tilt sensor
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Toshiba's new glasses-free 3D display tilts images and viewing angles your way (video)
Autostereoscopic (read: glasses-free) 3D screens sound like all the rage, but the narrow zones from which you can comfortably view their images have made them a dubious proposition. That's not stopping Toshiba Mobile Display, however, which recently came up with a novel idea for a self-adjusting display. By sticking a six-axis accelerometer in this 12.1-inch slate, the company can tilt the tablet's viewing angle as the tablet itself is tilted, letting viewers effectively look around 3D objects on screen, using software algorithms rather than the fancy lens-and-camera assembly that Microsoft's been prototyping. Toshiba figures it'll make a splash with e-tailers -- because who doesn't want to play with a prospective purchase in 3D space? -- but is mostly talking up the tech as a way to extend the limited 3D viewing angles of these sorts of displays. But enough jabber: see it for yourself after the break.
Wheeme massage robot asks where it hurts to drive away the pain
Former Israeli electronics and defense engineers wouldn't be the first group of people we'd peg to leap into the robot massager biz, but that's exactly who's behind the Wheeme from DreamBots inc. According to the firm's about page, the Wheeme was developed to meet "the increasing demand for smart products that offer the natural feeling of caressing, relaxation, falling asleep and even just tickling." True to those goals, the device works by moving slowly across a person's body to provide a gentle massage using its soft silicone rubber "fingerettes" (a.k.a. wheels). Special tilt sensor technology ensures it won't fall off or lose grip while motoring either -- making the Wheeme a master at its trade -- at least for customers lying down. Officially this rover will start shipping in the spring of 2011, but pre-ordering the device which costs $49 plus shipping will guarantee you don't miss out on any of the drive by goodness. To view the Wheeme going to work while narrowly avoiding crashes, check out the embedded video after the break.
Google Chrome gets some early device orientation 'plumbing'
We remember well the first time we managed to put an accelerometer in our possession to good use: back when the MacBook Pros started shipping with them as sudden motion sensors to protect the hard drive, someone hooked up some light saber noises to the tilt motion. A few months later we were pretending to make light saber noises with the Wii, and then the iPhone came along and democratized the accelerometer-based light saber noise for all of humanity. Next up? The browser. Firefox 3.6 already supports this capability, and now Chromium is getting some early work in that direction as well -- and with the browser-as-OS that Google's Chrome OS represents, Chromium's support of this feature is welcome news indeed. We hear that light saber noise-producing low fat snacks are next on the docket!
Third-party studio offers more confirmation of motion-sensing Nintendo DS2
We've already had a pretty clear indication that Nintendo's inevitable DS successor would have at least some form of motion control, and an unspecified third-party studio has now offered some additional confirmation of that, and some downright glowing impressions of the device itself. According to CVG, an "insider" that's currently using a DS2 development kit says that the DS2 is "genuinely the best thing I think I've ever worked with," and that it has "a 'tilt' function that's not dissimilar to iPhone, but does a lot more." The source further added that The Pokemon Company is getting "special attention" with it (rest easy, everybody), and that Nintendo likely won't be showing off any hardware at GDC next month. Yeah, that sound you just heard was the rumor mill being cranked up a notch.
DIY tilt-sensor for the next-gen gamer on the go
Tilt sensing isn't quite the novelty it once was, with all these new-fangeled controllers and laptops flooding the market, but as much as the execution might lack, or our child-like joy wane, we've always got room for one more tilt-enabled doohickey at the Engadget HQ. This time around it's the Nintendo DS sporting the fancy functionality (again), via a homemade tilt sensor which plugs into that handy mini-USB port. Unfortunately for the bleeding edge types, the actual use of this thing is an exercise in frustration, since the control is merely digital -- full left or full right, none of those fancy degrees. Still, if your mom and her gal pals have commandeered your Wii for the afternoon, you've just gotta get some Nintendo-flavored tilt-sensing action on, and you can't find your Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble cartridge anywhere, then it sounds like this DS hack is the hack for you. Alternatively, you can apparently plug this thing into your PSP, but we don't have any video evidence to back that up. Keep reading to see the DS in action.[Via DS Fanboy]
Immerse yourself in Immersion's PS3 rumble survey
Immersion Technology has slapped up an online poll that seeks to get insight from the gaming public about their feelings towards the lack of a rumble feature in Sony's new console. It's essentially a tool to petition Sony into adding rumble to their controller, maybe to incorporate their own new technology: TouchSense vibration.Immersion's website really makes the technology sound far more appealing than the tilt-sensor feature of the current PS3 controller. Imagine being able to feel your car in a racing game run over a rock on the left side -- your left hand feels a sudden, violent jolt. Now imagine using your controller to steer the car ... kind of. Hmm. Kojima was right in wishing for a switch to go between the two features, but this new TouchSense technology "can work alongside motion-control and tilt-sensing features". What? Why isn't Sony jumping on this? Perhaps we should all take the poll, multiple times, regardless of whether or not it's biased and hope Sony listens. Having the best of both worlds would certainly rock and roll. Or ... rumble and tilt.[via Joystiq]
Tilt sensor: playing up the MacBook's strengths
Apple decided to outfit their newest portable, the MacBook, with "vampire video" thereby eliminating any chance of turning that thing into a serious BootCamping gamestation on the go. Sure, it'll run some of your older games swimmingly; F.E.A.R. 2 with 4x FSAA, eh, notsomuch. So, like Nintendo's zagging Wii controller, why not bypass the hobbled graphics system and exploit what the MacBook can offer: namely, an accelerometer.Installed to detect if the computer's falling and park the hard drive accordingly, this clever gamer used ams2hid coupled with Neverball to make the modern-day equivalent of the wooden labyrinth. Now how about the Mac Book Pro's light-sensor and a GBA emulator for some Boktai action?Embedded video of the deed after the break. [Via Lifehacker]
iAlertU MacBook alarm software available in beta
We've been seeing posts and vids (and getting tips) on a program called iAlertU all week, but were a little skeptical of software that claims to use the tilt sensors and camera in your MacBook Pro for triggering an alarm if someone tries to snatch your lappie. Skeptical, that is, until a beta version of the application was released today,. While feedback so far indicates that the code is still pretty buggy, the program seems to actually work, with users generally pleased about the overall operation (for the five minute usage limitation of the beta, anyway). Developer Slapping Turtle says that once all the kinks are worked out, a non-time limited version will be available for $10, which seems like a good deal once key features are implemented -- most importantly, headphone jack and other overrides, because even the most dim-witted thief may somehow stumble upon the "force restart" key combo in mid-heist.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
