Laura, a virtual receptionist, shown off as part of Microsoft's vision for the future, recognises individual people, faces, voices and aks questions.
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Laura, a virtual receptionist, shown off as part of Microsoft's vision for the future, recognises individual people, faces, voices and aks questions.
Researchers at Germany's Ilmenau University of Technology are developing flying quadcopter robots that can be used to form a self-assembling ad-hoc wireless network in the event of disaster. Built with off-the-shelf parts (including VIA's Pico-ITX hardware and a GPS unit) the robots are designed to provide both mobile phone and WiFi access -- and they can do it far more quickly than a technician on the ground might be able to.
The device comes in a kit for €300 (about $380), which includes all but the battery -- the batteries currently run around €1,000 (over $1200) and only offer up 20 minutes of flight time. Once the device has found a perch, however, it can operate for "several hours."
in 2002, just under 15 percent of the global population used a cell phone.
One of the big problems facing VR is the issue of mobility—how do you allow users unrestricted movement in virtual reality, while keeping them relatively static in real reality? Researchers at the University of Tsukuba in Japan have developed something called CirculaFloor. The system uses four robotic tiles that constantly shift position, ensuring that there’s always a tile in the direction you’re headed. Additionally, the entire assembly moves slowly backwards, giving one the impression of movement while they’re actually standing relatively still. The tiles also incorporate lifts, for simulating staircases and the like.
LG Korea has announced two new LCDs with Bluetooth support, enabling you connect a Bluetooth headphone to your TV, mobile phone, or PC for direct streaming of videos and photos.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have developed the iPoint 3D, a technology that enables us to interact with a 3D display via simple gestures -- all without touching the panel and without 3D glasses. The heart of iPoint 3D is a recognition device, not much larger than a keyboard, that can be suspended from the ceiling above the user or integrated in a coffee table. Its two built-in cameras detect hands and fingers in real time and transmit the information to a computer.
Astonishing numbers
Kokoro, a Japanese firm, offers Actroids for rent to greet customers and provide information in up-market coffee shops, office complexes, and museums or "old houses". The Actroid series has been jointly developed by Japanese entertainment firm Kokoro and Hiroshi Ishiguro, well-known for building a robot doppelgänger of himself. The clip below shows a video of the actroid Repliee Q1 from April 2007.
Now for rent for events, in a five years more available in all countries and all languages, in ten years for consumers, and between 2020 and 2035 we will notice a steady increase of robots in our houses, at our work, in our streets.
The new virtual world Me2Everyone is giving stock shares to participants. Every new member (currently) receives 250 stock shares in the phenomena. The first 100,000 members received 1000! Beyond that the 'tell-a-friend'-principle does the rest, seeing how every introduced member gives an additional 500 shares (it used to be 3000). Currently there are 18 billion shares ready for enthusiastic virtual people, so you have some time yet. But don't hesitate for too long. The first 250,000 showed up in three months' time. In 2013, it's supposed to be the best-visited site in the world, the company will go to the London stock market and there should be 100 million active players.
Only when the concerns of the customer falls together with the owner of a company can you do beautiful things. Stock markets as we know them now will disappear and make place for concepts like this.
In Africa manufacturing industries, contact centers, the IT-sector and construction are fast-growing sectors. "Despite a bad image of war, hunger, poverty and corruption, Africa is becoming increasingly more interesting for big investors," concludes Harvard Business Review. Not just many African countries have stabilized significantly in the past years; many countries are aiming for global connection and are introducing economic reforms. The International Monetary Fund calculated an economic growth of 6.3% for sub-Saharan countries while for Uganda, Tanzania an Nigeria a growth of 8% has been predicted.
A study amongst 954 production companies and tertiary services shows that the majority of the companies is very profitable. This is especially thanks to low wages (that are significantly lower than in China and India) and strongly increased operational efficiency. The average yearly return on invested capital was even 65-70% higher than of comparable enterprises in China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The average profit margin was 11%, higher than that of Asia or South-America.
After China and India have developed into prosperous nations in the coming ten does, it’ll be less interesting to produce things in these countries. Africa will be their successor. But because not just the west, but China and India too, will outsource to Africa, and half the world population throws itself onto one continent the effect will be even stronger than it ever was in China. In combination with upcoming communication devices that can cover great distances and is, furthermore, solar powered – which will allow the level of education to rise rapidly – Africa will develop into a prosperous continent with a never-before seen speed. When the robots take work from our hands in 2020 and 2035, a completely prosperous world will be created, a world in which it’s all about communication, understanding and peace. It sounds almost mushy. And that’s how we’d experience it if we were dropped into it now.
Videosite Joost is unlocking its content through social network Netlog. With this users are given the ability to watch movies, tv shows or music videos directly from their profile. Furthermore, they can share videos with their friends and offer comments on clips using the already existing features of Netlog. In the Benelux Netlog users are given a varied assortment, including the Dutch versions.
Movies, music, books: they’re just experiences humans like to share with others, Later we can just watch a movie, on any screen, anywhere in the world, in any language and we’ll give feedback with our emotions. We won’t need to write we thought it was great anymore. Our social coaching brand could see that without it, and we can share them with our friends, anywhere in the world, no matter what language they speak. This is a step in that direction.
Hyundai en Kia will standardly equip several US models with a Parrot Bluetooth carkit. It'll be integrated into the dashboard, so it'll be without loose screens and buttons. It's be completely voice-controlled. http://www.mobilecowboys.nl/gadgets/9203
Technology is disappearing, becoming completely invisible. Currently it’s the software in the car that recognizes our voice. Later the car will be permanently connected to the internet and we’ll choose brands, social coaching brands, that travel with us forever, that know our friends exactly and where calling a name is enough to call them. Even if you’re in someone else’s car and aren’t carrying a phone or anything. This is again a step in that direction.
Dutch online photo service MijnAlbum has made it possible to view and share images placed on the website using the Wii, Playstation 3 and iPhone. Furthermore photos from the albums are unlocked for the tv in cooperation with Philips Net TV. Net TV is the new functionality of Philips' high-end tvs with which people can use their tv to check the latest news online, look at weather predictions or share their photos.
All brands will be found on all possible screens. From great to small, bendable, 3D, word on the nose or not, with stereo of very minimally. MijnAlbum takes the lead.
A future vision from Microsoft.
Everything will react to everything. Microsoft nicely shows how everything responds to touch.
But in 2020 it’ll go a step further. Screens will react to your position, to what you say, to how you look, how you move and even how you smell. That’s only very limitedly shown in this video and we’ll see from this year that it’ll go in a different direction.
Using TradeIn, Amazon's newest service, consumers can send in their own games (for example those for the Xbox, Playstation and Wii) and get a voucher in exchange. Amazon then sells the games on its website.
All retailers will deal in second-hand. See, it’s not about selling new goods, but about helping a consumer with a good. If they consumer wants something new that’s possible, but so is second-hand. That used to be impossible to organize in physical stores, but now we can.
By the by, it’ll be over with games on discs very soon. We’ll download everything through optical fibre, personalized worlds around us, and pay per minute or in subscription models. But that to the side.
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