Sensor-laden Footballs and Gloves Could Run Refs Out of Work
[Thanks, Freddy]
sensors posts
[Thanks, Freddy]
Fujitsu's In-Car Safety Tech Senses Drowsiness, Wakes You Up
Not that we haven't seen similar technology from other outfits before, but we'll take as many in-car safety advancements as we can get. It's bruited that Fujitsu is conjuring up a sophisticated sensor system that can actually detect when a driver gets drowsy or begins to sink into a deep, dark wonder-world of sleep. Put simply, the system would detect specific changes in the motorist's heart rate via the steering wheel, and once it determined that you weren't exactly "with it" any longer, the car could then roll its own windows down, blast the stereo or jolt the wheel in order to get your attention. In our minds, the biggest issue here is to not cause an accident by spooking a sleepy driver out of their slumber, and we presume that's exactly what the company is working on in its R&D labs.
[Image courtesy of MetroHealth]
MIT Gurus Dream Up Sensor Network for Preventing Forest Fires
[Via Inhabitat]
'Thought Helmets' Could Enable Voiceless Troop Communication
This won't mark the first time the US government has looked into other means for helping soldiers communicate on the battlefield, but it's one of the first instances where vocal cords aren't even necessary. The US Army has recently awarded a $4 million contract to a coalition of scientists, all of which will soon start developing a "thought helmet" to enable voiceless, secure communication between comrades. In theory, at least, the helmet will boast a litany of sensors that will hopefully "lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone." According to Dr. Elmar Schmoozer, the Army neuroscience overseeing the program, the system will be like "radio without a microphone."
Oh, and don't think for a second that they aren't considering civilian applications as well -- passing along jokes on the boss via telekinesis? Yes, please.
[Via Slashdot]
Got Back Problems? iPosture Reminds You to Stop Slouching
Mama always said you'd regret slouching one day, and while you've still got a few decades left before ultimately determining whether the sage-like advice was right or wrong, why take chances? The iPosture does the same thing as wearable posture reminders that we've seen in the past, but this one does so in a much more discrete fashion. The diminutive nano-sensor detects when your angle deviates just three degrees from the optimal position for greater than a minute, after which it emits a warning to straighten you out. Users insistent on keeping it crooked can turn the device off by powering it down, removing it or flinging it furiously into a wall. Life's next big nuisance will be shipping soon for $99.95. [From: iPosture][Thanks, Eric]
Interactive Floor Reveals a Trail of LED Footprints
Far from being the first LED-infused floor we've seen hipsters and hippies break dance and boogie down on (respectively), Sensacell's latest contraption still manages to stand out by bringing back memories of when mouse trails really were the coolest thing about an operating system.
Flashbacks aside, the installation -- which is currently at the entrance to the Comunitat Valenciana in Spain -- possesses over 1,000 interactive modules, each of which include capacitive sensors and a LED lighting system. The integrated tech enables it to recognize when someone is walking over it and consequently light up as if to leave an eye-catching LED trail of their path.
Can you imagine how many
Electronic "Tongue" Can Tell If Wine Is Good or Bad
Like a human tongue's ability to discern different tastes, the gadget -- still in prototype-mode -- uses six sensors to measure attributes like sugar, acidity, and alcohol content. Invented by Cecilia Jiménez-Jorquera and other scientists from the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics, Spain, the tongue was designed for wine industry workers who need to measure quality in the field and catch frauds. The device gives them a faster, cheaper, and simpler alternative to sending samples to a lab.
Currently, the tongue is being "trained" for better results by testing more samples, and the scientists who are working on it hope they can someday use the technology to taste other beverages and foods. Of course, you can always just drink what you think tastes good, no matter the year or price. We're not snobs here. [Source: Science Daily]
Laser-Equipped Windshield Aims to Make Driving Easier
Truth be told, the device is being designed with older drivers in mind, though we don't see why younger motorists won't benefit all the same. Unfortunately, it sounds as if you'll have to keep those toothpicks in your eyelids for a few more years, but at least we're one step closer to full-on autopilot. [Source: CNN]
Car Tech, Cell Phones, Computers
Parking System Alerts Your Phone of Open Spots
Australian Researchers Developing Shape-Shifting Robots?
Additionally, it seems to utilize a plethora of sensors and rely on a good bit of software programing in order to become the transforming architecture that it is. If all goes as planned, the initiative will be completed on June 12th, but you can take a look at a number of in-progress videos right down there in the read link below.
Surveillance Devices to Eventually Record Entire Lives
True Big Brother 24/7, 365 surveillance is not here just yet, but if Martin Sadler, a senior scientist at Hewlett Packard is to be believed, it's not too far off. By 2057, he says there will be roughly one million sensors and recorders for every U.K. resident. Sadler has warned that the amount of information being collected from such a network of devices will lead to important ethical dilemmas.Though New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg recently suggested a video surveillance program for downtown Manhattan, public surveillance is much more prevalent in the U.K. than it is here in the states. Its effectiveness as an anti-terror tool was most famously demonstrated in 2005 in the wake of the London bus bombings when video of the suspects was immediately made available to the media.
Today, the average Londoner is captured on surveillance at least 300 times a day, a number that's on the rise. Many uses of the technology are "innocent and harmless," but the shear wealth of information being collected may lead to dangers that we're only now beginning to understand. Sadler's eerie vision of the future isn't limited to one in which advertisements are targeted at people based on where they were earlier in the day -- though, that will certainly happen. He envisions a future in which there are sensors so small, they'll be able to permeate our bodies to collect personal data.
Sadler says, "We have some real choices that we can make over the next few years about how much we benefit from all this information ... or how much it presents some sort of dark future for us." As we recently reported, the South Koreans are currently conducting a similar self-audit to determine the future dangers of developing technology, only the Koreans are focused on robots instead of surveillance.
From The BBC
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