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SurroundSense uses your phone's sensors to figure out where you are
17:02 September 30, 2009 PDT
Smartphones use GPS locating for a variety of functions but mainly they're used on the road where their accuracy - only within 10m - is basically a case of 'near enough is good enough'. But try using one indoors. They don't work! Nor can they distinguish between two adjacent environments, however different. And 10m can make a big difference inside a shopping complex or multi-roomed office block. In a research jointly sponsored by Microsoft, Nokia, Verizon and the National Science Foundation, a group of computer engineers from Duke University is working on achieving better indoor localization using a combination of sounds, lighting and accelerometer data picked up by a mobile phone. They hope it will supplement the use of GPS systems, which most users know, have their limitations. Read More
Calling all cars – futuristic cop cruiser takes to LA streets
By Darren Quick
21:41 July 7, 2009 PDT
A new vehicle billed as the most technologically advanced police car in the world is due to begin testing in the US. Based on the Australian-built Holden Commodore, which were rebadged as Pontiac G8s in the US, the car aims to turn a standard vehicle into a ‘virtual office’ for emergency services personnel. It replaces the cluttered, cockpit-style gadgets that abound in current police cars with a large single touchscreen display embedded in the passenger dash and throws in some Bond style crime fighting gear like an air gun that fires a laser guided GPS tracking device onto fleeing vehicles. Read More
Victorinox announces Presentation Pro business tool
18:25 January 14, 2009 PST
Victorinox used the 2009 CES as the platform for the launch of their new Presentation Pro, a compact Swiss Army Knife that includes a laser pointer, Bluetooth remote control and USB storage of up to 32GB which, in a first for the company, integrates biometric fingerprint security. Read More
Move over mouse: HP TouchSmart tx2 multi-touch notebook
22:11 November 19, 2008 PST
There once was a time when screens were purely for viewing - not anymore. The rise of multi-touch technology has delivered far more intuitive and creative ways to interact with and manipulate content, so if it works for pocket-sized devices like the iPhone, why not a notebook? HP has claimed an industry first with its new TouchSmart tx2, a convertible notebook PC featuring capacitive multi-touch technology that allows the mouse touchpad to be by-passed in favor of simultaneous input from more than one finger with gestures such as pinch, rotate, arc, flick and drag. Read More
UPEK announces US government-certified fingerprint module
By Emily Clark
23:32 September 29, 2008 PDT
Recently showed at the Biometrics Consortium Technology Expo in Florida, UPEK's its TCEFx1 USB fingerprint module uses the only silicon-based fingerprint sensor certified by the FBI for US government applications. Read More
Barry J
- November 10, 2009 @ 00:59 UTC
