Google’s Project Soli to bring gesture control to wearables
Gesture-based system are usually attached to video game consoles like the Microsoft Kinect or your computer like the Leap Motion. Google’s ATAP team figured that the smaller form factor of the smartwatch segment needed its own finger-waving way to control the devices without having to reply on the smartphone. It’s Project Soli replaces the physical controls of smartwatches with your hands using radar to capture your movements.
The system uses broad beam radar to measure doppler image, IQ and spectrogram. The chip recognizes movement, velocity and distance and can be programmed to change the input based on that distance. the idea is to use some of the same gestures your already using for your mobile devices and augmented those with hand motions that seem natural to interact with a Soli-enabled device. “What we propose is that you use a hand motions vocabulary,” said ATAP technical program lead Ivan Poupyrev.
The Soli chip works within the 60Ghz radar spectrum at up to 10,000 frames per seconds. The final chip will contain everything it needs to be plug and play including the antennas. ATAP says the device can be made to scale.
The Project Soli team is still working to finalize the board, but it’s gone from a device the size of a pizza box to about the size of an SD card in 10 months. Soli information will be released to developers later this year.
Filed under: Handhelds, Wearables, Google
Source: Project Soli
Google and Qualcomm squeezed Project Tango tech into a smartphone
It seems like a decent of chunk of Google’s big news today deals with its partnerships. The search giant is already teaming up with Levi’s to explore the realm of smart Jacquard clothes, and now Google has confirmed that it’s been working with Qualcomm to build its Project Tango world-sensing cameras into the chipmaker’s reference phone designs. Those Tango-phones will be seeded developers and devices makers for now, and thanks to the arcane decisions that ultimately define a company’s device-making strategy, we might not ever actually see a consumer-ready Tango phone. Still, Google’s long-term ambitions are pretty clear: It’d like to get these Tango devices into our pockets en masse, and a closer relationship with one of the world’s biggest mobile chipmakers is a great way to do it.
Before we go any further, yes, there are already Tango phones out there. Thing is, there seemed only to be a very small number of them, and they were earmarked specifically for developers who proved they had something cool to use them for. Now that Tango tech is winding up in a reference design — a sort of pre-production working mockup of a phone — the leap toward a Tango-ready consumer phone is almost trivial. That future is probably still aways off, though, so for now the company’s settling for getting software creators more comfortable with Project Tango’s quirks. Google announced yesterday that developers could buy Project Tango development kits for $512 starting next week, but there’s one rub: Not everyone wants to carry around a 7-inch tablet with a trio of crazy cameras on its back. By squeezing down the size of those cameras and optimizing them to play nice with Qualcomm’s crazy-popular Snapdragon chipsets, Google and Qualcomm have made Tango way more convenient for developers to play with (eventually) and opened up another route to bring Tango to the teeming masses.
Yes, another route. Last year, Google announced at another ATAP panel that it was working with LG to bring Tango to tech to consumers in early 2015 — a launch window that’s pretty clearly come and gone. A Tango smartphone in the works at the time reportedly got killed too, the thing is, we’re in a pretty different place now. We now live in an age where your smartphone can double as a surprisingly decent VR headset thanks to a foldable hunk of cardboard and some lenses. Is it really such a stretch to think Google might want to build a way for us to capture content that can relatively easily be converted to VR with the very same devices? Not at all. The only question is when that intersection comes to pass, and with any luck, the answer is “very soon”.
Filed under: Mobile
Panasonic’s Lumix G7 is a small camera with serious 4K chops
Panasonic has been a huge proponent of 4K-ready cameras, starting with the Lumix GH4 and LX100. A few days ago, the Lumix G7 joined that group. The recently introduced Micro Four Thirds camera features a 16-megapixel Digital Live MOS sensor, an ISO range of up to 25,600 and a quad-core CPU for speedy image processing. But here’s the one thing it does best: 4K. More specifically. I’m talking about Panasonic’s 4K Photo feature, which lets you extract high-resolution pictures from 4K, 30 fps videos and save them at an 8-megapixel equivalent. This is particularly useful when you shoot moving subjects, as you’re able to record a 4K video (roughly up to 30 minutes), choose whatever frame you want from it and save that to the camera’s SD card. Is it cheating? Perhaps, but it works perfectly.
