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Sewell InjectIR extends your IR signal over HDMI, gives you even less reason to leave the couch
Is your HDMI cable really pulling its weight? Sure, it's delivering high-definition video and audio, but what has it done for you lately? InjectIR puts the cord to use, sending the IR signal from your Blu-ray / DVR / et al. remotes through its CEC channel, and then transmitting it directly into your hardware's sensor, thereby extending your IR range without an extra cable. The kit also has a switch for those times when you actually need to use the CEC channel. The InjectIR is up now for pre-order on Sewell's site. It'll start shipping next month and will run you $45 -- a small price to pay for being able to move the sofa back where it belongs. [Thanks, Ian]
NASA lander prototype ditches the manpower for an autonomous flight (video)
Hear that? Those were the giddy giggles of some very happy scientists down at NASA's Alabama-based Marshall Space Flight Center. Besting its previous June record for autonomous flight, this prototype robotic lander hovered for nearly half a minute at a height of seven feet before parking itself safely on the ground. Conceived as a joint project between NASA, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation, the intelligent bot is slated to go where its parachuting, aero-braking cousins can't -- like the Moon, or an asteroid. Future tests are on deck for the self-propelled lander to hover up to one hundred feet over the short span of a minute -- no doubt its current feat is pretty neat, but we wouldn't want to be the unsuspecting dolt who walked under it without his infrared goggles on.
Apple's infrared 'camera kill switch' patent application hits a nerve
Picture this: You're out for a stroll on the streets of Vancouver when suddenly you find yourself caught up in a depressed mob of hockey fans. Riot police are striking a young man with their batons near a squad car. You pull out your iPhone to capture a video of this seeming abuse of force -- only to see a flashing message on the screen that says 'Recording Disabled.' Earlier this month, Patently Apple analyzed a patent application filing that Apple originally submitted in December of 2009. The patent application covered several ways to communicate with a cellphone through its camera using a coded infrared light transmission. Simply pointing your phone's camera at a properly equipped museum exhibit, for example, could load a webpage about the artifact on display or offer additional details about its origins. An auction house or fashion show could easily provide pricing, availability or 'click to bid' buttons. The technology would work like a giant, invisible QR code -- although it couldn't do the bidirectional sharing that Google's demo showed earlier. You also couldn't block it with a bit of masking tape, since the infrared data stream is captured by the phone's camera itself, not by a separate sensor. That's the user-affirming side of the patent. The other big use case, however, is for the infrared transmission to tell the phone "Hey, no pictures here!" The suggested applications are for concert halls, movie theaters or even sensitive corporate/government facilities -- giving those venue owners an easy way to block photography or videotaping of copyrighted or classified materials. Whether you think that's a terrible idea or an awesome idea may rest on whether or not you own a concert hall or a movie theater. Of course, Apple patents or patent applications often don't evolve into actual, shipping Apple products. (Remember the 'undead ads for content time' patent? Ick.) Nevertheless, even in the hypothetical case, the spectre of a 'kill switch' for the iPhone camera is not sitting all that well in certain circles. The Save the Internet coalition has published a suggested open letter to Steve Jobs that suggests this patent application is deeply repugnant to the ideals of freedom: "[T]housands of people across the Middle East have used cellphone cameras to document violent government abuses. This technology would also give tyrants the power to stem the flow of protest videos and crack down on their citizens with impunity." The petition continues, "If this tool fell into the hands of repressive regimes or malicious corporations, it would give tyrants and companies the power to silence one of the most critical forms of free expression." Now, there's a wide gulf between blocking cameras at concerts and quashing dissent by democratic activists -- at least in theory. First of all, would-be repressive regimes would have to set up expensive equipment in advance, which would work only at short range -- and even if they did that there'd be no guarantee that all the phones in the area would comply with the invisible orders, so the requisite shakedown of all camera-enabled devices by armed enforcers would still have to be done. In the chaos and commotion of the kind of situations that would tend to motivate large-scale iPhone videography, it's by no means clear that this 'kill switch' would even work. As my colleague Chris Rawson points out, your average infrared TV remote control is thoroughly flummoxed by simple sunlight. None of this, however, means that it's prudent to stand atop the slippery slope of external device controls and say "Looks like a nice ride down." It's easy to think, as I did when first reading the admittedly hyperbolic language of the petition, "Look, the iPhone is not the only camera in the world; professional bootleg videographers don't use crappy cameraphones at all, protesters have many different kinds of phones and cameras at their disposal, and as soon as this capability gets rolled out people will simply jump to another platform to work around it." [Never mind the fact that Flickr now shows the iPhone 4 as the most popular camera on the site, bar none. –Ed.] The problem is that market reaction takes time, and in the thought experiment I played out at the beginning of this post there's no time to react. If you were in a traffic stop that went wrong, a political rally with a bad outcome, a movie theater where someone was being assaulted -- there's no chance to go back in time and say "You know, that iPhone camera kill switch may not have been such a good idea after all." It's impossible to say, without access to Apple's labs, whether this technology is truly viable, whether it would work in daylight, and whether it could really be used in the situations envisioned by the petition writers. It's equally impossible to say whether Apple intends to implement and commercialize this invention, or even if the company's patent application would be granted. Maybe Apple's secret objective in pursuing this patent is not to implement it in products -- to keep the concept off the market in perpetuity, or at least for the life of the patent. But that doesn't seem likely, and in the absence of comment from Apple about whether and how the capability would be implemented in future iPhones (a comment that is undoubtedly not coming anytime soon), all we have is our questions.
