Thimble concept translates real-world input into real-time Braille (video)
December 29, 2010 No Comment
From the great tomorrowland of concept videos comes yet another potentially life-changing product: a thimble (looks more like a one-finger glove to us) that takes ambient input and relays it in via an electro-tactile grid to the wearer’s finger in Braille . It gets text input from an embedded camera, like in the picture above, or pulls RSS feeds, books, or presumably any other text via a Bluetooth-paired smartphone. We are, of course, addicted to the flow of info our mobile devices feed us throughout the day, and this little guy seems like the perfect tool to bring that flow more easily to the visually impaired. Now, venture capitalists, work your magic — we’ll be expecting to see this thing on shelves just in time for holidays season 2012. Video after the jump. Continue reading Thimble concept translates real-world input into real-time Braille (video) Thimble concept translates real-world input into real-time Braille (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …EngKey telepresence robot teaches English to Koreans by way of the Philippines
December 29, 2010 No Comment
You know, for all the hubbub we’ve been hearing about le robots (the robots), you’d think we’d see them put to better uses than chasing our pets and killing people . Right? Right. Well, the best use we can think of is education , and that’s exactly what they’re doing at an elementary school in Daegu, South Korea. Developed by the Korea Institute of Science of Technology (KIST), EngKey is just under three-and-a-half feet high, features a video display for a face, and seems hell bent on taking all those “teach English in Korea” jobs away from shiftless American college grads looking to postpone responsibility for one or two more desperate years. There are currently twenty-nine such devices, which — get this — are actually operated remotely by teachers in the Philippines. Is this the end result of globalism? Not quite yet: for the time being, the robots are still too cumbersome to operate and expensive to justify putting into production. But who knows? Maybe someday, kids. EngKey telepresence robot teaches English to Koreans by way of the Philippines originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 22:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Thermaltake’s Max 5G dual-fan USB 3.0 HDD enclosure cools your platters with style
December 29, 2010 No Comment
We know what you were thinking: my external hard drive enclosure is nice and all, but why is it so quiet ? Well, Thermaltake is here to fix that with its new Max 5G dual-fan enclosure. Outside the fans and the fancy LED lights (which can be switched off, if you’re feeling unextreme one particular morning), the enclosure is pretty great itself, with a smokin’ USB 3.0 plug and support for high-end 3.5-inch SATA 3.0 drives. The fans are to promote long life on your hard drive and “data integrity” and all that, but pretty much they just say to your SATA drive: “I care .” And isn’t that all that matters? The enclosure is available for pre-order right now for $52, no word on release. Thermaltake’s Max 5G dual-fan USB 3.0 HDD enclosure cools your platters with style originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Robot Safety Center opens up in Japan, Crash Test Dummies still an unfortunate name for a band (video)
December 29, 2010 No Comment
The fair city of Tsukuba, which (as you know) is located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, has recently become home to the new Robot Safety Center. A collaboration between a number of organizations including Japan’s Automobile Research Institute (JARI), the center has areas for testing various robots and exoskeletons for things like obstacle detection, electronic jamming resistance, durability, and more. As well as developing safety standards for the devices, it is hoped that within the next five years it will provide certification services for new robots as they become commercially available. Some eighteen tests have been installed at the facility thus far, and we must say that it looks like fun! See some examples after the break. Continue reading Robot Safety Center opens up in Japan, Crash Test Dummies still an unfortunate name for a band (video) Robot Safety Center opens up in Japan, Crash Test Dummies still an unfortunate name for a band (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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As you may be aware, you can build a pinhole camera out of just about anything and, as we’ve seen, you can build just about anything with Lego Mindstorms — so it makes sense the two should finally meet, right? Thanks to DIY-er Basil Shikin, they now have. He didn’t just settle for a simple pinhole camera, though — he created a fully automatic camera that’s able to wind the film and control the shutter (and look good while doing so). Head on past the break to check it out in action, and hit up the link below for the complete details to build your own. Continue reading DIY pinhole camera goes automatic with Lego Mindstorms (video) DIY pinhole camera goes automatic with Lego Mindstorms (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung unveils i-Functional NX11 mirrorless camera, WB700 with 24x zoom (update: pictures)
