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British surgeons using radiation beams to halt macular degeneration
We've seen more eyesight restoration efforts than we could easily count, but rather than tooting their horn about some theoretical discovery, boffins at Kings College Hospital in London are actually putting their hard work to use on real, live human brings. The new process, which goes by the name brachytherapy, is a one-off treatment for macular degeneration. In essence, surgeons carefully light up a beam of radiation within the eye for just over three minutes, which kills harmful cells without damaging anything else. A trial is currently underway in order to restore eyesight in some 363 patients, and everything thus far leads us to believe that the process is both safe and effective. As for costs? The procedure currently runs £6,000 ($9,889), but that's still not awful when you consider that existing treatments involving injections run £800 per month. Hop past the break for a video report.
NTT DoCoMo's eye-controlled music interface evolves at CEATEC (video)
NTT DoCoMo's R&D labs are amongst the busiest in the world, and here at CEATEC the company is showing off a development that it has had in the oven for quite some time. The difference now? Elegance. The eye-controlled music interface that we first spotted in mid-2008 is being showcased yet again here at the Makuhari Messe, but instead of having a short straw-drawing employee stand around with an absurd amount of headgear on, this year's demonstrator was equipped with little more than a special set of earbuds, a few cables and a swank polo. Put simply, the contraption watched subtle changes in eye movements and altered the music accordingly. A look to the right moved the track forward, while a glance to the left went back a track. The demo seemed buttery smooth, but there's still no telling when this stuff will go commercial. Still, progress is progress, and there's a video after the break showing as much. %Gallery-74737%
Video: doctors implant tooth into eye, restore sight, creep everyone out
Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis. It's a real procedure that really does revive people's ability to see, yet we get the feeling that people will be more, um, excited about how it's done than why it's done. The seemingly Mary Shelley-inspired doctors extract a tooth from a blind person and drill a hole through it, where a prosthetic lens is placed, and the resulting macabre construction is implanted into the blind person's eye. The tooth is necessary as the body would reject an artificial base. It's not at all pretty, and it cannot repair every type of blindness, but it's still a major step forward. To hear from Sharron Thornton, the first American to have undergone the procedure, check the video after the break, but only if you can handle mildly graphic content -- you've been warned. [Via Daily Tech]
EyePet making your coffee table more adorable Nov. 17
Finally, we can attach a date to the exact moment kids across the world can stop begging for real-life, responsibility-mandating pets, and can instead fall in love with their virtual, responsibility-free counterparts. That is to say, we know the release date for Sony's EyePet -- it's set to drop November 17 in the States. If you've got a PlayStation Eye already, you can pick up the core game for $39.99 -- though an Eye-equipped bundle is also coming for $59.99.For a quick breakdown of what EyePet is all about, check out the recent PlayStation.Blog video posted after the break. Here's a quick summary: It's like Seaman, only way less creepy, and with a Monkey-esque thing instead of a Man-Fish, and also the Monkey-thing will never learn to speak and question you about your sex life. We hope.
TruFocals make steampunk glasses a functional, expensive reality
Glasses with an adjustable focal length -- sounds so simple, somebody must have already done it, right? Well, yes, but earlier efforts have looked more like diving goggles than something you could, you know, wear in public. The Harry Potter-esque TruFocals, on the other hand, are (only just) acceptable looking and operate via the golden slider you see above. By tweaking translucent fluids between a pair of lenses for each eye, it alters the distance at which the specs focus, sort of like having your very own zoom function. The price for such flexibility is $895, which inventor Stephen Kurtin considers a sterling bargain, and we've got video of him after the break explaining just how awesomely revolutionary his product is.[Via CNET]
Sony nabs patent for everyday object motion detection: the fragile glass of your TV won't know what hit it
All we've got to say is that they'd better be selling seats to the first living room demonstration of this tech when somebody gets cute and grabs a real baseball bat for a demo. Sony has filed a patent for technology using the PlayStation Eye which can detect regular objects in 3D space and file them away in a database for later use in gameplay. Naturally, the camera already does object motion detection of a sort with the blocky embedded codes on Eye of Judgement cards, but this seems to be taking that tech to a new level, and would imply that you won't necessarily need to be waggling that goofy ball-on-a-stick controller that Sony demoed at E3 for all upcoming motion control titles for the PS3. But for some reason we're sure we should be scared of whatever combination it does turn out to be. [Via Joystiq]
PS3's motion controller: force feedback, up to four per console
