Tag: ‘Electronics’

Mitsubishi unveils walk-in panoramic display

01 Nov 2007

Mitsubishi panoramic display --

On October 31, Mitsubishi Electric unveiled a 2-meter tall, 7.5-meter diameter panoramic display system consisting of synchronized rear-projection displays arranged in a wall that encircles the viewer. The 150 million yen ($1.3 million) system, which was built-to-order at the company's Kyoto factory where it was unveiled, consists of 17 pairs of 67-inch panels arranged in a 340-degree near-circle -- the 20-degree gap presumably allows the viewer to enter and exit the walk-in display. The system uses Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology and has a total resolution of 27 million (1024 x 768 x 34) pixels.

At the unveiling, Mitsubishi said it will deliver the panoramic display system to the customer early next year, but the company was unwilling to say who the customer was or how they intend to use the display. However, Mitsubishi did say it hopes to begin selling the system as a virtual reality display for use at museums or in applications such as traffic simulations.

[Source: Iza!]

Teleglass T4-N wearable monitor

05 Oct 2007

Teleglass T4N wearable monitor --

Optical device maker Scalar has added a limited-edition model to its line of video glasses. The Teleglass T4-N wearable monitor, which weighs 30 grams and features titanium frames by eyeglass designer Kazuo Kawasaki, was developed in cooperation with long-established manufacturer Masunaga Optical.

Teleglass T4-N connects to any NTSC-capable video player (including iPods) and delivers images directly to the eye via a pair of tiny monitors tucked away behind the lenses. The 640 x 480 screen resolution at close proximity simulates the effect of watching a 45-inch screen from 2 meters (6 feet) away, and each monitor can be focused and adjusted for an optimal picture that reduces eye strain. Audio is delivered through a pair of frame-mounted earphones.

With all the components hidden behind the lenses and crammed into the nosepiece, the lightweight Teleglass T4-N wearable monitor looks like a pair of stylish sunglasses. The monitors do not completely obstruct the view, allowing users to safely and comfortably enjoy audio-video entertainment during the course of everyday activities.

For now, 500 sets are available through the Scalar website, where they sell for 134,400 yen ($1,150) each.

[Link: Teleglass via Gigazine]

DIY wooden keyboard kit

04 Oct 2007

Ki-Board DIY Kit --

Hacoa, a brand known for its high-quality, hand-made wooden keyboards and peripherals, will soon begin offering a do-it-yourself type keyboard kit that allows the purchaser to cut the keys from a plank of wood and assemble the pieces.

Yamaguchi Kougei, the wood products and lacquerware dealer based in Fukui prefecture that created the Hacoa brand, typically crafts each keyboard by hand in a labor-intensive process that allows them to complete one keyboard per day. The slow production process makes it difficult for the company to fill large orders and prompts them to charge around 50,000 yen ($435) per keyboard. However, Hacoa's new "Ki-Board DIY Kit" (ki, which sounds like "key," means "tree" or "wood" in Japanese) aims to lighten the company's labor load -- and boost production and lower prices -- by letting the purchaser do some of the cutting and assembling at home.

The kits, which come in maple or walnut, include a USB keyboard base, a wooden plank with the beginnings of keys carved into it (the letters have already been hand-carved into each key), connectors for attaching the finished keys to the keyboard base, a saw, sandpaper and other tools.

Marubeni Infotec plans to market and sell the kits through their monoDO website, which is scheduled to go online October 18. The kits will be priced at around 34,800 yen ($300) each.

[Source: IT Media]

Ferritin proteins yield ultrathin computer memory

28 Sep 2007

Ferritin and Detective Conan --

Researchers from the Nara Institute of Science and Technology have developed a biotech-based process for creating ultrathin computer memory. The process, which uses a protein commonly found in mammals, allows memory to be built on thinner substrates because it eliminates the need for high-temperature processing, and it could lead to significantly smaller and thinner computers in the near future, suggest the researchers.

Computer memory typically consists of millions of circuit elements, known as memory cells, which are made of metal and arranged on a silicon substrate. Because the manufacturing process involves temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit), the substrate must have a high heat resistance, making thin materials with low heat resistance, such as glass and plastics, unsuitable. However, by using ferritin -- a globular protein complex that stores iron inside its hollow spherical structure, and which is commonly found in the bodies of mammals -- the research group developed a way to arrange metal memory cells on substrates without heat, allowing for the use of thinner substrate materials.

In this new method, ferritin containing metal molecules is applied to a substrate and allowed to self-assemble into a high-density, ordered arrangement. The ferritin is then irradiated with UV light, which completely destroys the protein and leaves behind tiny metal deposits on the substrate. In this way, the researchers bypassed the need for high-temperature processing, allowing for the creation of ultrathin memory chips that measure less than 1 micron in thickness.