Another aspect that stood out to me was how light the G7 is. To give you an idea, my Canon 70D felt like an oversized monster after using Panasonic’s new shooter. (Yes, I know they’re in different categories.) It’s also made out of plastic, yet doesn’t feel cheaply made — and for a body that costs $800, I wouldn’t expect any less. All in all, though, the Lumix G7 met my expectations for a solid mirrorless camera: It’s compact, fast and takes great, ultra-high-res pictures and video. That’s everything most people could ask from a camera of its kind.
To view full-resolution sample images shot with the Panasonic Lumix G7, click here.
Filed under: Cameras
5 Android Apps you shouldn’t miss this week! – Android Apps Weekly
Sponsored by: Anytime Gallery for Wear
[Price: Free / $1.99]
Anytime Gallery for Wear is a gallery application that allows you to sync photos between your phone and your Android Wear smartwatch. In the free version you can sync up to 20 photos and if you go premium, you’ll be able to sync an unlimited number of photos. It’s a simple app that seems to work well and even includes support for pinch to zoom on the Android Wear device. It’s a fun little app and a great way to see your pictures on your wrist. Give it a try and show your support for Android Apps Weekly!
Here are your headlines from this week!
- Last week we talked about the latest Humble Bundle. This week, as a gift, anyone who gets the Artifex Mundi Humble Bundle will also receive Steam keys for Mac, Windows, and Linux so you can play on mobile or on your computer. It’s still a nice way to give to charity and a good way to get some cheap games.
- An interesting new development may add Quick Reply functionality to any messaging based notification. Developer MohammadAG is working on a root-free app that will add Quick Reply functionality to almost anything without you being required to do anything. It’s not out yet but it looks very promising.
- Microsoft did a whole bunch of things this last week so we’re going to group them all together. They announced a Windows 10 companion app that will help you sync your Android phone to your Windows 10 computer for improved functionality. They also announced an app called Microsoft OneClip that will be a cross-platform clipboard app which could be nice. Cortana for Android has been officially announced although there is no release date yet. Lastly, Microsoft announced a partnership with 18 OEMs that will see Microsoft Office pre-installed on tablets.
For even more Android apps and games news, updates, and releases, don’t forget to check out this week’s newsletter. There we have the complete list of everything that’s happened this last week. If you’re so inclined, you can also sign up with your email address and we’ll beam this info to you every single Friday.
Subscribe to our Android Apps Weekly newsletter!
FORM Watch Face
[Price: Free]
First up this week is FORM Watch Face and this is probably the most ridiculous Android Wear watch face of all time. It’s developed by the same guy who brought us Muzei Live Wallpaper. It works like this. The watch face will display whatever background is on your phone to your watch. Then it will let pretty much any Android Wear watch face sit on top of that. It’s a nifty idea and totally free to use.
Google Spotlight Stories
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Google Spotlight Stories actually isn’t new because it used to be a Motorola-specific app. This is actually a storytelling application that lets you view immersive short stories using 360-degree video, 2D, and 3D animations. You can buy additional stories if you want and it really does bring something special to the table. Beware that not all devices are supported but it is free to download.
Periscope
[Price: Free]
You may have seen this already if you watched our best Android apps and games from May 2015. Periscope is a live video streaming app released by Twitter. It allows you to stream live from your smartphone camera to all of your Twitter followers. You can also watch old streams, stream privately, and it enjoys full integration with Twitter. It’s an interesting app that does things a little bit different.
Microsoft Hyperlapse
[Price: Free]
Microsoft Hyperlapse is an interesting camera application that helps you create stop-motion videos. It actually came out last week but we couldn’t try it out because of the lack of device compatibility. This week it got some more devices added to the list. If you want to try it out, you’ll have to become a tester on Google+ and then download it. It’s a pretty fun little app and worth a shot. You can learn how to do it here.
