Robot Quadrotors Perform James Bond Theme

The GRASP quadrotors are back, performing a feat that's certainly much more entertaining.

 The quadrotors performed in a room that was equipped with infrared lights and cameras. Reflectors on the struts of each robot reflected the light to the cameras, which allowed the system to determine each quadrotor's exact position within the room. That information was then relayed wirelessly back to the robots, to make them aware of their own location, and those of the other robots.

In order to perform the music, each quadrotor had been assigned a set of waypoints in three-dimensional space, each one of which they had to reach at a precise point in time. While those coordinates had been programmed in by human operators, it was up to each robot to determine how to reach its waypoints on time, without disturbing the other units.

Watch the video below.

 

credits UnivPennsylvania

Apple unveils iPad 3

Apple's anxiously-awaited third generation iPad was introduced in San Francisco. Apple's iPad 3 has a host of upgrades and additions including a bright new Retina display driven by an A5X chip with quad-core graphics, a 5-megapixel iSight camera and now, full 1080p HD video capture capability. With both Wi-Fi-only and 4G models, the new iPad 3 can connect to numerous speedy networks such as the 4G LTEs offered by AT&T and Verizon, and it still offers up to 10 hours of battery life.

The iPad 3's new Retina display boasts 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution (four times the number offered by iPad 2 screens and more than a million greater than HD TV offers). As a result video, images, web pages and text appear especially sharp and realistic. Apple says the display simply looks deeper, richer and more vivid than that offered by previous models. With its now full 1080p HD video resolution, viewing movies on the iPad 3 is also improved.

Grabbing great video and stills will be noticeably easier with the new image-stabilized 5-megapixel iSight camera. Budding photogs can use the newly announced iPhoto for iPad app to edit, enhance and share still shots with others - which is likely to take a bite out of Adobe's sales of its recently released PhotoShop Touch app.

To make the iPad 3 more "world ready," its Wi-Fi + 4G with built-in next-gen 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) offers enhanced support for rapid networks globally, including HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access).

With iOS 5.1, which Apple claims to be the "world's most advanced mobile operating system," the iPad 3 sports a number of new functions and improvements:

• a reconfigured Camera app with a video stabilizer
• support for English, French, German and Japanese dictation
• compatibility with numerous iCloud services e.g. iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud
• extensive updates to iMovie, GarageBand and iPhoto to name a few

In iPhoto, Multi-Touch will allow the easy sorting of photos and image retouching using fingertip brushes and iCloud photo journal sharing. In iMovie, you'll now be able to generate Hollywood-style trailers while recording HD video, and GarageBand will now come with a feature called Jam Session, which will allow a group of friends to play instruments and record music live while wirelessly connected on their iOS devices. Additionally, the iPad 3 can run almost every one of the 585,000 apps sold by the App Store, which adds an incredible amount of functionality to its already appreciable capability.

Pricing and Availability Information:

Beginning March 16, the new black and white iPads, still thin and light, will go for US$499 (16GB), $599 (32GB) and $699 for the 64GB model. Starting today, March 7, the iPad 2 drops to a more affordable $399 for those who can somehow resist that urge to acquire the latest and greatest.

For Wi-Fi + 4G equipped models (either AT+T or Verizon), suggested retail is $629 (16GB), $729 (32GB) and $829 for the 64GB model. The iPad 3 will also be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and the US Virgin Islands on Friday, March 16.

one2TOUCH - Foldable Keyboards for Smartphones and Tablets

 "Many people are using smartphones and tablets in ways that require more than fingertip scrolling, pointing and pressing on the touchscreen. Whether you're typing notes, social networking, or emailing, both mobile devices and keyboard greatly extend flexibility when it comes to creating content with full screen view" - Øyvind Holtedahl, CEO for one2TOUCH

Near-Field Communication (NFC) one2TOUCH is offering silicone keyboards that connect to smartphones and tablets simply by laying the mobile device on top - no pairing required.

The keyboards feature "Touch & Type" functionality and have a pad that the device can rest on. In the case of one smartphone keyboard, a pad in the center where the phone rests separates left- and right-hand keys. A second model requires the phone to rest along the top edge of the keyboard in order to connect. Once sitting on the keyboard, the phone connects to the keyboard via NFC and is ready to receive input. The silicone keyboard is waterproof, and folds to fit into a bag or pocket.

The design works universally among most smartphones as there is no phone-specific cradle. However it does require a driver to be installed on the mobile device. The company says these will be available for download from the Android Market or the App Store. The Android driver will be available first with a driver for Apple devices released when Apple releases NFC capable devices.

The technology doesn't require pairing, which is necessary for Bluetooth and other personal area network (PAN) standards.

The video below from one2TOUCH shows the keyboard in action.

credits one2touchAS

Kinect: New Grocery Cart Technology

The "Smarter Cart," as it's been named, can detect what items are placed in it, match those to a shopping list, and even follow shoppers around the store on its own.

