The ultrasound is radiated from above and the user feels as if one of the pictured rain drops hits his palm. The technology could prove useful for video games, 3D CADs, and the like.
(Credit: University of Tokyo)Remember those uber-cool 3D projections in flicks like "Star Wars?" The University of Tokyo has turned this movie fantasy into a reality with its latest holographic projector prototype.
For added realism, it utilizes a pair of Nintendo Wiimotes for hand movement tracking and a technology known as (ready for it...) Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display. This essentially adds tactile feedback to the hovering image via ultrasonic waves (the projected images float about 12 inches away from the display surface).
But enough of the tech speak, check out the following video to see the "touchable holography" system (PDF) in action. This sure makes Microsoft's Project Natal and the Wii Motion Plus look like child's play!
(Source: Crave Asia via Ubergizmo)
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you might have heard that "Battlestar Galactica" is airing its final episode Friday night. Along with the "Stargate" TV series, the show brought the Sci Fi channel (soon to be simply SyFy) back from the brink of playing back old "Twilight Zone" re-runs and in-house B-movies, and into the go-to place to see the latest special effects and watch an epic story that unfolded over four seasons.
As an homage to all the joy it's brought us over the years, we've put together a slideshow of some of the technology featured within its episodes. This list is not exhaustive. Some things we left out, like the faster-than-light drive, and artificial gravity because, hey, you can find that in most any other science fiction story set in outer space. We have, however included quite a few things that may spoil the show if you stopped watching it after the third season, so click ahead with caution.
The series finale airs on the Sci Fi channel at 9 p.m. Friday night.
In perhaps the most ill-advised branding move since New Coke, NBC's basic-cable Sci Fi Channel will be renamed the phonetically similar Syfy on July 7.
The change reportedly comes from a desire to own a trademark on the network's name. The term sci-fi is a generic description of a fiction genre (often featuring futuristic technology), while Syfy can be a unique brand.
Bonnie Hammer, president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, told The New York Times, "We couldn't own Sci Fi; it's a genre...but we can own Syfy."
The derisive hoots have already begun. Entertainment industry columnist Nikki Finke points out, "Adding to the idiocy is that there's already a company called SyFi Global, an information technology (specialist)." Meanwhile, Gawker says the network's new tagline, Imagine Greater, "means nothing and is grammatically incoherent."
The new cloak with the bump, left, and the prototype, right.
(Credit: Duke University)That cloaking device we've been dreaming of appears to be one step closer to actual cloakdom, so start pondering the mischievous possibilities.
Scientists from Duke University have improved on their earlier efforts at producing an invisibility cloak, coming up with a new type of device they say is significantly more sophisticated at cloaking an object (and eventually a person?) from visible light.
The device is made from a light-bending composite material that can detour electromagnetic waves around an object and reconnect them on the other side. That creates an effect similar to a distant mirage you'd see hovering above a road on a hot day.
In Duke's latest experiments, a beam of microwaves aimed through the cloaking device at a "bump" on a flat mirror surface bounced off the surface at the same angle, as if the bump wasn't there. Additionally, the device prevented the formation of scattered beams that would normally be expected from such a perturbation. (The team details its findings in far more technical terms than I ever could in the latest issue of Science magazine.)
... Read moreSometimes watching sci-fi shows can be depressing. On the one hand, the imagination blossoms with all the possibilities the future holds. On the other hand, everything you see? You can't have it. Because you know what? You don't live in the future. Sorry. No gagh for you.
So it's with mixed feelings that I point you, dear readers, over to io9, who has put together a list of the best sci-fi kitchen gadgets. The list of neat things you can't have includes such wonders as the knife that toasts your bread while it cuts, and the Star Trek replicator, which pretty much conjures up whatever you want whenever you want it.
Eat your heart out. And try not to think about the fact that, here in the real world, we can't even get a freakin' Internet fridge worth buying.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
With Thanksgiving over and the biggest shopping day of the year under way, Power Downloader decided he would avoid the throngs of people and have a quiet day at the Powerlair. After going through his usual maintenance tasks to speed up his computer and check for spyware, Power headed over to Download.com to find a new game to play.... Read more
(Credit:
NBC)
Are you a dork? Do you love TV? If the answer to both those questions is yes, you'll probably want to select HD DVD as your next- generation format of choice, because there are some seriously exciting sci-fi TV shows hitting the format in the next few months.
