Sharp video of the Leap Motion Controller — as taken from AI, Robotics and Sensors everywhere timeline — nextbigfuture.com
Also see:
Also see:
Microsoft buys CNN’s Magic Wall maker — from CNN.com by Erin Kim
Excerpt:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Microsoft is adding a magic touch. Microsoft said Monday that it has agreed to buy Perceptive Pixel Inc., which makes large, multi-touch displays, including CNN’s “Magic Wall.”
CNN’s John King used the Magic Wall for his coverage of the Michigan and Arizona primaries this year.
.
Why Did Microsoft Buy Giant-Touchscreen-Maker Perceptive Pixel?— from readwriteweb.com by Brian Proffitt
From DSC:
I could easily see a “video wall” in the Smart Classrooms of the near future, integrating this technology and more. Intel’s incorporated/captured such a vision as well in this piece here.
I would like to see such a mechanism be able to obtain files from students, check them for any viruses/malware, and then distribute the files to other students (if they choose to receive the files).
Talking to machines and being heard : Getting started with speech recognition — from uxmag.com by Dave Rich
Excerpt:
Speech recognition presents an exciting and dynamic set of challenges and opportunities for UX designers. With the mass-market reception of consumer technologies such as Apple’s Siri and the near-omnipresence of speech in telephone applications, speech recognition is a computer–human interface many people interact with daily. Speech applications range from self-service telephone systems such as banking applications, to mobile applications that allow users to speak commands and compose messages with their voice. In the future, we can expect to see many different applications integrate speech recognition in some form. The time is near when speech will be the most universal user interface.
Addendum on 7/12/12:
Videos from Qualcomm Uplinq 2012 show the future of Smart TV
— from hexus.net by Mark Tyson
Excerpt:
Here are the feature highlights of these “redefined” Smart TVs:
From DSC:
…and add to that list the power of customized learning and analytics!
YouTube Video of Marc Whitten, VP Xbox LIVE
.
Microsoft Unveils ‘SmartGlass’ to Connect Xbox and Windows — from the Wall Street Journal
.
Xbox Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox LIVE, announces
Xbox SmartGlass onstage at the Xbox 360 E3 media briefing Monday.
.
Also see:
Addendum 6/6/12:
Spatially-aware devices — by Ishac Bertran
Also see:
Leap Motion founder on why 3D input will dominate the future –– from betakit.com by Darrell Etherington
Excerpt:
Leap Motion is a 3D controller that made its public debut this week, after two years of work on the device, during which time founders Michael Buckwald and David Holz raised $14.55 million in funding. The Leap Motion is a motion control interface designed for use with existing computers,and in demo videos the device calls to mind natural, sci-fi interfaces like the one found in the Tom Cruise blockbuster Minority Report. It’s motion control that doesn’t look gimmicky or full of compromises, and CEO and founder Buckwald told BetaKit in an interview that in terms of underlying technology, Leap is heads and tails above most of what’s out there.
“Our technology is the only one focused on bringing motion control to the desktop, rather than trying to take what’s been built for TV (large gesture sensing) and making it work for computers,” he said. “We incorporate natural motions in closer range (three cubic feet from the device), in far greater detail and sensitivity, than any product on the market, and we’re the only solution that tracks all 10 fingers individually in 3D space, making Leap about 200 times as accurate as other motion-control technologies.”
.
From DSC:
I saw this yesterday, but I also wanted to thank Mr. Cal Keen who also brought it to my attention again today; thanks Cal for reminding me I needed to post this! Cal mentioned it isn’t due out until Dec 2012 or Jan 2013.
We need a “Fab Lab for Education” — from innosightinstitute.org by Alex Hernandez
Excerpt:
In my dreams, [insert city] would open a Fab Lab for Education.
The Fab Lab for Education is a place where educators with big ideas can prototype new approaches to education and operate them for six weeks at a time with real kids. In other sectors, fab labs are mini-workshops where inventors can make “almost anything” without re-tooling an entire factory. Educators should have a place to try amazing, new ideas without “re-tooling” a whole school.
For educators, getting selected to prototype their big idea is a huge honor and people travel across the country to see their work. By the way, they don’t have to quit their jobs to do this and everyone knows that not all the programs will succeed.
The Fab Lab for Education is a highly flexible and customizable space, kind of like the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Philanthropists stock the lab with all the things needed to test out new ideas: 3-D printers, legos, amazing books, art supplies, post-it notes… basically whatever the educators need.
…
The Fab Lab for Education team has five jobs…
.
Additional reflection from DSC:
Great, innovative thinking Alex on this posting. Speaking of such dreams, it’s my dream to have such a place here on campus where folks could “kick the tires” on various technologies — where educators, faculty members, etc. could collaboratively work with each other and with educational technologists. Before a “standard” gets put into place (i.e. such as an implementation of an interactive whiteboard), such a facility could help people test out a variety of potential pathways. Ideas emerge and they morph into something else. Innovation could occur. Emerging technologies could be identified and tested out.
Other thoughts: