Crave

We're all used to the idea that Google tracks what we do online. But if you go to Google I/O, you'll find that the data-hungry company, in partnership with the O'Reilly Data Sensing Lab, is keeping tabs on the physical world, too.

At its developer conference, the company has a set up a network of 525 sensor motes. Each small electronics board monitors temperature, humidity, ambient light levels, air quality, audio noise, and radio-frequency noise. And with footstep detectors, some monitor where people are going at the conference, too. … Read more

Forget the Umbrellas of Cherbourg. MIT presents the Umbrellas of Cambridge.

This Sunday evening, participants in a large-scale interactive performance will hoist programmable umbrellas outfitted with LED lights skyward in a shimmering spectacle of red, green, and blue.

The project, called "UP: The Umbrella Project," is part of a collaboration between MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Connecticut-based Pilobolus modern-dance company.

Using hand controllers designed by researchers at CSAIL's Distributed Robotics Lab, hundreds of MIT students, faculty, and staff will be able to independently change the color of their umbrellas, thus spontaneously choreographing a kind of umbrella dance that will then be projected onto a giant screen so everyone can see the aggregate moving image. … Read more

Not since the iPhone or iPad has a gadget generated more buzz than Google Glass. So of course I wanted to take it apart and explore its internal hardware. Unfortunately, as I'll show you, this version of Google Glass wasn't built to be easily dissected or repaired.

According to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Glass is still "probably a yearish away" from hitting store shelves. But true to the company's iterative development style, Google is shipping 10,000 or so Explorer Edition units to developers, beta testers, and winners of Google's "If I Had Glass" contest. And while the company might make a few tweaks to the product before launch, these test units still give us a good idea of what to expect in terms of overall design and hardware.… Read more

As Google chugs forward with Glass, there's a feeling in the air that we're on the cusp of a major revolution in wearable technology. However, Google's limited Mirror app-programming interface (API) for Glass leaves much to be desired, according to one Canadian design firm.

In a conversation with CNET, a rep with Toronto-based creative agency Playground said that the limited architecture of the Mirror API was "surprising" because it's "awfully prohibited and closed." To be sure, Google announced the API as a preview offering, even going as far as to ask developers to "come dream with us." However, the Canadian design company -- and surely many other developers -- want deeper access to Glass.

… Read more

In our Google I/O poll, we looked at what Google could possibly announce this week to measure up to the high bar set by last year's skydiving introduction of Google Glass, along with the Nexus 7, Android Jelly Bean, and the apparently ill-fated Nexus Q.

Most of you were interested in seeing some really cool new Nexus hardware from Google this week. It's a sentiment I share, but I also have a fantasy that we'll see something relatively unexpected and bleeding edge that will top even last year's Glass debut. I've come up with four imagined Google I/O announcements that I think are highly unlikely, but within the realm of possibility, and would have the whole world buzzing for weeks to come.

Just to be clear: I have no evidence any of these things will happen this week. In fact, I'm pretty positive three of them won't come true anytime soon. It's just my (admittedly demanding) wish list for Santa Brin and his elves in Mountain View. Let's hope they're listening.… Read more

Nao is a humanoid robot created by Aldebaran Robotics. He wears a jaunty orange headpiece, moves his limbs, dances, and interacts with humans. Nao has held jobs ranging from human-machine interaction research subject to synchronized show dancer at events. His new role, however, may be one of the most impactful yet. ASK Nao is a special version designed to work with autistic children.

ASK stands for "Autism Solution for Kids." The robot is programmed with games and applications geared toward helping autistic kids develop social and learning skills. "Most children on the autism spectrum have a natural attraction towards technology and Nao's humanoid shape creates a perfect link between technology and humanity," said Olivier Joubert, autism business unit manager at Aldebaran.… Read more

'Ij, eartHlIngh, veng SuvwI' Hol chu' tu'lu'. I'm not sure how accurate that really is, but, according to Bing, it means, "Listen up, earthling, there's a new language in town."

Bing is so excited about the new "Star Trek Into Darkness" movie that it added Klingon to Bing Translator, the translation service that usually handles Earth languages like Bulgarian, Turkish, and Polish.

Bing didn't just throw together some guttural sounds and call it done. Microsoft got together with "Star Trek" studio Paramount, the Klingon Language Institute, and Marc Okrand, the creator of the Klingon language, to do it up right.… Read more

On a scale of 1 to 8, how are your kisses? You could check in with whomever you're smooching these days -- or you could consult the Kissing Evaluator.

The electronic contraption, built by a team of San Francisco makers, reacts to a couple's canoodles with LED lights and woob woob and bleb bleb noises (a method that's been officially certified by the International Association of Kissing Metrics).

The team built the whimsical device for Red Bull Creation, a national competition that challenges contestants to invent something creative around a piece of hardware -- and then display it in public. Red Bull sent this year's participants a "Turbull Encabulator" circuit board that it designed as a tool for making LED light art, along with RGB LED lights and instructions to "make something awesome." … Read more

If you're the type of person who asks long-winded questions, Siri would like to change your ways.

Apple's server-powered software assistant is now telling users to trim down questions that are too long or otherwise complicated -- a move that iLounge suggests is to retrain how users interact with the service versus an actual human being.

If Siri deems your question verbose, the software will serve up quotes that suggest brevity, a comedic -- though also passive-aggressive -- move. Some of the quotes come from author William Strunk, former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, and fictional characters like … Read more