Intelligent Goggles Color Code the World for the Visually Impaired

Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (UC3M), Spain, have developed a pair of “intelligent” goggles that make getting around a bit easier for partly-sighted people, by providing them with Terminator-style vision. Using a pair of cameras mounted on a virtual reality headset connected to a tiny computer, the device scans the area ahead of the wearer and displays information about the scene as color-coded outlines that convey the distance and shapes of objects that are difficult to otherwise see or interpret.

There are many devices available to help the blind, and more are rolled out every year. They range from traditional canes and guide dogs to speaking clocks and watches and tactile mobile phones. Since the 1960s, a lot of work has gone into ultrasound devices to provide the blind with a sort of personal radar for avoiding obstacles. In recent years, this has led to wrist-mounted sonic navigators, canes,vests and even smartphones, designed to help the visually disabled get around and interact with other people.

However useful these ultrasonic and similar devices are, they rely on hearing and touch to communicate with their users. Many people who are legally blind still retain a degree of sight, however. Their vision may be profoundly blurry or very restricted in area, but it is enough to provide some information about the visible world. Yet outside of very high-powered glasses, digital magnifiers or devices with giant displays, there aren’t very many bits of technology out there to help those who still can see somewhat.

Led by Professor Ricardo Vergaz of the Electronics Technology Department, the UC3M team designed the “intelligent” goggles to take advantage of the wearer’s remaining sight. The system consists of a pair of stereoscopic digital cameras mounted on either side of a virtual reality headset, with two digital screens in front of the wearer’s eyes in place of lenses. The cameras scan the field of vision in front of the headset, convert it to digital code and then feed this to a separate computer package. The computer then runs an algorithm developed by the team, that determines the distance and outline of any objects seen. What the cameras scan is displayed on the headset’s screens and information about the objects is conveyed to the wearer by overlaying them with color-coded silhouettes.

“It detects objects and people who move within the visual field that a person with no visual pathologies would have," said Professor Vergaz. "Very often the patient does not detect them due to problems of contrast. The information regarding depth is what is most missed by patients who use this type of technical aid.”

Currently, testing is underway on a representative sample of patients who are suitable for using the device, and results are expected by the end of 2012. These results will be used to improve the performance of the “intelligent” goggles. Meanwhile, the team is concentrating on improving the ergonomics of the device by shrinking the goggles to something more practical and comfortable.

Mobile Printer for Mobile Devices

The SM-T300 mobile printer allows you to print outdoors from smartphones, iPads, or Android devices.

Developed by Star Micronics, the tiny printer was designed for printing receipts or delivery slips and comes standard with a magnetic card reader. Wrapped in a rugged rubber-like case, it is waterproof, dustproof, and can survive a five-foot drop. It communicates with the mobile device through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and has a battery life of up to 11 hours.

MyVoice Speaks Sign Language

The MyVoice, a prototype American Sign Language translator is able to read sign language gestures and translate them into audible words for the hearing.

Designed by a team of students at the University of Houston, the portable MyVoice includes a microphone, speaker, soundboard, video camera, and monitor. When set upon a stable surface, the device's system will read the hand gestures of the Deaf speaker and process them into sounds that the hearing person can understand. It could also translate a spoken message into sign language displayed on the monitor, allowing both people to communicate with each other.

Currently, the prototype can only translate "A good job, Cougars," a phrase that consists of 200 to 300 images. However, the group hopes to find a willing party to help continue to develop the device.

Geode Digital Wallet

The Geode is being hailed as the first secure digital wallet of its kind, functioning as an iPhone case while also storing all the user's credit, debit and loyalty cards in one place.

The user adds credit and debit cards to the system by swiping them through the included card reader. The cards are then supplanted by the GeoCard, which can function as any card with the touch of an app. Loyalty and membership cards are added by photographing them with the iPhone camera, which replaces them with an e-ink screen on the back of the device.

The Geode uses biometric fingerprint technology to keep its contents secure, and can be accessed by the user with a finger swipe. It can also be programmed to "self-destruct" though the built-in self-erase system, which can be set for a specific time frame in case the phone is lost or stolen.

White Castle Hamburger Scented Candle

White Castle, the famous hamburger chain known for its "Sliders", offers this new hamburger scented candle.

It comes packaged in a ceramic holder that looks like the signature cardboard sleeve of the White Castle hamburger packaging. The candle itself fills the room with the scent of the chain's popular steam-grilled-burger-on-a-bed-of-onions.

The candles first made their debut in May 2010 during White Castle’s 18th annual celebration of National Hamburger Month. All 10,000 candles sold out in less than 48 hours with the net proceeds donated to Autism Speaks.

On October 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT during the airing of “Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education” on COMEDY CENTRAL, viewers who call in to a celebrity operated phone bank and make a donation of $100 or more to the program will receive a complimentary Original Slider®-Scented Candle.

Apple said to be prepping a ‘revolutionary’ new product that will launch this year

World-famous French designer Philippe Starck told a French radio station that he's working on a "revolutionary" secret Apple project that will surface in eight months. The designer said that he couldn't reveal more details because of Apple's "religious cult of secrecy."

Apple flatly denied Starck's involvement with any of its upcoming products while rumors about the project flew wild. Some speculated Starck could be involved with an Apple TV, others suggested that he's working on a new Parisian Apple Store.

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The answer, it appears, seems to be out to sea: Jobs commissioned Starck to design a "sleek and minimalist" yacht with 40-foot-long glass walls. The pair met in Cupertino, California on a monthly basis to talk about the ship, according to Jobs' official biography.

However, neither Apple nor the alleged maker of the yacht, Netherlands-based Feadship, are commenting on the plans. They do, however, match Jobs' penchant for simple yet beautiful design and engineering.

French newspaper Le Figaro reported that Starck is planning on staying in touch with Jobs' widow Laurene, possibly to finish work on the ship. However, the designer hasn't confirmed that the yacht is the "revolutionary" project to which he was referring on the radio broadcast.

Acclaimed French designer Philippe Starck reportedly claims to be working with Apple to help design a revolutionary new product that will launch within the next eight months. ”Indeed, there is a big project together which will be out in eight months,” the designer said on air during an interview with a French TV show, Le Figaroreported. He continued, stating that the mysterious new product would be “quite revolutionary.” Starck’s credited works range from hotels to toothbrushes, and several consumer electronics devices he designed are currently sold in Apple Stores. The designer claims to have met with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on numerous occasions over the years. “For seven years I came to see him once a month in Palo Alto and elsewhere,” Starck said. BGR reported last year that Apple plans to launch a redesigned iPhone this fall, and the company is also rumored to be working on a flat-panel “iTV” television that could launch later this year as well.