January 20, 2006
Windows as displays
zaZen shows new ways to automotive enlightenment. "The entire roof dome from the belt line up is made of a single sheet of transparent Bayer polycarbonate which can be switched from transparent to opaque at the press of a button. This property also enables any superfluous knobs and displays on the dashboard to be “faded out” so the driver can concentrate on what is most important."
gizmag
Flexibile displays for mundane tasks
Citizen's flexible e-ink wall clock nears release. "Citizen's upcoming flexible digital wall clock, which measures 21-inches high by 52-inches wide and can wrap around corners, so you'll always know either the hour or the minute depending on where you sit."
Engadget
Cheap e-paper
E-Paper's Killer App: Packaging. "Electronics maker Siemens is readying a paper-thin electronic-display technology so cheap it could replace conventional labels on disposable packaging, from milk cartons to boxes of Cheerios."
Wired News
December 14, 2005
External/secondary displays
Pertelian’s External LCD Display keeps fraggers informed. "It can display e-mail headers, IM messages, the weather, RSS feeds (like ours), CPU stats, media player data, and more. You can even set up hotkeys to control all this info without ever leaving the game, including quick responses to IMs and skipping through and searching your songs to keep the tunes pumpin’."
Engadget
December 13, 2005
Storage in everything
LG 42" Xcanvas With 160GB Of PR()|\|. "The TV can do 13 hours of HD recording, 63 hours of SD recording, and you can even pull in pics through the built-in 9 in 1 card reader. This of course means you can do your photo viewing, movie viewing, MP3 playing, etc. through the same TV interface."
Gizmodo
Getting e-paper in front of people
E-Paper Display In Tokyo Station. "Six A4 sheets of e-paper are on display for commuters in a snazzy transparent blue housing — allowing them to see how thin the e-paper is. The sheets of e-paper are being fed with the latest news stories via a wireless Internet connection and are updated with new content every five minutes."
Gizmodo
Executive toys
Tyco designer track for bored execs. "Showing how far executive toys have come from Newton’s swinging balls (what?), we bring you the $1,500 Designer Tyco Track for bored-rooms everywhere."
Engadget
December 09, 2005
Bigger flexibile displays
Plastic Active-Matrix SVGA flexible e-paper Display. "Plastic electronics developer Plastic Logic has developed the world's largest flexible organic active matrix display. The display consists of a flexible, high resolution, printed active-matrix backplane driving an electronic paper frontplane from E Ink Corporation. The display will be publicly shown at the 12th International Displays Workshop in Takamatsu, Japan tomorrow. The displays are 10" diagonal SVGA (600 by 800) with 100ppi resolution and 4 levels of greyscale. The thickness of the display when laminated with E Ink Imaging Film is less than 0.4mm."
gizmag
December 05, 2005
Smart UI for small screens
Nokia defines The Mobile Web. " Nokia's new browser sets a high bar for the mobile web with an astonishingly smart use of the zoom and fish eye UIs. These screenshots demonstrate what Nokia accomplished through cooperation with Apple and using WebCore and JavascriptCore components which form the basis of Apple's Safari browser. First here's the zoom UI example."
mobile jones
Huge, shaped displays
The 360 degree LED television. "The first time you see one of the screens you’ll understand what the fuss is about – the quality, colour, contrast and definition is extraordinary and the screen is absolutely huge – the third generation of the new LED screens is being introduced at present with the largest being a 2.5 metre high, 5.46 metre circumference screen and capable of being viewed clearly from 30 metres away. Interestingly, the screens can actually display one image around the full 360 degrees, so it would be possible to use them as output for a 360 degree camera."
gizmag
November 30, 2005
Collaboration displays
Coeno-storyboard. "Coeno is a computer enhanced presentation environment designed for presenting a storyboard using tabletop technology in combination with augmented content. The system allows multiple participants to interact easily around a shared workspace, while having access to their own private information spaces and a public presentation space."
we make money not art
Displays on any surface
Innovative Digital Display Mat creates New Advertising Medium. "The IntelliMat is a wireless computer embedded in a very thin mat made of a lightweight thermoplastic alloy with four LCD screens, creating a 30-inch diagonal display with full multi-media capability. IntelliMat is 1.5cm thick and designed to be used on the floor in retail environments to deliver multimedia and TV-quality advertisements with the potential to interact with customers. Most appealing about the IntelliMat is that it delivers these messages to consumers in environments where wall space is limited or in front of products where consumers are in a position to buy. "
gizmag
Fashion and data
Readable. "The bracelets "Kontinuum" and "Ver䮤erung" (change) take the wearer's heartbeat as a reference and convert it into light that either pulsates or glows in different colors, thus displaying some information about the assumed state of the person. The bracelet "Endlichkeit" (finiteness) features a countdown to your last heartbeat, based on the calculation that an average male person's heart has beaten 2.3 billion times at the end of his life. Similar to Life Counter (Via Designboom) by Ippei Matsumoto, both projects having a certain memento mori notion of communication towards the user."
we make money not art
November 25, 2005
Small, powerful projectors
A movie projector in a cell phone?. "The reduction in size comes from a technique invented by Upstream for channeling the light from LEDs to a display in thousands of small beams. Light, whether from a candle or an LED, naturally shines in every direction. Upstream has built a complex micro-optical system that collects that light close to the source and sends a huge proportion of it to an intended target. The so-called "photon vacuum" optical system surrounds the LED like a shell. As a result, a tiny optical package can provide roughly the same level of illumination efficiency that larger systems can. "
CNET News.com
Projecting on to real objects
Fishbowl Pixile. "A Pixile is a projection onto spherical objects suspended in space. The projection consists of a realtime 3D environment which mimics the shape and size of the objects it is projecting onto. The result is a holographic illusion. You can play with the pixile using a mouse, clicking and dragging objects as if they existed in real life. For the fishbowl Pixile, a fish bowl shape is projected onto 3 spheres, creating a virtual opening on the physical sphere. The user can rotate the individual bowls around in all directions. Small physics based cubes are placed inside the bowls and the user is able to pour the cubes from one bowl into the other. The cubes start off as primary colours once they are mixed with other coloured cubes they are averaged out to form a new mixed shade."
we make money not art
Customization on a smartcard
Smart card to open up computing. "The Special Needs Application Program Interface, or Snapi, puts a user's preferences on a smart card. The cards can be used in cash dispensers, ticket machines and public access computers. Once a Snapi card is removed, the machine automatically returns to its default settings. "
BBC NEWS
November 15, 2005
Tough displays
SmartSlab, Large-Format Display Technology. "The SmartSlab is being described as the world’s toughest digital video display for walls, floors, billboards and buildings. Each slab is designed in a honeycomb structure that was inspired by the optics of a fly’s eye. Instead of using standard pixels it uses hexels (hexagonal pixels) that provide an 18% better resolution than just the standard pixel. This display is suitable for any position in any environment; it is capable of holding a ton of weight, it is water, fire and vandalism resistant and doesn’t power down an entire energy grid when powered up. "
Gizmodo
Cheap displays
Siemens Develops Flexi-Screens. "Siemens has developed a flexible color display screen that can be printed on something as thin as paper, cardboard, foil, or even plastic. It’s also affordable enough — about $52 for 3.2 feet — to be included in everything from books and magazines to tickets and instructions on packaging labels. Apparently this flexi-tech uses “electrochromic substances that change color when an electrical charge is administered, absorbing other light wavelengths than in their original state.”"
Gizmodo
November 14, 2005
Laptop OLED screens
14-inch OLED displays through inkjet printing. "So Cambridge Display announced back in August that they’ve developed a technology to ”print” an OLED display using fairly traditional inkjet technology, well now they’ve successfully printed up some 14-inchers with the low-cost manufacturing process, at a 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution no less, so it seems as if the age of laptop OLED is almost upon us. Of course, we’ve been having OLED laptop displays hyped to us for quite a while now, along with their wonderful promise of lower energy consumption, thinner form factor, and of course, lower cost, so there’s no telling when these things will actually surface."
