Sensor blog
All about sensor technology in consumer products.
This is the last post…
0140 days
by David
in Sensor news
This is it, the very last post. What will happen here? We don’t know. We’ll see. For now, enjoy your digital selves on the web.
A pimped out Japanese toilet (at $130,000)
0148 days
by David
in Sensor news
Bling bling! The Japanese are know for their tech-laden thrones, but this one is even pimped out with BLING!
As well as a spectacular gleaming exterior, the toilet is remote controlled, all of which is designed to please the Japanese god of lavatories. You can take a look at it in more detail in the video below from ITN:
via This Japanese toilet is worth $130,000.
ThinkEco Modlet stops vampire devices
0149 days
by David
in Sensor products
Plugged in, standby products drain power. This solves it.
ThinkEco’s smart socket is one of the easiest ways to cut down on “vampire power” consumption by devices in off or standby modes. Once plugged into a standard outlet, the Modlet starts tracking the electricity needs of hooked-up devices, using a built-in wireless connection to communicate via website or app. After a week or two, it suggests a schedule of when it should cut off power, which users can modify at any time. $50
via ThinkEco Modlet | Popular Science.
Generate Electricity with a Shoe
0150 days
You walk, you generate electricity. Sounds good ey?
Electric Slide Liquid moves between the bladders. As it does, the flow is converted into electricity. Dave Quaranta
via Capturing Electricity with a Shoe | Popular Science.
Paper Explosive Devices
0152 days
Paper wireless explosive detectors… cool!
Targeting the detection of explosives, such as improvised explosive devices IEDs, researchers at Georgia Tech Research Institute GTRI have developed a prototype sensor that uses carbon nanotubes CNTs for the sensing element. The wireless component, a resonant lightweight antenna, is printed on paper or paper-like material using standard inkjet technology. Researchers think the low-cost sensors could be deployed in large numbers to alert authorities to the presence of IEDs and other explosives.
via Paper and Carbon Nanotubes Combined to Detect Explosive Devices.
Printable bones
0155 days
Wauw, that sounds amazing, printable bones.
We’re already printing organs to order, so why not Cmd+P some customized 3-D bone? Washington State University researchers have tweaked a 3-D rapid prototyper designed to create metal parts to print in a bone-like material that acts as a scaffold for new bone cells. In just a few years, the researchers say, doctors and dentists could be printing up custom bone tissue to order.
Reported in the journal Dental Materials, the bone-like material appears to cause no negative side effects and eventually dissolves. But before doing so, it serves as a scaffold for new bone cells. Placed in a medium of immature human bone cells, the printed structures encourage the growth of new bone that fuses with existing bone tissue.
via A 3-D Printer Makes Customized Human Bones To Order | Popular Science.
Stretchable cables
0156 days
This should fix cable clutter quite a bit. Or it could lead to a bunch of gadgets being flung from the desk.
Japanese Spandex-maker Asahi Kasei Fibers has developed the world’s first elastic electrical cable, a stretchy conductive connector that could go a long way toward reducing cord clutter. But it’s not just a way to help you manage your multi-cord mess. Called Roboden, the stretchable cord could enable new generations of electronics-embedded textiles and robotic skins.
via Video: The World’s First Stretchable, Elastic Electrical Cord | Popular Science.
Algorithm detecting red light runners
0158 days
A camera, some code and you can predict which cars are going to run the red light.
Researchers at MIT developed an algorithm that analyzes several several parameters, including a vehicle’s deceleration, its distance from a traffic light and when the light turns red. It can capture a vehicle’s motion in 3-D in less than five milliseconds, according to MIT News. Using this data, it is able to determine which cars are driven by potential violators, those likely to run a red light, and which cars were obeying the law.
via Algorithm Can Detect When Cars Are About to Run a Red Light | Popular Science.
Q-Sensor Bracelet tweets your mood
0159 days
by David
in Sensor products
Sounds like fun, but wait until you see the price…
You may just be old enough to remember the “mood ring” fad of the 80s and 90s. Yes, this editor had one and yes, they were junk. But Affectiva’s Q-Sensor 2.0 is in another mood-sensing ballpark altogether. On the underside of the device is a pair of sensors measuring the galvanic skin response, which is an indicator of physiological or psychological arousal. The device just measures your skin’s electrical conductance, which varies with changing levels of moisture. Since the sympathetic nervous system controls sweat glands, it gives insight into whether you’re stressed/excited or not. Galvanic skin response sensors are one component of polygraph tests and have been in use for quite some time. The Q-Sensor 2.0 also measures temperature and movement, puts all the data together into its software and determines your mood. And yes, it can then Tweet about it if you want.
The thing is, the device costs $2,000. That’s a lot of cash for personal use. It is being marketed for professional use, where there might be an advantage in accurately determining a person’s mood.
via OhGizmo! » Archive » Q-Sensor Bracelet Can Tell Your Mood, And Tweet About It.
Senseye: Control Your Phone with Your Eyes
0161 days
This could be the next big thing in interfacing with mobile devices, controlling them with your eyes.
project Senseye have planned – controlling your phone with your eyes.
The team has developed technology that tracks the movement of your eyes using the front-facing camera on mobile phones. This then allows you to control all sorts of aspects of the phone. You will be able to send messages, play games and more without having to touch the handset at all.
via Senseye: Control Your Phone with Your Eyes – The Next Web.