When Chaotic Moon Labs debuted the Kinect-powered Board of Awesomeness - and its mind-reading offspring, the Board of Imagination - that was apparently just a preview of a more practical product the company had in the works. Grocery store chain, Whole Foods, recently gave a demonstration of Chaotic Moon's latest device, which uses the same technology in a self-propelled shopping cart. The Smarter Cart uses a Kinect sensor synced with a Windows 8 tablet to control its motion.

KEY FEATURES AND CAPABILITIES:

• Instead of having someone actively directing where the device moves, the cart monitors the user and follows them like a lost puppy as they move about the store and pick out their items.
• The Kinect's voice recognition is also implemented this time around, so a user can ask the cart for more information - like where specific items are located in the store - or tell it when they are done shopping.
• The cart can also track the items placed in it by scanning their bar codes, match them to a pre-made shopping list, and give the total cost of all the items in the basket.
• It can detect if the wrong type of item is grabbed and verbally inform the shopper.

The project is still quite early in development, but Whole Foods has already tested single carts in some stores. The company plans to begin testing multiple carts at one store in Austin, Texas starting next month. If this follows the same trajectory as Chaotic Moon's Boards, don't be too surprised to see the process streamlined even further with a shopping cart that reads a person's brain waves.

See Smarter Cart in action.

Credits GeekWire

Huawei's Ascend D Quad: The World's Fastest Smartphone

This week, quad-core smartphones are making noise at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. First the LG's first model take the center stage, followed by the HTC's One X, and now China's Huawei Device is hoping to trump the competition by launching what is claimed to the be the fastest smartphone in the world - the Huawei Ascend D quad.

HUawei claimed the world's thinnest crown for its Ascend P1 S smartphone at CES 2012 and launching the first Android 3.2 product last June. Now the company has crammed its own K3V2 quad-core 1.2 GHz/1.5 GHz processor into a smartphone that's just 8.9 mm thin to give the competition something to think about.

The 129 x 64 x 8.9-mm (5 x 2.5 x 0.35-inch) Huawei Ascend D quad features a generous 1800 mAh battery that's claimed to be good for at least a full day of use, possibly two if the company's proprietary power management system - that's said to provide up to 30 percent energy savings and helps maintain low chip temperatures for better performance - has anything to say about it. The smartphone runs on Android 4.0 and benefits from a sunlight-friendly, 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel resolution (at 330 ppi) touchscreen display, 8 GB of onboard storage with microSD expansion and 1 GB of system memory.

The technology features Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and Audience earSmart voice technology (a voice processor that enhances clarity in noisy environments). There's an 8 megapixel backside-illuminated AF camera with dual LED flash at the rear capable of 1080p video capture, and a 1.3 megapixel cam at the front.

The Ascend D quad - along with an XL version housing a bigger battery - will be made available in China, Australia, Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America, and the Middle East in Q2 2012. A dual-core D1 series cousin is also set for April. Unfortunately, there's been no word on pricing.

Samsung shows off latest Galaxy Beam Projector Phone

Samsung has officially unveiled an updated version of the Galaxy Beam, a smartphone with its own built-in pico projector. The phone has the ability to project pictures, video, and other media onto walls, ceilings or any other flat surface via a 15 lumens projector that Samsung says can display images up to 50-inches wide.

Samsung originally showed off the Galaxy Beam at Mobile World Congress in 2010. This year's announcement brings an updated version of the handset sporting Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The 2010 version of the Beam came running Android v2.1, had a 3.7-inch screen, and a 9 lumens projector. The updated 2012 version shown off at Mobile World Congress 2011 comes running Android v2.3, has a 4-inch screen, and comes rocking a much more powerful 15 lumens projector.

The projector is the stand-out feature of the phone. Beyond that, you're looking at your standard run-of-the-mill Android handset. The phone has a 5-megapixel built-in camera, and has a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of internal memory, and a 2000mAh battery.

Samsung has yet to announce pricing or availability for the 2012 Galaxy Beam.

HTC One X: HTC's first Quad-Core Smartphone

Extraordinary quad-core power gives you lightning-fast web browsing, remarkable picture quality and hyper-realistic gaming effects — all on a giant, 4.7-inch HD screen. Then there's the amazing camera that captures every moment with crisp, vivid, beautiful photos.

HTC announced its new flagship handset at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona - the HTC One x. The phone will be HTC's first quad-core handset.

Specifications:

     Screen: 4.3-inch 1,280 x 720 HD display

     Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core

     Memory: 1GB

     Camera: 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel forward-facing

     Video shooting: 1080p (can be edited directly on the smartphone)

Much like other HTC handsets of late (such as the HTC Sensation XE and HTC Rezound), the HTC One X comes with built-in Beats Audio, offering the phone a bit of a sound advantage over some of its competition. The phone will also ship running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), and will offer 25GB of free DropBox storage in place of expandable memory.

The global version of the HTC One X is rumored to be released on April 5 2012 and priced at around US$650. A dual-core LTE version of the One X is set to come to AT&T in the U.S. later this year. 

Here's the first look at HTC One X: