Holographic Keyboards

While typing on a full-sized keyboard is nice, no one wants to carry one around with their handheld. What if your keyboard could be completely virtual?
HoloTouch, Inc. has developed a holographic keyboard, a 3D image of a keyboard that can float in the air in front of the user. An infrared detector scans the plane of the holographic image to detect which number or symbol is being "touched."

This isn't a theoretical project. InfoPerks has licensed HoloTouch's hologram technology to use in touch-less information kiosks to be located in public spaces and on sidewalks in New York. However, the hardware necessary to do this is currently much larger than will fit into a handheld.

The advantage for handhelds is obvious. The image of the keyboard can be any size, entirely independent of the size of the hardware. Of course, it will probably be years before the equipment is reduced to a size that can be integrated into a handheld.

RotoView
Some ideas are so simple, when you first hear of them you think, "Now why didn't I think of that?"

RotoView is one such invention.
Even the largest handheld screens are tiny compared with the ones on laptops and desktops. Handhelds get around this by allowing the user to scroll around on a larger virtual screen. But doing so is cumbersome. It is much easier with RotoView; you can just tilt the unit left-right or up-down to scroll around on the virtual screen..

Obviously you don't want this to happen every time you tilt your handheld. The device can be put in Navigation Mode to activate tilt scrolling, or put in Fixed Mode to stop it.

RotoView is the brainchild of Innoventions Inc., which says the technology is available for licensing. Obviously the handheld or smartphone needs a sensor to detect when it is being tilted, so more than software is required. However, the company is working to get the necessary hardware built into future handhelds.

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Voice Recognition Grocery List Organizer

This is the voice activated grocery list organizer that comes pre-loaded with over 2,500 food, beverage, household, beauty, and office items, and recognizes words as specific as swordfish, emory boards, and lawn bags, allowing you to store and print shopping lists simply by speaking the name of the item. Designed to magnetically attach to your refrigerator (also can be wall-mounted or kept on a countertop), the organizer uses a speaker-independent voice recognition system to match a spoken item with one in its database.

It has an easy-to-read LCD screen that puts your list in alphabetical order, and it also recognizes errands, such as going to the bank, library, or veterinarian. Simply press the print button for a categorized list generated by the device's built-in thermal printer (never requires ink replacement). You can also add items to the organizer's database, up to a maximum of 5,000 items. The organizer will automatically turn off its voice recognition system after 30 seconds of inactivity, yet still displays your shopping list on its screen. Requires four AA batteries. 7 1/2" H x 4" W x 1 1/4" D. (10 1/2 oz.) Approx Price ( $149)

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Keep The Watch....

Britain is the most CCTV-heavy nation on the planet, but easy-to-use services to check up on your house when you're not there have yet to really kick off.

New wireless video monitoring service ConnectVu aims to change all that. It offers CCTV or video feeds straight to your mobile phone over GSM/GPRS/3G and other mobile networks. Video is streamed at up to 10 frames per second - so good enough to get a decent view of your house or other location.

Check multiple locationsAn application is installed on your mobile phone which communicates directly with the ConnectVu server. Once up and running, you'll be able to drive so-called PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras or control connected systems or devices in real time from your handset.

You can check on multiple locations, switch lights on and off, zoom in and out, and close gates.

The server gateway makes the connection between the camera and the mobile handset without the need of firewall, network or router configuration. You can view video streams on multiple devices, including mobile handsets, internet-connected computers and Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The included software enables you to record and playback video streams.

Most video-equipped handsets from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola, LG et al are supported, as are BlackBerry and Pocket PC devices.


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