The Technology Thread

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Intel Will Let You 3D-Print Your Own Robot This Year

Your very own Wall-E? It may not be too futuristic a prospect if Intel has anything to do with it. The company just showed off a DIY kit at the Code Conference that will let you 3D-print your very own robot for $1600.

Have a 3D printer? Or at least access to one? You're pretty much halfway there. The at-home robot maker will be buyable online at 21stCenturyRobot.com later this year. It will include the designs for the hardware that you can make if you have a 3D printer you can use. It will also give you the moving parts you can't print, like motors and wires and processors and batteries. The cost is relatively low because Re/Code says it runs on Intel Edison—a cheap computer on a chip. If it were fitted with a better brain, like say an i5 processor, it would run more like $16,000.

And the robot is supposed to get better as people start to create and tinker with them—it's open-source, so developers can build programs and apps for it and 'bot builders can download them at will. Robots will be able to do things like translate languages, or deliver a beer, or get the mail. Anything! Your open source Intel-powered robot is your oyster. And for not that much money, relatively speaking.

http://recode.net/2014/05/28/heeeee...ed-robot-will-hit-the-market-later-this-year/

I want a side-kick robot

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Skype to Launch Star Trek-Style, Real-Time Language Translator

[YT]eu9kMIeS0wQ[/YT]

Microsoft just demoed an awesome new feature for Skype that will actually let you speak to people in other languages—in real-time—by doing all the translating dirty work for you.

Skype Chief Gurdeep Pall teased the new feature at Re/code's Code Conference, calling up a German-speaking exec to show off the new translation chops. According to a few German-speaking members of the audience, the translation was "pretty good"—but not perfect.

When in use, the new feature displays a translation of the other person's words at the bottom of your screen. It's not quite instant (you'll have to wait until the other person finishes before you can see what they're saying), but it's an impressive start nonetheless. And the more people use the new feature, the better it hopes to get at providing accurate, near-instant translations.

Microsoft is planning to start with just a handful of language and—here's the catch—it will only work on computers running Windows. Although, support for other languages and other computers will obviously come eventually. As for the initial beta round, you should see it hitting PCs sometime later this year.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsof...gh-in-real-time-translated-conversations.aspx

That is amazing

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

There's an Electric Skateboard For Commuters Hiding Inside this Backpack

Unless you work at a subway station or a bus stop, public transit can only get you most of the way to work. The remaining distance you have to cover by foot, or just hold off on actually getting a job until the Movpak—an electric-powered skateboard that folds up into a backpack—is available.

With the built-in battery and electric motor the Movpak weighs in at around 17 pounds, but there's enough room left over in the backpack too add a chance of clothes or a laptop. And if you don't feel like carrying it, a pop-up handle allows it to be dragged around on its wheels like carry-on luggage.

[YT]LBEbv7OIQ_8[/YT]

On a full charge you can expect to ride for about nine miles at a top speed of around 15 miles per hour, and it can be recharged in about two hours so it will be ready to go for your commute home at the end of the day.

You can't buy one just yet, but the Movpak's creators will be launching it with an upcoming Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. A pre-order unit—assuming the fundraising initiative is successful and there are no production issues—will cost you $1,190, but that price tag will presumably be even higher for those who decide to wait it out. In the meantime, you can just use a regular skateboard like a loser.

http://www.gizmag.com/movpak-ev-backpack/32257/

This is cool and I want one yesterday

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Unbelievable Display Technology Uses Levitating Particles as Pixels

The Pixie Dust display uses sound waves to create images and animations from real particles that appear to float in mid-air. It probably sounds implausible, but there's video of it in action. And yes, what you're seeing is actually happening, no gimmicks or special effects.

[YT]NLgD3EtxwdY[/YT]

Researchers actually figured out how to levitate objects using nothing but sound years ago, but to date it's really only been with single particles. This new research, from Yoichi Ochiai, Takayuki Hoshi, and Jun Rekimoto, presented at the annual Siggraph conference, involves hundreds of tiny specks, all strategically arranged in real-time to form images, and even moving animations.