Engadget
November 10, 2005
Digital QR codes
QRick Card System. "DigiSonic developed a secure user authentication service using a credit card that is equipped with a display (they may use the e-paper technology). The display shows differnt QR codes with encrypted information (passwords, ID, server URLs) every 5 seconds or so. Users use their mobile phones to take a picture of the QR code and send it to a server."
RFID in Japan
November 08, 2005
Divergent display sizes
The Extra-Large, Ultra-Small Medium. "Technology tends to shrink. Hulking mainframes begat slim laptops; boxy mobile phones and digital cameras have dematerialized into silvery credit cards. But something curious is happening to television: it's simultaneously growing gigantic and minuscule, stretching across living room walls at the same time it slips into pockets. People can brag about their 60-inch plasma screens and their palm-size nanocasters in the same breath."
New York Times (may require free subscription)
November 03, 2005
Displays as building material
Plastic, solar-powered walls with OLED-based bitmaps. "SmartWrap is a thin plastic film that can be used as a building-material for walls and other construction contexts. SmartWrap comes with embedded OLEDs and/or solar panels; the solar cells power the OLEDs, which can be made to generate light or arbitrary bitmaps."
Boing Boing
November 01, 2005
Wall-sized displays
UC Irvine’s monster HIPerWall monitor. "To save you a trip to the calculator, the HIPerWall (for Highly Interactive Parallelized display) measures 192-inches diagonally and sports a maximum resolution of 25,600 x 8000—so although this enormous setup was designed with medical, meteorological, and military uses in mind, all we can think about is the number of Dashboard widgets we could cram in."
Engadget
A display on any surface
Portable augmented reality. "PlayAnywhere is a projector and computer vision system that displays interactive computer-generated images without the need for specially mounted cameras: any surface, such as a table or whiteboard, can thus be turned into an interactive input/output display. "
we make money not art
October 26, 2005
Big displays for complex information
Tomorrow's operating room to harness Net, RFID. "It's hard to do most jobs without talking to your peers, but in the operating room, poor communication can cost a life. In the operating room of the future, however, telling a doctor he or she is making a mistake could be as easy as pointing to a computer screen or "wall of knowledge"--a thoroughgoing summary of background data, vital signs and strategic information designed to prevent mistakes during surgery. "
CNET News.com
Bigger e-paper
Finally, electronic paper big enough to use. "Start-up E Ink and LG.Philips LCD have created an "electronic paper" display measuring 10.1 inches across, the biggest one ever made, and the latest step toward the dream of e-books and magazines, according to the companies. The prototype screen measures less than 300 microns thick, making it about as thin and flexible as construction paper. Letters and images that appear on it resemble characters and pictures printed with ordinary ink on paper, the companies said. The screen can also be rolled up."
CNET News.com
October 25, 2005
Braille on-the-go
Roll-Up Braille. "Basically, it’s “a sheet of tiny plastic paddles that bend in response to a voltage. It is designed to connect to a cellphone or laptop, and could also replace the liquid crystal screen of an ordinary PDA.” This looks to be a huge breakthrough because the only dynamic displays for the blind right now are about the size of a New York phone book."
Gizmodo
October 07, 2005
Replacing keyboards with touchscreens
Touch screen everything! . "Mitsubishi, makers of all things, period, is working in conjunction with Japanese cell phone manufacturer NTT DoCoMo to develop a cell phone that has a touch screen rather than actual keypad buttons. The advantage of this design is to allow the phone to easily utilize even more features with the touch screen that can change display and usage on the fly. The three buttons below the keypad touch screen are quick reference buttons that will change the display immediately."
Gizmodo
Concepts not so far away
Nokia 888 communicator concept phone. "The bracelet-like 888 is envisioned to use a liquid battery, feature speech recognition, a flexible touch screen, and a touch sensitive body cover. A video showing off the device’s potential features shows off close to a dozen functions, including an alarm clock, PDA, GPS, phone, push email receiver, digital wallet and, of course, jewelry. And, other than the “liquid battery,” we can actually see this in the not-too-distant future. Just give us some full-color E-ink, flexible OLED displays and inkjet-printed circuit boards, and we’re almost there." "
Usability In The News
2 screens from one
Split-Screen DVD/TV Nav System. "Toyota has developed a dual-purpose navigation system that debuts on the Alphard minivan, making it possible for the driver to check a road map on the display while a passenger watches a TV program or a DVD."
we make money not art
Ambient devices
Sharing memories. "Momento makes it easier to share video memories. The glass ball will "wake up" when approached and play its store of movie clips when a person reaches out to pick it up. To change from one clip to another, simply shake the glass ball and its sensors will detect the movement prompting the existing clip to dissolve and another one to appear in its place."
we make money not art
Building screens out of anything
Bubble screen. "The Bubble Screen, by Daniel Kupfer and Eyal Burstein, is made out of water bubbles. Using pumps, one can control the release of the bubbles over time. That control enables you to write texts, make drawings, etc. with bubbles that come from a row of holes at the bottom of the water tank."
we make money not art
October 06, 2005
Another 3D display
Pioneer develops 3D floating interface. "Using a 3D lens, the system creates a 3D image from an image that is displayed on a 15inch LCD. Spatial sensors are installed around the projected image. Users can see the 3D image with their naked eyes, no need of any special glasses.) Sensors detects positions of fingers and a specially developed software computes and renders images in real time. Users can thus draw in the air or manipulate windows."
we make money not art
October 04, 2005
Making money from podcasts
Podcasting Gold Rush Is On. "GrapeRadio podcaster Brian Clark is now gulping down about $1,000 a week from sponsors of his show for wine hobbyists. Grant Baciocco of the fiction serial The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd sells show-themed buttons and T-shirts and offers guest-voice roles for $50. Josh of Josh in Japan is asking for PayPal donations from fans of his tales of expatriate life, though so far only $14 has rolled in. And Jimmy Diggs uses his Vegas-based Daily Noise as a traffic generator for his internet radio site, LVRocks.com, where sponsors pay for banner ads."
Wired News
September 29, 2005
Under-skin displays
Dermal Display. "In his book Nanomedicine [...] Robert A. Freitas Jr. describes [...] a "programmable dermal display" in which a population of about 3 billion display pixel robots would be permanently implanted a fraction of a mm under the surface of the skin, covering a rectangle 6 cm x 5 cm on the back of the hand. Photons emitted by these pixel bots would produce an image on the surface of the skin. This pixelbot array could be programmed to form any of many thousands of displays."
Nanogirl
September 28, 2005
Tracking you in virtual space
VirtuSphere Immersive Virtual Reality. "The device consists of a large hollow sphere which is mounted on a specially designed platform that allows the sphere to rotate freely as the user walks in any direction. The user wears a head-mounted display, which provides the virtual environment. Sensors under the sphere provide subject speed and direction to the computer running the simulation. Users can even ineract with objects in virtual space using a special manipulator." "
Usability In The News
RFID + ePaper
E-Paper RFID Tag. "At the Auto-ID Expo that recently took place in Tokyo, Epson unveiled a passive RFID tag (13.56MHz; ISO 15693) that has a display. The display component is implemented by using E-ink's EP Sheet. The display works without batteries, by using the electrophoretic effect. "
RFID in Japan
Optical touch screens
Toshiba / Matsushita optical pen touch screen. "An optical sensor and processor are literally embedded into the display’s glass, enabling it to read signals from an optical pen. The end result may be the same as a touch screen, but since the entire system is integrated into the glass of the LCD itself, you don’t have any of the contrast/brightness loss or hardware overhead that is normally associated with slapping a pressure or capacitative sensitive membrane on top of a standard LCD."
