Video

For obvious reasons, texting and email is a preferred method of communication for many deaf and hard of hearing mobile phone users. But as convenient as texting can be, it isn’t always the most reliable form of communication – messages can take a while to arrive and short messages can easily be misinterpreted. To address this problem University of Washington (UW) engineers are developing the first device able to transmit American Sign Language (ASL) over U.S. cellular networks. Read More

We've seen pico-projectors in mobile phones, point-and-shoot cameras and pocket camcorders, but this is the first time we've seen one added to a conventional camcorder. Little known Chinese brand Ordro's offering – the HDV-350S – captures up to 1080p video at 60 fps or 12 megapixel still pictures, features 10x optical zoom and includes a removable pico-projector which throws a WVGA (854x480) resolution image with a brightness of 15 lumens... according to Ordro that's good enough for a 60-inch projection. Read More

The main event of the Robotech exhibition held in Tokyo this past week featured the Robo-One Grand Prix event, pitting an assortment of bipedal humanoid robots against each other in an improvised octagonal wrestling ring. Many of you might have seen clips of Japan's rastlin' robots, but as there were more than a few impressive takedowns and attacks on show, I thought I'd share a few highlights. Read More

The case for 3D just got stronger with Panasonic announcing the release of the world's first 3D consumer camera for the AVCHD standard. Panasonic has positioned itself at the forefront of 3D camcorder technology and this latest news is significant because previously available professional 3D models are far more expensive, and as a result have not made it into the hands of the general public. The company's new HDC-SDT750 camcorder is likely to be the first of many 3D cameras to reach home movie makers. Read More

Before you proudly go posting photos of your Ming vase online, you should be aware that computer-savvy burglars can likely use that photo to find out where you live. The same goes for photos or videos of your kids, yourself, or anything else that you don’t want strangers knowing how to locate. The practice of tracking people via their posted images is an example of “cybercasing”, and is possible because many digital cameras and smart phones, including the iPhone, automatically geotag their images by embedding the longitude and latitude at which they were taken. Even when uploaded to a website, the images still retain this information. By plugging the coordinates into a service like Google Street View, getting an address or an identifying landmark is entirely possible. Read More

Japan camera-maker Cerevo has started a 24-hour live Ustream feed from Akihabara, in cooperation with a company in the area, Aisan Electronic. Recently Cerevo has been capitalizing on the growing popularity of Ustream live-streaming in Japan since Softbank's investment in the web service. By creating their 'networked camera', the Cerevo Camera Live, which is especially tailored for live-streaming, the company rides the coattails of a public increasingly interested in broadcasting on the web. Read More

Japan’s national public broadcaster, NHK, has developed a “millimeter-wave TV camera” that operates under the same principle as radar, taking images using radio waves instead of visible light. The technology allows objects hidden behind obstacles such as smoke, fog or even plywood to be captured as live, moving images. Read More

If you’re a fan of Adobe’s indispensable digital darkroom software, Lightroom then chances are you might have already had a nose around some of its new features and improvements in the beta. Although most of the major updates were introduced during this public pre-release we’re pleased to say a few more features have come to light in the final version announced today. Read More

The dates for 2011’s PMA International Convention and Trade Show have been confirmed. In an unexpected twist, rather than being held in its traditional first quarter slot, the convention has been moved from February to September. The event will now be taking place September 8-10, 2011, in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The shift in dates has been attributed to changes in “industry buying cycles and technology developments." More significant, though, is the announcement that the convention will be open to the public on September 10, with photo enthusiasts welcome throughout the day. Read More