Photosynth - Coolest Imaging and Social Technology

Photosynth, a new service available at photosynth.com that will change the way you experience and share photos. Photosynth is a software application from Microsoft Live Labs and the University of Washington that analyzes digital photographs and generates a three-dimensional model of the photos and a point cloud of a photographed object. Pattern recognition components compare portions of images to create points, which are then compared to convert the image into a model. Users are able to view and generate their own models using a software tool available for download at the Photosynth website.

Process

The Photosynth technology works in two steps. The first step involves the analysis of multiple photographs taken of the same area. Each photograph is processed using an interest point detection and matching algorithm developed by Microsoft Research which is similar in function to UBC's Scale-invariant feature transform. This process identifies specific features, for example the corner of a window frame or a door handle. Features in one photograph are then compared to and matched with the same features in the other photographs. Thus photographs of the same areas are identified. By analyzing the position of matching features within each photograph, the program can identify which photographs belong on which side of others. By analyzing subtle differences in the relationships between the features (angle, distance, etc.), the program identifies the 3D position of each feature, as well as the position and angle at which each photograph was taken.

The second step involves the display of and navigation through the 3D point cloud of features identified in the first step. This is done with the publicly downloadable Photosynth viewer. The viewer resides on a client computer and maintains a connection to a server that stores the original photographs. It enables a user to, among other things, see any of the photographs from their original vantage point.
The Photosynth D3D based viewing software is only available to the Windows Vista and XP operating systems. The team recently released a Silverlight version of the viewer.

Capabilities

• Walk or fly through a scene to see photos from any angle
• Zoom in or out of a photo
• See where pictures were taken in relation to one another
• Smoothly change viewing angle between nearby photos
• Smoothly zoom in and out of high-resolution photos
• Find similar photos to the one you're currently viewing
• Send pictures

TED sixth sense technology

I can't really describe Sixth Sense in a line. Sure, it is a system that projects information about what surrounds you over objects' surfaces, but it's also much more.



Basically, Sixth Sense is a mini-projector coupled with a camera and a cellphone—which acts as the computer and your connection to the Cloud, all the information stored on the web. Sixth Sense can also obey hand gestures, like in the infamous Minority Report.

However, instead of requiring you to be in front of a big screen like Tom Cruise, Sixth Sense can do its magic—and a lot more—everywhere, even while you are jumping hysteric over Oprah's sofa.

The camera recognizes objects around you instantly, with the micro-projector overlaying the information on any surface, including the object itself or your hand. Then, you can access or manipulate the information using your fingers. Need to make a call? Extend your hand on front of the projector and numbers will appear for you to click. Need to know the time? Draw a circle on your wrist and a watch will appear. Want to take a photo? Just make a square with your fingers, highlighting what you want to frame, and the system will make the photo—which you can later organize with the others using your own hands over the air.

But those are just novelty applications. The true power of Sixth Sense lies on its potential to connect the real world with the Internet, and overlaying the information on the world itself. Imagine you are at the supermarket, thinking about what brand of soap is better. Or maybe what wine you should get for tonight's dinner. Just look at objects, hold them on your hands, and Sixth Sense will show you if it's good or bad, or if it fits your preferences or not.

Now take this to every aspect of your everyday life. You can be in a taxi going to the airport, and just by taking out your boarding pass, Sixth Sense will grab real time information about your flight and display it over the ticket. You won't need to do any action. Just hold it in front of your and it will work.

The key here is that Sixth Sense recognizes the objects around you, displaying information automatically and letting you access it in any way you want, in the simplest way possible.

Clearly, this has the potential of becoming the ultimate "transparent" user interface for accessing information about everything around us. If they can get rid of the colored finger caps and it ever goes beyond the initial development phase, that is. But as it is now, it may change the way we interact with the real world and truly give everyone complete awareness of the environment around us.

Polaroid ZINK

ZINK™ stands for Zero Ink™ - a new and simpler approach to printing where high quality, colorful, durable and affordable prints are magically created – all without a drop of ink. The ZINK Technology, invented by ZINK Imaging, encompasses both the ZINK Paper™ and the intelligence embedded in every ZINK-enabled device. Over 100 patents and patents pending were generated in the development of this breakthrough technology.