Engadget
September 26, 2005
Big pixels on buildings
Light Emitting Roof Tiles. "Lambert Kamps's Light emitting roof tiles allows you to add huge texts, animations and logos on the roof of your building. The translucent polyester roof tiles are illuminated with LEDs and each tile can act as a pixel and be controlled by a PC. "
we make money not art
September 21, 2005
Multi-user interactive tables
DiamondTouch embeds a giant multi-user tablet into a table. "The MERL DiamondTouch is basically a ginormous touchscreen, embedded in a table, that supports multiple simultaneous inputs, so different users can be manipulating objects on the screen at the same time. This DiamondTouch is totally wasted on research and corporate meetings — all it needs is some cup holders and we’d ditch our coffee table in a second."
Engadget
Helmet heads up displays
Motorcycle helmet "heads up" display adds radar detection. "The creators of the world’s first personal Heads Up displays have just created a powerful new feature – radar detection display. The SportVue MC2 alerts motorcycle riders of the presence of radar in a personal helmet-mounted display."
gizmag
September 20, 2005
Contextual information
Dining Table That Shows Where Your Food Came From. "Yamakawa purchased fresh vegetables at farmers' market in the town of Kizu and provided them to the cafe restaurant. When a customer eats special dishes made from the vegetables at the table, it shows interview video clips of the farmers who sold the vegetables at the market. "
we make money not art
Shaped displays
large cylinder display device for browsing the Web. "The device connects to the Internet and fetches Flash, image and text files based on certain time-varying constraints as well as users' keyword search queries. It then shows the fetched information on the cylinder display and reads relevant text information with a synthesized voice. "
we make money not art
September 16, 2005
Projectors augmenting reality
Augmented carnage. "The remote-controlled vehicles scurry around, while status circles and other data are projected on the surface. As the vehicle moves, cameras and photo-detectors relay the movement to tracking software. Images are projected to the areas corresponding to the actual positions and directions of the toys: virtual laser beams and missiles appear to fly out of the real vehicles; explosions are overlayed on the screen as they connect with their targets. "
we make money not art
WORKING flexible display concept
READIUS ‘Rollable Display’ pocket e-Reader concept at IFA 2005. "The Readius is the world’s first prototype of a functional electronic-document reader that can unroll its display to a scale larger than the device itself. With four gray levels, the monochrome, 5-inch QVGA (320 pixels x 240 pixels) display provides paper-like viewing comfort with a high contrast ratio for reading-intensive applications, including text, graphics, and electronic maps."
gizmag
Soft displays
An SMS glowing on your pillow. "The Electronic and Photonic Textiles prototypes include what Philips calls the "SMS pillow" (send a text message to it and words scroll across it) and a backpack that has the same LED substrate stitched onto the back. The LED substrates are also capable of displaying Windows Media Player-style visualisations and feature responsive sensors so that the patterns of diffused light displayed can change according to how they are handled. Philips sees the customisation potential here – just as kids personalise their phones with ring tones and wallpapers, so they’ll be able to wear T-Shirts with messages that scroll across them, or have a scarf that flashes ‘Liverpool FC rule!’"
we make money not art
Virtual stuff in real space
Installation. "."Installation is a system created by Simon Greenwald,at the Aesthetics and Computation Group at the MIT media lab,consisting of a viewing window and a stylus with which users can create virtual forms and install them permanently into a real space"."
MIT
August 30, 2005
Display-less computing
Fly Should Soar with Kids. "What can they do with the Fly pentop computer? Kids can use it as a calculator, keep a calendar, create and record music, and play complex logic and geography games -- all features I tried and found fun and educational. The Fly pentop computer is the kid's PDA, if you will, and the fly-est digital toy I've tried lately, for sure."
Business Week
Display tags
Try Tacking This to a Wall. "Fuji Xerox plans to start selling these E-Paper Visual Index Cards sometime next year. The e-paper is ultra-thin and does not need electricity for its display, according to CNet."
Gizmodo
August 25, 2005
Surface-less displays
Heliodisplay projects into thin air. "A California-based firm today unveiled a futuristic projector that projects video onto thin air. The Heliodisplay, developed by IO2 Technology, is designed to display any video source in high-resolution without the need for a screen."
vnunet.com
August 24, 2005
Wearable media
A Digital Locket to Love for Its Lovely Little Tricks. "Wearable MP3 players are nothing new, but the Digital Locket EMP-Z II Plus from BeatSounds tries to be more than just a memory chip on a string. This tiny music player has a small, oval color screen that can display a photo, bringing a 21st-century touch to the sentimental jewelry favored by romantics in the Victorian era and later."
New York Times (may require free subscription)
August 23, 2005
Messages in the furniture
SMS Controlled Spy-Mirror. "The messages appear as luminous text, running on the mirrors’ surface when one gets close to the mirror."
networked_performance
August 10, 2005
Touch screens
Hyperfabric. "The Hyperfabric fabric-based interface lets you reach beyond the screen. This "touchable" touchscreen, made out of an elastic latex-like fabric warps like rubber, and can sense how hard your press it, where you press it, even when several people use it at once. It feels like you are going "through" the screen. You can press, grab, twist, punch and play with the screen. It can even support your full bodyweight. The Hyperfabric screen is specially designed to communicate with a computer to generate interactive computer graphics, in realtime."
we make money not art
Screens in the kids room
Accenture's home of the future. "The LCD screen in the crib lets parents keep an eye on children, and even have a videoconference with them. Accenture's crib also contains sensors that monitor heart rate and other vital signs. (Intel has a similar "smart crib" experiment.)"
CNET News.com
Horizontal 3D displays
Toshiba Develops Flatbed 3D Display. "Toshiba Corp. has developed a display technology allowing 3D images to be viewed on a flatbed display. All the various conventional 3D displays developed thus far have been upright displays. By switching the way displays are placed, "We can offer a realistic touch of depth," said a company spokesperson."
Tech-On!
Dedicated, location-based handhelds
Node Explorer upgrades GPS tourism with WiFi, Linux. "The unit, a prototype Node Explorer from Bath-based Node, is billed as a location-aware media player. Using GPS to get location data, the Linux-based, ruggedized unit communicates over WiFi with a nearby Node Server to present info on a location in realtime."
Engadget
August 08, 2005
Enticing projections
Forecasted rain of ads in Japan. "A projector on a tripod shows images of raindrops hitting the ground and making ripples, in hopes that people will enter the "rainy" area and hold out their palms. A camera tracks the entrants' movements and sends the data to computers. Then the projector shoots out a round-shaped advertisement -- which can post words such as "SALE" -- right onto their hands."
we make money not art
August 06, 2005
Wi-fi ePaper
Now Hitachi’s talking up their WiFi e-paper. "...while it's not color like some of those other, fancier guys', Hitachi's 13.1-inch sheets do have a leg up with it's 100dpi definition and WiFi connectivity. Are we going to be reading our newspapers on these things next year?"
Engadget
Buddy displays
SideWindow turns your Pocket PC into a secondary display. "You can wait for Longhorn to deliver auxiliary display functionality - which will allow you to run certain apps on separate dedicated displays - or for $15, you can install SideWindow and use your Pocket PC as an secondary display right now."
Engadget
More fun with mirrors
Through the looking glass. "Through the looking glass is a system that allows a person to play a game with her/himself in a mirror. A full-body-action pong game can be played with the current installation, which provides the excitement of wining and losing at the same time, against oneself."
we make money not art
July 18, 2005
Displays built in to real buttons
Optimus OLED Keyboard. "The "Optimus" keyboard has tiny OLED screens embedded in each key, allowing it to display context information on the fly. In Photoshop? You've got Photoshop icons, complete with alt functions (at least in my head this is how it works)."
