motion-sensing

Intel invests in motion sensing: Looks to future interfaces

Intel Capital has invested in a company that provides motion-sensing technology, hinting at possible future user interfaces for personal computing devices.

Grenoble, France-based Movea said this week that it has secured 6.5 million euros (about $7.9 million) in funding from Intel Capital.

"We look forward to...increasing our involvement in the MEMS and motion sensing space in general," said Erik Jorgensen, investment director for Intel Capital, in a statement. "We believe the role MEMS plays in technology, particularly on the mobile side, is going to continue to increase at a rapid pace."

MEMS, or … Read more

Play air guitar with your iPhone

Playing air guitar to your favorite song just got a lot cooler. Two gadget-loving guys have come up with Air Guitar Move, a device that lets you strum the air using the iPhone or iPod Touch.

The entire set consists of two apps and a guitar pick with an accelerometer inside. The first app, called Free Play, lets you strum the air using the pick as you see fit. The second app, Arcade, is a rhythm action game that lets you strum along with songs, similar to games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

Interestingly, former Guitar Hero engineers are overseeing production of the project. This means we might see more apps that are compatible with the Air Guitar Move in the future. … Read more

Coolest Kinect hacks we've spotted so far

The Kinect is already bringing the good times to families and booze-fueled halls of residence, but we should spare a minute to thank the hard-working techie types of the world who've devoted themselves to cracking open Microsoft's motion-controlled accessory and feasting on the gadgety goodness within.

The Kinect has been out for a little more than a week, but enterprising hackers are already finding unusual ways to put the sensor bar's 3D imaging capabilities to good use.

Read more of "Coolest Kinect hacks: Our favorite motion-sensor experiments" at Crave UK.

Sony announces PSP Minis, Digital Reader, PSN update, and more

A new, slimmer PlayStation 3 wasn't the only news to come out of the Sony press conference at Gamescom in Germany Tuesday. There were also plenty of announcements about the PSP and PlayStation Network that weren't completely expected.

First, the PlayStation Network will get an overhaul beginning September 1. New features and a more logical navigation are among the updates. A "What's New" tab highlighting new PlayStation Store releases will also be accessible directly via the XMB (cross media bar).

There was also a lot of news regarding the PSP. Along with the PSP Go, … Read more

Gyration Air Music Remote gives you total control

The Gyration Air Music Remote with MotionSense technology made its debut Monday. This new universal remote is meant to replace all previous Gyration remotes with its new features. The Air Music Remote not only controls the satellite/cable box, home theater, and TV, it also controls Windows XP- and Vista-based computers.

This is all possible through the gyroscopic device in the remote, which allows in-air cursor tracking. A user can interact with and manipulate items onscreen through movement and pointing of the remote, similar to a Wii remote. It also has left and right buttons to launch and/or close … Read more

GestureTek bestows Wiimote powers on cell phones. Just maybe not your phone.

GestureTek Mobile has bestowed the powers of movement-based navigation, popularized by the Nintendo Wii, upon cell phones. The one crucial difference: no Wii tennis elbow.

Since the technology in GestureTek Mobile's EyeMobile Engine is purely optic rather than hardware-based--unlike the accelerometer that tells iPhone when to jump into landscape mode--wrist motion is powerful and specific.

Here's an example from the demo: just click the soft key to zoom in on the map, and tilt the phone back and forth to zoom in and out. Do it again holding the scroll button to activate the motion detection, and tilt … Read more