Posts Tagged office gadgets
COOL LEAF could change the face of mobile devices
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on March 3rd, 2010
I don’t know about you, but what I see in these pictures is the future of mobile devices.
This is actually the COOL LEAF, a new series of input devices designed by Minebea, a Japanese company. As you can see, the surfaces of this keyboard, calculator, and remote control have a mirrored surface to them that is just as good as a real mirror.
You may notice that there isn’t “stand-out” buttons on this guy, but these “non-physical” buttons are just as good. It looks like the mirrored surface is water-resistant, too.
How can this work? It uses a special film made by a Japanese chemical company Toray on top, an electrostatic capacity type touch panel with force sensors beneath, and a backlight as a bottom layer.
I don’t know about you, but I would be very interested in seeing a future where the Φ-QWERTY, Φ-Calcs, and Φ-Remotes have completely taken over. Yes, that is what they are called, and I had to copy/paste those names from my source, as my computer did not have a “Φ” key. I would highly consider renaming these device before they are mass-marketed like Phi-QWERTY, Phi-Calculator, and Phi-remote.
I wonder what it would be like to have a Phi-Cellphone? Would it be a candybar, clamshell, or could you make a slider out of the thing? Hey, could we change the i-Phone so it has the COOL LEAF’s mirrored surface?
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COOL LEAF could change the face of mobile devices
Wacom updates Intuos4, updated the Bamboo line
Posted by admin in Bluetooth Gadgets on February 2nd, 2010
Okay, I have to admit that I am only slightly behind reporting this news, but needless to say, Wacom has recently updated two of their products, and I was surprised that we didn’t cover one of their updates already.
The most recent update is the Intuos4, which we have covered previously. It has recently received an update: wireless capability. It uses Bluetooth to do this, and the lithium ion battery can be charged via USB.
We’ve also covered the Wacom Bamboo Tablet, and these have received an update for multi-touch capacity a few months ago. So not only can you draw on this trackpad, but your finger can do some multi-touch interfacing on it as well.
In fact, using the Wacom Pen and Touch, which I had the chance to try out, was a lot like using an iPhone’s touchscreen. Now I know what it is like to use an iPad with a blank screen.
Seriously, the Pen and Touch uses the finger spread and pinch to enlarge and shrink images. You can also use two fingers to do a rotation, and single touch comes in handy for scrolling.
The wireless Bluetooth Intuos 4 is available in medium size only for about $400, which is $50 more than its wired version. As for the Bamboo Pen and Touch, it is about $99.
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Wacom updates Intuos4, updated the Bamboo line
Pictionaire: The desk of the future
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on January 28th, 2010
Now that the iPad has been formally announced, let’s take it a step further with this iDesk. Actually, the technology that you see in this picture is called the Pictionaire, and it is under development by Microsoft Research and the University of California, Berkeley.
As you can see from the attached video after the jump, this 4 x 6 foot table has a camera mounted above it, much like the futuristic hexagonal-type board game that we reported on yesterday.
The user has the power to place a physical object on the Pictionaire, and, with a little drag-and-drop gesture, he or she will have a digital copy of that item. The original physical object can be moved, and the digital copy can be traced onto a whiteboard or a sketchpad.
The user also has the option of putting a wireless keyboard on the table, and the table can become a display. From what it looks like in the video, the user can type in a keyword and get the image that he or she is looking for, maybe from the objects that were on the Pictionaire before.
It reminds of a desk I saw in The Island. Some of you might not remember this film, because it was an intelligent Michael Bay film that didn’t involve giant robots beating each other up. I believe that the villain in The Island had a desk with projections, and he even had Ewan McGregor draw on it with a virtual stylus. You know that desks like this will be in offices of the future, unless the companies can afford a Surface.
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Pictionaire: The desk of the future
Working Desktop V Twin Engine runs on butane
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on January 24th, 2010
If you have a thing for engines, then this Desktop V Twin Engine is the best way to keep it always on your mind while you’re at your desk. It’d be great for those that enjoy working on engines but are actually in an office job all day long. That or it would endlessly torture you by keeping your real love on your mind all day long while you’re doing tediously dull tasks. On the bright side it’ll give you something to play with on your lunch break.
The fully functional engine runs on butane. When you have a full tank of it, the engine will run for about ten minutes. It’s as loud as a kitchen blender and is optimally balanced to keep the vibrations to a minimum. The German engine features two aluminum 1 ½ cc cylinders and stainless steel exhaust pipes. To get it started just fill it up with the required butane and turn the solid brass flywheel. An electrical impulse will then be sent to the two spark plugs that will in turn ignite the fuel within each cylinder. Since the engine is so exposed you’ll get to watch the movements of the valve rods, crosshead and crankshafts. You may want to keep this in a well ventilated room though, since despite that it does have a non-toxic exhaust it will still probably have a little bit of fumes. The engine is a bit pricey for those interested in it, it will cost you $1,000 through Hammacher Schlemmer.
Source: FunniestGadgets
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The new ID of the future?
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on January 12th, 2010
One of reasons why I go to CES is to see the newest gadgets. Some of these new devices are definitely planned to be out this year, and some will be out years from now. Watch the video of the RFID card reader with the OLED display and see which category that falls under.
Essentially, it is an ordinary card reader for reading an ordinary ID. As soon as the card goes over the reader, an OLED screen comes alive, and gives a 3D view of the face. I don’t think that the 3D effect is true 3D, but it is enough to let the user see a face at many angles like a mugshot, and even a close-up.
There are those who find this technology “creepy”. I believe my source says this puts the “eep” in “creep”. In all honesty, I believe that this is where the future is headed when it comes to ID, no doubt about it. If we really want RFID, OLED, and 3D tech, then this is what we are going to get when it comes to personal identification. Did we really doubt otherwise? I mean, it would be like inventing the camera and being surprised that photos appear on our driver’s licenses.