The applications for such a technology are almost impossible to comprehend at this point, since we're so used to displays being flat and made from glowing pixels. But try and imagine the particles floating in the air coming together to suddenly form a computer screen, and you can start to realize how revolutionary this research could be.

http://96ochiai.ws/PixieDust/

This is a game changer right here people

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Apple Patent Hints at Plans for LiquidMetal and Sapphire iPhone Chassis

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Apple with a patent that finally suggests how the company may have planned (or be planning) to use LiquidMetal: in conjunction with display glass made from sapphire to form a single, integrated chassis for the iPhone.

The patent is actually over six years old, but has just been granted—a mere week after Apple extended its exclusive contract to use LiquidMetal in consumer electronics through to 2015. So far, the company has only used its rights to the material to make a SIM card ejector tool—but this patent suggests its uses could be rather more sophisticated.

"Methods and systems for integrally trapping a glass insert in a metal bezel"—or U.S. Patent No. 8,738,104 to its buddies that insist on snappier naming systems—describes how it could be possible to integrate glass, such as sapphire, into a metal phone bezel using LiquidMetal to bridge the gap.

While that might sound like a recipe for disaster—a world of written off phones and lack of repairability—the reasoning behind it is actually pretty sound. Currently, Apple uses a rubberized gasket between glass and metal frame of its phones to damp the system in the event of a tumble. It works well enough, and is still used in the iPhone 5S—but the beauty of using LiquidMetal is that the alloy itself has many of the positive attributes of plastic while being tougher and harder-wearing.

The patent in fact describes how LiquidMetal could be used to provide many of the same damping qualities as the current rubber gasket, while also providing an integrated metal-and-glass chassis. What's more, it also explains how the thermal properties of the alloy are well suited to the metal injection molding technique that would be required to undertake such a manufacturing feat.

Of course, it's not clear if Apple plans to roll out an iPhone that actually uses such large quantities of LiquidMetal—but the timing in relation to Apple's renewal of its LiquidMetal contract, and the fact that the patent predates the original sale of the rights, hints that the intent is certainly there.

Either way, a near-future release seems unlikely—not least because we haven't heard of any rumors of mass LiquidMetal production, which would be required for it to appear in every new iPhone. Regardless, it's interesting to see Apple thinking about how it can use new materials in consumer devices—we'll just have to wait and see if the results ever make it into our hands.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...pphire-displays-in-liquidmetal-iphone-chassis

Seems like a cool idea

 

[Teelie]

The Moon's Internet Connection Is Probably Faster than Yours

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/05/28/the-moon-is-now-a-wi-fi-hotspot/#.U4Yeq5QV46g

I saw your comment and couldn't resist adding this little tidbit

If anyone deserves to look at porn on the internet, it's astronauts visiting the moon so I'd give them a pass.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

World's First Fully Organic Flexible OLED Will Wrap Around Your Wrist

The idea of truly flexible displays never gets boring, and now Plastic Logic is taking us one step closer. Its latest flexible OLED is the world's first to be made using fully organic transistors—and it's surprisingly pleasing display could wrap around your entire wrist.

The bendable screen, which features 256 grey levels and full 30fps image rendering, perhaps suggests that organic transistor technology might be the best shot that manufacturers have at making the mythical roll-up tablet that we all long to shove in our back pocket. Rather than, y'know, a phone with a slightly curved face.

In fact, Plastic Logic reckons that this screen is destined for wearables in the near future. It hopes that the displays will be used to conform to the curved and irregular shapes of the human body, like screens that wrap around your entire wrist. On show at this week's SID Display Week show, it's calling out for OEMs to use them as soon as possible. We hope they do.

http://www.displayweek.org/

Would def make those smatwatches much cooler

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Google Spending $1 Billion on Satellites to Cover Earth in Wi-Fi

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google plans to spend over $1 billion on a fleet of satellites that will be used to provide internet to parts of the world that currently lack digital connections.

According to "people familiar with the project," Google will use 180 "small, high-capacity satellites" that will orbit the Earth at low altitudes. Led by Greg Wyler, who set up satellite startup O3b Networks Ltd, Google has been on a hiring spree to recruit engineers from satellite company Space Systems/Loral LLC, claims the Journal.

