Apr 15
watch
gizmo Watch — [sic] We have marked a great shift in the form of modern gadgets that, other than holding up-to-date functions, equally support an elegant design to attract trendy users. Designed for Samsung, the ‘Wearable Mobile Device’ by Erik Campbell is a Smartphone that can be worn like a bracelet. Intended towards athletes, tech savvies, thrill seekers and active adults who look for excellence in both form and function, the Samsung device concept integrates an OLED touchscreen, tactile keypad and flexible electronics to support an active lifestyle. Featuring an elegant split pad for better airflow to prevent sweat, this device relies on memory alloy articulation for on the go communication.
Apr 13
gadget, GPS, health
TechEye — We don’t know about the rest of everyone in Internet Land but if there was a way to make phone calls from a dog we’d be all over it. Laura Boffi, of the Copenhagen Institute of Interactive Design [and her colleagues: Mary Huang and Li Bian], has come up with a wearable vest for messenger dogs with built-in GPS.
The idea is that the dog is trained to trek around disaster areas, and when they find a stranded straggler, they’ll sit in front of them. When he’s walking around, his jacket will play sounds to make nearby survivors aware of their doggy internet saviour. A hammy sounding American guy will then tell you, from the vest, that this dog is a messenger dog, and guide the rescued through recording a voice or picture message
Apr 06
fashion, jewelry
Singularity Hub — Let’s face it, without the technology you use everyday you’d be pretty stuck. No automatic coffee pot, no iPhone, no GPS helping you crash your car. How would you even make it to the office? Not satisfied with the death grip they have on you now, scientists and designers the world over are finding new ways to integrate technology into every part of your life. Enter electronic clothes. These garments and accessories contain computers, lights, and all sorts of gadgets meant to bring you into the modern age. Why wear boring regular clothes when the newest styles will turn you into a walking multimedia phenomenon. Some of these clothes could even save your career.
The top ten according to Singularity Hub:
- Any Shirt ThinkGeek
Has Sold…Ever
- I’m Sorry, Is Your Ring…Ringing?
- The Part of Your Body that Doesn’t Need More Attention
- Scarfs for Autism
- Costumes that Listen
- Clothes with Controls
- The Shirt That Hugs You…Where are The Pants?
- The Data Logging Shirt
- Do It Yourself Electronic Hoodies
- The GalaxyDress by Cute Circuit
Apr 02
display
SlashGear — Apple’s iPhone gaming controller dock isn’t the only new patent application from the company to be published this week; the company is also pushing forward into head-mounted and wearable computer technology. Like the gaming patent, this latest proposition relies on taking an existing portable device – yes, like an iPhone or iPod touch – and combining it with a task-specific dock. Here, the dock is a head-mounted display system, with Apple envisaging an iPhone sliding into the side.
The rest of the patent describes the potential for different mounting designs, different materials from which the headset could be made, and possible applications. The latter includes a voice- and image-recognition system that could spot old acquaintances and flag their identity up, together with overlaying logos and other visual cues – for instance arrows – for GPS directions and the like.
Mar 31
gadget, watch
the gadgeteer — ThinkGeek
offers a very portable, wearable universal charger they call the Bracer of Battery Life +2. Unlike most charge-as-you-go chargers, this battery-extender doesn’t ruin the sleek lines of your phone, mp3 player, or gaming device, and you don’t need a different one for each of your gadgets. You wear the Bracer on your wrist like a bracelet, and you’ll have a 1500 mAh, 5.5V power source at the ready. The Bracer has a rechargeable lithium ion battery that recharges with the included USB cable. There’s a power button, a power status LED, and a 4-LED power level meter. The Bracer comes with a universal power output cable and nine connectors. You’ll receive connectors for iPhone, Nokia I (3.5 mm), Nokia II (2 mm), LG, Samsung i900, Sony Ericsson, Sony PSP, NDS Lite, Nintendo DSi, and a mini USB connector for Motorola/HTC/Dopod/and many mp3/mp4 devices. It’s $34.99 from ThinkGeek.
Mar 29
input
engadget — In December 1968, Douglas C. Engelbart introduced the world to two brand-new computer peripherals. The first was his invention, the computer mouse — which, as you’re well aware, revolutionized user input two decades later. The second, the chorded keyboard, still has yet to take off outside the Braille community. But after forty years, Doug Engelbart hasn’t given up on the latter device; he recently commissioned an industrial designer, Erik Campbell, to modernize the antiquated keyset into this lovely jellyfish-inspired, five-fingered keyboard replacement. Made of silicon rubber and recycled plastics, the concept peripheral uses pressure-sensitive pads at each fingertip to detect key-presses, turns combinations of presses (the “chords”) into letters and words, and sends them over wireless USB to the host computer. Sure, chorded computing isn’t for everyone (else we’d all be sporting iFrogs and typing gloves), but if this concept ever comes to fruition, we just might be tempted to learn.
Mar 26
input
BBC News — Tapping your forearm or hand with a finger could soon be the way you interact with gadgets.
US researchers have found a way to work out where the tap touches and use that to control phones and music players. Coupled with a tiny projector the system can use the skin as a surface on which to display menu choices, a number pad or a screen. Early work suggests the system, called Skinput, can be learned with about 20 minutes of training.
Mar 23
fashion
ThinkGeek
– [sic] Here at ThinkGeek we’re constantly amazed at the never-ending evolution of new technology. Hey, it’s our job. Take the lowly T-Shirt for example: In caveman times you had animal pelts… the Medieval era saw rise to the stylish burlap sack… next came lovely soft cotton and then synthetic polyester. Finally the modern space age delivers a fully functioning graphic equalizer in a handy t-shirt format. Party like it’s 2999 with the glowing display on the T-Qualizer that dynamically changes with any ambient sound or music. This has to be the coolest wearable tech we’ve seen since the George Foreman backpack grill.
Mar 10
fashion
cnet – crave — Sashaying down the runway this weekend toward the future of wearable technology: a solar-powered dress that revs gadgets via a USB charger located in the waist.
Parts of the dress come from Cornell University’s Textiles Nanotech Laboratory, which teamed up with two Italian universities to create cotton threads that can conduct electrical currents, yet remain light and comfortable enough to feel like the good old cotton we all know and love to sleep in.
”Previous technologies have achieved conductivity, but the resulting fiber becomes rigid and heavy,” said Juan Hinestroza, an assistant professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Design at the university whose student, Abbey Liebman, designed the solar frock. “More importantly our coatings are robust, hence making our yarns friendly to further processing such as weaving, sewing, and knitting.”
Mar 05
research
MIT news — MIT officially opened the Media Lab Complex, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki and Associates in association with Leers Weinzapfel Associates. The building marks a new era of innovation for the world-renowned Media Lab and for a range of art, design, and technology-related programs in the School of Architecture + Planning, of which the Media Lab is a part.
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the MIT Media Lab has long been at the vanguard of new technology. Many of the Lab’s inventions — such as electronic ink, wearable computers, and early platforms for social networking — helped ignite the digital revolution. More recently, the Lab has expanded its focus into “human adaptability,” with research projects involving affective computing, 6-D imaging and the future of the automobile.
Older Entries Newer Entries
RSS
Digg
Facebook