October 23rd, 2008 by
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Perhaps you’re looking for a way to track potential cat burglers, give your robot some spacial sense, make your UIs a little more interactive, or you simply want to keep an eye on your “compound.” Panasonic has just released detailed specs for its 3D range sensor — the first, it says, to work in direct sunlight. Exhibited at CEATEC 2008, the device emits light from several dozen LEDs to track the movements of any object in its view. The company’s previous 3D range sensor didn’t function well (if at all) in bright light, but the equipment now compensates for “extremely bright ambient light” by measuring it and eliminating it from the equation. Can’t wait to track your loved ones’ every movement? The 24 volt, USB 2.0 sensor is slated for an April 1, 2009 release.
[Via Tech-On!]
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Posted in panasonic, robot, 3d, user interface, UserInterface, motion sensing, MotionSensing, motion tracking, MotionTracking, 3d motion sensing, 3d range sensor, 3d range tracker, 3dMotionSensing, 3dRangeSensor, 3dRangeTracker, range sensor, range tracker, range tracking, RangeSensor, RangeTracker, RangeTracking | No Comments »
August 14th, 2008 by
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Gaming
This makes sense on very many levels, but at the same time we’ve gotta think those long-suffering PS3 owners will be a bit “hacked off” by Sony’s announcement of a motion-tracking sword game headed for… the PS2. The PS2’s market saturation (every man, woman and child on earth has at least two), and the EyeToy’s general success (10.5 million units sold) make the combo the perfect trojan horse for fighting the good fight against Wii world domination. Sony’s using new (sort of) color tracking technology to beef up the EyeToy’s motion tracking that will let it detect and track brightly colored objects, instead of just motion, for two new EyeToy: Play games due for the holidays this year. The one we’ve really got our eye on is the kiddie-oriented Hero which is a first person perspective sword fighting game that comes complete with a fluorescent toy sword for battling kinda-almost-evil antagonists. Of course, none of this would be disappointing in the slightest if Sony would just work PS2 backwards compatibility into its fully capable PS3, and hey, maybe they’ll surprise us. Nudge, comma, nudge. Wink. Wink.
[Thanks, Seth B]
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Posted in sony, ps2, motion tracking, MotionTracking, eyetoy, hero | No Comments »
April 6th, 2008 by
Filed under: Gaming, Household
Kids — they hate brushing their teeth. Sure, we try and show them pictures of zombie faces and toothless seniors, but it just doesn’t work. Finally, someone has come up with a solution to the problem: make it fun. Researchers at the National Taiwan University have devised a scheme which turns brushing your teeth into a webcam-tracked video game. Using an LED-studded toothbrush, a camera mounted above a mirror, and an LCD display, kids can watch plaque and debris get annihilated from a cartoon mouth while they scrub their choppers. The system is able to track detailed, three-demensional movement of the child’s hand, covering 24 separate areas of the mouth. Kids who tested the system were found to brush twice as well as those who hadn’t used it, but were also extremely cocky about their perfect teeth. Check the video after the break to see the magic happen.
[Via Gizmo Watch]
Continue reading Researchers turn brushing your teeth into child’s play
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Posted in Children, kids, toothbrush, brushing, dental hygiene, DentalHygiene, motion tracking, MotionTracking | No Comments »
