How Will Adding Intelligence to Everyday Things Change Your World?  Big Think On a global level, we are adding connected intelligence to both machines and objects using chips, micro sensors, and both wired and wireless networks to create a rapidly growing “Internet of things” sharing real-time data, performing diagnostics, and even making remote repairs. Many jobs will be created as we add intelligent connected sensors to bridges, roads, buildings, homes, and much more. By 2020, there will be well over a billion machines talking to each other and performing tasks without human intervention.    Think of it this way: from phones to cars to bridges, embedded technologies are increasingly making the things we use smarter every day. For example, some of the newest cars use cameras mounted in the rear to see if something is in the way when you are backing up. If there is something in the way, the car will apply the brake even if you don’t or you are slow to react. Likewise, the concrete in new bridges has embedded chips that can let engineers know when the concrete is cracking, stressed, and in need of repair before the bridge collapses. In addition, sensors on the surface of the road going over the bridge will detect ice and wirelessly communicate the information to your car. If you don’t slow down, the car will slow down to a safe speed for you.

How Will Adding Intelligence to Everyday Things Change Your World?  Big Think

On a global level, we are adding connected intelligence to both machines and objects using chips, micro sensors, and both wired and wireless networks to create a rapidly growing “Internet of things” sharing real-time data, performing diagnostics, and even making remote repairs. Many jobs will be created as we add intelligent connected sensors to bridges, roads, buildings, homes, and much more. By 2020, there will be well over a billion machines talking to each other and performing tasks without human intervention.   

Think of it this way: from phones to cars to bridges, embedded technologies are increasingly making the things we use smarter every day. For example, some of the newest cars use cameras mounted in the rear to see if something is in the way when you are backing up. If there is something in the way, the car will apply the brake even if you don’t or you are slow to react. Likewise, the concrete in new bridges has embedded chips that can let engineers know when the concrete is cracking, stressed, and in need of repair before the bridge collapses. In addition, sensors on the surface of the road going over the bridge will detect ice and wirelessly communicate the information to your car. If you don’t slow down, the car will slow down to a safe speed for you.

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Memoto Is a Life-Logging Camera That Snaps a Five-Megapixel Picture Every 30 Seconds | MIT Technology Review

A startup believes people will want a photographic record of their lives, taken at 30-second intervals.

Why It Matters

People remember only a fraction of the things they see and experience.

Part of our Business Report:

Big Data Gets Personal

Data science and personal information are converging to shape the Internet’s most powerful and surprising consumer products.

Memoto lapel camera

Remember that?: Memoto’s clip-on camera has 8 GB of memory.

“We want to provide people with a perfect photographic memory,” says Martin Källström, CEO of Memoto. His startup is creating a tiny clip-on camera that takes a picture every 30 seconds, capturing whatever you are looking at, and then applies algorithms to the resulting mountain of images to find the most interesting ones.

Just 36 by 36 by 9 millimeters, the inconspicuous plastic camera has a lot crammed inside. The most important component is a five-megapixel image sensor originally designed for mobile phones. An ARM 9 processor running Linux powers a program that wakes the device twice a minute; takes a picture and a reading from the GPS sensor, accelerometer, and magnetometer; and promptly puts the device back to sleep.

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Injectable Microscopic Robots Can Detect Threat Of Blindness - PSFK Oxygen is vital to human life, and while many know of the ramifications that a lack of oxygen may have to our lungs or brains, many are not aware that our retinas also need oxygen to function; without it, permanent blindness – sometimes within mere hours – can occur. Up until now, it has been difficult for doctors to gauge how much oxygen is reaching the eye, but now researchers at Swiss university ETH Zurich have developed miniscule robots that can be injected into the eye and measure the amount of oxygen in the retina.

Injectable Microscopic Robots Can Detect Threat Of Blindness - PSFK

Oxygen is vital to human life, and while many know of the ramifications that a lack of oxygen may have to our lungs or brains, many are not aware that our retinas also need oxygen to function; without it, permanent blindness – sometimes within mere hours – can occur. Up until now, it has been difficult for doctors to gauge how much oxygen is reaching the eye, but now researchers at Swiss university ETH Zurich have developed miniscule robots that can be injected into the eye and measure the amount of oxygen in the retina.

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Turning a standard LCD monitor into touchscreen with a $5 wall-mounted sensor | ExtremeTech Researchers at the University of Washington’s aptly named Ubiquitous Computing Lab can turn any LCD monitor in your hous into a touchscreen, with nothing more than a $5 sensor that plugs into the wall and some clever software. The technology, called uTouch, works by measuring the electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by your hand when it moves near or touches an LCD monitor. This might sound a little bit crazy, but I’ll explain. Basically, the electricity running through the wires in your house has a unique electromagnetic signature. There is the “carrier wave,” provided by the power company and your nearby substation, and then every single kink and switch along the way modulates the EM signature until it is quite unique. What most people don’t realize, though, is that every device that is plugged into a wall outlet also changes your EM signature. Your TV doesn’t just suck power from your house — it’s a two-way street, with the electronic components in the TV producing interference that change your house’s EM signature.

