Research - SlashGear

Posts Tagged ‘research’

Standalone PNDs to peak in 2012; 88% to be wirelessly-connected by 2015 say analysts

By Chris Davies on Friday, Nov 20th 2009 No Comments

The arrival of Google Maps Navigation was enough justification for many to declare that standalone PNDs were dead and buried, but according to Berg Insight there's still some way to go before the devices peak. The research firm estimate that dedicated PNDs will peak in 2012, with sales around the 50m units per year mark, after which they'll decline. They also suggest that connected PNDs will have a slightly longer grasp on the market.

Continued »

NEC zoom-lens noise cancellation system promises quieter video

By Chris Davies on Wednesday, Nov 18th 2009 No Comments

NEC have developed a technology that, they claim, will cut out zoom lens and auto-focus motor noise during video recording. The system uses a microphone and DSP that generates “pseudo-noise” to cancel out background buzzing from the camcorder’s own hardware; the advantage of a predominantly software system is that it can be fitted to even the smallest of point-and-shoot camcorders and video-capable digital cameras.

As well as ongoing, steady noise from hardware, the system is apparently capable of cutting out intermittent or unexpected sounds, such as noise from the cylinder lens or mirrors. In fact it’s even clever enough to take into account the ageing of motors and tweak the “pseudo-noise” accordingly.

Continued »

OLED and solar-panel lights promise Earth-friendly simplicity

By Chris Davies on Tuesday, Nov 17th 2009 No Comments

We all love a sandwich, but how often does your sandwich light up from power it has collected itself? If you're chowing down on a prototype from the Florida Energy Systems Consortium then it might just do that (though probably not tasting particularly good in the process): they're working on the idea of layered OLED and solar-cell panels, which would capture sunlight during the day and recharge a back battery plane, before lighting up at night.

Continued »

Microsoft Research demo prototype glass screen PC with gesture and eye-tracking control

By Chris Davies on Friday, Nov 6th 2009 No Comments

Say what you like about Microsoft, but their Research arm certainly know how to put together an eye-catching demo. Chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie has been doing a tour of US colleges showing off a prototype next-gen computer – among other things – that has a transparent glass display and can be controlled by pen, voice, touch-free gestures and eye-tracking.

microsoft research glass display prototype

Continued »

MIT create autonomous intelligent robot helicopter [Video]

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Oct 15th 2009 2 Comments

Obviously blind to the threat of robotic attack from the skies, MIT have developed an indoor helicopter that can not only automatically hover but intelligently navigate through a changing environment. The quad-rotor ‘copter has a laser-scanner and dual-camera array, which can build up a real-time map of its environment and identify small openings such as windows.

indoor autonomous helicopter

Video demo after the cut

Continued »

Fabric Iridium antenna project promises Star Trek communicator clothes

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Oct 1st 2009 1 Comment

Star Trek cosplayers take note: soon you may be able to have your own, functional communicator thanks to Patria Aviation Oy. The Finnish company has been developing flexible fabric antennas which, when tapped, link up with the Iridium satellite phone network; two-way voice and data communication is supported, while there’s also a GPS chip to report physical location.

star trek communicator 540x411

Continued »

Retinal implant could bring sight to blind says MIT team

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Sep 24th 2009 No Comments

MIT researchers have come up with a retinal implant that sends images from a glasses-mounted camera directly to the brain, via the optic nerve. Intended to bring some degree of vision back to the blind, the system should begin real-world testing in around three years time, according to MIT electrical engineering professor John Wyatt.

retinal implant 1

Continued »

21% of people keen to buy Apple’s unannounced tablet

By Chris Davies on Wednesday, Sep 23rd 2009 No Comments

We may well laugh about Apple addicts and their long-queueing ways, but when a survey finds more than a fifth of those asked would happily pay between $500 and $700 for an Apple tablet, sight-unseen, you have to admire the company's hype machine. Analysts RBC Capital Markets asked 3,100 people whether they were interested in buying the tablet, and 21-percent said yes; that contrasts to 9-percent of people asked in April 2007 whether they'd be interested in an iPhone, in a similar survey prior to the smartphone's launch.

Continued »

Space Foosball table brings retro gaming up to date [Video]

By Chris Davies on Monday, Sep 21st 2009 No Comments

Take one of the most iconic arcade games, mix it up with a classic real-world game, and you might be so lucky as to end up with Space Foosball. The DIY handiwork of Young J. Kim’s team at the Korean Ewha Women’s University Computer Graphics Lab, Space Foosball uses the familiar handle controls from a foosball table but encodes their movement digitally, with the university’s own Everyware physics engine used to power gameplay.

space foosball 1 540x432

Video demo after the cut

Continued »

Ultra-thin notebook sales languishing?

By Chris Davies on Friday, Aug 28th 2009 1 Comment

Occasionally arch rumor site Digitimes takes a break from speculation and leaks and does some research into PC hardware sales performance. Latest niche to come under their microscope is the "ultra-thin" notebook, generally based on Intel's CULV (consumer ultra-low voltage) platform, and offering a middle-point between the battery longevity of netbooks and the performance of full-sized notebooks. Unfortunately for manufacturers, Digitimes claims the ultra-thins will only account for 4-percent of total global notebook shipments in 2009.