Utechzone Spring eye-tracking system hands-on (video)
In the midst of fiddling with tablets and laptops at Computex, we haven't been thinking much of eye-tracking technologies until we saw Utechzone's booth. What we have here is the Spring, a TW$240,000 (US$8,380) eye-tracking rig that was launched in March 2010 and is aimed at users with limited mobility. The package consists of an LCD monitor, a computer, and an external sensor that utilizes infrared to track our pupils. Also included is an eye-friendly software suite that lets users play games, browse the web and media files, send emails, communicate with caretakers, and read PDF or TXT files. We had a go on the Spring and quickly learned how to control it with our eyes: much like the Xbox Kinect, in order to make a click we had to hover the cursor over (or fix our eyes on) a desired button until the former completes a spin. The tracking was surprisingly accurate, except we had to take off our glasses for it to work; that said, the other glasses didn't exhibit the same issue, so the culprit could be just some coating on our lenses. Another problem we found was that it only took a quick jiggle with our eyes to cancel the spinning countdown, so full concentration is required to use the Spring. This shouldn't be a problem outside a noisy event like Computex, anyway, and if you need more convincing, we were told that a disabled Taiwanese professor managed to hit 100,000 Chinese characters within three months using phonetic input on the the same rig -- he's planning on releasing a new book soon. Have a look at our eyes-on video after the break for a better idea on how the Spring works. %Gallery-125350%
Apple camera patent could stop smartphone bootleggers in their tracks
Apple is always filing patents for strange and fantastic things that never seem to find their way into actual products. But an application published today details some interesting tech that we could actually see getting jammed into a future iPhone (for better or worse). By pairing an infrared sensor with the camera already on board, portable devices could receive data from transmitters placed, well, wherever. Beyond simply blasting out text and opening links like a glorified QR code, transmitters could disable certain features, such as the camera, to prevent recording at movie theaters and music venues. If completely shutting off the cam seems a bit heavy-handed, watermarks can also be applied to photos identifying businesses or copyrighted content. Some potential uses are a little less Big Brother, like museums beaming information about exhibits to a user's or launching an audio tour. Obviously third parties would have to get behind the IR push and there's no guarantee that Apple will put this in a future iProduct. Still, we're a little worried that the days of blurry YouTube concert videos may be coming to an end.
Creepy new Air Force camera can identify and track you from far, far away
Sure you can do neat things like unlock your iPhone using facial recognition, but the Air Force has far grander visions for the tech. Specifically it wants a camera that can identify and track possible insurgents at a significant distance (though it's unclear how far we're talking about here) using only a few seconds of footage. It's turned to Photon-X Inc. to develop a sensor that combines spacial measurements, infrared and visible light to create a "bio-signature" that maps not only static facial features but muscle movements that are unique to each individual. The technology could also be used in targeting systems to identify enemy vehicles and integrated into robots to help them navigate and identify objects... or threatening meatbags. The Air Force even foresees law enforcement, banks, and private security firms using the cams to monitor customers and watch for suspicious activity. Similar tools have been created that use software to analyze video feeds, but they can't match the accuracy or range of this "behaviormetric" system. Normally, this is where we'd make some snide reference to Skynet or Big Brother but, honestly, we're too creeped out for jokes.
