Posts Tagged photography
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!
Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
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The new ID of the future?
3D Rendering not difficult with ProFORMA
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on November 24th, 2009
Whenever I think of 3D scanning, I think of this very complicated process of a multitude of cameras surrounding an object, taking pictures at every angle, and then blending them all together with a computer.
A PhD student at the Cambridge University Engineering Department named Qi Pan has made like Apple and “thought different”.
As you can see from the video after the jump, Pan took a detailed paper building and rotated it on an axis, filming it with an ordinary web camera. His ProFORMA (Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition) program scanned it, and he immediately had something ready for 3D model generation. He could even shake the real thing and move it, and the CG image would do the same. Wild!
A program like this can have a lot of applications, but all I can think about is the way it will change animated films with 3D computer animation. Instead of some graphics designer having to painstakingly make an object for three-dimensional space, all the programmers would need is a simple rotational scan. It’s better technology than motion-capture!
This man Qi Fan has just made computer animation history, and I look forward to the next PIXAR or PDI film that will use it. Of course, the technology is still under development, but I can see it being in the hands of a typical consumer.
Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
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Two MIT students capture images of Earth from space for under $150
Posted by admin in DIY Gadgets on September 16th, 2009
See that picture to the left? Beautiful, isn’t it? Believe it or not, it wasn’t shot by a million-dollar satellite, but a simple handheld camera by two M.I.T. students who haven’t been to space, yet.
Justin Lee and Oliver Yeh didn’t have Dennis Tito’s $20 million dollars to go into orbit, but what they did have was a weather balloon, a styrofoam cooler, hand warmers, a GPS enabled phone, and a Canon A470 point and shoot camera.
They cut a hole in the bottom of the cooler, and positioned the camera inside. They put the hand warmers and GPS-enabled phone inside, so it would not freeze in the upper atmosphere. They tied the contraption to their weather balloon, and the rest is DIY history.
Their device made it up to 93,000 feet, which technically isn’t space, but Project Icarus was high enough to shoot breathtakingly high photos. All of it was done at a relatively low budget of $148.
I will have to salute these two students for their DIY spirit. It reminds me of the Chinese man who built his own helicopter. I like stories like this because they remind us that our dreams can come true with a little technology and a lot of ingenuity.
Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
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Two MIT students capture images of Earth from space for under $150
With the Eyeball R1, someone’s a Star Wars fan in the Military
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on August 22nd, 2009
The Eye Ball R1 can give troops a better view of enemy positions with a simple toss.
There’s a great scene in the Cartoon Network original Star Wars Clone Wars series where Arc Troopers, pinned down and badly needing a fresher perspective, take a spherical probe droid camera and toss it high in the air. The camera gives the troopers a birds eye view of the entire city around them, spotting enemy positions and giving them great advantage when attacking. Well, someone must be a Star Wars geek because Uncle Sam and Remington Technologies have created the Eye Ball R1 Throwable Camera System.
It can’t float high in the year, yet, but this compact, lightweight, spherical camera is designed for high risk tactical situations for military and law enforcement to get a vital viewpoint of what’s going on where they can’t see.
The completely Eye Ball R1 System
Once deployed by a good, strong toss, the Eye Ball R1 can capture video up to 25 yards away and broadcast it wirelessly to their position to a personal display unit (PDU) at up to 200 yards from where it lands. Audio can also be broadcast as well. The PDU can view two Eye Ball R1s at the same time and in full color to it’s 6 1/2″ LCD screen.
In close quarters, the Eye Ball could save lives by seeing around corners.
And what else is cool, is that the Eye Ball is omni directional, rotating at 4 revolutions per minute to identify any potential targets and provide up to a 55 by 41 degree field of view. And if the camera lands upside down, the camera image can be flipped by the operator.
The Eye Ball R1 can operate for a maximum of 2 hours, while the PDU can run for 3 hours. But expect that to increase as the technology matures. And only Arc Troopers know if it’ll every fly.
Hat Tip - Defense Review
Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
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With the Eyeball R1, someone’s a Star Wars fan in the Military
iConvert, therefore I am watching no more VHS
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on August 18th, 2009
I’m sure that some of you are like me, and have hundreds of VHS tapes on the shelves that are hardly watched, simply because the formatting is so poor. And these are probably the ones that you don’t have on DVD!
Yes, this digital age has seen the end of video tape, but video tape can be brought into digital format with iConvert. This device needs no computer, but connects to the VCR, camcorder, DVD player, or whatever you want put on a standard SD or SDHC card.
All you need to do is just press play, and iConvert records your favorite movies in their grainy format. From there, you can take out the card and transfer digital videos to your computer or other digital device.
Of course, you are probably going to have to spend a lot of time putting in old movies, then taking them out to put on your computer. However, this might be a great way to sift out the ones that you really want. I mean, do you really want Ghostbusters on VHS when you can just buy it on DVD in a much clearer format for less than eight dollars. Better yet, watch it for free on crackle.com?
If this is up your alley, then I highly suggest heading over to the Brookstone website and lay down $99.95 for it.
Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ iConvert, therefore I am watching no more VHS copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Creases in your photo prints? HP can get rid of those.
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 13th, 2009
I’m sure that many of you have had photo prints sent to you with the words “Do not bend” on the envelope, only to find that the postman ignored the instruction. You then discover that your prints have creases that ruined what could have been perfect photos.