Now, if the report is accurate, Wuler is heading up a team of "between 10 and 20 people," ultimately reporting to Larry Page. The project is scoped to provide internet to areas around the world without wired connections, and cost between $1 billion to more than $3 billion, depending on the network's final design and size. The Journal claims that a later phase "could double the number of satellites. "

Aside from organizational details, information about the project remains scant. But it's not Google's only drive to deliver internet from the skies: it's already running tests with internet providing balloons, and it's bought a drone company to cover the world in Wi-Fi, too.

While previous attempts to smother the world in internet via satellite have proved unsuccessful, that's largely been due to escalating costs. If the the report is accurate, Google is now working on three high-profile projects to use airborne craft to connect the world. Clearly, cost isn't too much of a concern for Page & Co..

Why? Well, aside from the obvious—being filthy rich—the provision of internet to currently unconnected locations across the globe opens up vast new markets. Google clearly wants it products and services to be the default option; we'll just have to wait and see if it can pull it off.

http://online.wsj.com/news/article_...t-access-1401666287-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwMTEwNDEyWj

Seems very altruistic until you realize they just want to make sure they have new ad revenue, but if it gets it into places that wouldn't otherwise it can't be a bad thing I guess

 

[KevanG]

That reminds me of those snapbands they had a while back. It was rigid until it hit a hard surface ,like your arm, then curled around it.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

4K Is Officially the Next Dumb Format War

If your bank account has left you unaware of the state of the 4K movement, here's a fun surprise: if you buy a 4K movie from Sony, you'll need a Sony television to play it back. If you buy one from Samsung, you'll need a Samsung TV to view it. Which means that what should be a fiesta for your eyes has turned into just another proprietary pain in the ass.

As Geoffery Morrison points out in a piece on CNET:

What would have happened if, in the early days of DVD, you could only buy discs that worked with your brand of television? How quickly would you have upgraded, knowing that to watch your two favorite movies you'd need to buy two different televisions, and two different DVD players?
Despite the many format wars we've had in the past, it seems like companies just don't learn. They're either too dumb, or too arrogant or both. Sony, in particular, has a long tradition of foisting proprietary formats on users and then sending them to their graves when they just don't work out (MemorySticks, Mini Disc, the Reader e-book reader that made it impossible to load your own content onto it, Betamax, the DAT... Sony's list of proprietary failures is endless).

Samsung is no stranger to this game too. The company's latest Gear Fit smartwatch works only with certain phones in its Galaxy range of devices. And Bada, its proprietary smartphone platform, was phased out in favor of Tizen.

Locking down formats in the hope that consumers will embrace them willy-nilly is the worst kind of corporate hubris. If we're paying thousands of dollars to watch 4K in the first place, at least let us watch what we want where we want.

http://www.cnet.com/news/why-are-sony-and-samsung-keeping-4k-content-to-themselves/

This is insanely stupid and pointless. By the time 4k is cheap enough for it to be in most homes I bet the majority of people will be streaming almost everything they view

 

[Teelie]

4k is definitely overblown hype.

 

[KevanG]

For ****s sake. I'll just wait with my perfectly good stuff until this crap blows over. I prefer to be able to load whatever whenever. That's one of the reasons I've never liked Apple since they used to do that thing where it's only their stuff in their products.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Nevada Roads Could Be Home to Computer-Assisted Trucks By 2015

[YT]24R8E7Uru_4[/YT]

If driverless cars give you the jitters, how about computer-assisted trucks instead? Because two 18-wheelers in Nevada look set to use automation to make them safer and more efficient—and they could be on the roads as soon as 2015.

Popular Science reports that the new computer-aided trucks, developed by Peloton Tech, can maintain a nice, safe distance of 33 feet between themselves and the vehicle in front, leaving the driver to merely steer. Hardly Google's vision of a driverless vehicle, but then, these things weigh as much as a house—so baby steps may be for the best.

The technology uses a real-time video link, GPS system, antennas, and a radar detector—which currently takes a week to install—providing something akin to a slightly smarter version of adaptive cruise control. Perhaps most importantly, it improves fuel efficiency, by as much as 10 percent for the trucks following the leader. The hope is to have the trucks running on Nevada roads—the first state to approve self driving cars—some time next year.

http://www.popsci.com/article/cars/robot-truck-convoy-tested-nevada

I'm all for anything that makes semi's safer

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Intel's New Broadwell Processor Could Make Your Next Ultrabook Silent

Intel has just announced a new reference PC design that uses its upcoming Broadwell
chipset. Usually, that wouldn't get us excited—but this concept ushers in the prospect of silent ultrabooks and MacBook Airs.

