Interface
Computer system designed to manage aircraft carrier deck traffic
If you think working as an air traffic controller at an airport sounds stressful, imagine doing the same kind of work in the close confines of an aircraft carrier. Up to 60 aircraft can be continually taking off and landing, on a 4.5-acre (1.82-hectare) strip of deck that’s also occupied by numerous people and vehicles. For decades, a deck handling system that consists of plane-shaped cut-outs and color-coded thumbtacks has been used, but it’s only as reliable as the people placing those objects. An associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics from MIT has now devised a computer system, Deck operations Course of Action Planner (DCAP), that she believes could make things safer and more efficient. Read More
For a good while now, electric guitar and bass players have been able to interface their instruments with computers and mobile devices thanks to solutions like the JAM from Apogee and the iRig from IK Multimedia. Now, acoustic players are to get their chance to join the digital party with the launch of the AcousicLink solution from Alesis. Read More
The iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad are now established favorites for the mobile muso with new synths and sequencers seemingly coming out every week. Until iOS 4 however there was no standardized method for getting MIDI control signals in and out of the units for interfacing with ‘proper’ equipment. Some enterprising developers created methods using the Apple Camera Kit USB connector whilst Line 6 created its own proprietary method and the MIDI Mobilizer dongle to go with it. In the iOS 4 software release Apple ported the CoreMIDI programming interface framework from MacOS and developers finally had a standard method with which they were familiar. Though iOS4 was released a year ago, compatible MIDI interfaces are now only beginning to get to market. Read More
While most people prefer using physical keyboards and only tolerate virtual keyboards on their mobile devices for the sake of portability, onscreen keyboards do potentially offer a flexibility that can’t be matched by physical keyboards. It’s this flexibility that IBM is looking to take advantage of with the company recently filing a U.S. patent application for a morphing touchscreen keyboard interface that would automatically resize, reshape and reposition keys based on a user’s typing style. Read More
Using one's feet works quite well while driving, so why not use them to control computers, too? That's what Berkley-based company Keith McMillen Instruments wondered, and ended up designing SoftStep KeyWorx, a foot-operated computer interface device. It's Mac and PC compatible, and offers 10 touch-sensitive buttons and a navigation pad, along with up to 100 macros that allow for customized commands and shortcuts. Read More
Have you ever complained about too much complexity in today's mobile devices? If so, then Rimino might meet your needs. It is meant to be simple, intuitive and user-friendly. Designed by Sweden's Amid Moradganjeh in collaboration with Microsoft, the conceptual device is based on color E-Ink technology with an interface inspired by print posters, aimed at integrating technology and human nature. Read More
Last November, German tech firm Evoluce unveiled a Kinect-based prototype multi-touch system that allows users to navigate through Windows 7 applications, simply by moving their hands in the air. While that system utilizes the Kinect unit’s RGB camera and depth sensor to track the user’s hands, a new technology developed at Texas A&M University's Interface Ecology Lab uses a matrix of infrared light beams to do essentially the same thing. It’s called ZeroTouch, and it was presented at last week’s 2011 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Vancouver. Read More
Personally, the most interesting part of the announcement of the new iPad on March 2 was GarageBand for iPad. Sure, the cool-looking drum kit and dynamic piano are worth a passing mention but my weapon of choice is the guitar. But rather than tap onto the touchscreen's virtual instrument I would prefer to plug in my own. The new JAM input from Apogee will allow me to do just that. Read More
There's no mistaking it: 2011 is the year of the tablet PC. There's something like a hundred of these things coming out in the next 12 months, following the trailblazing success of Apple's iPad. A significant number of them will be running Google's Android operating system and at CES it became abundantly clear why Google has been telling developers not to make Android 2.x tablets: because Android 3.0 has been in the works, specifically designed for tablets as opposed to smartphones. And while it's certain to suffer from a lot of the same device fragmentation issues that have plagued Android smartphones, there's no denying that 3.0 looks fantastic in these preview videos. Read More
New typing interface for touch screens mimics handwriting
A faster and more natural text input app for small devices, which mimics handwriting and eliminates typos. Sounds good? That is what the 8pen app for Android touch phones offers. Read More
