ZCam 3D Camera is like Minority Report Without Gloves

from Gizmodo by Jesus Diaz

The ZCam is the first low-cost, consumer videocamera that can capture video with depth information and probably the first real challenger to Nintendo's Wiimote: with its 3D capture abilities it will allow you to play Wii-style without using any controls whatsoever. In fact, it is so precise that it will even recognize your finger gestures to fire a weapon or manipulate your computer like in Minority Report, but without gloves or any other external device:

The camera has sensors that are able to measure the depth for each of the captured pixels using a principle called Time-Of-Flight. It gets 3D information "by emitting pulses of infra-red light to all objects in the scene and sensing the reflected light from the surface of each object." The objects in the scene are then ordered in layers in the Z axis, which gives you a grayscale depth map that a game or any software application can use.

According to manufacturer 3DV Systems, the depth resolution is quite good: it can detect 3D motion and volume down to 0.4 inches, capturing at the same time full color, 1.3 megapixel video at 60 frames per second. While there have been professional cameras with depth capture in the past, this is the first time that a device of such characteristics is cheap enough to be built into any game system or computer.

As you can see in the video, the ZCam is completely different from the EyeToy or any other normal 2D webcam. Even while it's not as precise and flexible as a real full 3D motion tracking system, the videos show that it can indeed provide with a new level of interactivity in video games and any application—like computer user interface manipulation.

While the results could be quite impressive, I'm not convinced about some of the applications. The flight simulator, for example, seems to work great. However, unlike boxing, I have the feeling that I wouldn't be able to control a plane without actually grabbing something. Of course, I can pick anything to give me that feeling, just like a Nintendo Wiimote. But then again, in flight simulator games you want an actual joystick, so the "phantom" feeling of not having force feedback is the same for the ZCam and the Wiimote. For any other game, like first person shooters, this kind of technology could be really good if it lives up to its promise and developers can fully exploit it.

Its virtues could be even easier to apply in computer applications. The demonstration in the video, with the guy manipulating Vista with hand gestures, gives you a very good idea. As I use my iMac 24 to type this, I wish I can just wave my hand in the air quickly to consult a PDF, like Minority Report's Tom Cruise but without jumping in the sofa and scaring Oprah. Or touching, moving and clicking the mouse.

Since the ZCam is a piece of circuitry that can be integrated anywhere, and without taxing the CPU, I don't see why companies like Apple or Dell wouldn't adopt them for future desktop and portables. However, the technology has just been officially announced this week and it's too soon too tell. Whatever happens, it's good to see such a device coming to the market. Hopefully, we will see it in action with real world applications soon. In the meantime:

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[3DV Systems]

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Marksmanship

from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin

In a new study released in today's Times, it turns out that the typical NY police officer only hits 34% of the time she fires a gun. Even from a distance of six feet or less, it's 43%. Obviously, Bruce Willis is the exception.

I wonder how it changes your decision making when you discover that you're only going to be successful one out of three times. Never mind blasting a weapon out of an assailant's hand, we're talking about hitting the target at all... How does a cop have the guts to even pull a weapon knowing that most of the time, it's not going to have its desired effect (my guess is that the threat and the noise and chaos is as positive an outcome as an actual hit...). I know I would never have the guts to do that job.

Salespeople have a harder time with this than marketers. Marketers have lots of 'bullets' and they don't notice the ones they miss (I usually miss 99.5% of the time online, and more than 99.999% of the time selling books). We just reload and blithely continue on. But salespeople have to deal both with personal rejection and the expectation of the boss.

The poor hit rate of selling explains call resistance. Non-professional salespeople almost aways wash out because they can't keep at it, day after day, once they realize that most of the time, they fail. I guess my point is that if a policeman can risk his life doing it, we can probably find the nerve to go on one more sales call.

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This is the new politics

from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin

Forget about YouTube debates.

The future of politics looks just like what Cory did to the Canadian DMCA the last few weeks.

One person, with just a few hard-working people in the field, managed to derail a bill that lobbyists spent millions of dollars on.

Sure, it helps that it was a lousy bill, that Cory co-writes the most popular blog in the world and that the bill was about something that blog readers care about. Doesn't matter. Because as readership grows and issues start attracting loyal readers, what this proves is that Tip O'Neill was wrong. All politics isn't local. All politics is about permission. The permission to share your views with people who want to hear them, people who take action, people who tell their friends.

Nice work, Cory. Who's next?

[Right issue, wrong guy, I'm told! Cory was the one I noticed, but Michael was the point man.]

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CradlePoint reveals PHS300 portable hotspot

from Engadget by Darren Murph

Merely months after cranking out the CTR-350, CradlePoint has upped the ante with the even more portable PHS300. This bugger enables a selection of handsets and USB cellular modems to create a "personal WiFi hotspot," and unlike its sibling, this one sports a built-in Li-ion to keep the connection alive (for a few hours, anyway) where there's no AC outlet in sight. Furthermore, you'll find WEP / WPA security features, an integrated firewall and the ability to charge up your phone via USB if necessary. Sound like just the thing you need? If so, you can drop your pre-order in now for $179.99 and patiently await the December 20th ship date. [Via The Boy Genius Report]

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Toshiba's new 128GB SATA SSDs -- hello, SanDisk?

from Engadget by Thomas Ricker

128GB of SSD. You long for it, you need it, and with any luck you'll have it when Toshiba starts churning 'em out for production by May. The new 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch MLC NAND slabs with SATA interfaces will ship in three capacities: 32GB, 64GB, and the big daddy 128GB. The new SSDs are based on the new 56-nm processes announced back in January. Of course, with Toshiba and Sandisk bedfellows in flash we're also expecting a SanDisk announcement on the quick -- certainly no later than CES in early January. No prices announced, though we anticipate the year-over-year reductions to continue, right boys? [Via Impress]

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