The researchers, who happen to be fans of the popular Detective Conan (a.k.a. "Case Closed") series of manga and anime, say their success marks a major step forward in the development of ultrathin computers that, if coupled with ultrathin displays, could one day be used in devices like the high-tech eyeglasses that appear in Detective Conan. The Detective Conan series, which is authored by Gosho Aoyama, centers around Shin'ichi Kudo ("Jimmy Kudo" in the US version), a young detective that has been transformed into a prepubescent boy who goes by the alias of Edogawa Conan and who is armed with an array of high-tech gadgets like computerized eyeglasses, a voice-changing bow tie, and power-boost sneakers.

Research team leader and electronics engineering professor Yukiharu Uraoka says, "We are well on the way to developing computers built on thin films that can be integrated into eyeglass lenses or into clothing. Conan's eyeglasses are no longer a dream."

In response to the development, Gosho Aoyama, Conan's creator, says, "It is a great thrill to see an idea on the pages of a manga become a reality. Next, if possible, I'd like someone to develop power-boost sneakers."

[Source: Yomiuri]

NEC puts DNA lab in a briefcase (for the man)

25 Sep 2007

NEC portable DNA lab -- NEC Corporation has teamed up with Aida Engineering to develop a briefcase-sized DNA analysis system that allows police to perform comprehensive DNA testing at crime scenes in as little as 25 minutes. NEC is calling the device the world's first portable all-in-one DNA analysis system able to handle all DNA testing processes from extraction to analysis. Designed specifically for law enforcement officials and planned for release in 2008, the system measures 50 x 40 x 20 cm (20 x 16 x 8 in.), making it small enough to be carried to crime scenes or other locations where quick DNA analysis is required.

Nowadays it typically takes about one day to complete a DNA analysis (one week if re-testing or confirmation is required), and a variety of different equipment is used to perform the separate processes. NEC's new portable system, on the other hand, can perform all the processes within the same unit -- and it can do it all more quickly. In particular, the compact unit can be used to: (1) take cell samples, (2) extract the DNA, (3) perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification to generate copies of the DNA, (4) perform electrophoresis to measure the spacing between DNA bands (to create the genetic fingerprint), and (5) perform short tandem repeat (STR) analysis to create a unique genetic profile for the individual. In addition, the compact unit dramatically speeds up the processes -- particularly the repeated heating and cooling processes performed in PCR amplification -- making it possible to complete the entire DNA analysis in 25 minutes.

The system will be exhibited at the 18th International Symposium on Human Identification scheduled for October 1 to 4 in Los Angeles, and at a meeting of the Japanese Association of Sociology of Law scheduled for November 8 in Tokyo.

[Source: NEC press release]

NTT’s Tangible-3D display

21 Jun 2007

NTT Comware Tangible-3D Technology -- Researchers at NTT Comware have just made virtual reality a little more real. On June 20, the company unveiled a 3D display system that reproduces the physical feel of three-dimensional video by means of an actuator glove worn on the hand, allowing viewers to literally reach out and touch the person or object on the screen.

The so-called "Tangible-3D" prototype system is built around an improved version of NTT's 3D display -- originally developed in 2005 -- which displays 3D images without requiring special glasses. The system relies on a pair of cameras that capture and process data about the position, shape and size of objects as they are filmed. As the two video images are combined into a 3D image that is displayed on the screen at the receiving end, the data is relayed to the glove, whose array of actuators translate it into a tactile impression the user can feel. The glove operates in real-time along with the 3D video, so the user can "feel" the on-screen image as it moves.

For now, the Tangible-3D system only works in one direction, but NTT Comware is developing a two-way system that allows tactile impressions to be transmitted back and forth between multiple users. The company is also working to improve the 3D screen, which only appears three-dimensional from a particular viewing angle.

While the possibilities for this technology are endless, NTT Comware suggests it could be put to use in museum exhibits that would allow visitors to handle items on display that are ordinarily off-limits. The company also says this technology could be put to use in classrooms, where it would allow students to touch objects located very far away.

NTT Comware will exhibit the Tangible-3D system at the Industrial Virtual Reality Expo being held at Tokyo Big Sight from June 27 to 29.