Gizmodo
Color flexible displays
Fujitsu Shows Unique Color Electronic Paper. "The thin and flexible electronic paper uses very low power to change screen images, thereby making it ideal for displaying information or advertisements in public areas as a type of new electronic media that can be handled as easily as paper."
I4U News
Physical interactions
Living Jukebox. "The horizontal display provides a unified gateway to access music from different digital sources. To select the music, you just have to place a cursor object and move it on the surface of the display. Each object signifies a different way to browse the music collection, and the interface changes accordingly when a different object is placed onto the display."
we make money not art
July 13, 2005
Getting "into" the display
An immersive existence simulator and telepresence apparatus. "Enter the Panoscope 360 to be fully immersed in a 3D world. A 3-axis joystick will let you and your friends (up to 8) fly through the space as in dreams. The immersive display uses a PC and a hemispheric projector to project in real time a rendering of your entire horizon onto the screen."
we make money not art
July 06, 2005
Modular extreme computing
Wearable system of mountaineering devices. "EasyTech SafeTrek is a system comprising modular devices (each offering a function like phoning, location or avalanche warning), a CPU "hub" linking these functions together, with or without wires, and a standardised power supply. These elements are wearable: distributed around the body, mostly in pockets attached to a harness. The whole system is controlled, via a single "intuitive interface protocol", by input controls designed for mountaineering conditions, such as the operable thumb of a thermal glove (the thumb acts as a joystick). A head-mounted display is the main output monitor. The hub automatically recognises any new element added and incorporates it in the system. For example, you can request the hub to take a photograph using the camera module, direct the GPS module to place the location on the picture and then direct the Satphone module to send the image to the your website in real time."
we make money not art
June 30, 2005
Multi-display phones
Samsung Develops Split Mobile Phone Display. "The idea is to save power consumption and be able to display mobile phone status information even in standby mode. To top area of the display is used to show icons, the large lower part is for images and the full user interface of the phone."
I4U News
Wearables
Inview Swim Goggles. "A third-year industrial design student has developed these "Inview" swimmers' goggles, featuring an integrated lap counter to help keep track of, you know, laps."
Gizmodo
June 29, 2005
Projected user interfaces
CD playing lamp with projected controls. "Instead of a remote control or button panel, the CD controls are projected via LED (what, no lasers?!) onto the surface below while still illuminating your humble surroundings."
Engadget
June 27, 2005
Multi-sided displays
Magic cubic movie player. "You can receive video mails on the cube and this newly coming message can be shown on the bottom face to avoid getting in the way of your work. Even if you put Z-agon up side down the device would recognize it and automatically corrects itself by algoritm."
we make money not art
June 23, 2005
3D TV
Holographic movies show promise for medical, military applications. "UT Southwestern's Dr. Harold "Skip" Garner and his colleagues have developed the first true, three-dimensional holographic movies. The technology shows promise for medical visualization and heads-up displays for helmets and military aircraft."
utsouthwestern
Virtual overlays as you walk
Rixome, become a walker. "rixome is a network and a tool that turns mobile screens into windows that show the virtual and public dimensions of our point of view. A walker (a rixome user) can see on his/her mobile phone/PDA/laptop screen the virtual interventions that have been added to the location where s/he now stands. For example, a spoken message can be left on a given location for other "walkers" to hear through headphones whenever they pass by. The message can also be written, or it can be a 3D animation or image, a photography, a drawing, a video."
we make money not art
June 14, 2005
One display, two images
Social hardware: the shareable display. "Jeremy Newton's thesis project is an interactive multi-view screen that lets more than one viewer see and interact with a moving image or application on the same screen at the same time. Now little Annie can play Halo 2 while nerd child Danny does homework without infighting"
Engadget
June 10, 2005
Virtual/real overlap
Computer Scientists Develop Wireless Application For Ubiquitous Video. "Computer scientists at UCSD have taken the wraps off a new technique for mixing images and video feeds from mobile cameras in the field to provide remote viewers with a virtual window into a physical environment. Dubbed "RealityFlythrough", the application constructs a 3D virtual environment dynamically out of the live video streams."
UCS
Interactive whiteboards
Boards Get Brains, Chalk Vanishes. "All across the country, chalkboards are being ditched in favor of interactive, computer-driven whiteboards that allow students and teachers to share assignments, surf the web and edit video using their fingers as pens."
Wired News
June 08, 2005
Simple heads up display
Anytime head mounted display. "Olympus has prototyped a head mount display that shows information when required without impairing vision. The HMD does not usually display anything but shows simple information on certain occasions, e.g. to notify the arrival time of your train, or to draw attention when you receive an e-mail."
we make money not art
June 03, 2005
More 3D displays
Perspecta: the 3D video goldfish bowl. "Perspecta is made of a circular white polymer screen 25 cm in diameter, mounted atop a 1 meter tall black box for eye-level viewing. Software inside the machine dissects generated 3D models into 198 slices, which get projected onto the screen in rapid succession by an optical system mounted below the screen. The result is a 3-dimensional image that appears to be floating in a white fishbowl."
Engadget
3D from any angle
View-Dependent Stereoscopic Projection in Real Environments. "Imagine projecting a virtual corridor on a brick wall that maintains its illusion by removing any distortions caused by texture or color and by visualizing the depth of the corridor stereoscopically as the viewer changes position."
networked_performance
June 01, 2005
Progress on electronic paper
Seiko Epson shows off e-paper. "Still gonna be a couple of more years before they commercialize this, but Seiko Epson announced at this year's SID International Symposium that they had a working prototype for a 2-inch e-paper display that's just 0.375mm thick and has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels."
Engadget
May 31, 2005
Internet browsing screens
Nokia launches new Linux based Internet Tablet product category. "The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is a dedicated device optimized for convenient Internet browsing and email communications in a sleek pocketsize format."
gizmag
May 16, 2005
Technology providing social cues
Ambient social networking interface. "Before entering the Sparks environment, each user pre-selects a number of interests from a pool of keywords. Within the environment, Sparks projects the keywords in an aura on the floor around the user. The aura follows the user within the environment, and augments the visual cues people use to capture initial impressions about another person."
we make money not art
April 26, 2005
Task-focused devices
New system to access the net without using the PC. "The system is composed by buttonless appliances, each one dedicated to one specific function like email, voice over internet, video call and internet TV. These appliances are supported by a service and a very simple one-button remote control, called the "dropper" allows the system to be highly flexible."
we make money not art
3D displays for tables
Toshiba Introduces Still More 3D Display Technology. "This technology led to the display you see at the right, which is intended to be placed on a flat surface (think: playing chess using a 3D display)."
Gizmodo
April 17, 2005
Small, flexible displays
Seiko's e-Paper Watch Prototype. "It uses technology from e-Ink to display a "constantly-altering mosaic pattern," as well as the time itself. Something similar could be done with LCDs, of course, but perhaps not with such a gradual curve."
Gizmodo
April 12, 2005
Virtual city planning
Planning cities in cyberspace. "Instead of having to build and rebuild time-consuming physical models, architects would be able to immediately modify their models. Virtual, computer-generated models can be displayed using semi-transparent head-mounted displays, and appear to be right on the planning table."
we make money not art
April 11, 2005
Digital price tags
Bridgestone's e-Paper Price Tags. "Using "Electro Liquid Powder", the displays have a quicker refresh time than earlier-generation e-paper solutions and are able to be printed on a substrate just 0.12mm thick."