Turning a standard LCD monitor into touchscreen with a $5 wall-mounted sensor | ExtremeTech

Researchers at the University of Washington’s aptly named Ubiquitous Computing Lab can turn any LCD monitor in your hous into a touchscreen, with nothing more than a $5 sensor that plugs into the wall and some clever software.

The technology, called uTouch, works by measuring the electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by your hand when it moves near or touches an LCD monitor. This might sound a little bit crazy, but I’ll explain. Basically, the electricity running through the wires in your house has a unique electromagnetic signature. There is the “carrier wave,” provided by the power company and your nearby substation, and then every single kink and switch along the way modulates the EM signature until it is quite unique. What most people don’t realize, though, is that every device that is plugged into a wall outlet also changes your EM signature. Your TV doesn’t just suck power from your house — it’s a two-way street, with the electronic components in the TV producing interference that change your house’s EM signature.

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The Crazy Accurate Thermal Images That Saw Dzokhar Tsarnaev Through a Boat Tarp There was no small amount of technology that went into the capture of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev, but perhaps none was more impressive than the helicopter-mounted, forward-looking infrared camera that confirmed once and for all that there was someone hiding in a boat in Watertown, Massachusetts. And that he was almost certainly Dzokhar Tsarnaev. Here are the pictures that sky-high camera took, just released a few hours ago by the Massachusetts State Police. They’re incredible. The shot above gives the cleanest look taken by state police’s Air Wing, after being tipped off by the boat’s owner that there was a man smeared with blood (Tsarnaev) hiding inside. You can see Tsarnaev’s legs extended almost to the wheel, and his right arm outstretched. The boat itself looks almost like an X-ray. And that’s no surprise, given the capabilities of the technology involved. As we wrote last night, forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras are equipped with special sensors that can detect infrared radiation, such as that caused by a heat source. Specifically, in this case, caused by a heat source belonging to a human body.

The Crazy Accurate Thermal Images That Saw Dzokhar Tsarnaev Through a Boat Tarp

There was no small amount of technology that went into the capture of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev, but perhaps none was more impressive than the helicopter-mounted, forward-looking infrared camera that confirmed once and for all that there was someone hiding in a boat in Watertown, Massachusetts. And that he was almost certainly Dzokhar Tsarnaev.

Here are the pictures that sky-high camera took, just released a few hours ago by the Massachusetts State Police. They’re incredible.

The shot above gives the cleanest look taken by state police’s Air Wing, after being tipped off by the boat’s owner that there was a man smeared with blood (Tsarnaev) hiding inside. You can see Tsarnaev’s legs extended almost to the wheel, and his right arm outstretched. The boat itself looks almost like an X-ray. And that’s no surprise, given the capabilities of the technology involved. As we wrote last night, forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras are equipped with special sensors that can detect infrared radiation, such as that caused by a heat source. Specifically, in this case, caused by a heat source belonging to a human body.

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What the internet of things can learn from Minecraft and Lemmings — GigaOM

Once we have a home full of connected devices do we really want to individually manage all of them? Mike Kuniavsky, a principal in the Innovation Services Group at PARC, explains in this weeks podcast how we’re going to have to think differently about programming devices for the internet of things. Devices will need to know what they contain and how those elements might contribute to a certain scenario in the home.

For example when you want to watch a movie, you shouldn’t have to program 6 different devices in your home to tell them what they should do when you toggle on your movie setting, your devices should have some sense of what they are capable of and how to enter a set mode. As he did in his chat in February at our San Francisco Internet of Things meetup, Kuniavsky, likened this device behavior to video games like Minecraft or Lemmings, where preset general behaviors determines how the game unfolded as opposed to rigid and specific actions. He explains all this and more in the podcast. Check it out.

Listen to the Podcast

(download this episode)

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Cambridge Consultants develops indoor tech to pick up where GPS drops off Indoor navigation isn’t a new concept, but it often requires wireless signals or custom infrastructure, neither of which are entirely reliable. Cambridge Consultants has come up with an as-yet-unnamed technology that purports to solve the issue by utilizing low-power sensors along with a custom formula that don’t require an existing framework. According to the Cambridge, UK-based company, all you need are its special Bayesian algorithm and run-of-the-mill smartphone components like accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers to do the job. It has already built a concept chipset (seen above) that could be embedded in existing devices — you can either map your location directly on it or send that info off to a remote system. The firm says the technology will be useful for firefighters and hospital workers, though we wouldn’t complain if it’s implemented in trade shows either. For more information on the tech, check the press release after the break.