December 29, 2010 No Comment
Just when you thought it’d be a week devoid of notable announcements — what, with CES less than a week away — along comes Samsung with two new cameras. The first one is an upgrade to the mirrorless NX10 , naturally called the NX11, that boasts a change in grip design and compatibility with i-Function lens found on the NX100 . The other nitty-gritty details for the 14.6 megapixel shooter: a 3-inch AMOLED LCD screen, VGA viewfinder, 720p 30fps HD recording, an APS-C. Price and date? $649 with bundled 18-55mm zoom lens, February. In smaller news — volumetrically, at least — the 16 megapixel Samsung WB700 sports a 24x zoom (that’s 18x optical and 1.3x smart zoom), a 24mm ultra-wide Schneider Kreuznach lens, CCD sensor, and 1070p HD video. You’re gonna have to wait a little bit longer for that one — April, to be more specific — for a penny under $300. Any Press releases after the break , and we’ll get you the pictures as soon as Sammy sends ‘em . Update: We found the pictures! Gallery: Samsung unveils i-Functional NX11 mirrorless camera, WB700 with 24x zoom Continue reading Samsung unveils i-Functional NX11 mirrorless camera, WB700 with 24x zoom (update: pictures) Samsung unveils i-Functional NX11 mirrorless camera, WB700 with 24x zoom (update: pictures) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Not so fond of the Magic Mouse , are you? How’s about a flattened version, sans Bluetooth? That’s exactly what we’re being presented with here, as Sanwa’s MA-TOUCH1 looks like the lovechild of Apple’s own multitouch critter and Logitech’s M505 . In truth, the only real design cue this guy snags from the Logi is its Unifying Receiver, signifying that it relies on wireless USB rather than BT. The design scheme is definitely of interest — rather than being curved to fit the shape of a relaxed palm, it’s totally flat up top, supporting four-direction scrolling and two-finger swipes. She’s on sale now in four different colors (red, white, black and silver), with
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Two portable speakers clamber into the ring, each boasting big, beautiful sound for their diminutive size. Both cost $200. Both have the same technology inside. The Jawbone Jambox and the Soundmatters foxL v2 with Bluetooth each want to be your wireless audio wunderkind, blasting music and taking Bluetooth calls. At best, you’re only going to buy one. Which speaker should you choose? Following our Jambox review , we got our hands on a foxL and put the two head to head, and after the break you’ll see which one came out on top — both literally and figuratively. Gallery: Jawbone Jambox vs. Soundmatters foxL v2… fight! Continue reading Jawbone Jambox vs. Soundmatters foxL v2… fight! Jawbone Jambox vs. Soundmatters foxL v2… fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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So, that lovely 4.3-inch LTE smartphone with Android for Verizon we’ve been calling the Mecha and the Droid Incredible HD ? Looks like it might come to market as the Thunderbolt, so says Droid Life — and we tend to put some weight on the rumor considering that they’ve just run twelve leaked shots of the thing. As you can see, this is clearly Verizon’s head-on answer to the EVO 4G , featuring similar stylings and, in all likelihood, an LTE modem swapped in for the EVO’s WiMAX one. Sure looks like that “controlled” leak from a few days back, doesn’t it? More on this at Verizon’s press conference next week, we presume. HTC Thunderbolt with LTE for Verizon pictured ahead of CES unveiling? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Disney imagineering long lines out of theme parks with military-grade monitoring systems
December 28, 2010 No Comment
They’ve got a monorail system , IRL Muppets , and a house from the future , so we’re not surprised that Disneyland is kicking its line-monitoring system into technological overdrive. Beneath Cinderella’s iconic castle, a NORAD -style operation dedicated to eradicating downtime for visitors to the Magic Kingdom has sprung up, with a whole team tracking wait times, average number of rides ridden, and a whole bevy of other visitor-happiness metrics all over the park. From there, they can do things like re-route foot traffic to less-populated areas of the park with a mini-parade, adjust personnel at different attractions, or dispatch Jack Sparrow himself to liven up a Pirates line-waiter’s afternoon. Chief Creative Executive Imagineer Bruce E. Vaughan dreams of “a day where there is memory built into these characters – they will know that they’ve seen you four or five times before and that your name is Bobby.” Sounds delightfully frightening to us. But hey, it’s all in the name of increasing visitor happiness, which we’re sure goes hand in hand with visitor brokeness by the time they leave the park. Disney imagineering long lines out of theme parks with military-grade monitoring systems originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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