Playboy NOW
[Price: Free]
Last up is a new app from Playboy called Playboy Now. Despite its namesake, the app actually contains hardly any nudity and is pretty much safe for work. It’s actually a news app that gives you updates on celebrities, night life, and other activities and events one might read about from Playboy. That said it does still carry a Mature 17+ rating in the Play Store. It’s worth a shot if you like Playboy.
Wrap up
If we missed any important Android apps or games news, tell us about it in the comments! Do note that next week will be a special Google I/O episode, so stay tuned for that!
Some big changes are coming to Google Wallet now that Android Pay is here
The first day of Google I/O 2015 was filled with a ton of new announcements, including one that will make paying with your mobile phone much easier. The new platform is called Android Pay, and it aims to make paying for products, whether in person or online, as simple as possible. The technology involved in Android Pay builds on NFC and host card emulation, which will allow you to place your smartphone on an NFC terminal and complete the transaction – without the need to open any application whatsoever.
But, couldn’t Google Wallet do that already? Well, not without opening up the app first, but the two services basically complete the same functions. It sounds like Android Pay is trying to do what Wallet couldn’t. So if Pay is going to be the new payment standard on Android, what’s going to happen to Wallet? Well, a new post on the Google Wallet Google+ account is trying to help clear up this muddy situation.
According to the post, the Wallet service has seen a ton of growth in the number of people sending money to one another, whether that’s through Gmail or the Google Wallet application. So, Google Wallet is sticking around, and will receive a big revamp in the coming months that sounds like it will focus on payment transfers, as opposed to actually handling the payments themselves. Here’s a little taste as to what the new Wallet app will bring, as explained by the Wallet team:
The new app will allow anyone with a US debit card to send and receive money for free within minutes – even if the other person doesn’t have the app. The money you receive can either be directly sent to your bank account or it can be spent in stores using the Google Wallet card.
We would be lying if we said this whole situation wasn’t confusing. The introduction of Android Pay was a necessary step for Google to take on other services like Samsung Pay or Apple Pay, but Google didn’t really explain many details when it comes to the future of Wallet in yesterday’s keynote. Android Pay is expected to launch alongside Android M in Q3, so we might have to wait a bit longer until we understand Google’s true intentions.
ESRB and Pegi ratings arrive to Google Play
A number of changes are heading towards Google Play in the weeks to come that will make the storefront much easier to navigate for parents and children alike. While the Family Star effort isn’t live just yet, one of these promised changes has gone live: ESRB ratings. As you can see in the screenshots above, the everyone / low maturity / medium maturity / high maturity rankings have been replaced in favor of ESRB ratings in the US, PEGI ratings for Europe, and a generic rating system (3+, 5+, etc) for those regions without a standardized system.
As you can see in the screenshots above, the everyone / low maturity / medium maturity / high maturity rankings have been replaced in favor of ESRB ratings in the US, PEGI ratings for Europe, and a generic rating system (3+, 5+, etc) for those regions without a standardized system.
You’ll find the new ratings in two places. The most obvious of these places is right under the app’s name, but you can also locate the ratings in the “Read More” section for the Android Google Play app or the “Additional Information” screen on the web version. Keep in mind the new ratings will only show up on Android if you are running Play Store version 5.6.6, though the web version is live and working for everyone.
What do you think of Google’s switch to standardized ratings? Let us know in the comments.
Google ATAP aims to bring touch-sensitive clothing to the mainstream with Project Jacquard
Google ATAP has brought us incredible advancements in technology like Project Ara and Project Tango, and now it’s time for the next crazy initiative from the group. It’s called Project Jacquard, and it aims to bring wearable technology to a whole new level. Jacquard actually makes garments interactive, allowing the user to tap or swipe on a certain portion of the clothing that will actually result in communication between the article of clothing and a user’s mobile device. The end goal here is to bring touch-sensitive fabric to the mainstream, and it looks like Google already has a great start.
