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GM designing car windshield that does the looking for us
Apparently not everyone at General Motors is toiling away in an attempt to get the Volt ready for its 2010 debut, as another sector of the outfit's R&D division is busy creating a windshield that will, at its core, enable us to stop running stuff over. The futuristic glass would utilize lasers, sensors and cameras in order to help drivers see the road's edge better, recognize obstructions and enhance things ahead of us so we'll theoretically react faster. Truth be told, the device is being designed with older drivers in mind, though we don't see why younger motorists won't benefit all the same. Unfortunately, it sounds as if you'll have to keep those toothpicks in your eyelids for a few more years, but at least we're one step closer to full-on autopilot.
Splash Screen changes: Worldwide Invitational edition
With mere hours to go before the Worldwide Invitational, the splash screen has changed. This time the file, named Ice5andahalf.jpg, shows the 5 runes even brighter, and adds a 6th rune - a winking smiley face. You think Blizzard's having fun with this yet? It's also worth noting that the lines around the glowing eyes are much more pronounced now - as are the eyes themselves, which now look a lot like twin stars. But are we seeing the lines of Arthas' helmet, the lines on Diablo's face, or the lines on a Protoss Templar's face? I'm not sure we'll know for sure until WWI's big announcement now, although I'm rooting for Diablo. Then again, is that the spire of Icecrown Glacier I see down there in the lower right of the night sky? It's likely that we're hours away from a big announcement at the Worldwide Invitational, and ice6.jpg will appear then, and we'll know exactly what is up with all this wacky stuff. With any luck, we'll also hear about just how much thought Blizzard put into this whole splash screen deal. Were they really expecting all this hubub? %Gallery-25975%
Blizzard's splash screen changes for June 27th: A "Lost" penguin and Death Knight imagery
Good Morning everyone! It is now June 27th, and as expected, Blizzard's splash screen has changed yet again to reveal more of the mystery behind what they may be announcing at the Worldwide Invitational, which begins tomorrow. What exactly they're announcing is still up in the air, but there have been some interesting revelations, especially concerning the mysterious purple monster everyone's been wondering about. The new graphic, named ice5.jpg, doesn't seem to have changed the cracking ice much, but what has changed is the "eyes." There's now very little doubt that they are glowing eyes instead of snow flecks, and to be frank, they do look remarkably like the eyes of Arthas the Lich King from underneath his helmet -- although the ethereal feel of them and the strange ridges being formed in the vapor are also very reminiscent of the Protoss. Whether these ridges indicate Arthas' helmet or the face ridges of a Protoss or a demon might still be up for debate, but this overlay of Arthas on today's splash screen by Zach is very convincing -- the eyes match up pretty much exactly. Hopefully, we'll know for sure who it is tomorrow. In addition, the new rune, located just above the breaking ice, is that of a snowflake, which brings to mind the Frost tree of the Death Knights (even if the frost rune shown on the official Death Knight page doesn't quite match up). Tipster Allen notes that the new rune looks a lot like a Norse Bind-Rune, specifically one known as a compass or the "Helm of awe," which is often used for invulnverability -- perhaps a Lost Vikings reference, or a nod to the Viking-like architecture seen in many screenshots of Northrend? All This new imagery would seem to be a killing blow of sorts for a Diablo 3 announcement, but it is also worth nothing that the new frost rune is in the correct area for the Pentagram theory to continue to apply. In addition, all 5 runes have lit up, so if you weren't able to get a good look at them before, you certainly can now. %Gallery-25975% What's really sort of interesting, though, is what our purple monster friend reveals, which I'll discuss after the break.
Game Boy Microwaved is always watching you
What do you do with a broken Game Boy Advance? Artist Kenny Irwin threw his into a microwave oven, Gremlins-style, blasting the aged handheld with magnetron waves for three minutes on high. As you can see, the portable came out of the microwave a bit deformed! We're just happy that it didn't sprout legs and scamper out of the kitchen, running around the neighborhood terrorizing locals. Of course, not everything in the photo was a result of microwave experimentation -- the marshmallowy gunk is actually melted Solo cups, and Kenny brought the screen to life with some Photoshop trickery. The eyes? They blinked open as the portable was pulled out of the microwave, and they haven't stopped staring since. According to Kenny, his Game Boy Advance is now "33% beast, 42% alien, 11% radioactive, and 56% game machine, making it 100% complete for endless hours of eyetone gameplay." Creepy!
2.4 model changes: Good or bad?