The new design uses 14 nanometer processing to create a slab of PC-grade silicon—this is the next iteration in Intel's Core range, to be called the Core M—that doesn't require cooling. Indeed, it's Intel's most energy efficient Core processor yet, which means that the reference design—a 12.5-inch tablet that's just 7.2mm thick —requires no fan to keep it cool. Sure, tablets already don't need cooling, but remember that this chip is actually designed to power PCs; it's more powerful than anything you'd find in a mobile device.

So, while Intel's 670-gram design features a detachable keyboard, strictly making it a 2-in-1, there's no reason, as Verge suggests, that OEMs couldn't use the silicon to power the next generation of ultrabooks and MacBook Airs. Think of it as blurring the lines between mobile and desktop: enough grunt to keep up with the demands of real work, enough efficiency to need no noisy cooling system. Tranquility could soon arrive on your lap.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/3/5775064/a-silent-macbook-air-is-now-possible-if-apple-wants-it

I could care less about being silent but not having to cool PCs is awesome

 

[KevanG]

14 nanometer? Yeesh. Miniaturization is getting crazy.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Netflix Lets People Know When Bad Streaming Is Verizon's Fault (Update: Verizon Calls It a "PR Stunt")

Last night, Yuri Victor tweeted a screenshot of a new Netflix error message he saw while a video was buffering. It tells Verizon customers exactly what's to blame for slow video. And judging by the response from Netflix's spokesperson Jonathan Friedland, it's no mistake. The streaming video world is getting sassy.

The new snippiness is particularly odd because Netflix and Verizon signed a deal back in April that would ensure efficient delivery for the video giant. Of course, Netflix had already signed a similar deal with Comcast two months prior. But despite what should now be a level-ish playing field for Comcast and Verizon customers, Cnet says Verizon FIOS ranks eighth in Netflix's speed evaluations.

Either way, it's always fun to see one corporate giant call out another one in such a creative way. Can't wait to hear what Netflix thinks about Verizon's mom.

Update: Bob Elek, spokesperson for Verizon, says the following in a comment on this post:

This is a Netflix PR stunt. We're investigating this claim but it seems misleading and could confuse people.

https://***********/jsf33/status/473992321394954241

Netflix getting sassy

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Flexible Battery Straps Could Double a Smartwatch's Runtime

At Computex 2014, the folks over at Engadget stumbled across a clever solution to the battery life woes that have plagued smartwatches for years now. A company called ProLogium has developed a flexible lithium ceramic battery that can be shaped and worn like a watchband, adding an extra 500 mAh of power which means your watch doesn't have to be docked for charging as often.

And while it's unfortunate it even has to be mentioned as a feature, the solid-state nature of the materials that go into these flexible batteries means there's no risk of them exploding or catching fire on your wrist. So they got that goin' for them, which is nice.

ProLogium has already put its new battery bands into production, and because they measure just 1.5 millimeters thick, they're actually useful for other applications as well. For instance, Google Glass' battery life can certainly use a boost, and this technology could be used to subtly add a bit of thickness, which in turn would keep it running for hours longer than the norm.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/04/watch-band-batteries/?ncid=rss_truncated

Surprised it took someone this long to come up with that

 

[KevanG]

Eh, smartwatches. I give it a year then we'll see if it's going to stay.

Very nice Netflix. Good for them.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Intel Wants to Make Your Office Entirely Cable-Free By 2016

A rat's nest of cables at the back of a desk is truly the sign of the gadget-obsessed. But Intel plans to end all that, and soon: it wants your desk—hell, your entire digital life—to be completely wireless by 2016.

At this week's Computex trade show in Taipei, Intel's Senior Vice President Kirk Skaugen explained that Intel's post-Broadwell chipsets—currently codenamed Skylake—will do away with cables. That means wireless displays, docking and charging all the way, reports CNET.

And Intel already knows how it's going about it. It reckons a new protocol called WiGig, working at speed of up to 7 Gbps, could be used to provide short-range docking for connectivity and display purposes. That will instantly create connections to screens and peripherals when you move a laptop or tablet within range, then automatically switch out when you move away.

