Future Of Gadgets

iPhone App Starts Car

Crap...did I lock the car?

No worries.  With the Viper SmartStart you can not only remotely lock and unlock your car but also start it and adjust the climate control.  From anywhere.

Another step forward in the smartphone as remote control for life.

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Asimo Controlled By Human Thought (Video)

We've already seen thought-controlled avatars, so it comes as no surprise that robotics represents a new frontier for brain computer interfaces (BCIs).  Still, the following video of a human controlling Honda's Asimo via BCI marks a profound socio-technological development, offering a glimpse into the future of work, entertainment and security:

Isn't it interesting that this didn't make its way through national media channels? Just a few years ago human-BCI-controlled robotics would have been perceived as revolutionary

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Google Power Meter translates energy into information flows

One of the great efficiency opportunities for the next century is based on the convergence of information and energy flows. The notion of a 'smart grid' is a more reliable and efficient energy web based on the integration of software, sensors and energy storage. 

There are dozens of 'smart grid' infrastructure startups that service utility companies, as well as more commercial/industrial efforts being pushed by IBM, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, and Cisco.

And for those homes with 'Smart Meters' or Smart Devices, solutions are coming online quickly. Google has now thrown its hat into the ring around the basic idea: 'if you can measure it, you can improve it'.  The Google Power Meter is a software tool integrated into smart meters that helps consumers better understand how they use energy in order to reduce their costs and consumption.  Google is a big name, in an expanding space of 'smart energy' startups, like Sentillaand REGEN, who are trying to build demand in the residential market.

[Video] Impress Touch Project Hints at Post-PC Era Interfaces

During the next decade we are likely to see commercial products that will start to define the 'Post PC' Era of smart, networked objects that follow a new path of product development.  Users will interact with embedded devices beyond the keyboard and mouse.  We know that OLEDs offer a clear path to flexible, transparent display screens, but what about the combination of sensors and low power chips that make the 'screen' irrelevant for new applications.  If it is hard to imagine commercial Post PC applications for enterprise sectors, what about designs for education and entertainment markets based on visions like Impress project from Sillenet [via Vimeo]

2.7 Inch Cubic Projector Hits Market in Japan

The latest intriguing mini-projector to hit store shelves (in Japan) is a small cubic, 25 ANSI Lumen LED called the Miseal.  Manufactured by little-know Japanese comapny Sanko, the device is just 2.7in. x 2.7in. x 2.8in. and weighs just over half a pound.

Sporting a 100:1 contrast ratio, 800x600 SVGA resolution and ability to cast an image up to 16ft. away at a diagonal width of 70in, the Miseal packs a serious punch for something of such wee size.

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Are micro fuel cells coming out of Hype Cycle? Toshiba's Micro Fuel Cell Battery Recharger

Most new technology platforms must walk up the stages of the 'Hype Cycle', and confront our tendency to overestimate short-term change, but underestimate the long term potential.

Fuel cells are this decade's poster child for failing to meet expectations of the Hype Cycle. But there are positive signs of progress.

PC World is reporting that Toshiba plans to release its first commercial version of a Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) battery recharger by the end of the first business quarter.

Micro Fuel cells help you unplug
Micro power applications are widely considered to be the first market application for fuel cells.  Dozens of startups and incumbent energy companies are developing micro methanol fuel cells as portable power solutions that help us 'unplug everything'.

Rather than carry around a charger+cord, you could carry a small fuel cell to recharge.  Of course the idea of a fuel cell battery recharger is still a strange concept to consumers, and could remain an early adopter niche product.  

The inevitable step for micro fuel cells is to replace batteries entirely.  To arrive at this future, hardware makers must integrate MFCs into products, and consumers must be able to buy small fuel cartridges (e.g. liquid methanol, solid hydrogen) on every retail shelf.  Until that day, the 'recharger' concept is the industry's best option. 

• HP and ASU Develop a Cheap Flexible Electronic Display

  

  HP and the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University announced their first prototype of a flexible screen that is both easy to produce and affordable.  Made almost entirely out of plastic, the displays hope to revolutionize the size of our electronics such as laptops, phones and televisions.  The amazing thing about it is their prototype consumes 90% less material than traditional displays of the same screen size.

  It's been difficult for flexible screens to break into the mass market due to their cost and complicated design, but with recent breakthroughs like this we can expect flexible displays start to show up in our everyday lives by next year.  I mean, if they can build a plant that can crank out thousands of feet of thin film solar fairly quickly, it would make sense they could use the same type of production to mass-produce flexible displays.

  via BusinessWire

• Commuters to Generate Electricity From Walking Into Train Station

  

  A train station in Tokyo, Japan has put up a demo LED display which is powered by pedestrians stepping on a spring-board type power generator.  "A person weighing 60kg (132 lbs) can generate 0.5W by stepping on the panel twice."  The small panel you see above generates enough power for the LED screen to light up and display how much power has been generated so far.  Although it will be removed by the end of the year, it still shows the potential power we can generate from the human body.

  The greatest thing about this demo is it's sheer practicality in the real world.  So many have been talking about solar panel highways or body-heat generating mobile devices, but not so much about kinetic energy.  The energy-generating springboard has the additional benefit of being comfortable on the feet and back, something cement and pavement clearly lack.  If these were installed in every pedestrian zone (heck, even on roads) it would feel like walking on a basketball court which are in themselves springy.  If it proves to be more beneficial instead of developing a solar asphalt, it may just take over ground-level solar production.

  via Digital World Tokyo

• Apple Aplies for Mysterious Patent, OLED Touchscreen On The Way?

  A while back I reported on Microsoft's prototype called the SideSight, a cellphone which uses infrared sensors to determine your hand movement.  Now it turns out Apple has applied for a patent on just that.

  

  Sure, the image isn't too clear, but what you see is a possible infrared sensor array using LEDs or OLEDs as the sensor.  You'll be able to rotate displays with just a wave of your hand if you bring it close to the screen.  It doesn't stop there too.  Apparently they're looking into the same technology for a possible OLED iPhone that will feature these sensors.  Now THAT would be awesome.

  via OLED-display.net

• Robotic Tank Built by Two Guys In Maine For Only $1 Million

  What you're looking at is a robotic tank that is capapble of ruining your world.  Built by twin brothers in Maine, the Ripsaw MS1 is capable of speeds up to 60mph, can perform maneuvers that would leave a crew bruised and battered, and can be outfitted with a remotely operated machine gun.  On top of this, it's extremely rugged, easy to fix, and can caarry a payload of up to 2,000 pounds.  This is one mean machine.