card now. Implementing contactless payments across the wider London transport network comes after a pilot that's been running since April, but TfL are still looking for new lab rats to test the system before its formal launch.
This smart handbag could stop you from overspending
If you're the sort who overspends at the mall, you may need a firm reminder to watch your budget. How does an ever-vigilant handbag sound? Finder.com.au could soon make one: meet the iBag, a prototype carryall that locks you out if it believes you're going to splurge. The Arduino-powered bag automatically shuts tight at those times you're most likely to shop. Outside of those moments, it uses GPS to warn you when you get too close to favorite stores; ignore the alert and it will both record when you take out your wallet as well as send a text message to a trusted partner. iBag is primarily a publicity stunt meant to highlight the dangers of credit card debt, but it might become a reality. The site is asking potential customers to register their interest, and it may sell both men's and women's versions of the bag for $199 AUD ($173 US) if there's enough demand.
GEAK Ring puts NFC on your finger, unlocks phones and shares your contact card
Some say NFC is dead, but GEAK from Shanghai wants to prove them wrong. Announced alongside the GEAK Watch earlier today was this GEAK Ring, a tiny NFC-enabled wearable device that stores your identity. The ring's pitched as an intuitive way to unlock your phone -- just hold it with the hand that's wearing the ring, and it'll unlock without having to type in the password; plus it'll stay awake as long as it's held in the same hand. Another feature is that since the ring has your contact details stored (presumably rewritable), you can also use it to share your contact card with other NFC-enabled devices. But of course, given the risk of NFC cloning, you should treat GEAK's solution as a convenience rather than a more secure method. At launch, this ring will only be compatible with the GEAK Eye and GEAK Mars quad-core phones that were also announced today, but it'll support other devices from the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo starting in November. GEAK will be taking pre-orders from August 8th, and it'll cost Chinese buyers ¥199 or about $30 each. It'll sure go nicely alongside that Google ring.
Airbus Bag2Go smart luggage wields GPS, RFID to skip airport hassles
Many of us avoid flying with checked baggage when possible, and for good reason: even a simple delay can sour a whole trip. Airbus' new Bag2Go prototype could save us from having to pack light, however. The smart luggage carries a raft of sensors that work with an iOS app to bypass the usual airport drudgery. Its RFID chip lets travelers check in their bag and link it to every step of their itinerary; in theory, couriers can ship baggage to the hotel at a lower cost than usual. Bag2Go should also provide some reassurance through GPS tracking and alerts to any possible tampering. Airbus is still early into development, but it foresees a business model where customers can either buy a Bag2Go suitcase at a premium or rent one for a long vacation. As for us? We'll just be happy if our luggage avoids an unexpected detour to Belize.
Skylanders Swap Force is the next annual entry in the 'toys to life' gaming franchise, we go hands-on
Three years, three games. Skylanders Swap Force -- the latest crossplatform entry in the mega-successful Skylanders game franchise -- cements Activision's annual approach to its "toys to life" series. The games merge toy figurines with RFID technology to allow in-game avatar representations of the toys to move from game console to game console, all the while storing unique information about that character. It's essentially the equivalent of how fighting games work in Japanese arcades, albeit with children's toys and a relatively simple action game: you level up your character, which is tied to your toy, and it can be used to continue earning experience on a variety of game consoles. The second iteration brought Giants to the world of Skylanders. This year, Activision's in-house studio Vicarious Visions (known for working on powerhouses like Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk Pro Skater previously) is taking the series in another direction, keeping original Skylanders, the second game's Giants, and adding a new twist in swappable characters. Yes, despite the image above of a half-octopus swashbuckler, this year's innovation isn't destructible characters. That sword in his right ... hand and the water pistol in his left can be replaced on another swappable character's bottom half -- its motion component -- creating an altogether new character. With 16 new characters, that means 256 combinations altogether; an enticing proposition to fans, and a potentially comforting thought to parents hounded by kids for new pieces every week. But it's not just swappable characters that are new in Swap Force. Activision's touting this entry as the first Skylanders entry to've been built from the ground up in HD. That's a notable change for the franchise, marking Activision's focus shifting from Nintendo's Wii to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as Nintendo's Wii U. Oh, and there's jumping. You can jump in this one.
Scrabble board packs RFID technology, broadcasts tournaments online in real-time, costs 20,000 pounds
Used to be, the Scrabble app was the techiest way to play the venerable vocabulary game, but the folks at Mind Sports have given the analog version some serious geek cred. In preparation for the Prague Mind Sports Festival, the organizers spent £20,000 building a Scrabble board with integrated RGB controlled LED lighting, nine embedded circuit boards and 225 RFID antennas (one per square). Plus, special game pieces were crafted containing RFID tags. Why? Well, the wireless tech combined with some purpose-built software lets tournament organizers broadcast games online in real-time -- the system reads the board in a mere 974 miliseconds. Those wishing to see the ultimate Scrabble system in action can do so when the tournament starts on December 1st, and there's more info in the PR after the break.