Fortunately, HP is working on a process that can remove that accursed crease from your photo prints. Best of all, the process requires no special equipment but an ordinary flatbed scanner.
Most scanners use two separate lights to artificially capture the color of a photograph. If these lights move independently from each other, then two separate images can be captured. The software can then kick in and do the “infilling” process of removing pixels inside the scanned crease, replacing them with pixels outside the crease.
There is still a lot of bugs to be worked out of this process, as any defects that lie against the glass cannot be detected, and bigger creases could be a problem.
Still, it is good to see that someone is thinking ahead when it comes to restoring old photo prints. I’m sure we all love the Red-eye removal feature, so why not come up with a process that removes those creases?
Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Creases in your photo prints? HP can get rid of those. copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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Creases in your photo prints? HP can get rid of those.
Camera Cube keeps photos straight
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on August 12th, 2009
Keep your images straight and level with Camera Cube.
Budding photographers tired of their images looking like a bad guy leir in Batman may want to pick up the Camera Cube to keep their photos balanced and straight.
Based on the same design as a contractor’s construction level, the bubble design enables photographers to precisely align their camera on all three axis’ to create a solidly level image. All your camera needs is a hot shoe flash mount to snap the cube on top of. Then users merely make sure the bubbles are within the leveling lines.
Features include:
• Attaches to any hot shoe
• Perfectly level photos, every time
• 1″ x 1″ x 1″ cube
• Spend less time editing, more time shooting
• 3-axis level so you can shoot horizontally or vertically
And while it will help anyone take a straighter image, when composing an image, chances are you’ll lose the composition while looking up to see if the bubbles are within the leveling lines. So the Camera Cube is probably better suited for when photographers are using tripods for those locked down, stable images. And with a tripod’s three adjustable legs, sometimes it helps to have a measurement to be sure that all three legs are evenly adjusted up or down. And the CamCube comes in handy for that as well.
All for only $15.
Hat Tip - D’Vice
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Camera Cube keeps photos straight
Criss Angel Mindfreaks us with Augmented Reality
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on August 10th, 2009
In case you’re not getting enough Augmented Reality with last week’s Best Buy ad, feel free to head over to A&E’s site to check out “The 5 Lives of Criss Angel MindFreak” ad campaign.
Heralded as “Print it. Play it. Mystify”, this unique ad campaign allows the user to play a game in augmented reality space, for lack of better words.
Essentially, the user prints off a special sheet, and then holds that sheet up to his or her webcam. The image that he or she will see on their display is a cube with a tiny object on it. The user must then turn the sheet in three-dimensional space so that the object follows a certain path, within a certain amount of time.
It really is kind of neat, and there is a video of it after the jump if you want a preview before you try it yourself.
This Mystify game was created to highlight a special marathon of episodes of the postmodern magician’s Mindfreak show, which carries a tagline of “5 Ways to Live. 5 Ways to Die”. Yes, be afraid, be somewhat afraid. (I think I stole that tagline from some other movie, but I can’t remember what.)
Anyway, leave me a comment if you think it is as neat as I think it is.
Criss Angel Augmented Reality Game from Circ.us on Vimeo.
Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
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Criss Angel Mindfreaks us with Augmented Reality
Best Buy Ads in 3D!
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on August 4th, 2009
If you missed Best Buy’s ad in the Sunday paper, now might be a good time to dig through your old newspaper pile and get it. No, Best Buy didn’t pay me to say that, but I can guarantee there is something more in that Sunday Best Buy ad than just their latest deal.
Yes, it appears that Best Buy is fully embracing the 3D vibe in the air today as last Sunday’s ad is capable of being viewed in 3D. Just so we are on the same page, you do not even need any special glasses.
You will need a personal computer with a webcam. Just turn on your webcam, allow Best Buy access to it, and “slowly move the weekly ad toward the camera until it is recognized”. How will you know that it is recognized? Just watch your webcam display and wait for something neat to happen, because it will.
You might notice that when you turn the ad, the 3D image will also turn in realtime. How is this possible? With our old friend, Augmented Reality.
Yes, we have covered it before with baseball cards and Avatar action figures, so why not use it as an effective means of retail advertising? I think the better question is: “why not use it again?”
If you want a chance to see this work for yourself, just go to bestbuyin3d.com.
Tech Cult - We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
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Underwater camcorder needs no case
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on July 30th, 2009
This Underwater camcorder can record video to a depth of 10 feet.
Hammacher has an underwater camcorder which snorkelers can use to video to a depth of 10 feet without a case. Ironically named “The Shirtpocket Underwater Camcorder” (since diving isn’t really a shirt sleeve environment), it seems loosely based on the Samsung/Aptek style with 2 1/2″ LCD color screen and SD expansion slot. The 8MP camcorder chip can record up to 60 minutes of standard definition MPEG4 video or take up to 300 digital still photos with the included 2GB sd card.
The expansion slot can support memory up to 8GB. Additionally, it carries a 4x digital zoom capability. One additional feature, the camera serves as a voice recorder and can double as an mp3 player.
USB connections allow for direct upload to your PC and the rechargeable Li-Ion battery has a life of just shy of two hours with a real time recharge time.
Cost is $200.
Hat Tip - Hammacher
Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
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