Sony has taken a few of its developers aside and doled out a few new morsels of info about its upcoming PlayStation 3 motion controller. Leaving the Sixaxis as the black sheep of the family, the wand supports force feedback from the get-go, and up to four of the devices can be tracked at one time. The technology can work in conjunction with PlayStation Eye's face / head tracking and built-in mic, but naturally that's gonna tax the Cell processor more. The company's reportedly considering some joint use of the motion remote and standard controller, with the example given of holding the wand as sword and DualShock 3 as shield. We're not sure if that'll somehow count additionally toward the max wand limit -- probably not, at the expense of not using the more accurate color-changing ball tracker -- but it's definitely more cost efficient for the consumer than having to pick up another remote. Tentatively launch window is still Spring 2010, which as it turns out is infinitely more than what we know about Natal's release date at this point. [Via Joystiq]
Yoichi Yamazaki's latest bot has hungry eyes, nothing else
A quick glance can say a lot, but sometimes its meaning can get lost in translation. For example, there's not a lot of difference between a dirty look and a, uh, dirty look, but Yoichi Yamazaki and cohorts at the Tokyo Institute of Technology hope to quantify that (and many more) by creating a so-called Eye Robot. It's a pair of disembodied eyeballs that create expressions in concert with pink eyelids; a user views each expression and then indicates how it makes him or her feel. At this point it seems like something of a scatter-shot affair, throwing out expressions at random and seeing which elicit a reaction, but hopefully in the near future Yamazaki's metrics will help make the vacant gaze of other bots a little less disconcerting. [Via Engadget Poland]
Brauswitch gives you eyebrow control, that Karate Kid look
Forget controlling things with your mind, hands or feet -- how's about your completely underutilized eyebrows? Without any real output in mind, one Robert Carlsen designed the Brauswtich to give wearers the ability to control any number of things with just an eyebrow raise. Fully endorsed by The Rock, this apparatus contains a digital switch that can be activated when an eyebrow movement forces the tiny slit shut. Details behind the magic have yet to be revealed, but you can bet you'll see these infiltrating the likes of Spencer's Gifts, Hot Topic and Loose Lucy's when it's good and ready. Naturally, a demo video is after the break.[Via MAKE]
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]
British physics professor perfects "tunable eyeglasses" -- no eye doctor required
We've seen small scale liquid lenses progress from concepts to commerical applications, and now Joshua Silver, a retired physics professor at Oxford University, has perfected what he calls "adaptive glasses," applying similar tech in a singular and ingenious way. Aimed at helping developing nations where glasses are expensive and doctors are often in short supply, Silver's spectacles are made of tough plastic with with silicone liquid in the lenses. When purchased, each lense will have a syringe attached to it, and the wearer will be able to adjust the amount of liquid in the lenses -- which essentially changes the prescription -- without the need for an optician. About 10,000 pairs have been distributed in Ghana on a trial basis, with plans to distribute one million pairs in India in the next year -- the ultimate goal is one billion by 2020. And somewhere else in the world, a room full of opticians cry into their beer.
Filmmaker hopes to replace false eye with webcam, become a superhero
There are quite a few eerie similarities between Rob Spence and Tanya Vlach. For starters, they're both artists, and secondly, they both currently have one prosthetic eye. The real kicker? Each of 'em wants a camera stuck in there instead. In what we can only hope is (or isn't?) a freakishly growing trend, Mr. Spence has reportedly sought consultation from the University of Toronto's Steve Mann, a self-proclaimed expert in the field of wearable computing and cyborgs. Essentially, Rob is hoping to install a webcam in his eye socket in order to become a so-called "lifecaster." The camera wouldn't actually be wired to his brain, thus his level of vision would remain subpar, but it would make him a living science experiment that would surely prove insightful to an array of others. As of now, it sounds like the road to installation is long, but we get the impression that this guy isn't apt to give up until the proverbial fat lady begins to bellow.
Wrath 101: An introduction to raiding
For some of you, your eyes will be on the goals of end game. You're not going to need as many consumables now as you did before. This represents a change in Blizzard philosophy. Don't even think about using Mana Oils or Wizard Oils (or stones) as they will not work on items over level 70. Pro tip: Chances are, you'll be using your present weapons for a while. Might as well use any you have left over for those while you level until you come across a replacement weapon. Naxxramas It once hovered over the Eastern Plaguelands. Now you can find this entry level instance in Dragonblight to the east. Players that experienced the old version of Naxx will notice many similarities in this latest rendition. Many of the bosses have returned (with the exception of a particular Knight from the 4 Horsemen). Obsidian Sanctum This is the first entry level Onyxia style boss you'll encounter. Sartharion is surrounded by 3 mini-boss dragons. Think of it as a modified Zul'Aman instance challenge. You can set the difficulty of the encounter by sparing any number of dragons. Leaving all 3 up when you engage Sartharion results in more items (and better quality). The Sanctum is also located in Dragonblight below Wyrmrest Temple. The Eye of Eternity Malygos makes the Eye of Eternity his domain. This is the only raid instance you will find in The Nexus. Before you can summon Malygos, you need to have the Heroic Key to the Focusing Iris (or its 10 man counterpart, the Key to the Focusing Iris). It'll be the first instance where you get to engage the boss on flying mounts! Check out our walkthrough of these three early Wrath raids in the gallery below! %Gallery-36897% Arthas awaits and so do your questions. Find the answers you've been looking for that will help you with your journey into Northrend and to level 80 with Wrath 101.
