Everything seems to be getting smarter these days… (Well, maybe not everything, like me! Just ask my adult kids when I try to change channels or PVR an upcoming TV special.)
Seriously, Stephanie Liverani of CeramicsTechToday.com (Nov 13, 2015) reminds us that :
- Windows are getting smarter – with researchers developing new sunlight harvesting technology that can turn a nearly transparent window into an electrical generator using what they are calling “quantum dot solar windows.”
- Cars are getting smarter – with The Wall Street Journal reporting that tech giant Apple has joined the energy-efficient race and is developing an electric car with a target date to get the cars road-ready for 2019
- Devices are getting smarter – like smartphone users now able to “cut the cord” when it comes to recharging their device’s battery, and batteries lasting up to 30 percent longer on a single charge.
Liverani then goes on the share the notion that one of the keys to smarter technology literally lies within us… thanks to Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research. They are developing smartwatch technology that “takes advantage of the [human] body’s natural electrical conductivity to detect whether a person is touching an electrical or electromechanical device and, based on the distinctive electromagnetic noise emitted by such devices, automatically identify the object.”
The technique, called EM-Sense, could enable smartwatches to “automatically recognize what objects users are touching, for instance, whether the wearer is using a laptop, operating a saw, or riding a motorcycle, creating new opportunities for context-aware apps. […] The human body serves as an antenna for EM-Sense. From any body part an object touches, its distinctive electromagnetic emissions propagate through the body to an electrode worn at the wrist.”
A linked 4 minute video produced by Disney Research demonstrates the EM-Sense technology first hand. As briefly described in the video, “many everyday electromechanical objects emit small amounts of electromagnetic noise during regular operation. Typically, these electromagnetic signals, or EM, are low power, and outside the regulated frequency spectrum. They are also distinctive and used to classify objects. When a user makes physical contact with such an object, the EM signal propagates through the user.” Essentially, this allows the EM-Sense smartwatch technology to classify EM signals in real time, which enables quick detection of the object and launches the appropriate contextual application for the task at hand.
For example, the video follows a user through various everyday tasks wearing the EM-Sense technology — when the user touches the door handle to his office at work, the smartwatch recognizes office door handle and launches an application on its screen that alerts the user to any work-related messages and upcoming meetings for the day.
Clik here to view.
Sourced from Organics.org
We are in awe at the magic the Disney organization has created in its film productions and at its entertainment parks, but I’m not sure I fully appreciated the breadth, depth and reach of Disney’s work in creating new ways for people to interact with the world around them. Disney Research is an international network of research labs, with the mission to push the scientific and technological forefront of innovation at The Walt Disney Company, covering a broad range science and technologies, including Computer Graphics, Video Processing, Computer Vision, Robotics, Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing, Human-Computer Interaction, Behavioral Sciences, Materials Research and Machine Learning & Optimization.
Just imagine, EM-Sense can make the ‘Internet of Things’ experience even richer by enabling people to get information or additional functionality simply by touching everyday objects. And all of this is only possible with advanced sensing, computing and display technologies… much of which is enabled by rare metals. Take four minutes, watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpKDNle6ia4 and imagine what could be next!
As this is my first posting of the year, may I also take this opportunity to wish you and yours the best for a happy, healthy and safe 2016.
Until soon… Ian
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