Gizmodo
April 08, 2005
RFID with family and friends
The Echoes table. "The center of the TeleTable contains a slot for the Pitara. Placing it in the center activates a function which associates digital images on the TeleTable with the objects contained within the Pitara. Adding new artifacts to the Pitara queues up associated digital objects on the screen."
we make money not art
Dynamic posters
Escalators get moving advertising posters. "Companies can refresh messages daily and even hourly. A newspaper advertiser could update ads to promote breaking news, for example and prices will rise and fall according to traffic patterns."
we make money not art
April 04, 2005
Wall sized displays
Wall-sized e-paper. "The latest news are displayed twice daily on this newspaper made of 272 Electronic Paper tiles, each of which is a combination of an E Ink frontplane laminated onto a printed circuit board with pixel electrodes."
we make money not art
April 01, 2005
Tiny displays
MicroEmissive Displays outfit sunglasses with TVs. "Engineers at Scottish electronics firm MicroEmissive Displays have developed a television screen less than half the size of a postage stamp that can be fitted inside a pair of sunglasses - or regular glasses for that matter."
Engadget
Virtual desktop through phones
VNC By Phone, Hitachi's micro-VNC. "VNC is synonymous with remote desktop control for many, and micro-VNC brings the concept to mobile phones in a way I haven't seen before."
Gizmodo
March 11, 2005
Phones with flexible displays
Flexible Screen For Phones Just Two Years Away. "A little mouse told me that Philips Polymer Vision scientists have made dramatic progress on a flexible, 5-inch display for cell phones the company plans to "roll out" in two years. Called the Polymer Vision PV-QML5, it's a 5-inch ultra-thin and very light 320 x 240 pixel active-matrix display. You use it by grabbing a part of the phone and pulling it like a scroll."
Personal Tech Pipeline
March 09, 2005
Future mobile communications
rb.log. "The video you are about to see portrays the kind of technological advances that could transform our world over the next ten years. The events depicted are fictional, but the potential of NTT DoCoMo's cutting-edge technology is very real. Our third-generation (3G) FOMA service is already operational throughout Japan; and by 2010, we hope to have fully brought our vision of advanced mobile communications to fruition."
DoCoMo
March 07, 2005
RFID-driven Kiosks
Fujitsu to commercialize RFID Information Kiosk Terminals. "For example, at an airport, (suppose a passanger's air ticket is RFID'd), UbiWall gets information about where s/he is traveling and shows a route to his/her gate. In a department store, UbiWall gets information about a customer's age and gender through his/her RFID'd phone and suggests some sales floors."RFID in Japan
Digital cinemas
UK pioneers digital film network. "Most cinemas currently have mechanical projectors but the new network will see up to 250 screens in up to 150 cinemas fitted with digital projectors capable of displaying high definition images. [...] Cinemas will be given the film on a portable hard drive and they will then copy the content to a computer server."
BBC NEWS
Advertising displays
Virtual Reality Goes Round. "Instead of being surrounded by images, you'll play with the VR Object Display, a two meters tall cylindrical column with a diameter of 1.6 meters, which has been specifically designed for advertising, trade shows and presentations."
Tech Trends
February 25, 2005
Displaying barcodes digitally
Mobi the Way Forward. "Mobi-tickets - a fairly new application that enables a barcode to be read from your phone via an standard bar code reader. The usage? There are a whole host of usages for this. Entrance to parties and accepting promotions at bars or events will never be the same. A simple text beforehand and a scan at the door - no paperwork involved. No tickets lost in the post."PSFK
Fashion displays
.dot .dot .dot Bluetooth Display. "NYU's .dot.dot.dot project is developing an app for Bluetooth enabled phones that transfers images to a small, wearable LED screen. Users create an image from red dots on their phone and then broadcast the image to the display for all to see."
Gizmodo
February 09, 2005
More augmented reality
Total Immersions D'Fusion Technology. "Total Immersion's D'Fusion software solution allows for real-time video capture and perfect merges between video streams and 3D objects. All you need is a camera, a few sensors, and a HUD. This turns your world into an immersive gaming experience, where you are IN the game...or where the game is all around you. Words cant really describe this, so just check out the video."
Gear Live
Flexible displays
Arizona State opens flexible-display center. "Their first prototype, a 4-inch, semi-flexible display, is expected to be out later this year. The center hopes to produce full-color flexible displays suitable for battlefield use as well as commercial applications, including displays that can be rolled up or folded."
Engadget
February 05, 2005
Projected displays
Video Images Floating in the Air. "Air comes into the device, is modified then ejected and illuminated to produce the image. Nothing is added to the air so there isn`t any harmful gas or liquid emitted from the device, and nothing needs to be refilled."
Technology Trends
February 02, 2005
Virtual displays
User interface for virtual butterflies. "Moony [...] uses steam as both a screen and an interactive interface. If you touch one of the virtual butterflies projected into the vapor, it will fly away and disappear. But hold your hand into the steam for a while and butterflies will flock around and play."
we make money not art
Interactive kids games
Interactive playground for kids. "Funny square creatures are projected onto a 2.8x2.1m playground. The child steps on the playground and interacts with the little creatures. The animals react to the child’s position, which is tracked by a web-cam. In the beginning the creatures run away from the child, later on they "get used" to her/him."
we make money not art
The impact of HD TV
What high-definition will do to DVDs. "The DVD disks and the gear to play them will not be out for another year or so, and there at are still a number of issues to be sorted out. But when high-definition films do come out on the new format DVDs, it will profoundly change home entertainment."
BBC NEWS
January 21, 2005
Buildings as displays
Pixel-clad shopping centre. "Shimmering by day and radiant at night, the disks are frosted on both sides to diminish sun glare and diffuse light produced by LED fixtures behind each disk, capable of generating 16 million colors. Because each LED is individually controlled, together the disks act like pixels on a huge screen, displaying text, scenes, and color schemes changed via the Internet, up to 20 times per second."
we make money not art
January 14, 2005
January 12, 2005
Display-less computing
LeapFrog Unveils Talking Computer Pen. "LeapFrog Enterprises [...] announced the launch of its FLY "pentop computer," a talking, computerized pen that can translate words into other languages, or help with math and spelling homework. [...] the company said a user can draw a calculator, touch the handwritten digits and functions to perform an operation, and then hear the answers announced."
Reuters.com
January 11, 2005
Interactive tables
Interactive tables List. "Philips Caf Table has an interface that facilitates the use of the computer while you're chatting with a friend over a drink. The table displays a selection of community content relevant to the caf it is in and allows browsing as well as the creation of new content. Users can store content on a physical token by placing it in the ceramic bowl in the centre of the table."
we make money not art
Everything is a display
Mouse-controlled Etch-a-Sketch. "These folks have hacked a mouse into an Etch-a-Sketch and published their build notes with pictures so you can, too."
Boing Boing
Ambient displays
Activity Wallpaper. "The prototype analyzes audio from a caf setting, accounting for various characteristics of the current activity level, such as the number of people speaking or the amount of background noise. The more the color diverts from the background, the noisier the caf is. The number of "dots" in each row represents the crowd, so that the more dots, the bigger the crowd was at that point."
we make money not art
January 05, 2005
Projected books
Illuminated Manuscript. "Projected typography is virtually printed into the blank pages of a handbound book with a video projector. Sensors embedded in the pages inform the computer when pages are turned."
we make money not art
January 04, 2005
More display surfaces
Concrete that can display information. [Concept] "Called Chronos Chromos Concrete, it's basically concrete that's mixed with thermochromic ink and with nickel chromium wires installed right below or behind. When you want to display specific words or information or whatever you just heat up the right wires and they cause the concrete just above or in front to change color."