We already know that Heroes is on the way to HD DVD, which is tremendously exciting for fans of the show who haven't been able to catch it on its BBC HD outing. We're also aware of the impending arrival of Star Trek: The Original Series, series one, which hits U.S. stores around November 20. But now, as if to make sci-fi fans explode with joy, we see (the new) Battlestar Galactica will be getting an HD DVD release on December 4.
The BSG discs will feature audio commentaries on selected episodes as well as the usual behind-the-scenes documentaries and featurettes. There's also a picture-in-picture behind-the-scenes commentary, which promises to make the most of the HD DVD release. BSG and Heroes won't be appearing on Blu-ray because their owner, Universal, is exclusively backing HD DVD, at least for now.
Of course Blu-ray has a few tricks up its sleeve, with a show you may have heard of--Lost--which is due to make its Blu-ray debut in December, just in time to be stuffed into stockings the world over by high-definition Santa.
Our interest in shows on HD DVD and Blu-ray is in no small part down to the scarcity of high-definition TV shows in the U.K. We'd love to see shows such as House and CSI in their original gory HD glory. Even if you're lucky enough to have seen these shows in HD, it's unlikely you'll have seen it in proper 1080p, as they are presented on HD DVD.
(Source: Crave UK)
This would have scared the crap out of me as a kid.
(Credit: Things From Another World)No evil villain would be complete without their own a badass raygun, right? Or in this case, a Goliathon 83 Infinity Beam Projector. No, it doesn't actually do anything. Yes, it costs $621. But the looks you would get bringing one of these to an NRA rally... priceless.
The Goliathon is produced by Weta Workshop designer Greg Broadmore (prop designer for LOTR and Hellboy) and looks like an amazingly crafted artifact caught between the universes of Barbarella and Brazil. It comes with its own velvet-lined case (which it will probably spend a lot of time in, seeing as the gun weighs more than 7 pounds). If the Goliathon isn't quite to your liking, you can also take a look at the Manmelter 3600ZX Sub-Atomic Disintegrator Pistol or the FMOM Industries Wave Disrupter Gun--all three are each limited to a run of 500.
For those who just like to look (or may want to try and craft your own) there's also this great gallery of handmade prop rayguns created by Clayton Bailey from retro scrap parts.
(Credit:
TheForce.net)
I wish I could tell you this was a joke.
It isn't. I'm sorry.
Though it looks like it could be a great MIT prank, this is actually a project run by the U.S. Postal Service. They're commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope by putting mailboxes decorated to look like R2-D2 into post offices, accompanied by the not-yet-functional Web address "uspsjedimaster.com". Dude, I think Star Wars is great and all, but I really hope none of my tax dollars went into this...endeavor.
$5 says we'll see a news headline about fraternity pledges trying to steal one of these in September.
(TheForce via Notcot.org)
The SciFi network has a little gift for Battlestar Galactica fans. It's posted downloadable audio and video clips from the show and is running a contest for the best 4-minute, fan-made, BSG knockoff video. Amateur BSG directors are encouraged to mash up the SciFi clips with their own footage. Hopefully, hilarity will ensue.
I love the sounds of toasters in the morning
(Credit: SciFi Network)SciFi isn't providing any online video-editing option (maybe a deal with Adobe, for Remix, or with Yahoo, for JumpCut, would have been a good idea). But there's an upside to that: the BSG files are free and clear to download, not locked into a Web-based editor.
Some Digg members are bristling at the license restrictions, though. While no one seems to mind the requirement that all the videos end with a SciFi-provided promo for the TV show, the license for using the clips prohibits posting the videos on sharing sites such as YouTube. As has been pointed out, SciFi is thus depriving itself of a giant and free viral marketing opportunity. Or perhaps they're wary of another Chevy Tahoe PR disaster.
Perhaps to be sure that the videos stay on the proper and PG side of things, it looks like SciFi is reviewing submissions before posting them on the site. As of this writing, there are only two clips visible on the site, and at least one of them is a demo from SciFi.
Not into making your own videos? Grab the sound effects and music from the site and use them in place of your computer's existing audio alerts.
