Tracking

From the Physorg.com website: "Sony Ericsson today unveils the world's first ever motion activated headphones that sense the user. The clever MH907 headphones mean users simply plug in two earphones to start listening to music and pause by removing one earbud. To start listening again simply plug it back in. Do exactly the same to answer and end calls - simple as 1,2,3.

Take a look at this project by Kit Webster. Here is what he send us:

"This is an early proof of concept for an art installation I am working on:
Rotation Mapping from Kit Webster on Vimeo.
Early stages of a rotation mapping prototype. Rear space is imaged producing transparency."

From this ScienceDaily article: "A system that can recognize human gestures could provide a new way for people with physical disabilities to interact with computers. A related system for the able bodied could also be used to make virtual worlds more realistic.

Manolya Kavakli of the Virtual and Interactive Simulations of Reality Research Group, at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, explains how standard input devices - keyboard and computer mouse, do not closely mimic natural hand motions such as drawing and sketching. Moreover, these devices have not been developed for ergonomic use nor for people with disabilities.

This Science Centric article reports scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed software that improves the accuracy of the tracking devices by at least 700 percent. From the article: "The software can be used by scientists in other immersive environments with slight modifications for their individual laboratories. This advance is a step forward in transforming immersive technology that has traditionally been a qualitative tool into a scientific instrument with which precision measurements can be made.

This Engadget post reports Mgestyk Technologies are planning to sell their gesture-based control system on the cheap. From the article: "As we've seen, it's not exactly all that difficult for someone with the necessary skills to whip up their own gesture-based control system, but the folks at upstart Mgestyk Technologies seem to think they've got something a bit more notable on their hands, and they're actually planning on selling it to the general public.

This Networked_Performance article takes a look at GPS Film: a new media artwork from filmmaker Scott Hessels that invents a new way of watching movies based on the viewer’s location and movement. From the article: "Using a GPS-enabled PDA or mobile phone, the audience creates a new type of film experience that reveals the story through their journey.

Released as a free, open-source application, the project premiere[d] on September 4, 2008 along with the first film made specifically for the system, Singaporean filmmaker Kenny Tan’s chase comedy Nine Lives.

This NewScientistTech article reports Nintendo has unveiled a new motion sensor for its Wii controller and a number of new games to show off the capabilities of the device. From the article: "The controller more accurately tracks the position and orientation of a player's arm and should allow games to be more sensitive to player movement.

At the E3 video game industry trade show in Los Angeles yesterday, Nintendo said the motion controller will come boxed with a new title called Wii Sports Resort, which includes Frisbee throwing and sword-fighting games that show off the controller's abilities.

This Technology Review article takes a look at the WAVEscape system developed by Reactrix. From the article: "There could be a revolution brewing in billboard advertising. Instead of simply presenting a static image, why not let people interact with the advertisement? This is the vision of electronics giant Samsung and interactive advertising company Reactrix Systems. The two companies have partnered to bring 57-inch interactive displays to Hilton hotel lobbies by the end of the year. These displays can "see" people standing up to 15 feet away from the screen as they wave their hands to play games, navigate menus, and use maps.

This ThomasNet press release reports WorldViz releases the PPT-H high-end tracking system based on intelligent cameras and the new PPT Studio 2008 software which is the first immersive Virtual Reality tracking system that expands up to 32 cameras. From the press release: "The PPT-H high-end tracking system based on intelligent cameras and new PPT Studio 2008 software is the first immersive Virtual Reality tracking system that expands up to 32 cameras.

This NewScientistTech article reports two consumer digital cameras, some fishing line and a spot of number crunching have made it possible for researchers to track the 3D positions of more than 2000 individual starlings flying in a single tightly-packed flock. From the article: "Previously, scientists could only work out the positions of tens of birds at any one time. Unveiling the secrets of such complex group behaviour could have applications in economics.

Because of the difficulties in tracking individual birds in large flocks, biologists have instead used computer simulations to study flocking.