Engadget
Multimedia paper
MicroMedia Paper. "This snapshot-sized display can play music, movies, and more Price: $50 for a 10-pack. Executive Summary: Wafer-thin display and storage finally brings digital media to the familiar format of paper. Tech Barriers: Flexible, disposable displays; radical new GUI; millimeter-thick batteries. Target Market: Photo-sharing families, 35 and up, plus execs wanting fancy business cards."
Mobile PC
December 10, 2004
Interactive window shopping
"Brick and Click" shopping experience. "The ISW broadcasts images onto the shop window which is coated with tiny touch-sensitive sensors and acts as a giant computer screen, letting shoppers browse products by touching the window - as if they were online."
we make money not art
Touch screen scrolling
No Mouse Wheel? Use a Virtual Scroll Ring. "A transparent ring appears on your screen. Touch it, move your finger clockwise, and the text will move down. And of course, counterclockwise motion scrolls up. According to their study, users actually preferred this virtual scroll ring to a mouse wheel, because it's faster and the scrolling continuous."
Primidi
Electronic paper
Epson Eyes Electronic Paper. "The company is developing "e-paper" that can be rolled up and folded as a replacement for paper-based newspapers or magazines, says Tatsuya Shimoda, fellow and director of Epson's technology platform research center. The electronic paper is expected to be on the market in five years, he says."PC World
December 01, 2004
Interactive surfaces
Table inhabited by squiggly luminous worms. "People can pick up the electronic worms, pet them, then let them go where they would navigate to the closest glass --or whatever else people fish out of their pockets and plonk into the "terrarium"-- and spin colorful light streamers round its base."
we make money not art
November 26, 2004
Digital labelling
Epson's Electronic Ink RFID = 21st Century Price Tags. "A new technology from Epson combines electronic paper with RFID tags to display the prices of products at stores. [...] Through a combination of RFID and some new fancy electronic paper technology, Epson supposes the displays would be used to easily change the prices of products..."
Gizmodo
Walk-around displays
The SeeLinder: Make 3D holographic video calls, at least eventually. "SeeLinder uses a 360-degree digital camera and cyliderical tube to create real-time three-dimensional holograms that'll let you view the person you're talking to from almost any angle (i.e. you can walk around them and stare at the back of their head while their talking, etc.)."
Engadget
Light-weight head-mounted display
VisualWare's 3D glasses. "Video Eyewear is consists of a glasses-style display part and controller unit about the size of a pack of smokes. The controller unit features NTSC video and audio inputs, as well as analog RGB input, and can display up to 640 x 480 dot (VGA) resolutions."
TechJapan
November 19, 2004
Displays integrated into the environment
Fully functional clock ... on paper. "Using segmented LED displays and running from a tiny chip, Watch Paper can be integrated into Wallpaper of any printable size. It appears only when it is needed in order to be an un-obtrusive element of the interior."
we make money not art
November 17, 2004
TVs that do more for themselves
First LCD TV with Built-in HDD and DVD Recorder - Toshiba RD-17V1. "Toshiba announces the RD-17V1, the world's first LCD TV with built-in HDD and DVD Recorder."
I4U News
Tabletop displays
Tabletop that can display, input data for meetings. "A simple gesture such as drawing a circle on the screen can be programmed to zoom into the section encircled by the hand movement. The display could be a useful tool for collaboration, allowing multiple users to input data during meetings."
we make money not art
November 16, 2004
Sharing screens
Collaborative Games. "In a university course we recently supervised, students were given the assignment to create games for handheld computers that require players to share their displays with each other to advance in the game. The play area in the games was distributed across several screens, and players had to move their in-game character to the other displays to succeed."
Viktoria Institute
Tapping to click
Anywhere Interface. "The technology - which the pair hope to commercialize via their Paris-based startup, Sensitive Object - uses one or two inexpensive accelerometers to detect finger taps on, say, a storefront display window or a keyboard drawn on a blackboard. A computer chip calculates the precise origin of each tap and translates that information into mouse clicks and keystrokes."Technology Review
November 12, 2004
3D displays in phones
Samsung SDI develops world's first '3D' mobile display. "The '3D' display market is expected to grow from 300 million dollars in 2007 to more than two billion dollars by 2010, according to Samsung SDI."
Yahoo! News
November 11, 2004
Marketing on cellphones
Marketing for the Third Screen. "Marketers, agencies and technology companies are already working on ways to use the latest cellphone technology to go the other way, and beam their messages to consumers on their cellphone screens, sometimes called the "third screen," after television and computer screens."
The New York Times (may require free registration)
November 10, 2004
Changes to work environment
[print version] Office space gets new meaning at NEC in Japan. "In a working 500-employee demo that's part of NEC's broadband division, there are no chairs in the conference rooms: Standing cuts down on meeting length. Rather than pass out memos or draw on white boards, employees examine and manipulate documents with collaborative software on plasma screens, which also function as videoconference systems."CNET News.com
November 05, 2004
Mini-projectors for phones
For Your Viewing Pleasure, a Projector in Your Pocket. "It takes squinting and guesswork to make out the details of postage-stamp-size snapshots displayed on cellphones and digital cameras. But researchers are working on pocket-size projectors so that one day people will be able to see a high-resolution slide show right out of a camera, a cellphone or an organizer."
The New York Times(may require free subscription)
November 04, 2004
Ambient walls
Not so White Walls interactive wallpaper. "...Dario Buzzini says that he's going to be commercializing his Not so White Walls interactive wallpaper that you can hook up to a PC and display low-resolution images and even use for reading emails and text messages."
Engadget
Big, interactive displays on any wall
The anywhere display. "A new IBM display can turn any surface into a virtual, interactive touchscreen computer, by removing the physical screen so that interactive images can be cast onto almost any surface."
we make money not art
November 03, 2004
Displays in clothing
NYX Wearable Displays. "The display is quite flexible and is not raised from the surface of the fabric. To show scrolling text or a graphical animation, just plug in your a Palm Pilot loaded with the NYX software and enter whatever you want. From club kids to traffic cops, wearable displays will soon be fun, informative and sometimes annoying."
Cool Hunting
November 02, 2004
Media PCs with no screen
New Category of Portable Media Devices Announced. "Several new portable media devices are expected to hit the market this year, all powered by the Sigma Media Processors, these devices create a new category of portable entertainment products. They differ from current portable media players on the market since they have no screen. These are designed for people that would like to bring entire multimedia collections with them anywhere."
MobileMag
October 25, 2004
Magazine-like displays
New display 'as clear as a glossy magazine'. "HP reckons it can make an A4-sized screen with 7000 by 5000 pixels – matching the quality of a glossy magazine. HP says it will be able to replicate this quality on screens all the way up to large electronic posters and billboards."
New Scientist
Visualising data to aid information discovery
'Knowledge discovery' could speed creation of new products. ""If you were a chemist, you could walk right up to this display and move molecules and atoms around to see how the changes would affect a formulation or a material's properties," said James Caruthers, a professor of chemical engineering at Purdue."
Purdue
Multi-touch sensitive displays
LEMUR MultiTouch control surface. "What do you mean by "Multitouch capabilities" ? It means that it allows the use of multiple fingers at once, thanks to its multitouch sensitive LCD."
JazzMutant
October 22, 2004
Brighter more efficient displays
LG Philips claims largest OLED display (20.1"). "The display weighs in at a 2048 x 1536 resolution - a whopping 3 megapixels. OLED is cheaper (well, it will be), brighter, clearer and consumes less juice than LCDs..."
Engadget
October 20, 2004
Diverse displays
HP offers peek at future of large, plastic displays. "Imagine sitting down to your computer and seeing thin, plastic color displays on either side of your monitor, showing high-resolution text pages you can refer to and print from. On the wall next to you is another large display on which you can show colleagues a power point presentation, or display family photos and notes."