PlayStation Eye gets utility boost, hacked to work as webcam
Remember that PlayStation Eye you purchased way back when? You know, that PS peripheral you used for all of 12 minutes before shelving indefinitely? It's time to break that bad boy back out, as a detailed hack from the NUI Group shows how to convert it into a working webcam within Windows. Make no mistake, this isn't the simplest hack in the whole wide world, but the long-winded instructions ought to guide you right through. What are you waiting for? Head on down and get to work![Via PS3 Fanboy]
Turn your PS Eye into a working webcam
With the exception of LittleBigPlanet and The Eye of Judgment, there hasn't been much reason to dust off the Eye. Well, put it to work! Get the camera off its lazy butt and have it become a fully functional PC webcam. The NUI Group is offering detailed instructions on how to get the Eye camera to work on your PC, with easy to install drivers.[Via N4G; Thanks, Jon K.!]
Bionic lens to debut in the next half-decade
Professor James Wolffsohn from Aston University in the United Kingdom imagines that within the next decade, the cure to near- and farsightedness will not only exist, but will actually be within reach. While the underlying idea of replacing biological lenses with minty-fresh artificial ones isn't necessarily new (think cataract surgery), Wolffsohn's efforts will allow patients to focus both near and far, instead of just plain old, boring far. While the details on how the lenses work are a little scant (read non-existent), apparently eye muscles squeezing the "ultra-flexible" devices allow the actual focusing to occur. The professor has been working with opthology companies to commercialize the specs, and envisions the procedure costing less than £1,000 within the next five to ten years. Sounds good to us, because fancy new lenses or not, as people who stare at computer screens all day, the odds of us going under the laser at some point are a tad on the high side.
Deal: Eye of Judgment and camera for $40
When you consider the regular price of The Eye of Judgment is $65, this deal becomes readily apparent. This Eye-enabled card game used real cards and the PS3 to create an experience unlike any other -- Yu-Gi-Oh! cosplayers, this game's for you. Considering it includes the (rarely supported) PlayStation Eye, the price isn't too shabby. You can pick up it for $40 at Circuit City, but your local Wal-Mart may also have it for even cheaper: $30. Check your local store to see if you can get lucky.(P.S. Pick up the game and you'll be just in time for the world tournament, too.)[Via CAG]
Eye-shaped camera is shaped like an eye
Some researchers at Northwestern University and University of Illinois have managed to build an eye-like camera that's actually shaped like an eye. Sure, that sounds a tad unimpressive, but the real contribution of this project is the idea of electronics on a curved, flexible surface. The researchers have developed a mesh-like material that carries the photodetectors and electronic components necessary, and they say the resulting camera has a better field of vision than a traditional camera, in addition to conveniently resembling a human eye. Of course, they're a long ways away from communicating with the brain well enough to make an actual fully bionic eyeball, but the curved electronics could have other medical -- and regular form factor-busting, we hope -- applications as well.
Glaucoma monitoring contact lenses crafted at UC Davis
Far from the first circuit-laden contact lens we've laid eyes on (ahem), researchers at UC Davis have more than bragging rights in mind with their "smart" contacts. The devices are infused with a "pattern of conductive silver wires, which could be used to measure pressure inside the eye." The material, dubbed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), would boast antimicrobial properties and could enable scientists to better study glaucoma. How so? By sending pressure data to computers sans wires. Better still, the contacts also include the ability to automatically dispense medication into the eye, making this beneficial in more ways than one. The creators are expected to apply for approval to begin testing the lenses in humans here shortly, and barring any unforeseen (sorry, totally unintentional there) setbacks, we would hope these could be put to use within the next few years.[Via medGadget]
The Eye of Sauron makes an appearance in Wrath of the Lich King
The ultimate evil in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is represented by a large eye sitting atop a gigantic tower in a desolate and war torn land. It is one of the most iconic images in not only fantasy literature, but also in recent cinematography. Just about anyone who has paid attention to movies in the past eight years would be able to pick the Eye of Sauron out immediately, and I would have to imagine just about everyone playing WoW would be able to as well.The Eye of Sauron makes an appearance in Wrath of the Lich King in the Death Knight starting zone. It goes under the name of the Eye of Acherus. In the image at the top of the article you can see the two side-by-side – the Eye of Sauron on the left, and the Eye of Acherus on the right. Arthas himself directs you to control it and use it to gather data from New Avalon, a nearby Scarlet Crusade fortification. Take a look at the gallery below for images of the quest, what you do during it, and how everything appears.%Gallery-28758%