[Source: NTT Comware press release via Mainichi]

Flexible, full-color OLED display

24 May 2007

Flexible organic EL display --

On May 24, Sony unveiled what it is calling the world's first flexible, full-color organic light emitting diode (OLED) display built on organic thin-film transistor (TFT) technology. OLEDs typically use a glass substrate, but Sony researchers developed new technology for forming organic TFT on a plastic substrate, enabling them to create a thin, lightweight and flexible full-color display. The 2.5-inch prototype display supports 16.8 million colors at a 120 x 160 pixel resolution (80 ppi, .318-mm pixel pitch), is 0.3 mm thick and weighs 1.5 grams without the driver.

According to Sony, which plans to release a new line of miniature TVs this year and is bolstering efforts to develop next-generation flat-panel OLEDs, this new technology will lead to the development of thinner, lighter and softer electronics.

The company is scheduled to present the results of its research at the SID 2007 International Symposium now underway in the US.

Here's the video.

[Source: IT Media, Sony press release]

NTT’s cellphone-operated remote control home system

25 Apr 2007

Cellphone-operated remote control home ---

NTT-Neomeit, an NTT subisidiary, has unveiled plans for a convenient and inexpensive service that allows users to remotely control home devices from their cellphones. Scheduled for launch in September, the "U-Consento" service is designed to be compatible with a wide range of existing home appliances, so users do not need to purchase new devices or perform extensive home rewiring.

To control devices, users access a web page via cellphone and select the desired operations. The commands are then sent via the web to a wireless router in the home, which relays signals to an infrared transmitter and remote control power switches. The infrared transmitter, which operates like a universal remote, relays those signals to remote controllable devices such as home A/V equipment. Easy-to-install remote control switches connected to power outlets allow users to turn on and off the power to lamps and other devices not pre-equipped with remote control.

Cellphone-operated remote control home --- In addition to being able to control the room temperature, blast the stereo and program the video recorder -- all while outside the home -- users can also check the current operating status of each device and view records of how each device has been used. According to NTT-Neomeit, this ability to monitor device usage provides a convenient way for users to keep tabs on the activity of their elderly parents from afar.

NTT-Neomeit plans to rent the home remote control system starting at around 500 yen ($4) per month, and service will initially be limited to NTT broadband subscribers in western Japan. Pilot testing will be conducted in the Kansai area from May to August.

[Source: Yomiuri, NTT-Neomeit press release]

Pre-quake alarm gives 20 seconds to duck and cover

26 Sep 2006

NTT's earthquake alarm system --

NTT is developing a device that provides advance warning of earthquakes seconds before they strike by relying on data from a nationwide system of seismometers put in place by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The sensors detect an earthquake's primary waves ("P-waves"), which travel more quickly and are much weaker than the lower-velocity secondary waves ("S-waves") that cause the major damage associated with earthquakes.

When the sensors detect P-waves, data about the timing and strength of the coming S-waves is instantly delivered to the earthquake alarms via NTT's fiber optic network, notifying the users in their homes before the S-waves strike. The time difference between the arrival of P-waves and S-waves depends on the distance from the epicenter, so locations farther from the epicenter can receive warnings much more in advance than those near the epicenter. Unfortunately, people located directly above the epicenter, where the earthquake is at its strongest, are unlikely to receive any advance warning at all.

The TV commercial for the device (as well as the extended web version, now on YouTube) shows a mildly touching dramatization of the device at work.

The commercial focuses on a female college student who is majoring in home economics and living at home with her parents. When home alone, the girl spends most of her free time in the kitchen honing her cooking skills by preparing dishes like goya kinoko champuru, an Okinawan stir-fry made with bitter gourd, mushroom and eggs. The kitchen is equipped with an NTT earthquake alarm.

The first time the earthquake alarm sounds, the girl goes into a mild panic, squandering her 20-second warning by wondering where to set the dish she is holding. She finally crawls under the dining table and all is well.

The next time an earthquake comes, she is prepared. The alarm sounds and the mechanical voice informs her that a magnitude 3 earthquake will strike in 20 seconds. As the countdown begins, she calmly turns off the stove, opens the patio doors, and crawls under the table. The voice instructs her to protect herself from physical harm until the shaking stops, advising her not to run outside in a panic. The voice then instructs her to make sure the gas is turned off and evacuate to a safe place once the quake has passed. Finally, the voice instructs her to pay attention to the information provided by the mass media and the local authorities, again reminding her to remain calm.

Later, the girl's mother calls to check on her. Having cooked a great deal of food, the girl tells her mother to come home hungry. Later they will feast.

Luckily for all, the earthquake was only a magnitude 3 affair, unlike the monster that struck Kobe back in 1995.

I have fortunately never seen the need to duck and cover during an earthquake and I don't know how well I would fit under my dining table, but nonetheless it would be nice to have a 20-second warning before the Big One hits.

[Further reading: Asahi Shimbun (English)]

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