sensors

Yesterday, Microsoft raised the bar on the mainstream-interactive landscape with the demonstration of its futuristic Project Natal. Today, Nintendo had a chance for a rebuttal, during which it chose to focus on Wii Motion Plus.

Scheduled to debut in a few weeks when it's packaged in with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, the more accurate plug-in to the Wiimote has its greatest killer app in Wii Sports Resort, the delayed sequel to Wii Sports. Showed off last year as well, two new sports in the package, archery and a three-point hoops contest, were demonstrated once again by Reggie Fils-Aime and Bill Trinen. The accuracy benefits were more noticeable to the naked eye on the archery demo: smaller hand motions allow for greater focus and targeting.

The Wii Motion Plus is a funny update to the Wii, because the advertising around it (virtual swordplay, archery) is exactly the same angle that was used for the original Wiimote. It arrives in a few weeks to stores.… Read more

Medium-format digital cameras, which have larger sensors and higher price tags than even high-end SLRs, didn't fare so well in earlier tests of sensor quality by measurement firm DxO Labs, but Phase One's newly tested top-end technology has risen to the top of the DxOMark Sensor test.

Phase One's 60-megapixel P65+ camera scored 89.1 on the test, edging out the Nikon D3X, which scored 88, according to data released Thursday. In addition, the 51.7-megapixel Hasselblad H3DII 50, an older model than Phase One's, scored 78.2. Click here to compare the two models and Nikon's D3X.

The DxOMark sensor test measures a camera sensor's dynamic range, color depth, and low-light performance. DxO Labs cautions that differences of less than 5 points aren't really distinguishable, and of course many other factors including price, lens quality, autofocus, and resolution factor into overall camera quality.

The P65+ features the best color performance yet, but DxO Labs said its comparatively good performance in low-light conditions helped it carry the day. … Read more

It may sound easy enough, but don't try this at home. To test the performance of new pressure-based air bag sensors equipped on the 2010 Taurus and 2009 Ford F150, Ford engineers have employed equipment more commonly found in shopping malls than in laboratories, such such as water cannons, basket balls, shopping carts.

Unconventional as these tests may seem in a state-of-the-art testing facility, it's exactly what these vehicles might encounter in the real world and what engineers need to test against.

As part an effort to achieve the highest safety ratings, Ford has replaced acceleration-based sensors with pressure-based sensors that more accurately measure the severity of a crash.

These new air bag pressure sensors, according to Ford, have several advantages over air bags equipped with acceleration-based sensors: they deploy 30 percent faster, perform better in new federal side-impact and oblique-impact tests, are less likely to be affected by vehicle design differences, and give designers more flexibility because they take up less space. … Read more

Eizo Nanao has announced the inclusion of an "EcoView Sense" feature into its just announced FlexScan monitors, the 20-inch EV2023W and the 23-inch EV2303W.

The EcoView feature allows the monitors--using motion detectors--to detect if a person is sitting in front of it.

If it senses for 40 seconds that no one is there, it puts the monitor into sleep mode. It then resumes normal operation when the user returns. For example, it won't be fooled by such shenanigans as leaving a cardboard cutout of yourself in front of it. It will only resume if there is movement … Read more

Wireless-sensor start-up Arch Rock thinks it has found a killer application: measuring energy use in commercial buildings.

The company on Monday introduced Energy Optimizer, a product line that combines its Internet Protocol-based sensors with server software for collecting and analyzing energy data.

The sensors can be attached to different circuits in a data center, for example, to measure electricity consumption over time.

Because they have radios to transmit information, the installation doesn't require laying new wires into a building, Arch Rock CEO Roland Acra said. And because they are IP-based, they can be managed on an existing corporate network, … Read more

If you've ever had a tired cyclist--or worse, a tired driver--careen into your car door as you open it, you'll appreciate a new prototype being developed in Germany. It's a new technology that lets doors resist being opened when they sense an oncoming hazard.

BMW's Michael Graf and a team at the Technical University of Munich are pioneering the project, which uses ultrasonic sensors to detect hazards approaching a vehicle. When they see an oncoming cyclist, or van, or bears, a bar running through the car door prevents it from being opened.

So far, the results … Read more

Phase One, a Copenhagen-based maker of professional-grade digital camera technology, has invested in and assumed some control over Japanese camera maker Mamiya.

Phase One and Mamiya already had a partnership for one medium-format camera through a partnership begun in 2006, but now the alliance is much tighter, with Phase One in the driver's seat for some key areas, Phase One said Wednesday.

"Phase One is making a significant financial investment in Mamiya Digital Imaging, thus becoming a major shareholder in the company behind the Mamiya brand of medium-format cameras and lenses," Phase One said in a statement. &… Read more

There are many challenges in waging war for oil, not the least of which is fighting in a big sandbox--it's hard on soldiers and it's murder on helicopters.

Enter the Sandblaster. This is a helicopter avionics system commissioned by DARPA that integrates advanced flight controls, a "see-through" sensor, synthetic vision and data fusion to allow the pilots to fly safely in a zero-visibility, howling haboob, according to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

Using the Sikorsky system, the pilot has only to press a button to bring the chopper from en-route flight to a low, non-drift hover over a … Read more

To make buildings more efficient, Regen Energy is equipping them with a bunch of miniature brains--in the form of wireless mini-controllers.

The Toronto-based start-up announced on Monday partnerships with solar energy-monitoring firm Fat Spaniel Technologies and with carbon-management software company Zerofootprint to optimize buildings for efficiency and clean power production.

There are already automation systems that allow commercial building managers to view data from HVAC systems or lights and set policies to improve energy efficiency.

Regen Energy CEO and co-founder Mark Kerbel asserts that its system of building a "swarm" of autonomous controllers is a quicker and less … Read more