David Bowers touched on this just the other day, and the WoW community has mostly seen this change as a negative thing. Example: The original thread from the official forums.My favorite little change out of the various, random character model changes in patch 2.4 is actually the change to the human female eyes. Sure, it looks silly in some cases, but for my own characters it was an improvement. I could never find the perfect eye choice for them before, because they all looked either empty and sunken, or incredibly angry. I'm not sure exactly how to describe how the eyes look now, but there's some sparkle that wasn't there before. I like that! Yeah, there's some that look horrible, which is lame for the players with those particular eyes. Overall, though? I like it. Even if the iris seems a little over sized, they have character.The outcry over this very minor detail drives home a point that Blizzard has made before, too. It's a very unfortunate one. The character models most likely will not receive any substantial overhaul in the future because there will be a lot of people very angry about it. I didn't really want to buy into that, because I really want updated character models, but it seems much less likely after this. Such a big deal over eyes is not a good sign when it comes to model upgrades.
Does my human female look psycho to you?
Apparently Blizzard spent some time rebuilding all the player models for Patch 2.4 in order to increase performance. What exactly does this mean to us players who loves the way our characters look? Absolutely nothing. You won't notice any differences in the models at all -- except, that is, if you happen to play a human female. Then you might look deep into your characters eyes and notice a certain "Stepford-wife" look, like a "2000-yard stare," as if her "irises are popping out of her head."Asariah noticed this and posted his concerns in the Bug Report Forum (did you know there was a Bug Report Forum? neat huh?). Hortus spotted this report and informed us that the human female was the only one of the multiple races to receive a minor alteration from this, and that "it was decided that this was an acceptable change." Apparently someone up there at Blizzard is a big fan of 2000-yard, iris-popping, stepford-wife eyes in women! For my part, though, I have to get up really close to my human female character to notice the difference -- and then when I do it makes me giggle uncontrollably. It's really no worse, in my opinion, than all those glowy reflections you see in anime girls' eyes. And to be honest, human women have always been a bit vacant-looking in WoW; they're better than human men, of course, but still don't usually look like paragons of profound intelligence. At least they don't bounce up and down like night-elf girls do.[Via World of Raids]
Lumus-Optical's LOE-based glasses get pictured
Just as expected, Lumus-Optical is all set to showcase its microdisplay-packin' spectacles at CES, and while it doesn't seem that the technology has changed since we first heard of them, we've now got a slew of photographs to go by. Apparently, the glasses will boast twin microdisplays and an ultra-thin LOE lens, which can purportedly immerse the wearer by creating the effect of viewing a 60-inch screen from ten feet away. Also of note, the company claims that unlike gaudy alternatives, these won't make you look like a complete tool, but judging by the image above, we aren't so sure that's entirely accurate.Read - Press release [PDF]Read - Photos
Artificial corneas could save eyesight
While there's been no shortage of research surrounding the saving of one's eyesight, the EU-funded CORNEA project has now developed an artificial cornea that is showing promise in trials. Reportedly, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam and the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Hospital of Regensburg have created a device that is "based on a commercially available polymer which absorbs no water and allows no cells to grow on it." Put simply, the cornea implant can "firmly connect with the natural part of the cornea, while the center remains free of cells and therefore clear." Apparently, early versions have already been successfully placed in the eyes of rabbits, and if ongoing testing goes smoothly, they'll be headed for humans as early as next year.
Lost Odyssey will require patience, reading glasses
The Xbox 360 exclusive Lost Odyssey may be a beacon of hope for the console's anemic Japanese user base, but that success will come at a price -- your eyes. According to Lost Odyssey architect Hironobu Sakaguchi, the upcoming plot-heavy RPG will feature several "1000 Year Dream" sequences, 34 to be precise, each designed to flesh out the narrative penned by Japanese author Kiyoshi Shigematsu; and each told not through cut scenes, but rather with pop-up text, taking upwards of 5 to 10 minutes to read. Sakaguchi admits that he once entertained the idea of using voice overs for the sequences, but opted instead to make the player experience Shigematsu's work in its 'purest form', namely written word. You mean, we have to read?! The idea of spending 4 or more hours scrolling through text on the screen is not our idea of fun, and we immediately feel sympathy for those players without bionic vision, or just those playing on smaller than average sets. We'd like to think that there's a method to Sakaguchi's madness, though his admission that Lost Odyssey will clock in at 40 hours, with 20 of these devoted to non-interactive story sequences, seems to stretch the boundaries of what can be considered a game, rather than just an interactive storybook. Nevertheless, Japanese Xbox 360 owners can pick up Lost Odyssey on December 6, while those in North America and Europe will have to wait until February to go blind.