Wireless power, of course, continues to be a headache because the market's so fragmented. Intel is currently plumping for Rezence, though, and at Computex showed off a system using its technology installed under a table. Capable of penetrating two inches of wood, it charges multiples items at once. You simply plop your laptop down on a powered desktop to charge your device.

All wonderful, if existing, ideas. But Intel really seems to means what it says: it's partnering with Dell, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Logitech, Panasonic, Asus and Toshiba to push the whole shebang forwards. With names like that coming together, those sci-fi dreams might actually come real—and sooner than we expected.

http://www.cnet.com/news/intel-aims-to-eliminate-all-pc-cables-in-2016/

Well this is big news, I hope they can pull it off. I'm tired of wires everywhere

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Google Now Offers End-to-End Encryption on Email

Google has released the source code for a new extension for Chrome—but this is no ordinary extension. It's called End-to-End, and it will provide users with the ability to encrypt their email the whole way from outbox to recipient.

The new system uses the open-source encryption standard OpenPGP, and should make it easy for users to read encrypted emails that arrive in their inbox. Clearly, it will require both sender and receiver use End-to-End or another encryption tool—but the idea here is to make encryption more accessible. Google explains:

While end-to-end encryption tools like PGP and GnuPG have been around for a long time, they require a great deal of technical know-how and manual effort to use. To help make this kind of encryption a bit easier, we're releasing code for a new Chrome extension that uses OpenPGP, an open standard supported by many existing encryption tools.

Open PGP remains remarkably labor-intensive and technically difficult to decrypt, so this is very much a flick of the bird to the NSA. The snag? You won't find End-to-End n the Chrome Web Store for a while. Instead, it's releasing the code so that devs, engineers and other wildly enthusiastic early adopters can test and evaluate it, to make sure it's user-friendly, bug-free and secure.

There's no word on when End-to-End will turn into a freely available extension, but those with a little know-how can already use it. The rest of us will have to wait a little while. But there's no doubting the fact that when Google does roll this feature out in full, it will make end-to-end encryption way, way more widely used—and that's a wonderful thing.

http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/making-end-to-end-encryption-easier-to.html

Well that will make things more secure in the future

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The Cutting-Edge Tech That Will Finally Bring Desalination to the U.S.

In case you haven't heard, California is screwed. The drought has turned our perennially water-challenged state into a desiccated husk. In these dire times, we look toward desalination, an idea long-promised but never quite delivered in the U.S. But a spate of new technologies—graphene, solar mirrors, and more—could finally make desalination viable for our freshwater needs.

The state of desalination is wonderfully summed up in a new article by Cheryl Katz in Yale Environment 360. There are at least 16 water desalination plants in some stage of planning along the west coast, including a billion-dollar megaplant near San Diego set to open in 2016. The San Diego plant will use the classic strategy of reverse osmosis—essentially pushing seawater through a semipermeable filter—but new upstarts are trying out radically new technologies.

For example, there's the buzz material on everyone's lips: graphene.

One of the hottest new technologies on the bench in laboratories in the U.K., Saudi Arabia, and South Korea and elsewhere is one-atom thick, perforated graphene membranes that can cut reverse osmosis desalination to a fraction of its current cost. Developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the membrane's pores can be tuned to optimize permeability. The hang-up for now is how to mass-produce the material.

Or solar power, a process that produces salt as byproduct instead of brackish water, which no one knows what to do with in existing desalination plants.

[Water FX's co-founder Aaron Mandell] hopes to quell those concerns with his company's new process utilizing large parabolic mirrors to collect and concentrate the sun's energy. Inside this solar still, pure water evaporates, while solids remain behind...Mandell points out that his salt byproduct is dry and can be mined for useful chemicals, rather than winding up with hazardous brine that's costly to discard.

There's a whole of other ideas hatching out of labs: "porous carbon aerogel electrodes" that remove salt electrically, nanotechnology that prevents bacteria biofilms from clogging up filtration membranes, a "plant in a box." Check out Katz's full piece for all the details, and toast a future glass of seawater.

