Filed under: Portable Audio, Wearables

We’ve stated it before, but this time you really have ran out of excuses to run. Thanks to Yamaha’s BODiBEAT, you can expect your tunes to automatically sync with your steps, giving you new reason to get out of the house and get to steppin’. Granted, the $299.99 price tag is pretty steep for just 512MB of space and 12-hours of battery life (marathon, what?), but we’re sure there are a few of you out there willing to pay the premium to keep your head nodding perfectly in line with your pace. Oh, and if you completely skipped over the headline, it’s shipping now. Right now.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While there’s a plethora of products out there meant to log your running miles, Seiko’s looking out for those who’d rather jump rope or do some heavy lifting rather than placing a beating on their knees. The adequately minuscule Slimstick (15-grams; 2- x 6.4- x 0.89-centimeters in size) is meant to reside in the pocket of a given exerciser and track calories burned along with an “overall workout value,” which can be benchmarked against one’s goal. To do so, it packs a dual-axis accelerometer and a decent amount of fairy dust, and yes, it promises to do all the things your paltry (or lazy, as it were) pedometer simply won’t. Your next fitness buddy is available now for just ¥5,775 ($55), or ¥6,980 ($67) with a presumably supreme “strap set.”

[Via technabob]

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Filed under: Handhelds

It’s not like the modding community at large hasn’t shoved accelerometers within vehicles before, but conjuring up projects that utilize acceleration sensing just got a whole lot easier thanks to the USB TiltStick. Reportedly, the minuscule device features a two axis acceleration sensor and emulates a USB joystick in order to play nice with any USB-equipped host. In particular, a standard PC or Nokia’s N810 makes for the perfect comrade, and what you do from there is really only limited by your imagination. Granted, only the DIY veterans in attendance should give this one any serious consideration, but feel free to jump on through the break to catch it interfacing with N810.

[Via Internet Tablet Talk]

Continue reading USB TiltStick opens up new world of accelerometer projects

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Filed under: Desktops

What happens when you combine Sun’s Small Programmable Object Technology with its Project Looking Glass 3D user interface environment, and add a glove with an accelerometer? Apparently, the second third attempt at the early 21st century’s equivalent of Minority Report’s glove based user interface, with a demo video showing an operator browsing a desktop using simply hand and finger motions. There’s a pretty noticeable lag, the system still uses a mouse pointer, and the operator obviously has to stand dead still for it to work, but this is probably the closest anyone has come to emulating the geek dream that is the pre-crime memory navigator that Tom Cruise evangelized in the film. It’s about time that someone figured out a system that could replace the humble mouse: unfortunately, this is only a baby step towards that goal.

[Via sLists; thanks, akhel]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Researchers at the Imperial College in London have developed a device which can be worn behind the ear and is used to measure a subject’s posture, stride length, step frequency, and acceleration. Apparently, such a sensor is in high demand, as it could be put to use helping to optimize athletic performance, and to monitor changes in movement or progress in people recovering from surgeries or those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. According to the project leader, Guang-Zhong Yang, the device is working and could be mass-produced in 12 to 18 months. Of course, the big selling point for the sensor is the fact that it’s small enough to be worn on the body — even during non-contact sports — and is capable of measuring three dimensions of movement via its accelerometer. Researchers are testing the sensors on individuals recovering from surgery and athletes, with aims to broaden the types of data recorded, and improve the range of the device.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!