ZeroTouch 'optical multi-touch force field' makes a touchscreen out of just about anything
The rise of tablets and smartphones has made the touchscreen a rather ubiquitous interface, but they aren't everywhere quite yet. A group of students from Texas A&M intend to change that, however, with the invention of ZeroTouch: a seemingly empty picture frame that lets you turn any surface into an interactive touchscreen. It might not look like much, but ZeroTouch is packing a series of pulsing LEDs and infrared sensors that turn that blank space into a highly sensitive surface. Basically, the strategically placed LEDs cover the open area in a sheet of invisible light. When a hand or stylus enters the picture (or lack there of), those beams are interrupted, providing cues to a piece of software that tracks the object's movement -- and boom! You've got a touchscreen. Of course, this isn't the sort of thing that's going to make it to market anytime soon, but you can check out ZeroTouch rocking the rippling water effect in the video below.
Laser steering system uses liquid crystal to destroy the enemy on the cheap (video)
It might look like a poor man's game of Pong now, but a new laser steering system coming out of North Carolina State University could make blowing things up Star Wars-style cheaper and more efficient. The setup enlists a series of "polarization gratings" through which a laser beam passes. Each of these gratings, made of liquid crystal applied to a plate of glass, are configured to redirect the light in a particular direction, thus simply steering the laser beam without significantly decreasing its power -- with each grating comes a new "steerable" angle. The system's creators point out its not only hyper accurate, but also less expensive than existing arrangements due to the use of liquid crystal. Apparently the US Air Force is already using the stuff, but don't expect them to go all Death Star anytime soon.
Apache's new infrared targeting system spots foes when they fire, doesn't wait for the smoke
It just keeps getting harder for America's enemies to hide from the technological marvel that is the modern US military. A new ground fire acquisition system (GFAS), coming to Apache Attack helicopters next spring, uses infrared sensors to detect muzzle flashes from small arms fire and pinpoint enemy positions to within five meters. Before the sound would have a chance to reach current acoustics-based sensors the source of the shot pops up on the targeting computer, is sent back to commanders in the Operations Center, relayed to ground troops, and fed to other aircraft -- by the time they're able to pull the trigger again combatants may already be on the wrong side of a Hellfire missile. The new system will make spotting opposing forces easier and keep pilots as safe as they can be -- at least until missions can be flown from the comfort of their couch.
Sony S1 and S2 dual-screen Honeycomb tablets get official (video)
Sony's hosting a press event in Tokyo today where it just made the first announcement: a pair of Android 3.0 tablets -- yes, the very two Honeycomb slabs we told you about exclusively back in February. The first is the Qriocity-focused 9.4-inch S1 media tablet with both front- and rear-facing cameras and a curved wrap design that resembles a folded magazine. The S1 features a Tegra 2 SoC and customized "Quick and Smooth" touch panel UI with "Swift" web browser. It can also be used as a remote control for Sony gear thanks to integrated infrared. The second tablet is the dual-screen S2 clamshell with its pair of 5.5-inch 1,024 x 480 pixel displays, Tegra 2 SoC, and camera. While it sounds bulky, Kunimasa Suzuki just pulled the hinged tablet from his jacket pocket on stage. Sony takes advantage of the two screens with a custom book-style UI layout for its e-reader app, split keyboard and messaging displays for email, and split display and game controllers for PS One gaming. Both the S1 and S2 are PlayStation Certified, support DLNA, and are WiFi and 3G/4G "compatible" according to Sony. See the Sony tablets codenamed "S1" and "S2" in action after the break on their way to a global release in the fall -- possibly sooner in the US. P.S. While the company isn't ready to talk prices yet, our sources told us back in February that Sony was considering a $599 MSRP on the S1 while the S2 would likely come in at $699. Still no word on the Windows 7 slider but with the other two leaks official, it's now only a matter of time. %Gallery-122248% %Gallery-122251% %Gallery-122257%
Apptwee Ri universal remote for iOS is inexpensive and tiny
With the success of all handheld iOS devices -- iPhone, iPod touch and iPad -- it's not surprising that manufacturers want to turn them into universal remote controls. Some manufacturers are going the more expensive route, like Peel with their $99 remote that features a pear-shaped transmitter that sits between your iOS box and your A/V equipment. On the other end of the spectrum is a company called Apptwee, which has come out with the Ri, a tiny remote control unit that plugs into the headphone port of your device (see image at right). The US$19.99 Ri is a bit smaller than the Square card reader, and when coupled with the free Ri app, it transforms your device into an infrared universal remote. Ri is short for Remote Interactive, and it currently supports over 72 different device types and over 845 devices. It's not a learning remote, meaning that it can't be "taught" commands by your IR-controlled devices, but the company is adding new devices on a regular basis. We're hoping to get a Ri for a review in the near future. In the meantime, you can order one of the devices directly from the Apptwee website, or watch their short getting acquainted video on the next page.
