Innovative, Interesting, or Important
Our mission here is to highlight only the developments that
have long-term implications, promise or portent.
Instead of instantly-obsolete news like an updated piece of
software, a gadget’s slightly improved new version, or another round of
investing, we’ll spotlight only the innovations that we believe will still be
important a year from now.
This weeks headlines
1. Robots on Patrol
2. Intel, Samsung back faster wireless connectivity
3. No hands required: type your thoughts
4. Police test networked guns
5. Motorola will find your phone
6. Pilot-free helicopter fights wildfires
7. Wearable dialysis device for kidney patients
8. Wrist-mounted flying camera wins Intel prize money
9. Would Dick Tracy
wear this?
10. Flying cam captures 4k
Top Topic: Connectivity
While three of the devices we cover this week are wearable,
and three more items are about things that fly — this week Connectivity is our
focus.
Thanks to mobile phones, we’re used to being in touch with
each other all the time — and as we’ve got a connected computer in our
pocket, we’re also in touch at all times with all the data (and fluff) on the
Internet.
It’s not just phones: most of your devices will eventually
be linked in some way, and with newly developed faster data transfer rates
(item #2). Our watches will talk with our phones (#5), and because it’s
America, hey, even guns will be networked (#4). In the labs, connectivity
innovations can even read our thoughts (#3).
And #1: Of course, robots will talk to each other — security
guard robots, that is:
1. Robots on Patrol
Relax, they’re not Daleks. Not quite. But they are actual
robot security guards, ready to go on the job today.
Developed by startup Knightscope
in Mountain View, California, the K5 is five feet tall, and weighs 300
pounds — packed with five cameras, four microphones, sensors, GPS and
laser ranging navigation equipment, electric motors, and a 24-hour battery.
The robots are designed to detect anomalous behavior such as
someone walking through a building at night. With WiFi and a computer, they
communicate among themselves, and with a central security operator or facility.
The company says it’s mission is to “Cut Crime by 50 percent.”
MIT Technology Review has the full story.
The company says it’s mission is to “Cut Crime by 50 percent.”
MIT Technology Review has the full story.
2. Intel, Samsung back faster wireless connectivity
Silicon Valley startup Keyssa
is providing a faster alternative to cords and wireless networks for phones,
laptops, and home appliances.
The low-power wireless connectors use extreme high-frequency radio bands to transfer up to 6 gigabits of data per second when
two devices are held about a centimeter apart. (WiFi’s top speed is 1.35
gigabits per second; for USB it’s 5 gps.) That’s fast enough to transfer a
1080p movie within five seconds.
Keyssa’s backers include Intel Capital and Samsung.
3. No hands required: type your thoughts
Have you always wanted to control a computer with your mind?
A brain injury researcher is developing a computer-brain interface system that
allows paralyzed people to communicate through a computer screen.
At the Wadsworth Center,
a reporter for The Verge donned “a
hat resembling a swim cap that records brain activity thanks to a set of
gel-filled electrodes embedded in the fabric.” Then by simply concentrating, the reporter could pick out one letter at a time (although it took 15 seconds each time).
Nonetheless: “I typed text on a computer with my thoughts.”
Long-term, it may “help people who suffer from advanced
forms of paralysis maintain the will to live.”
4. Police test networked guns
A wireless chip in the handle of a gun will automatically
alert police headquarters whenever an officer in the field draws a
firearm — and where exactly the officer is.
California-based YardArm
technology works with regular firearm and transmits data over a standard
cell phone network. The company is also working to track the direction in which
a gun is pointing. The data can be fed to a police dispatch system or viewed on
a smartphone, MIT
Technology Review reports here.
“YardArm is holding tests to hone the tracking accuracy with
police departments in Santa Cruz, California, and Carrollton, Texas. The
technology has been tested at firing ranges, but not during active police
duty.”
5. Motorola will find your phone
The Keylink itself may not prove to be a lasting device, but it exemplifies simple device connectivity:
Motorola says “if
your phone decides to play hide and seek, press a button on Keylink to make the
phone ring up to 100 feet away. Or if your keys get a similar idea, you can use
the Motorola Connect App (on the phone) to make Keylink ring.”
The battery lasts about a year. The $25 device is compatible
with Android and iOS devices.
6. Pilot-free helicopter fights wildfires
The K-Max self-flying helicopter flew thousands of missions
in Afghanistan between 2011 and 2014. Now Lockheed Martin is showing the Forest
Service and other agencies how it can fight wildfires longer than human pilots
can tolerate, and in more dangerous conditions.
The chopper can carry up to 6,000 pounds of cargo — such
as an enormous bucket with more than 2,800 gallons of water — to make
for “a self-flying, fire-fighting
chopper.”
Lockheed also offers a five-pound quadcopter with an
infrared camera to locate fires.
7. Wearable dialysis device for kidney patients
A new miniature portable device could improve the lives of
tens of thousands of people who most otherwise now regularly visit kidney
dialysis centers.
The 10-pound machine can cleanse and monitor blood
constantly, with minimal effort — and the FDA has put the device on a fast-track
program, reports
i09.
A doctor explains the device in this video.
And from my own photography coverage at PMA Newsline:
8. Wrist-mounted flying camera wins Intel prize money
The Nixie got a lot of coverage this Summer when it debuted
on Kickstarter — and it took another step closer to commercial feasibility
with an award from Intel.
Basically a wearable quadcopter drone that rests on your
wrist before launching to take your selfie, the Nixie won the $500,000 grand
prize in Intel's “Make It Wearable”
competition, Phy.org
reports.
9. Would Dick Tracy wear this?
Dutch designer Hermen van den Burg says his smartwatch
combines robust functionality with avant-garde design in a convenient
user-friendly device — at an affordable price.
The Burg 12 Smartwatch has full
phone functionality to make and receive calls with the watch’s speakerphone,
using an included SIM card, or paired with either an iPhone or Android phone.
It has a camera built in, because these days, what doesn’t?
However, we couldn’t find any indication what resolution it captured, so we’d
guess it’s in the low megapixels.
The watch has a 1.5-inch touchscreen with a 240 x 240
resolution. It also provides music and video playback, a calendar, contact list,
voice recording — and a low-res camera.
It’s $199 at Walmart
and on Amazon.
10. Flying cam captures 4k
Remember when remote-controlled planes and copters only had
VGA-res cameras? It wasn’t that long ago, was it? Today handheld- and
tripod-mounted 4k cameras are hardly mainstream — but DJI’s latest drone has a 12-megapixel
sensor for full 4k video, as well as Raw stills.
“Everything is better in 4K,” DJI says, which “gives you the
power to make every shot a masterpiece.”
The Inspire 1 remote-controlled quadcopter has a 3-axis
gimble on the bottom to stabilize the camera, the lens of which has 9 elements
in 9 groups including an aspherical element, the company says, “producing
extreme clarity.”
Also, a real-time feed from the Inspire 1’s camera is
displayed in 720p HD on your mobile device, “giving you a perfect view of what
the camera sees to frame your shots.” DJI says its Lightbridge technology can now
transmit the video feed from up to 2km away.
The cam-copter will sell for $2,899.
This Week's Post sponsored by:
Twin Peaks Vacation Rental
You can enjoy a large and fully-stocked house on 15 acres of mountain forest, with a deck and a great view — for less than the cost of a cramped hotel room.
Pricing starts at $150per night.
Reserve your vacation home now!
No comments:
Post a Comment