InfoWorld
October 18, 2004
Wearable displays
Mitsubishi wearable display to give momentum to wearable computing marketplace. "Designed for mobility and practicality, the Mitsubushi SCOPO wearable display is not the first available such display, but we expect its low cost (US$400) and ready availability will stimulate the market and further accelrate change in portable computing."
Gizmo
October 15, 2004
Paper-like displays
First look at the Sony EBR-1000 Librie eBook reader. "The screen is unbelievable. Not quite paper, more like a dull plastic like look. My first impression of the device was that it was not an actual working unit, but a plastic mock up made for stores. With high contrast black text on a reflective background, the screen has a readability rivaling actual paper."
dottocomu
Light-responsive displays
A lighter approach to computer control. "Fabrics woven from light-sensitive fibres could soon be embedded in computer and projector screens, making it possible to control computers by tracking the position of laser pointers, or other light sources, on the screen, researchers say."
New Scientist
October 09, 2004
Wall sized displays
Photos from the CEATEC show in Japan. "Panasonic's wall-size "wallpaper" touch screen can serve up television, e-mail, multiple video streams and games simultaneously."
CNET News.com
October 06, 2004
Mobile biometrics
Casio combines LCD and fingerprint sensor. "Casio Computer Corp. has developed a fingerprint sensor layered on top of a 1.2-inch LCD screen, providing a convenient way for phone makers to incorporate biometric security into their handsets."InfoWorld
September 29, 2004
Networked TVs
Toshiba's 37LZ150 37-incher with MetaBrain. "If you get email while watching a show, you can pull it up without interrupting your programming. [...] the TV can record shows on schedule or by sending it an emails with instructions on what and when to record. And it has an SD port for transcoding MPEG4 video, so you can record your favorite shows as you please, and then watch them on the way to work with your cellphone."
Engadget
September 28, 2004
Haptic displays
Force Feedback LCD from Hitachi. "Using a touch-sensitive screen, the entire LCD panel will "push" inwards 1 or 2 millimeters in response to touching certain regions of the screen."
Gizmodo
September 22, 2004
Higher and higher resolutions
World's Highest Resolution LCD Display by Casio. "The 2.2 inch LCD display features VGA!! resolution. The Casio innovation has 368ppi (pixels per inch). The power consumption and size is the same as with current QVGA (320x240) displays."
I4U News
September 20, 2004
Moving small displays to create big displays
Big display on small screen and force sensitive touch screen. "IRIS motion control display from F-Origin allows users to browse full-sized documents on the small screen of a PDA or mobile phone without repurposing of the content. The screen works like an 'electronic mirror' whose content is controlled with hand movements."
we make money not art
September 17, 2004
Displays on any surface
The Everywhere Displays Project. "The Everywhere Displays project aims to develop systems that allow the transformation of every surface in a space into a projected "touch screen".
IBM
Full color digital ink
The Signs They Are A-Changin'. "Magink's digital ink is the first to offer a full spectrum of colors. It's a pasty concoction that, smeared on a thin sheet of plastic or glass, can replace LEDs in monster displays or small LCDs in electronic products."
BW Online
September 16, 2004
Cars that do everything
Hit the Road, Mac. "Jirka Jirout can start his car's heater remotely by sending it a text message. He can follow his GPS map on an in-dash LCD while one passenger watches a DVD on a fold-down 17-inch screen and another surfs the Web on a laptop plugged into the center armrest's Ethernet hub, each person listening to different audio streams. At a stoplight, Jirout can grab the wireless keyboard to pound out an e-mail or use the Bluetooth connection to sync his cellphone's calendar and address book."
Popular Science
September 14, 2004
Multimedia PDAs
Sony unveils Wi-Fi multimedia Cli. "Sony will next week ship its most impressive Cli PDA yet. The PEG-VZ90 multimedia handheld features not only a slick sliding control panel, but Wi-Fi wireless connectivity and a stunning 3.8in 480 x 320 OLED screen."
The Register
Simplification of car UI
Coming to a Dashboard Near You. "Drivers would likely appreciate simplification as the trend to ever more car electronics is making the dashboard a dizzying experience. From climate control for individual seats to stereo systems that can accommodate MP3 players with 2,000 songs to GPS navigation systems, vehicle cockpits have come to resemble those found in fighter jets."BW Online
September 02, 2004
Wearable displays controlled by the phone
France Telecom develops an integrated flexible screen to display animated graphics on the wearer. "Thanks to a dedicated embedded software application, the mobile can be used as a remote control to activate the screen's functionalities: adjust the brightness, select the image or text to be displayed, enter text, draw simple animated visuals, download animations from the Internet, etc."
France Telecom
September 01, 2004
High quality projection
Sony introduces black projector screen for well-lit up areas. "Now Sony has developed a black screen that works on defiance of colour theory, by reflecting only pure red, green and blue light and absorbing other colours of light including ambient light from fluorescent tubes, light bulbs and other sources of light."CDFreaks
August 24, 2004
Displays in everything
Visa Toys With Credit Card Displays. "Visa International is experimenting with credit cards that include a small display screen where customers could view recent transactions, bank balances, or local currency exchange rates..."PCWorld.com
August 18, 2004
BIG screen gaming
Video games hit big screen. "Theater managers took four video projectors, set one up in each of four theaters with a Microsoft XBox video game system connected to it, and then let the fun begin for more than 60 people."MSNBC
Holographic projection
. "Despite it's inelegant name, the Vizoo is an amazing projection system that uses a transparent screen. Video from a standard projector appears to float within the environment creating exciting new opportunities for visual direction and demonstration using actors."
core77
August 17, 2004
Controlling a display with a phone
Phone It In. "But new software from High Energy Magic of Cambridge, England, turns a camera phone with a Bluetooth wireless connection into a portable mouse and keyboard that can take full command of public displays, doing away with the old touch screen."
Technology Review
August 16, 2004
Projection on any surface
Embedded Entertainment with Smart Projectors. "Smart projectors are able to display correct images onto arbitrary existing screen surfaces, like wallpapered walls or window curtains. Thus it can function without an artificial canvas and consequently leaves a bit more freedom to us in the decision on how to arrange our living space."
Augmented Reality
August 09, 2004
Huge displays
Rolltronics Display Backplane Technology Could Put a Holodeck in Your Bedroom. "Imagine outdoor advertising (a HUGE industry) that could be altered remotely over the Internet. Imagine billboards that could not just be changed at will, but that could also include video, since the FASwitches can cycle at up to 200 HZ, which is plenty fast enough for any computer gamer."PBS
July 27, 2004
Big, immersive screens
VisionStation. "Standard flat-screen applications can display a field of view (FOV) of no more than 60. The Elumens VisionStation allows for a fully immersive display of 160. The VisionStation's ultra-wide FOV creates an amazing sense of space and depth, without need for goggles or glasses. The large size of the VisionStation screen (1.5 meters) also helps promote an excellent sense of immersive 3D."
Elumens
July 21, 2004
Drawing on electronic paper
E-ink Drawing Pad Closer to Paper. "The device could eventually be used for freehand computer input, including cartoon drawing and adding annotation to documents, according to the researchers."TechReview
July 13, 2004
Messages from beyond the grave
Video Headstones. "A Burlingame, California, entrepreneur has filed a patent for hollow headstones fitted with flat LCD touch panels that will allow the deceased to play messages to visitors from beyond the grave..."
Gizmodo
July 09, 2004
Video projectors in cellphones
A Video Projector that Fits in Your Pocket. "Video projectors able to project high-quality images will be embedded in your cellphones and laptops within two years."Roland Piquepaille
July 01, 2004
Hi-DPI monitors
ViewSonic VP2290b - High-Resolution TFT. "...the VP2290b is capable of running a maximum resolution of 3,840 x 2,400 otherwise known as QUXGA-Wide."