Ubisoft's Battle Tag lands at the FCC, we're already out of breath
Remember when we just about passed out from exhaustion following a rather short demo of Ubisoft's nouveau laser tag setup? Well, judging from its appearance over at the FCC, it looks like the RFID-packing Battle Tag is ready to play. Unlike some of our more fruitful dives into the commission's archives, this one doesn't uncover a whole lot about the product that we didn't already know. Internal photos show an RFID reader, used to communicate with ammo packs for reloading, and a thorough examination of the game's user manual revealed the accompanying software is compatible with Windows only. So, no, we won't be exposing any big secrets here, but for laser tag aficionados, whoever they may be, today is a good day. A Battle Tag setup for two is now available via Ubisoft for $130.
Sony Ericsson's Acro leaked, shows up its older brother
Whoa there, Mister Clickety-click, contain that check-box excitement just a tick. Thanks to a keen set of eyes (and an overly-eager Sony Ericsson employee), we present SE's latest unreleased Xperia, the Acro -- a refinement to its recent Gingerbread-wielding Arc that you most certainly weren't meant to see. Duplicating the core specs of its sibling, Sony's future stuntman takes it a step further, performing infrared and NFC communication, while also showcasing its DTV reception skills -- you know, so the locals can get their fill of zany game shows on the commute. Like its kin, the Arc features a 1GHz Snapdragon MSM8255, 4.2-inch display and an 8.1 megapixel Exmor R sensor, just like the one you may or may not see in future iPhones. Even though the TV function is decidedly intriguing, we know you're just considering beaming bits of IrDA glory to your graphing calculator. Hey, there's no shame in that. Update: Based on the model number, we're pretty sure the Acro is destined for KDDI's au brand. [Thanks, Chris]
Lasers let deaf ears pick up what the sonic world is putting down
Not going to front: we've a soft spot in our heart for focused beams of light. We've seen 'em rid the world of its space junk and set the pace of human hearts, and now, they're taking a leading role in aural advancement. As improbable as it sounds, a research team from the University of Utah led by Richard Rabbitt has found that lasers may be able to give deaf people the ability to hear. Using a low-power infrared diode -- similar to those in laser-pointers tormenting cats the world over -- Professor Rabbitt found that exposing oyster toadfish hair cells (analogous to the cells found in humans' inner ears) to infrared light caused them to release neurotransmitters and activate adjacent neurons. This could lead to laser-based ear implants able to stimulate focused areas of cells with thousands of sound wavelengths, as opposed to today's electrode implants whose electrical current spreads through human tissue and limits the deliverable sonic range. Smaller, more efficient power supplies and light sources are needed before optical hearing aids become a reality, but if these newfangled lasers ever get their act together, we should be able to hear version two (and three) coming down the pike.
Peel works as universal remote and TV service on your iPhone
I sure thought we'd covered Peel here before, but I guess not (maybe I was thinking of that iPod touch add-on -- the "Apple" name certainly invites lots of fruit imagery). Either way, it's worth mentioning that the interesting Peel TV solution for the iPhone is now available for purchase. For US$99, you get the Peel "fruit" unit that sits wirelessly by your television and transmits to it with infrared. And then you can also download the free app that works as a universal remote and watches what you watch, providing recommendations based on what you pull up and allowing you to connect to friends sxsw tuawin order to share channels and information. The whole thing seems pretty intriguing -- RedEye has done pretty well with using the iPhone as an IR remote, and adding an extra social layer and recommendations to that seems like an excellent idea (assuming the interface is usable). RedEye's mini solution is a little cheaper, at $49, but that's really only the remote function, not any of the extras you'd get with Peel. We'll have to see how this works -- certainly it seems like lots of accessory makers are starting to tap into smartphones, both at home and in places like your car. Something like Peel, done intuitively and right, could provide just enough functionality over your standard TV remotes to finally clean the gadgets off that coffee table for good. Peel is sponsoring a TechCrunch/CrunchGear/TUAW meetup at SXSW next Monday, so we'll have a chance to try it hands-on. If you're in Austin you can learn more about the meetup here.