Cambridge Consultants develops indoor tech to pick up where GPS drops off

Indoor navigation isn’t a new concept, but it often requires wireless signals or custom infrastructure, neither of which are entirely reliable. Cambridge Consultants has come up with an as-yet-unnamed technology that purports to solve the issue by utilizing low-power sensors along with a custom formula that don’t require an existing framework. According to the Cambridge, UK-based company, all you need are its special Bayesian algorithm and run-of-the-mill smartphone components like accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers to do the job. It has already built a concept chipset (seen above) that could be embedded in existing devices — you can either map your location directly on it or send that info off to a remote system. The firm says the technology will be useful for firefighters and hospital workers, though we wouldn’t complain if it’s implemented in trade shows either. For more information on the tech, check the press release after the break.

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 Microchip Markets RFID Technology that Transmits via the Human Body - RFID Journal Several companies are currently beta-testing a radio frequency identification system from Microchip Technology that uses the human body as a conduit for transmissions between an interrogator and a tag. Microchip’s platform, known as BodyCom, can be utilized to control access to a building, or to control the usage of a device, such as a computer or a weapon. The companies, located in various parts of the world, are testing ways in which to integrate the technology into their own solutions, such as keyless vehicle-entry systems. While traditional RFID systems transmit data through the air, simply requiring a tag or a receiving unit to come within transmission range of an interrogator, the BodyCom solution requires that both tag and interrogator be within close proximity to a person’s body. By leveraging the body to transmit a signal, BodyCom does not need as much power, nor does it require a conventional RFID reader antenna, according to Edward Dias, the embedded-security business-development manager of Microchip’s MCU8 (8-bit microcontroller) division. This would mean the battery life of a device such as a remote control or an ID tag would be longer, he explains, and that the transmission itself would be more secure, since there would be no over-the-air RF signals that could be intercepted.

 Microchip Markets RFID Technology that Transmits via the Human Body - RFID Journal

Several companies are currently beta-testing a radio frequency identification system from Microchip Technology that uses the human body as a conduit for transmissions between an interrogator and a tag. Microchip’s platform, known as BodyCom, can be utilized to control access to a building, or to control the usage of a device, such as a computer or a weapon. The companies, located in various parts of the world, are testing ways in which to integrate the technology into their own solutions, such as keyless vehicle-entry systems.

While traditional RFID systems transmit data through the air, simply requiring a tag or a receiving unit to come within transmission range of an interrogator, the BodyCom solution requires that both tag and interrogator be within close proximity to a person’s body. By leveraging the body to transmit a signal, BodyCom does not need as much power, nor does it require a conventional RFID reader antenna, according to Edward Dias, the embedded-security business-development manager of Microchip’s MCU8 (8-bit microcontroller) division. This would mean the battery life of a device such as a remote control or an ID tag would be longer, he explains, and that the transmission itself would be more secure, since there would be no over-the-air RF signals that could be intercepted.

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Researchers testing frugal autonomous car system, aim for $150 price tag Google certainly has pockets deep enough to trick out self-driving cars with any kind of pricey gear, but researchers at the University of Oxford have begun testing a solution that aims to keep things affordable. Currently, the system leverages an array of low-profile stereo cameras and lasers that rings up at about £5,000 (approximately $7,750), but the next goal is to knock the price down to £500, and eventually to a cool £100 (roughly $150). “Really, we do need to solve the engineering challenges of not relying on expensive sensors, but relying on cheap sensors,” Professor Paul Newman told the Telegraph. “But doing some really smart things with those cheap sensor feeds.” Rather than a vehicle that acts as a chauffeur at all times, Newman’s vision for the modified Nissan Leaf, dubbed RobotCar, is for it to take control on select occasions. While drivers go about their commute, the system composes a 3D map of the car’s environs and commits it to memory. When the auto identifies a familiar setting and feels confident about its ability to take the reigns, it could let the driver know it’s ready to assume control. Right now, the automobile’s been tested on private roads, but the team behind it is working with the UK’s Department of Transportation to roll it onto public streets.

Researchers testing frugal autonomous car system, aim for $150 price tag

Google certainly has pockets deep enough to trick out self-driving cars with any kind of pricey gear, but researchers at the University of Oxford have begun testing a solution that aims to keep things affordable. Currently, the system leverages an array of low-profile stereo cameras and lasers that rings up at about £5,000 (approximately $7,750), but the next goal is to knock the price down to £500, and eventually to a cool £100 (roughly $150). “Really, we do need to solve the engineering challenges of not relying on expensive sensors, but relying on cheap sensors,” Professor Paul Newman told the Telegraph. “But doing some really smart things with those cheap sensor feeds.”