The Jacquard loom is able to weave together both regular and super-conductive fabric into a single textile, which is the area users will interact with on the clothing item. The I/O demo shows off this concept already in action, giving attendees the ability to control lights and a media player with the fabric-made trackpad.
The conductive area communicates with the devices by means of a low-power Wi-Fi connection. There are a few additional components that allow the fabric to connect to the devices, but Google says they’re not quite ready to be sewn into clothing quite yet. The end goal with the extra components is to shrink them down to the size of a button, though there’s still a way to go until that will happen.
The ATAP team has already announced Levi’s as its first Jacquard partner. Levi’s is looking to create its own applications, but is also seeking contributions from the developer community. To learn more about Project Jacquard, head to the source link below.
Turn Instagram food posts into meals with recipe app Handpick
Handpick, a recipe app that helps users craft meals using ingredients they have on-hand, now scours the filtered seas of Instagram for delicious-looking dishes and their accompanying recipes. This means the next time you’re searching (or drooling) through “#food” on Instagram, you might be able to actually whip up whatever catches your eye. Handpick uses a mix of algorithm and human curation to find matching food posts and recipes, CEO Payman Nejati says (via TheNextWeb): “Instagram is effectively a database of over 1 billion food posts. We started analyzing that data through the public API and using computer vision, we know whether a post is about food. We then look at the caption and use that information to match recipes to social media posts.”
Instagram is turning into a handy tool for app developers in numerous categories, from font fanatics to food. Handpick is free on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Bon appetit!
Source: TheNextWeb
These seven climate science projects could save the world
The human race is doomed, and it’s all our own fault. With the quantity of carbon in our atmosphere now well beyond the safe limit, it’s almost certain the planet’s temperature will continue to rise. Climate change is causing natural disasters of biblical proportions; a situation that’s only going to get worse as time progresses. We all need to work harder to improve this situation by using less energy and behaving more responsibly. But since some people will never be convinced the Earth’s rapidly approaching the end of its humanity-hospitable era, we’re now in dire need of alternative options to save us from ourselves. To help get the word out, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most exciting scientific projects we’ve seen of late that could, if successful, undo some or all of the damage we’ve caused.
[Image: Lisa Werner / Alamy]
Filed under: Misc
Google’s first partner for smart, sensor-laden clothes is Levi’s
Remember when we said yesterday that Google’s Project Jacquard would lead to the advent of touch-friendly pants? Well, we were more right than we thought: During the Google ATAP address here at Google I/O 2015, Technical Program Lead Ivan Poupyrev confirmed that the search giant is teaming up with Levi’s to help bridge the gap between Jacquard’s technically complex fabrics and the seemingly arcane world of fashion. “We think about Jacquard as a raw material that will make computation a part of the language which apparel designers and textile designers and fashion designers speak,” he said. “We want digital to be just the same thing as quality of yarn or colors used,” referring to how fundamental these sorts of connected considerations should be.
If you haven’t keeping tabs on Jacquard (named for a kind of weaving that requires a special loom), Google’s creating a sort of conductive yarn that they, or their partners, can embed right into fabrics. By weaving those threads into meshes, you’re ultimately left with interactive patches that can sense your touch, how hard you’re pressing on them, and even your hand’s position in space before it even makes contact with the fabric. Here’s the thing, though: Don’t expect your next pair of Jacquard jeans to put the touchscreens in your life out of job. Poupyrev says that Jacquard is better suited for broad gestures (at least for now, anyway), but the potential is still pretty staggering. One video demo showed a person swiping across the length of their forearm — clad in a Jacquard jacket, naturally — to initiate a phone call on a nearby Nexus 6.
It’s that seamlessness of behavior that’s got companies like Levi’s so worked up. By baking the ability to pick up your gestures in something that has no screen, the possibility for digital distraction doesn’t loom in the air the way it does with a smartwatch. Levi’s head of product innovation Paul Dillinger said the notion that really got the clothier’s imagination thrumming is enabling “the clothes we love to interface with the digital world, while maintaining eye with the people we’re having dinner with.”
AIVAnet 