augmented-reality

Sure, it's great when that hot avatar gives you a hug in Second Life, but wouldn't it be even better if you could actually feel the embrace? Researchers from Japan are demonstrating a motorized haptic device that lets you experience real-time virtual hugs by physically reproducing the pressure felt on the chest and back when someone gives you a squeeze.

Getting a hug that moves beyond the basic emoticon requires donning a kind of harness adorned with soft fabric hands that envelop the wearer in a warm faux embrace. But the HaptiHug is only one of the affective garments included in the I_FeelIM ("I feel therefore I am") system, which uses software to extract emotional meaning from written text and pass it on to one of a number of haptic devices that react accordingly.

The speaker-enabled HaptiHeart, for example, emits palpable heartbeat-like patterns to evoke sadness, anger, and fear. The vibrating HaptiButterfly and HaptiTickler, worn around the abdomen, are supposed to create feelings akin to nervous, joyous belly flutters. And the HaptiShiver and HaptiTemper are aimed at boosting fear emotions by, respectively, sending shivers up and down the wearer's spine by way of vibrating motors and producing spine chills via a fan blowing cool air. … Read more

For certain brands, a "social media strategy" consisting of a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account is last year's model.

One of the trends you tend to see at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSWi) in Austin, Texas, is that it's where big, nontech brands show up to test edgy social-media marketing initiatives in the ultimate geek test bed. A brand we'll be seeing a lot of at this year's SXSWi, which starts Thursday, is the General Motors-owned Chevy.

A sponsor of the festival, Chevy is going all-out with just about every … Read more

You know a new technology has reached the big time--or jumped the shark, depending on your perspective--when someone builds a conference around it.

So the Tuesday announcement of the Augmented Reality Event, billed as the world's first commercial event about that technology, is the official sign that the times are a-changin' for AR.

Of course, anyone can cobble together a conference, and just because it exists there are no guarantees that it will be any good, or feature anyone worth listening to. But the folks behind the Augmented Reality Event have at the very least scored a coup with … Read more

I attended the Trendforum in Munich last week, a two-day conference that gathered European innovation, marketing, and R&D executives to explore emerging technologies, social trends, and innovative business models. The program was eclectic and the content mostly of high quality. I was particularly intrigued by the opening session that intersected macro-economic forecasting with geeky trend evangelism as well as a humanistic pledge for meaning-driven business (in fact, the other sessions didn’t even come close, including special guest Ray Kurzweil, whose remote keynote, given by way of 3D-holographic projection, remained utterly flat).

As the first speaker, Markku Wilenius, … Read more

Sitting on a flight to the Texan outpost of Houston, I was pleased that the person sitting next to me was not a cigar-chomping, deodorant-free KKK member with a penchant for political discourse and the most troubling TV show in world history, "Wipeout."

Half way through the flight, though, I discovered that had my seat companion been of a difficult personal or political persuasion, I will soon be in the position to eliminate them.

You see, I was clutching a copy of the Atlantic Monthly, where I espied a highly stimulating article by future-thinker Jamais Cascio, whose name, … Read more

Reading the news about a University of Washington professor's experimental electronic contact lens, I wondered if my dream of the ultimate personal technology has finally moved from over the horizon to in sight. Here's what I want: to be able to walk into crowded cocktail party, and know exactly who I am looking at -- each person's name, last time we met, and other information pertinent for a pleasant social interaction. I want that information beamed into my field of vision, in text floating over their heads, like the health indicators over the bad guys in a … Read more

3D TV? Augmented reality in your contacts? The world is getting awesome. Unless you have an Xbox 360. But it's birthday season too. fourty years ago today, the first bits were sent over the nascent Internet. One year ago today, Google gave out comic books to announce Google Chrome.

Happy 40th birthday, Internet http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/02/happy-40th-birthday.html‘

Google Chrome turns one http://www.pcworld.com/article/171301/google_chrome_turns_one_a_few_questions_and_answers.html

Gmail outage causes sky to burn, rivers … Read more

Wilson is "out sick" today, but we're lucky to have Ms. Natali Del Conte nearby to replace him on the show. She was working out of the office last week, so we take this opportunity to update ourselves on all things NDC and you'll be surprised to hear of the changes coming to Loaded. We're so proud of her. Congrats, Natali!

We officially kick off this Monday episode by defining the Web's trendiest new buzzphrase, "augmented reality." We're not sure who came up with it, but it's all the rage in the world of iPhone apps. For example, Yelp built an Easter egg into its app that uses the smartphone's GPS to superimpose digital data onto the world through the camera, making it easy to view restaurants, taxis, bathrooms, and subway information around you. We think it's pretty cool, but Gawker has its own application ideas, like an app called ClubLech, which uses facial recognition and user-inputted data to identify all the singles in a room. Sounds creepy and, like a lot of technology, it takes the fun out of getting to know someone in person. Plus, who wants a digital sign superimposed over their head pointing out their depressingly single relationship status?

Are you having a hard time saying goodbye to "Reading Rainbow?" We are, too. The show has been on the air for 26 years and just recently celebrated its final episode on August 28. We're sad to see a relic of our childhood go the way of the dodo, but it makes perfect sense, since we're pretty sure kids are just illiterate now, so why have a show to promote books? But don't take our word for it; just ask a kid to define the word "Scholastic."

If you want to get your voice mail heard on the air, just give us a call at 1-855-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! Could be something about one of our shows, maybe one of the hosts, or just something random that popped into your head. We'll take them all!