Rather than a vehicle that acts as a chauffeur at all times, Newman’s vision for the modified Nissan Leaf, dubbed RobotCar, is for it to take control on select occasions. While drivers go about their commute, the system composes a 3D map of the car’s environs and commits it to memory. When the auto identifies a familiar setting and feels confident about its ability to take the reigns, it could let the driver know it’s ready to assume control. Right now, the automobile’s been tested on private roads, but the team behind it is working with the UK’s Department of Transportation to roll it onto public streets.

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What Is the Industrial Internet? | MIT Technology Review What is the industrial Internet? As good a place as any to find the answer is at General Electric’s newest U.S. factory, a $170 million plant it opened in Schenectady, New York, last July to produce advanced sodium-nickel batteries for uses that include powering cell-phone towers (see “GE’s Novel Battery to Bolster the Grid,” “Inside GE’s New Battery Factory,” and “Can We Build Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs?”). The factory has more than 10,000 sensors spread across 180,000 square feet of manufacturing space, all connected to a high-speed internal Ethernet. They monitor things like which batches of powder are being used to form the ceramics at the heart of the batteries, how high a temperature is being used to bake them, how much energy is required to make each battery, and even the local air pressure. On the plant floor, employees with iPads can pull up all the data from Wi-Fi nodes set up around the factory.

What Is the Industrial Internet? | MIT Technology Review

What is the industrial Internet?

As good a place as any to find the answer is at General Electric’s newest U.S. factory, a $170 million plant it opened in Schenectady, New York, last July to produce advanced sodium-nickel batteries for uses that include powering cell-phone towers (see “GE’s Novel Battery to Bolster the Grid,” “Inside GE’s New Battery Factory,” and “Can We Build Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs?”).

The factory has more than 10,000 sensors spread across 180,000 square feet of manufacturing space, all connected to a high-speed internal Ethernet. They monitor things like which batches of powder are being used to form the ceramics at the heart of the batteries, how high a temperature is being used to bake them, how much energy is required to make each battery, and even the local air pressure. On the plant floor, employees with iPads can pull up all the data from Wi-Fi nodes set up around the factory.

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3D Motion And Heat Sensing Technology Captures Shoppers’ In-Store Behavior - PSFK Stores know what we purchase through scanning at the checkout, but in-store behavior that doesn’t end in a purchase is much harder to track. A system called Shopperception developed with Primesense places a small 3D sensor above a store shelf to capture shopping behavior for retailers. Mashable reports that the sensor watches people interact with products and Shopperception’s app aggregates all of this data to create a real-time consumer response report. There’s also a heat map to show which products were picked up a lot and which ones were avoided.

3D Motion And Heat Sensing Technology Captures Shoppers’ In-Store Behavior - PSFK

Stores know what we purchase through scanning at the checkout, but in-store behavior that doesn’t end in a purchase is much harder to track. A system called Shopperception developed with Primesense places a small 3D sensor above a store shelf to capture shopping behavior for retailers.

Mashable reports that the sensor watches people interact with products and Shopperception’s app aggregates all of this data to create a real-time consumer response report. There’s also a heat map to show which products were picked up a lot and which ones were avoided.

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Video: Next-gen Kinect sensor.

The sensor inside Kinect was created by PrimeSense, who demonstrate the next generation model called Capri in this video.

Capri is 1/10 the size of previous models, and the company says “we have been able to improve on all aspects of the system” in the device, which can be integrated into tablets and smartphones.

Microsoft is actually only one customer using the system, and does not licence it exclusively. Other companies also using the technology include iRobot, Matterport, and Asus. 

(via 8bitfuture)

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PC makers bet on gaze, gesture, voice, and touch | KurzweilAI

Products that could make it common to control a computer, TV, or something else using eye gaze, gesture, voice, and even facial expression were launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, MIT Technology Review reports.

The technology promises to make computers and other devices easier to use, let devices do new things, and perhaps boost the prospects of companies reliant on PC sales. Industry figures suggest that interest in laptop and desktop computers is waning as consumers’ heads are turned by smartphones and tablets.

Intel announced a new webcam-like device and supporting software intended to bring gesture, voice control, and facial expression recognition to PCs. “This will be available as a low-cost peripheral this year,” said Kirk Skaugen, vice president for Intel’s PC client group.

Intel also announced that, before the end of the year, it would release software that adds a voice-activated assistant to PCs, powered by technology from voice-recognition company Nuance.

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