The only thing that really scares me is that the ID card says “Specimen”. Excuse me? I thought that this is a human being that we are seeing in the picture here. Maybe that’s what is freaking everyone out.
Thanks to Netbook news for the source of the story!
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The Vertical Bed lets you literally sleep standing up
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on November 6th, 2009
Imagine walking the streets of New York City and seeing this guy. If you were a true New Yorker, you would probably just walk on by, assuming you even noticed him in the first place.
As an “out-of-towner”, I probably would just assume that this man had some disability that required im to wear metal braces on his neck and…backside, and would probably not ask him about it.
Actually, this man is asleep. That’s right, he is on the Vertical Bed, and all those braces are designed to attach to an ordinary subway grating. This very tired chap tried it out in NYC, and he actually got forty good minutes of shut-eye.
Personally, I think this is the sign of the times. I mean, I have taken naps on libraries, coffee houses, and other public places that are not ideal for napping, but I would have to be very tired in order to consider this vertical napping accessory.
Honestly, I just don’t think that humans were meant to sleep standing up like horses. Not only that, but what is prevent pickpockets from robbing these easy targets?
This Vertical bed is just a concept for now, but it comes with noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, and a free-standing umbrella. It is all made to fit compactly into the suitcase that you see attached to the standing napper.
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R1 Radio makes me want an analog radio
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on November 6th, 2009
You can probably see from the photo here how the R1 radio works. It sits on a tabletop like a mouse without a computer, and is controlled by rolling it in different directions.
Yes, rolling it up will turn the volume up, an rolling it down will turn it down. I am going to assume that you turn the radio on by turning it up, just like you would an older radio dial.
If you want to tune the radio into a certain station, just move it left and right. In short, it’s like having an analog radio that allows you to shift the station marker with your hand.
Now, you might be asking: who could use a device like this? After all, we live in an era where most radios have digital indicators that show the exact number of the station. Let me give you a hint: close your eyes and try to tune into a station using a digital station indicator. Just try finding your favorite station that way.
Yes, the blind still use the analog radio with a dial, and cannot see the numbers of the station unless they are in Braille. I don’t know if there is a device like this, but the R1 is “designed for them [the visually impaired] to control the radio more intuitively”.
This R1 Radio is still a concept by South Korean Il-Gu Cha, and not currently on the market as yet.
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Timeclock and door lock use facial recognition
Posted by admin in Clock Gadgets on November 4th, 2009
I once worked at a place that required me to have an ID card. I had to swipe it just to prove that I had showed up to work, and I couldn’t even get through the front door without it. If I forgot my ID card, it was a big hassle to explain myself to human resources, not to mention the waiting for someone to open the door for me.
This is just one of the reasons why I don’t work for “the man”. I can just see “the man” of the future implementing mandatory Face Detecting Time Attendance System and Access Door Lock (CVJB-G107) at the workplace.
Essentially, this apparatus keeps track of your employees arrivals and departures with face-detection technology. It only takes a fraction of a second to scan the face, and the worker will be logged in for attendance, overtime, and even late employees. All that information can then be downloaded into a flash drive, and tallied up whenever paychecks come out. Don’t ask me how it can keep track of employees who go out for lunch.
Just so you know, the CVJB-G107 takes a 3D scan of the face. So if you are trying to fool it by holding out a picture of yourself in order to open the door, it won’t work.
If you have an office that would be improved by this tech, then you should be able to purchase it at the Chinavision site for about $480.00.
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Media Vehicle on display at Digital Contents Expo
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on October 26th, 2009
This particular chair is on display at the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo this week, but since it is on wheels, I am surprised it was not on display last week at the Tokyo Motor Show.
It looks like it would be quite a comfortable chair, doesn’t it? Of course, if you are claustrophobic, you probably don’t want it closing you up. There is a picture of this closed mobile cocoon after the jump.
This is the “Media Vehicle”, a virtual reality chair/capsule created by Iwata-Yano Laboratory at the University of Tsukuba. The purpose of the spherical screen is so that the user can be in a virtual reality environment.
There are various uses of this device, and most of them seem plucked from science fiction. I could easily see this being used as some sort of simulator with today’s technology. I’m not certain if we have the technology to create anything more.
I believe the wheels are for it to move around, but I can’t imagine what for. Unless you want to create a virtual bumper car or something.
I can totally see workplaces of the future putting their workers in these things as some sort of distraction-free cubicle. I can also just see them running Windows 17 with hundreds of applications at work inside this cozy habitat. I’m not certain that I want to see this future come to pass, though.
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Philips “Mirror of Emotions Rationalizer” made for Investors
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on October 15th, 2009
I don’t work from home as an investor, but I can imagine that the life of constant up and down stocks is enough to drive any man crazy. This is why Philips is working on a device known as the “Rationalizer”, a device that serves as a “mirror for your emotions”.
Here is the concept behind this concept device. The user wears an Emobracelet on their wrist which measures the “arousal component of the user’s emotion through a galvanic skin response sensor”. This EmoBracelet is synced wirelessly with the EmoBowl, a bowl with lighted patterns to show a user’s emotional readout. The range is a soft yellow, orange, or deep red.
When the user sees that the bowl is flashing red, that is like an alert. It signals to the user that they should take a break before making a decision that might be primarily based on intense emotions rather than study.
I can see the benefits of this for investors, but I think anyone in any position where big decisions are made could easily wear one as well. I can see bosses of the future have this lighted bowl on their desk. I fear the worker who is in the room when it turns red. Chances are, that worker might be seeing pink, in the form of a slip.
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Philips “Mirror of Emotions Rationalizer” made for Investors