The heart of this new "ZINK" category of printing is the ZINK Paper™. The patented ZINK Paper is an advanced composite material with embedded yellow, magenta and cyan dye crystals, activated with 200 million heat pulses, in 30 seconds, in a single pass. With 100 billion crystals in a 2x3" print, the paper is 100% inkless. A ZINK-enabled printer uses heat to activate and colorize these crystals. Because there is no ink, every ZINK-enabled device has the unique benefits of being small, simple, elegant, and eco-friendly.


Polaroid is leveraging the ZINK Technology to bring a new family of digital instant products to the marketplace. The Polaroid Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer is the first ZINK-enabled device available.

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface (codename Milan) is a multi-touch product from Microsoft which is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects.

It was announced on May 29, 2007 at D5 conference. Initial customers will be in the hospitality businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, retail, public entertainment venues and the military for tactical overviews. The preliminary launch was on April 17, 2008, when Surface became available for customer use in AT&T stores. The Surface was used by MSNBC during its coverage of the 2008 US presidential election; and is also used by Disneyland’s future home exhibits, as well as various hotels and casinos. The Surface is also featured in the CBS series CSI: Miami and EXTRA! Entertainment news. As of March 2009, Microsoft had 120 partners in 11 countries that are developing applications for Surface's interface

Overview
Microsoft Surface is a surface computing platform that responds to natural hand gestures and real world objects. It has a 360-degree user interface, a 30-inch reflective surface with a XGA DLP projector underneath the surface which projects an image onto its underside, while four cameras in the machine's housing record reflections of infrared light from objects and human fingertips on the surface. The surface is capable of object recognition, object/finger orientation recognition and tracking, and is multi-touch and is multi-user. Users can interact with the machine by touching or dragging their fingertips and objects such as paintbrushes across the screen, or by placing and moving placed objects. This paradigm of interaction with computers is known as a natural user interface (NUI).

Surface has been optimized to respond to 52 touches at a time. During a demonstration with a reporter, Mark Bolger, the Surface Com puting group's marketing director, "dipped" his finger in an on-screen paint palette, then dragged it across the screen to draw a smiley face. Then he used all 10 fingers at once to give the face a full head of hair.


Features
Microsoft notes four main components being important in Surface's interface: direct interaction, multi-touch contact, a multi-user experience, and object recognition.
Direct interaction refers to the user's ability to simply reach out and touch the interface of an application in order to interact with it, without the need for a mouse or keyboard. Multi-touch contact refers to the ability to have multiple contact points with an interface, unlike with a mouse, where there is only one cursor. Multi-user is a benefit of multi-touch -- several people can orient themselves on different sides of the surface to interact with an application simultaneously. Object recognition refers to the device's ability to recognize the presence and orientation of tagged objects placed on top of it.
The technology allows non-digital objects to be used as input devices. In one example, a normal paint brush was used to create a digital painting in the software. This is made possible by the fact that, in using cameras for input, the system does not rely on restrictive properties required of conventional touchscreen or touchpad devices such as the capacitance, electrical resistance, or temperature of the tool used.
The computer's "vision" is created by a near-infrared, 850-nanometer-wavelength LED light source aimed at the surface. When an object touches the tabletop, the light is reflected to multiple infrared cameras with a net resolution of 1280 x 960, allowing it to sense, and react to items touching the tabletop.
Surface will ship with basic applications, including photos, music, virtual concierge, and games, that can be customized for the customers.
A unique feature that comes preinstalled with Surface is the pond effect "Attract" application. Simply, it is a "picture" of water with leaves and rocks within it (a lot like a screen saver used in Windows XP or Vista). By touching the screen, you can create ripples in the water just like you were putting your hand into a real stream. Additionally, the pressure of touch alters the size of the ripple created, and objects placed into the water create a barrier that ripples bounce off, just as they would in real life.

Apple's MacBook Pro.

The MacBook is a brand of Macintosh notebook computers by Apple Inc.From the latest 3D games to your own photos and videos, MacBook Pro brings advanced graphics processing to everything you do.