Butlers, lunar rovers, snakes and airboats: the best of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute
How was your week? We got to spend a couple of days trekking around the Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh, PA to check out some of the latest projects from the school's world renowned Robotics Institute -- a trip that culminated with the bi-annual induction ceremony from the CMU-sponsored Robot Hall of Fame. Given all the craziness of the past seven days, you might have missed some of the awesomeness, but fear not, we've got it all for you here in one handy place -- plus a couple of videos from the trip that we haven't shown you yet. Join us after the break to catch up.
Message from Me offers dispatches from early education, we go eyes-on (video)
What do you get when you attach a point-and-shoot, display, microphone, RFID reader and a bunch of big buttons to a clear plastic box and stick it all in a classroom with a bunch of three- to five-year-olds? Carnegie Mellon's CREATE Lab calls the creation Message from Me. It's a way of engaging early education students with technology, developing language and social skills and helping keep parents abreast of their school day activities. The tool encourages kids to record a thought or take a picture and send it to a parent by pulling a card with their face on it down from the wall and scanning on the RFID reader. Parents can get updates via text message or email from kids who are often unable to pass along such information at the end of the day. According to the lab, the machines have already been installed in nearly a dozen schools in the Pittsburgh area -- and from the looks of the boxes on the floor in the CREATE Lab, plenty more are on the way.%Gallery-169260%
Acoustic barcodes store data in sound, go on just about anything (video)
Technologies like NFC, RFID and QR codes are quickly becoming a normal part of everyday life, and now a group from Carnegie Mellon University has a fresh take on close-quarters data it calls acoustic barcodes. It involves physically etching a barcode-like pattern onto almost any surface, so it produces sound when something's dragged across it -- a fingernail, for example. A computer is then fed that sound through a microphone, recognizes the waveform and executes a command based on it. By altering the space between the grooves, it's possible to create endless unique identifiers that are associated with different actions. It's easy to see how smartphones could take advantage of this -- not that we recommend dragging your new iPhone over ridged surfaces -- but unlike the technologies mentioned earlier, not all potential applications envisage a personal reading device. Dot barcodes around an area, install the sound processing hardware on site, and you've got yourself an interactive space primed for breaking freshly manicured nails. We're pretty impressed by the simplicity of the concept, and the team does a good job of presenting scenarios for implementing it, which you can see in the video below. And, if you'd like to learn a little more about the idea or delve into the full academic paper, the source links await you. [Thanks, Julia]
Security researchers identify transit system exploit in San Fran and New Jersey, create app to prove it
Mobile security company Intrepidus Group presented evidence during the EUSecWest security conference potentially identifying a major flaw in at least two US transit systems. Creating an Android app named "UltraReset" and using it in tandem with an NFC-enabled Android phone (a Nexus S, in this case), security researchers Corey Benninger and Max Sobell were able to reset and reuse -- free of charge -- transit access cards in both San Francisco's MUNI system and New Jersey's PATH system. Before you go getting any bad ideas, know that Benninger and Sobell haven't released the app for public use, and warned both transit systems in late 2011 (though neither region has fixed the exploit, the duo claim). PATH and MUNI share a common chip access card -- the Mifare Ultralight -- which can apparently be reset for 10 extra rides (as demonstrated on video below) via Android phones with NFC, an OS newer than 2.3.3 (Gingerbread). Starting to sound familiar? Intrepidus is, however, releasing a modified version of the app, named "UltraCardTester." The modified app functions just like its nefarious progenitor, except it can't add time to cards (see it in action below). The app can tell you how many rides you have left, and if a system is open to exploit, but it won't assist you in the act of exploiting. We reached out to both New Jersey's PATH and San Francisco MUNI on the issue, but have yet to hear back as of publishing.
Cheap NFC-based chips run on your phone's radio waves, can be read and written
A new generation of cheaper, passively powered smart tags could accelerate NFC adoption very soon. Developed at Sunchon National University and Paru Printed Electronics Research Institute in Korea, the circuits could be printed in a similar method to newspapers, but it's the inclusion of the rectenna that makes the new chip technology so appealing. The combination antenna and rectifier can pick up residual radio waves from your phone to power itself. This new technology could apparently drop the cost of installing NFC to as little as one penny per unit, while offering up additional two-way functionality over its RFID rival. And if there's a speed boost in the process, well, all the better.