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/new_desalination_technologies_spur_growth_in_recyling_water/2770/

I know they have been talking about this for years and I'm glad to see we are making some progress for turning this into something more viable than current iterations

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Scientists Built a Robot That Lets You Feel Virtual Breasts

Haptic technology has come a long way in recent years. And at long last, it's finally reached its inevitable conclusion: Boobs.

More specifically, Japanese researchers have developed a robot hand that uses haptic technology to simulate softness on individual fingertips. Other than acting as a stand-in lady friend for lonely scientists, the device has the potential to give medical students more hands-on practice (so to speak) with breast exams.

And even though haptic tech has done some pretty incredible things over the years, simulating softness has been one of the bigger challenges. Because our fingertips can detect so many nuanced sensations, the imitation has to be nearly perfect. In simulating something like elasticity, the device would merely need to pull your fingers in with electrical impulses. Not so here.

IEEE Spectrurm explains:

To simulate softness, the sheet of gel is stretched by two tiny rollers with a gap between them, so that a strip of gel is suspended in the air. Your finger rests on this strip. By using a motor and a set of gears to move the rollers, the tension on the strip of gel can be increased or decreased. Increasing the tension (pulling the strip tighter) makes it feel harder under your finger, while decreasing the tension (letting the strip get looser) makes it feel softer [see diagram below].

With a haptic device, the potential for replicable shapes is nearly endless. So whereas you'd need to have dozens of different silicon models with lumps in different places for students to practice breast exams, a single, haptic hand could do it all.

And this is just one of the more practical uses. Haptic technology holds loads of potential for general entertainment, and with the addition of softness—well, you know where this is going.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/...pectrum/automaton+(Automaton+-+IEEE+Spectrum)

Yes I'm sure this will lead to all manner of, *AHEM* "Real World" applications t:

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

These Robotic Sperm Could Change the Way In Vitro Fertilization Works

A team of Dutch engineers just published the details of a curious new invention: tiny robotic sperm that can be controlled with a weak magnetic field. Like real sperm, these so-called MagnetoSperm flip their tails to swim towards their target. Unlike real sperm, they're made of metal-coated polymer.

These little guys are pretty incredible. The simple design mimics its natural inspiration almost exactly with a head and tail, but the robo-sperm are about six times longer than real sperm. A metal layer painted on the head allows the scientists to control nanobots pretty precisely with a magnetic field. And even though the MagnetoSperm can't swim quite as fast as real sperm, scientists say they'll prove useful for microtargeted delivery of medication as well as new methods for in vitro fertilization.

Funnily enough, this isn't the first time we've encountered robotic sperm. About six months ago, scientists created cyborg sperm that were actually just real sperm with a metal sheath that allowed them to be steered with magnets. The MagnetoSperm, however, are completely artificial and made in a lab. This key innovation gives engineers more flexibility. The Dutch team next wants to make the robo-sperm smaller and faster.

Eventually, they think they might even be able to function as microscopic construction workers, assembling other nanotechnology. Because in the future, our cities will be built by robotic sperm. If we're lucky.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27665050

Never thought I'd see they day were I post about artificial robotic freaking sperm, crazy stuff man

 

[Teelie]

These Robotic Sperm Could Change the Way In Vitro Fertilization Works

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27665050

Never thought I'd see they day were I post about artificial robotic freaking sperm, crazy stuff man

How else do you make baby cyborgs?

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Google Brings Its 3D-Modeling Project Tango to Tablets Too

[YT]MTL1IXTDH30[/YT]

Google just announced a Project Tango tablet development kit that expands the company's 3D modeling experiment. The project comes to you from ATAP, Google's research team that works on crazy projects. This is future tech we're not even sure about yet.

The new dev kit is packed with an NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, 4GB of RAM, an a 128GB of on-board storage. But as before the hardware is all about the hardware's motion tracking camera and depth sensing which allows you to use the hardware to create real-time 3D maps of environments. Indeed, for these types of applications, the extra screen real estate afforded by a tablet could help people working with the platform in the field better explore and work with the real time maps.

The new tablet development kit will be available in limited quantities to developers for $1024. The idea is to explore what exactly a 3D sensing tablet with real-time processing capabilities could be useful for if put in the hands of people with big ideas.

I could see this leading to some cool stuff in the future