Future tech

CNET News.com sister site Silicon.com went to the HP Labs facility in Bristol, England, to see what the researchers have been up to.

Check out CNET News.com's photo gallery for a glimpse of HP's emerging tech for its Snapfish photo site, its Mscapes location application, and even its stab at quantum computing.

Self-driving cars are veering closer to the roads.

Torc Technologies, which collaborated with Virginia Tech on an autonomous Ford Escape Hybrid that placed third in DARPA's Urban Grand Challenge, started selling a version of its self-driving creation Tuesday.

Called the ByWire XGV, Torc's drive-by-wire converted Ford Escape Hybrid will be available as a research platform for academics and car industry types who are interested in developing new applications in the field of autonomous autos.

While the world may not be ready yet for self-driving cars on the road, someone could have a lot of fun on a closed-course … Read more

iRobot has secured exclusive commercial rights to develop an unmanned sea-faring robot from a group at the University of Washington.

The Bedford, Mass.-based company made the announcement Tuesday at the annual symposium for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).

Specifically, the agreement is to commercialize an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) called the Seaglider.

The Seaglider was developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory and the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington in conjunction with the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, which funded the initial project.

iRobot believes the Seaglider has military application … Read more

Forget multi-touch technology and face recognition. At its Computex booth in Taiwan, Asus displayed concept designs that take the user interface to new frontiers.

Termed "Reality-to-Virtual," what looks like a clamshell laptop with dual LCDs is actually a showcase of how motion sensing can be combined with context-based displays. With a sweep of your hand, for example, the Webcam will detect the motion and switch the upper LCD to the requested application. The lower portion is really a touch-sensitive LCD that can be used as a keyboard, media control, and photo-editing panel. As this is only a concept … Read more

Electric cars are the only real option for stopping carbon dioxide emissions from the tailpipe, and thus preventing global climate change. But as of today, you can't visit your local dealer's row and drive away in an electric car. Things are changing, though, and here is a selection of new electric cars we've seen at recent auto shows.

Click here for photos of electric cars shown off at recent auto shows.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Microsoft researchers on Thursday demonstrated a new, low-cost method for manipulating a digital desktop or wall display with two hands.

Called LaserTouch, the prototype is the latest invention of computer vision specialist Andy Wilson, a researcher from Microsoft Research's Redmond, Wash., campus. Wilson has worked on Microsoft's Surface computing, among other projects. But more recently he's developed a sensing technology system that would allow people to retrofit any display--e.g., a desktop or projector--so that they could use their hands, instead of a mouse, to interact with the computer.

The system uses a low-cost … Read more

It may look like one of those iPod hats or something worse, but this baseball cap is more sophisticated--in its technology, if not fashion sense.

The cap is designed to analyze the brain's electroencephalogram (EEG) waves, determining whether you're too fatigued to drive safely. It is just one use for a device developed by researchers at various Taiwan universities and the University of California at San Diego, who hope to expand the technology for applications in myrid other facets of everyday life.

There are other devices with similarly ambitious goals, but many of them require direct contact with the scalp, … Read more

There may come a day when telling someone to "talk to the hand" will be socially acceptable.

Designers Bhargav Bhat, Hemant Sikaria, and Priya Narasimhan are working on a prototype called "HandTalk," which essentially is a phone for the hearing impaired. This wearable glove device detects the motions and gestures used in sign language, translates them into audio, then plays it all back on a cell phone or mobile device.

Recently showcased at the Meeting Of The Minds expo at Carnegie Mellon University Center, the mobile software app can reportedly detect 32 words to date--a mere … Read more

It's one step removed from the Midas approach, but Bill Gates wants to turn nearly everything we touch into a computer.

Speaking to a crowd of CEOs gathered in Redmond, Wash., Gates showed off prototype technology he said will allow home and office walls to become computers.

While Microsoft's Surface computers are currently shipping for about $10,000, Gates said the hardware costs for such products need not be that high. Within a few years, it could be in the hands of individuals.

"We're saying it will be absolutely pervasive," Gates said. "When I … Read more