Crave

It even looks good.

(Credit: Withings)

You take a scale. You give it Wi-Fi. And then you let it log in to your Twitter account to tell the world how much you weigh each morning. That's what this is: the Wi-Fi Body Scale.

At first it sounds silly, but the more I think about it the more I like the idea. If I'm trying to lose weight, this is a good way to force me to watch what I eat lest I embarrass myself in front of my Twitter followers. If it shows me blowing up like a whale instead of dropping pounds then I don't just know I'm doing something wrong, my peers do, too. Shame can be a powerful tool.

The $159 scale already records the user's body weight, lean and fat mass, and calculated body mass index (BMI) to a secure Web site accessible by the user. The Twitter integration, though, is a new feature. The Twitter feature is being called "peer motivation" by Withings, the scale's maker, and they're right. I'd call it "weight loss by fear as motivation," but I'm just some blogger.

You've probably heard of or even owned a computer that automatically turns off its hard drive when it senses shock or heavy vibrations. That is an example of sensitive human-machine intimacy. Another example I like is tilting the iPhone to use it as the driving bar for my racing games. Well, that nifty human-to-computer interaction is about to go to whole new level.

HP announced Thursday a new inertial-sensing technology that enables the development of digital micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers that are up to 1,000 times more sensitive than those in high-volume products currently available.

A MEMS accelerometer is a sensor that can be used to measure vibration, shock, or change in velocity. When implemented, this allows the device to "feel" the environment it is in.

According to HP, the new sensing technology--the result of HP's 25 years of nano-sensing research--includes multiple detectors as part of a complete sensor network and therefore is capable of real-time data collection, management evaluation, and analysis. This information enables users to make better, faster decisions, and take subsequent action to improve safety, security, and sustainability.

(Credit: Video screenshot by Tim Hornyak/CNET)

Say salam wa aleikum to an Arabic-speaking android developed at United Arab Emirates University and billed as the first of its kind in the world. It could enter mass production to help people at shopping malls.

The Ibn Sina robot, named after an 11th century philosopher, can recognize faces, converse with people by speaking in classical Arabic, connect to the Internet, and retrieve information. As seen in the video below, it can also exchange kisses with people.

Software for Ibn Sina was developed by a team led by computer science assistant professor Nikolaos Mavridis, with the mechanics by Hanson Robotics. Mavridis says some companies have approached his lab and asked about using the turban-wearing, bearded bot in shopping malls or as a receptionist.

Doubtless Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna in English, would have been pleased.

A wireless digital 'plaster' that monitors vital signs is being tested on patients and volunteers at Imperial College London.

(Credit: Toumaz Technology)

When you go to the doctor and you get your heart rate or blood pressure taken, the resulting data is narrow, since the measurements are taken of you doing just one thing: sitting still. True monitoring throughout someone's typical daily activities has until now been something of a pipe dream.

All that could be about to change.

A range of vital signs, including body temperature, heart rate, and respiration, is currently being monitored--continuously and remotely--by a small strip of digital plaster affixed to a patient's chest, neck, and/or arm.

(Credit: Michigan State University)

Michigan State University researchers are spawning robot fish to monitor the quality of lake water and the effect of harmful algae.

The prototype fish resemble other robot fish, such as those being developed at MIT to check for pollutants in water.

An electric charge in the 9-inch MSU prototype causes its polymer fins to bend so the robotic perch can maneuver. Designs call for onboard sensors to record temperature, oxygen, pollutant, and algae data, which would be relayed to a docking station when the fish surfaces. GPS systems and infrared sensors could be developed to aid navigation.

The fish are designed to be low-cost for applications such as monitoring aquafarms and water reservoirs. Compared with water sampling by humans, the robo-fish would provide a more regular data feed by communicating with each other and their docking station.

The MSU researchers hope to make the robot more robust so it can swim through currents. Currently it can only move through calm water.

If Japan-based NEC has its way, people who act as language translators could one day be replaced with head-mounted displays that project translations onto a retinal display. Come again?

(Credit: NEC)

The Tele Scouter system is composed of an eyepiece with a front-mounted camera and a mic that picks up conversations and sends the data to a small computer worn on the user's waist.

The computer then transmits information to a remote server, which does the heavy processing work converting the foreign speech to text, translating it, and wirelessly sending it back to the tiny eye display for viewing. That seems like a whole lot of work to get to, "He said, 'Welcome to my country!'" but we'll roll with the idea for now.

Truth is we could use a translator to help us make complete sense of the English on NEC's product page, but we do know the TeleScouter isn't ready to show up at the U.N. just yet (or maybe ever).

Instead, NEC initially plans to market the device as a wearable hands-free display that could be used to show engineers and on-site and off-site technicians high-resolution user guides and manuals while they install or repair equipment.

In another workplace use, it could let a single expert simultaneously deliver text, video, and audio messages to multiple personnel--in real time.

NEC says it expects to start shipping the Tele Scouter next year, with a system that could serve a staff of 30 costing around 750 million yen ($8.16 million). Despite such exorbitant pricing, the company is aiming to sell 1,000 systems in three years.

How do you say, "We're intrigued, but we'll believe all this when we see it" in Japanese?

(Credit: NEC)

(Via Gizmag)

(Credit: Impress)

Hard to believe that before Apple made multitouch cool, the most we ever "touched" our PC was touch typing. Now, here's Photoelastic Touch, a more tactile form of interaction that enters into "Minority Report" realm (still one of the coolest future tech shows) by not even requiring users to touch the screen.

Japanese researchers led by Hideki Koike at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo used a face mask comprising see-through gel as a haptic interface, allowing users to press, pinch, or touch the transparent mold to control the face on the LCD. In this case, the actions prompted a furrowed eye brow or eye movement.

Koike says one application of the technology could involve building a 3D model of the brain from the material to give budding surgeons feedback as they "operate" on it. The researchers showed off the technology at Digital Content Expo 2009 in Tokyo.

Of course, there's nothing like watching all this in action. So catch the video below

(Source: Crave Asia via Impress)

(Credit: Bridgestone)

When not making tires, Bridgestone is working on e-book readers so flexible they'd probably survive being driven over. They've even got a prototype ready for testing, but no plans to commercialize the slender and bendy device at this point.

The reader (press release in Japanese) is definitely slender, as it's almost half as thin as a Kindle 2. It's said that it can be "bent to some extent since the circuit board and the electronic paper are flexible," but no one is saying how much "to some extent" is. No matter. While the lack of too many details about it or any plans for a commercial product put a damper on Bridgestone's device, the good news is that other companies might adapt the technology in their products.

The countdown to being able to toss our readers into bags without worrying about destroyed displays is on.

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

(Credit: Robo-Garage)

Japanese robot wunderkind Tomotaka Takahashi has created a new humanoid robot that can jump 3 inches off the floor, an impressive feat for a small bipedal machine.

Known for his anime-inspired robotic creations used for product promotion, Takahashi's latest bipedal walker is called Ropid (from "robot" and "rapid").

The cute carbon fiber and plastic droid weighs 3.5 pounds and has 30 degrees of mechanical freedom.

Seen in the video below, Ropid can get up, walk, run, and even jump 3 inches into the air.

It does all that while maintaining its balance thanks to its four onboard gyro sensors and four accelerometers.

Takahashi's stylish robots, such as Chroino, are often featured in magazines and on TV in Japan.

It took Takahashi two and a half years to develop Ropid at his Kyoto University-based start-up Robo-Garage. The robot is based on patented technology developed in 2007.

(Via Robot Watch)