Nintendo flashes us with Vision Training
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/E307_Nintendo_flashes_us_with_Vision_Training'; Halfway through its E3 2007 media briefing today, Nintendo announced that it will expanding its line of casual titles in the US with Strengthen Your Visual Power through Practice: Vision Training (Miru Chikara wo Jissen de Kitearu: DS Ganriki Training), retitling the game as Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day.If neither of the titles suitably sum up the game for you, it is a collection of exercises and minigames that test you on field of vision and eye-hand coordination, using the results to determine the age of your eyes. Shift your eyes past the post break for some video impressions of the Japanese demo from CAG's CheapyD!
Whiteboard projectors are / aren't dangerous: UK schools edition
Don't look now (for serious, we really mean it), but yet another health scare is taking those in England by storm, and this time whiteboard projectors are to blame for inducing panic in the hearts of mums and dads everywhere. The quarter-million academic projectors that have been installed all across the UK are now the focal point of an ongoing study, which suggests that a "viewer's peripheral retina could be overexposed even when they are not actually staring directly into the beam." Protesters are suggesting that the brightness be toned down to no more than 1,500 lumens, and a number of sensitive teachers and students alike have reported "dazzle effects" after looking at the board for an extended period of time. We could wonder if anyone actually expects the school systems to revert back to chalk in order to get things done, but more interestingly, who's up for swapping their PJ out for an RPTV (you know, before your retinas dissolve)?[Via The Register]
Eye opening research into eye closing
Fabian's M.A. thesis is a bit hard to read if you take his advice: close your eyes. But despite that little problem, he seems to have come up with some clever applications for eye closing in a computing environment, specifically "How closing the eyes enriches visual media." You just have to peep the video showreel to see what he's getting at, but the basic gist of it involves using winks, squints and blinks to operate related computing tasks, such as closing your eyes to activate text-to-speech, or closing one eye to activate a sniper scope. Other applications get a little bit higher minded, such as using your imagination to improve video content, or merely blinking to shut off the screen and rest you eyes. If you want spy the rest of Fabian's research, you'll have to prop open your own peepers to get a view -- we're taking a nap.
Lumus-Optical unveils microdisplay-packin' designer glasses
While we admire the effort of those gaudy, unsightly microdisplay-equipped goggles to bring big screen theatrics to the front of your face, they aren't likely to win any style contests, nor help you garner any friendly attention. An Israeli company, dubbed Lumus-Optical, is looking to change all that by offering up a relatively normal looking set of spectacles with twin microdisplays and mini projectors. The firm's latest prototype boasts dual 640 x 480 resolution displays as well as a wee projector on the arm; the Lumus glasses can accept video inputs via an undisclosed connection, and projects an image akin to a "60-inch screen from 10 feet away." Its Light-guide Optical Element (LOE) technology allows the imagery to be reflected back on to the lenses so users can view them, all while being transparent enough to allow you to focus on the humans, trees, road block, or board room presentation ahead of you. Although it's easy to shrug gizmos like these off as gimmicky and unrealistic, we guess we'll have to see (ahem) for ourselves when these specs are demoed at CES.
New research car will watch you while you drive
We're not sure if we like the idea of our car watching us as we drive, but we'll all in favor of any tech that'll make us safer. This past week at the Intelligent Transportation Systems exhibition in London, a new set of cameras mounted on the dashboard in a prototype vehicle will make sure that a driver's attention is focused on the road. According to MotorAuthority, the new cameras will be trained on the driver's eyes and will flash a warning light and will sound an alarm if it finds that the driver's eyes aren't staring at the right places at the right times. Furthermore, as New Scientist reports, these new sensors -- developed by researchers at University of Southampton in the UK-- are also able to determine what other cars and objects around the car are doing, all of which could lead to safer road design and a more thorough understanding of driving behavior.Read - MotorAuthorityRead - New Scientist
Bionic eye bypasses optic nerve
Add Portugal to the list of countries working on new technologies to enable the blind to see. In this case, the procedure, developed by Dr. William Dobelle of the Dobelle Medical Institute in Portugal, links the brain directly to a set of eyeglass-mounted cameras. The cams capture images, transfer it to a shoulder-mounted computer and upload the info to the brain. The device is designed specifically for individuals who have lost their eyes and/or use of their optic nerves, and currently has been tested with just 16 patients, including one eyeless woman from the US. Using the $120,000 setup, she can now see flashes of light, though her vision is expected to improve with greater computer power.[Via MobileMag]