Gamers rejoice

The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M brings amazing graphics performance to MacBook, so you can enjoy your favorite 3D games — from Spore to Call of Duty — with fast, seamless gameplay. Graphics-intensive features in iPhoto and iMovie are smooth and responsive. Movies and video offer rich colors and fine details. NVIDIA performance even makes a difference as you flip through your music library with Cover Flow or use Dashboard.

The storage you want - The memory you need

Music, photos, and movies — not to mention your documents and other files — start adding up. So MacBook offers plenty of storage space. It includes a larger 160GB hard drive with options up to a voluminous 500GB.¹ And it comes standard with 2GB of memory (with support for up to 4GB), so you can run multiple applications smoothly and efficiently.

Power under the hood

Inside the MacBook is a powerful 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor based on advanced Core microarchitecture. MacBook provides a fast 1066MHz frontside bus and 3MB of shared L2 cache, so you’ll have more than enough horsepower to get the job done.

Wi-Fi that takes you anywhere. No matter where

Built-in 802.11n wireless capabilities² mean you can connect at work-friendly speeds wherever you are. Wi-Fi networks show up right on your desktop. Just click and connect, and you can surf the web, send email, video chat, and more.³ Use Bonjour to easily share files with other users on the network. And stay in sync with your Bluetooth-enabled phone courtesy of Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Two-finger scroll

With two-finger scrolling, the trackpad becomes a fast track to wherever you want to go. And if you come from a right-click world, it’s easy to make the MacBook fit in your comfort zone. Just place two fingers on the trackpad and click the button for easy right-click functionality.

3G vs 4G

There has been more talk about 4G (fourth generation) mobile broadband recently and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN's) has announced that the first 4G field trials have been completed in Berlin.

As 4G seems to have taken a step closer to reality, I decided to do some research and find out what advantages 4G may offer over 3G. The specifications for 4G are not standardized yet but the following 3G vs 4G table gives an idea of what 4G is likely to provide.


The existing 3G W-CDMA standard will be replaced in 4G by VSF-OFCDM and VSF-CDMA. VSF-OFCDM allows extremely high downlink connections, both indoors and outdoors. VSF-CDMA provides high-efficiency, high-speed packet transmissions for the uplink.

The 4G adoption of concatenated FEC (Forward Error Correction) will allow much larger data packets to be transmitted and at the same time reduce the bit error rate. This will increase the overall data through-put.One of the main advantages that 4G technology will have over 3G is higher data rates. This will benefit the end user by allowing faster access to multimedia and video while on the move.

We may still have to wait a while for 4G though, as it looks like 4G networks won't be launched until 2008 and won't become widely available until 2010.

Appel Tablet PC

Huge news, Apple fans! There is finally information from a reliable source that Apple is finishing up work on its new tablet PC. This Apple-pad is the brainchild of Steve Jobs himself, and it's just now coming out of an agonizing three year development cycle. Expect to see it in stores early 2010.

Apple's new tablet will be a 10” touchscreen with 3G enabled and plenty of computing power. From what AppleInsider says, it sounds like this thing is basically going to be an iPOD touch with netbook level processing power and memory. And, since Steve Jobs is the man behind it, you know it's going to be an extremely solid product the instant it's released.

Apparently the tablet has had a very jumpy development. AppleInsider states that development was frozen and restarted six times due to various issues or perceived issues. Such a project must have been extremely costly to Apple, but it also shows the level of quality-control they've put into this product.

Price hasn't been announced yet, of course, but AppleInsider states that it should cost somewhere between the price of an iPhone and the price of Apple's cheapest notebook. I think somewhere in the $750-$1000 range is most likely. This is an Apple product, after all.

What carrier the pad's 3G will be on hasn't been announced yet either. One would assume AT&T, but it's quite possible that Apple will deal with someone else. AT&T hasn't been the most reliable carrier, and there are rumors that Apple has been in talks with Verizon.

AppleInsider's also put out a new artist's rendering of the device, since the prior one was apparently inaccurate. The image above should give you a good idea of what to expect from this device when it launches in Q1 2010. We should know more about this tablet closer to the end of the year, when Apple starts up their advertising campaign. Until then, we'll keep you up-to-date on the latest tablet rumors.