TrustedReviews
June 25, 2004
Voice and the intelligent internet
The Intelligent Internet. "This synthesis of computer intelligence and the Internet is rapidly creating a powerful new global communication system that is convenient, productive, and transformative: the Intelligent Internet. Here are three simple examples of what should become common soon."Government Computer News
June 22, 2004
Smart fabrics
Nike Color-Change Concept Prototype. "As the runner speeds up- the simple display (Electric Plaid) in their shoes changes color to tell them them if they are meeting their fitness goals."
International Fashion Machines
June 18, 2004
Integrated home media PCs
SMOOL HO|MEdia. "SMOOL decided that HO|MEdia needs to have four basic functions: Entertainment; Information; Communication; Ambience."
SMOOL
June 17, 2004
Different form-factor PCs
Personal Computers. "...we're ready for more choices: machines designed for particular jobs, particular rooms of the house, or particular types of people..."BW Online
June 08, 2004
Hi-res electronic paper
Toppan Printing Develops Electronic Paper with High Resolution of 400ppi. "Toppan Printing expects this electronic paper to be used for wearable devices and for cards to display information on it."
NE Asia Online
June 01, 2004
Devices that enhance experiences
Concertgoers Multitasking to Stravinsky. "...Concert Companion, a hand-held device that delivers a play-by-play analysis of the music as it unfolds. The device, nicknamed CoCo by its creators, also features program notes and video images, all delivered in real time from a computer backstage.
The New York Times
Huge-screen displays for command centers
Big Screen for NYPD. "The New York City Police Dept. is awash in data. Every year, it's flooded with 12 million emergency calls and hundreds of thousands of arrest records. Over the last 10 years, it has mined that data to help reduce crime by a stunning 70%."
Technology Trends
May 26, 2004
Displays that can capture images
Toshiba to display new mobile screens. "Toshiba said it will unveil a prototype of a color 3.5-inch Quarter Video Graphics Array "system on glass" input display that can capture images directly via sensors within a thin film transistor LCD,"CNET News.com
May 25, 2004
Heads-up display overlaying the real world
Nomad Expert Technician System. "By superimposing test and repair data into the technicians' vision, the Nomad Expert Technician System allows them to stay focused on the task itself."
Microvision
May 13, 2004
Wearable displays
Wearable Wireless Displays Are In Sight. "Imagine having a 17-inch screen constantly at your disposal that lets you look up information online, check your e-mail or watch a movie--and that isn't attached to a laptop. Soon, thanks to the burgeoning microdisplay industry, you probably will."
Forbes.com
May 10, 2004
Tiny full-functioning PCs
Sony unveils tiny wireless pen PC. "The consumer electronics giant is billing the Vaio VGN-U70 as the world's smallest full-function Windows PC. The unit measures 16.7 x 10.8 x 2.6cm and weighs just 550g. Much of the machine's face is taken up by an 800 x 600 transflective colour LCD. The display can also operate at up to 1600 x 1200, but at this stage it's not clear if that's a native resolution."
The Register
May 05, 2004
Portable multi-monitor devices
MaxVision - High Performance Hardware : MaxPac8200X. "The MaxPac8200X is ideally suited for users requiring maximum I/O bandwidth and two or three integrated 19" LCD monitors."
maxvision.com
April 20, 2004
Changing public space by text message
Text message can change artwork's colour. "A 10-metre high beacon of light that can change colour by having a text message sent to it, is going on display in Middlesbrough."
Ananova
March 29, 2004
Concept mobile - nearly 100% screen
Concept Mobile Phone by Proekt
"Just how thin can a mobile phone be? The #1 phone, a new concept mobile phone by Proekt, is only 2mm in thickness."
mobile9.com
March 26, 2004
170 DPI e-reader
Digital paper makes device debut "The display has a resolution of 170 pixels per inch, which E-Ink says is comparable to the print quality of newspaper."
BBC NEWS
March 10, 2004
Matchbox sized projector
Projector for cellphones "First in the world, Upstream Engineering introduces a revolutionary optical technology that will enable video projection from matchbox-sized device running on batteries."Upstream Engineering
March 04, 2004
Dynamo: multi-user, large screen shared workspace
Dynamo: a communal, multi-user surface that supports cooperative sharing & exchange of digital media. "Dynamo is a situated display system, normally configured to use two large, publicly visible wall displays. Dynamo is multi-user. This means that each user has their own pointer on the communal display. This may be via their own laptop, tablet PC, or via wireless mice & keyboards provided."
Dynamo Interactive
Mirror that converts into a display
Mirror/display "When the screen is switched on, anyone standing in front of it sees only the picture. With the television switched off, the surface behaves like an ordinary mirror."
New Scientist
February 19, 2004
Two sided display
New Mitsubishi LCD Panel displays Images on both sides. "Mitsubishi Electric's LCD Panel will enable phone manufacturers to use a single panel, reducing the weight and production cost of mobile phones. The company is also expected to develop the two-sided displays for use in laptop computers."i4u.com
February 17, 2004
Future thinking from Vodaphone
Various future vision resources from Vodaphone. "In this website we will enable you to explore what we think that future might look like, experience some of the changes we believe will happen, and tell us what you think of them."Vodafone
January 27, 2004
Philips to launch flexible display products in 2005
Polymer Vision is a new company formed by Philips to produce flexible displays. They plan to create a pilot line to create 1 million a year. Current specs: QVGA (320x240 pixels) active matrix displays with a diagonal of 5 inch, a resolution of 85 dpi and a bending radius of 2 cm.polymervision.nl
January 16, 2004
January 13, 2004
Location free TV
Sony has announced a wireless, portable TV system that will stream video, pictures etc anywhere in the home.Sony.com
December 15, 2003
Intel Personal Server
This is a research project at Intel focussed on a small, display-free device that's carried with you, stores all your personal information on it and talks to the environment (displays and devices) using bluetooth.Intel Research
Project a display on any surface
An IBM research project that allows you to project a display onto any surface using a mirror. The software compensated for any warping of the projected image.IBM Research
November 20, 2003
Linux based picture frame
Linux based picture frame can be mounted on a wall, talks wi-fi, has a 30gb hard drive and can play MP3s as well as show pictures.Wallflower
Nokia medallions
These Nokia Mediallions have small displays built in that cycle through up to 8 pictures.I4U News
November 18, 2003
Screens of many sizes
Here's a NY Times article about the impact of different sized screens.NY Times
October 29, 2003
Printing your own display
Xerox have developed a technology for printing semiconductors on to plastic. More flexible displays, direct from your inkjet.CNET News.com
October 22, 2003
Heads up display
Here's an article about heads-up display technology getting some efficiency gains for technicians using them at Honda and in the military.PC Magazine
September 29, 2003
September 25, 2003
Philips flexible display
Here's another flexible display, this time from Philips. High contrast. Low voltage. I like the fact that the best application the reporter can come up wih is for a "cinematic suit".
CNN.com
September 05, 2003
August 15, 2003
Transparent electronics
Electronic circuits that can be applied to windows, bottles, screens etc and can't be seen.Oregon State University
Flat, flexible displays
A little Minority Report it may be, but flat, flexible displays are already a reality (although they degrade a little bit quickly, apparently). Check out thisProduct Concepts site, and this video of flexing a display.Universal Display:
August 13, 2003
Virtual overlays in the environment
Sony's EVS is another tag concept, that display-enabled devices like cell phones and cameras would be able to sense in the environment. Point a cell phone at an EVS enabled billboard to get more info as an overlay on the board. More tags in the environment tied to visual data.PC Magazine
August 11, 2003
Fog screen
Literally, a screen made by projecting onto fog. I like that you can walk through it. Makes it quite transient or at least more subtle then a huge plasma screen in the corner of a room.Tampere University, Finland