AIST shows off full-color night vision camera, well lit Bullwinkle figurine (video)
You might know them for seemingly ridiculous innovations like Segway shoes or the HRP-4C pop star robot, but the folks at AIST have put away the gimmicks for their latest invention -- a full-color night vision camera. Produced by Nanolux, an arm of AIST, the camera uses a series of algorithms to read and process wavelengths reflected by objects lit with infrareds, allowing it to successfully reproduce reds, blues, and greens in the darkest of conditions. The company hopes to make the device available by the end of 2011 at a price point lower than conventional night vision cameras, and says they will work with different lenses to improve long-range photography for the device. Such an invention could have serious implications for fields like surveillance and wildlife observation, but fear not, AIST hasn't lost its sense of humor -- the company used a Bullwinkle figurine rotating on a Lazy Susan to demo its latest invention at Printable Electronics 2011. Check out the video after the jump.
Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video)
Let's face it -- humans are lazy, yet incredibly industrious. We've seen everything from a self-making bed, to a channel-changer to even a touchless keyboard. And now, we're blessed with a robot that plants seeds for us. That's right, the image you see above is of a five-legged machine that has the ability to complete all of the necessary steps to grow a plant. Thanks to a Parallax Propeller chip that's mounted on a Schmart Board, Prospero is able to autonomously navigate in any direction and avoid obstructing objects. There's a sensor that lies under its body that senses where seeds have been deployed. If the robot detects that the ground is in need of a seed, it'll dig a hole, drop the seed, move the soil back over the hole and then spray paint the ground white to note that the process was successful. The belly of the bot is also equipped with fertilizers and herbicides, and Prospero can 'talk' (via infrared) to other robots in order to maintain crop-creating efficiency. You can check out a 48-second clip of the planting process after the break. Or, if you're a harvest-enthusiast, hit the more coverage link for 5 minutes of glorious green thumb action.
Square Connect SQ Blaster and SQ Remote review: Home automation, unified
Having already taken our first feverish steps down the path of an automated home, we figured it was time to try and integrate the home entertainment system with the household lighting. Our goal coming into this review was to sit down on the sofa and hit a single button on an old, unused iPhone 3G to automatically dim the lights, fire up the 5.1 sound, flip on the media streamer, and ignite the projector. To accomplish this seemingly monumental task we installed a WiFi-enabled SQ Blaster in the TV cabinet, a puck-shaped IR blaster from Square Connect that communicates with MiOS home control gateways like Mi Casa Verde's Vera. So, did we succeed? Did we achieve the ultimate in home-owner nerdvana? You'd better believe it. Read on to find out how.
NEC's razor-thin MEDIAS N-04C Android launched in Japan, gets carefully manhandled
We've already seen product shots of the crazy thin, drool-inducing NEC MEDIAS N-04C, but for a product boasting the "world's thinnest" title, it's always useful to see comparison shots for the sake of our curiosity. Thankfully, the good folks over at Akihabara News were present at DoCoMo's launch event, and they were able to get up close to inspect this 7.7mm-thin Android 2.2 handset (with Android 2.3 upgrade available around July). It's pretty amazing considering all the goodies packed within this phone -- here's a quick recap: NFC, 1seg TV Tuner, infrared port, 5 megapixel camera, 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 chip, etc. Oh, and this phone uses Gorilla Glass, too. If you happen to reside in Japan -- which is where it'll remain exclusive to -- you'll be able to pick up this NEC in black or white flavor on March 15, though price has yet to be announced. Video after the break, and more hands-on photos over at Akihabara News.
Desk Pets TankBot hands-on (video)
Although we've only gotten a glimpse of a TankBot as a render, we were more than interested to see this robot toy doing its thing in the real world. We spotted these tiny desk pals at the International Toy Fair and got to take a look at some working prototypes. As we reported earlier, the TankBots have three functioning modes -- autonomous, maze solving and iOS controlled. The bots feature LED eyes and two infrared transmitters -- that's how it solves the mazes. Charging is done by plugging in the USB dongle found on the rear of the tank and you'll get 15 minutes of battery life after a 30 minute charge. And if you're wondering how your iOS device will play with the TankBots, a free app will be available to download and each toy will come bundled with an infrared dongle. You can grab TankBots from stores for 20 bucks come June. Head past the break to see some cute, yet impressive maze-solving in action. %Gallery-116612%
