cooltech

Okay, I’m beginning to realize that we really have moved into the age of robots. It was one thing to watch the robot on Lost in Space back in the sixties and laugh at the moving can with flexi-arms.  Now things are real. I mean, look at the progression of robot products in the consumer market. 

It began with robots that would vacuum your carpet and mow you lawn. We then began to see advanced animatronics coming out of Japan that were really like the robots we saw in science fiction movies.  Now, in the fall, we will see the WALL-E robot hit the store shelves in conjunction with the release of the Disney movie of the same name. But it doesn’t end there; check out Rolly from Sony.

Your MP3’s were never like this before.  An egg-shaped robot that moves to your music.

Rolly is a more sophisticated device than one might expect upon first appearance. It is amazing to watch, with it’s moving end caps (that move like arms) and the lights and precise movements. But it allows it’s owner to program it’s choreography to exacting routines. It’s really a fully programmable music player.

Using the Rolly Choreographer software, the user can create their own choreography for their favorite songs and preview the results on their PC, or the software will create the moves automatically. The personalized routine can then be uploaded to the Rolly Go forum to share with others.  This is the creative angle that will create a niche following for Rolly.  As an example of artificial intelligence, the Rolly is an interesting advance. 

Rolly became available to the buying public in Japan last Fall.  My guess is that Americans will fall into two schools of thought on this product; you love it or you hate it.   There is no doubt that the Japanese really like their robots.  Just check out Youtube. (btw, there are some good Rolly videos on Youtube as well).  Look at the Rolly ‘big brother’ , Miuro that has been available in Japan since 2006.  It doesn’t even have the flapping arms, but it moves to the music also.  Those attributes seem to make people in Japan laugh and can produce some level of amusement.

The price might take you back. The current suggested retail price is $399.00, which is what you can buy it for at SONY Style stores.  Since I see this product as being a hit with teens, I think SONY may need to rethink their pricing model. There is no doubt that some sophisticated electronics exist in the Rolly, but what’s new about that?

The Nintendo Wii Fit hit the U.S. market on May 19th.  The electronic exercise device has already sold 2 million copies in Japan. It includes the Wii Balance Board, a sophisticated platform that has the ability to sense weight and shifts in balance and in movement.

The Wii Balance Board connects to the Wii console through a wireless connection.  The Balance Board allows the user to engage in up to 40 different exercises including yoga, aerobics, strength training and balance. 

The device features virtual trainers that egg-on the user. The Wii Fit even tracks users’ progress, which lets people see how they have improved while challenging them to better their scores and stay motivated to keep going.

Wii Fit should prove to be a great solution to get gamers off the couch and enjoying the game-like approach to fitness. It should also prove to be a great introduction to Wii for non-gamers who are just interested in exercise. What could be better than bringing interactive entertainment to getting fit.

Displays have become such an integral part of our culture and society that there is an organization devoted to just their ‘research, design, manufacturing, applications, marketing and sales’.

The Society for Information Display holds an annual event that draws thousands.  Six thousand display professionals will be among those in attendance at the SID Symposium, Seminar, and Exposition May 18-23 in Los Angeles. According to a SID press release, some of this years exhibitors will include: 

Samsung Electronics , who will display an 82″ TV panel, which is the largest commercial LCD TV in the world, ultra-slim 40″ and 52″ panels less than 10mm thick and a white e-board (electronic blackboard for corporate and institutional applications), which will feature ultra-high resolution (4K*2K) and a 120Hz driver and embedded touch sensors.

Epson is debuting its new OLED display systems capable of producing the “Ultimate Black”.  It is black that holds the key to overall image quality.  Epson has succeeded in lengthening the life of the display system to more than 50,000 hours through the creation of their own original element structure.

Microvision will display their new pocket-sized laser projector which is enabled by their novel PicoP™ display module.  The new miniature projectors make use of Microvision’s MEMS single scanning mirror technology which does not require a lens, so it is focus-free.  The tiny mirror will steer a beam of light precisely to project an image for use with automotive heads-up displays, cell phones and lap tops.

LG Display will show their 15″ TFT-LCD made by an All Layer Roll Printing Process and a 6″ oval TFT-LCD, and a 1.4″ round TFT-LCD for small and medium displays. Displays come in many shapes these days apparently.

Display technology has to keep up with the increasing demand for miniature displays and large displays in any number of devices. The technology continues to advance with new applications and structures unveiled at shows like the SID Symposium and many more in the pipeline.

The new Cooltech blog at Today is born.  Come back often for a mix of high-tech product news, introductions to the coolest gadgets and a glimpse of things to come.

Our introductory post is about new laser technology.

A glimpse into the future perhaps? It’s hard to talk about the future when you’re talking about technology. The future usually refers to a month from now. So is the case with laser applications. What was once science-fiction is finding new applications every day.

QPC lasers is introducing their BrightLase(R) Red-Green-Blue “RGB” laser for use in high resolution miniature projectors.  Why a miniature projector you ask?  With the tiny screens on many portable consumer devices; Internet browsing, games and video sharing can be difficult. The miniature projector solves that problem.

The new lasers are expected to find their way into PDAs, games, laptops, automobiles, and aircraft.  The RGB laser is designed to be compatible with the leading micro-display technologies.

It seems like yesterday that we were witnessing lasers used as the weapon of choice in Sci-fi flicks. Then we graduated to laser pointers. Now lasers will expand beyond CD players to yet another useful application.