Thursday, August 11, 2011

How The Magical Windows Work in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner [Airplanes]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5829395/how-boeings-magical-787-dreamliner-windows-work

How The Magical Windows Work in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner has the best airplane windows ever. It ditches that small window with a pull-down plastic shade and replaces it with a larger, dimming window that can be adjusted to let in various amounts of light.

The windows are a dreamy 19 inches tall and 65% larger than the standard airplane windows so you'll get to see a lot more of your surroundings. And did I mention they dim?

The dimming effect is the result of an electrified gel sandwiched between two thin pieces of glass. As the electric current increases, the gel darkens and as it drops, the gel lightens. The system is brilliant in its simplicity.

Each passenger in the coveted window seat will have control over their window. They're also networked together so flight personnel can control the windows, too. Attendants can adjust each window, adjust windows in an entire section of the plane or adjust them for the entire plane.

These new dimming windows are just the beginning for Boeing and its research partners PPG Aerospace and Gentex Corporation. The trio hopes to add other features to the windows like automation that would brighten your portal during take off and dim it at night. [Boeing]


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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Organic Motion's OpenStage motion capture system grabs 200FPS, no backdrop required (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/10/organic-motions-openstage-motion-capture-system-grabs-200fps-n/

At just under $40,000 for an eight camera setup, we're hardly in hobbyist territory here, but Organic Motion's new OpenStage 2.0 motion capture system could certainly make do in the average basement. Unlike a few competing solutions shown here at SIGGRAPH, this one actually has no backdrop mandate, and better still, doesn't require you to latch a single sensor onto your subject. The magic lies within the cameras hung above -- kits are sold that contain between eight and 24 cameras, and even the latter can be handled with a single workstation. Multi-person tracking ain't no thang, and while you aren't capturing HD footage here, the high-speed VGA capability enables up to 200 frames per second to be logged. Not surprisingly, the company's aiming this squarely at the animation and medical realms, and should start shipping bundles as early as next month. Looking to take down Pixar? You'll need a lot more than 40 large, but perhaps the video after the break will give you a bit of inspiration.

Continue reading Organic Motion's OpenStage motion capture system grabs 200FPS, no backdrop required (video)

Organic Motion's OpenStage motion capture system grabs 200FPS, no backdrop required (video) origin ally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: 3D3 Solutions scans our face in two seconds flat

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/10/visualized-3d3-solutions-scans-our-face-in-two-seconds-flat/

See that bloke? That's Darren Murph. Well, a digital representation of the human version, anyway. That image was captured in two painless seconds at the hands of 3D3 Solutions, which was on-hand here at SIGGRAPH to demonstrate its newest FlexScan setups. The rig that snapped our face rings up at around $10,000, and relies on a Canon DSLR (strictly for capturing textures), a projector and a secondary camera. As you've likely picked up on, this is hardly designed for average DIYers, but these solutions are also far more detailed and flexible than using Microsoft's Kinect. We're told that the company recently started to support Nikon cameras as well, and for those who'd prefer to use their existing cameras / PJs, a hobbyist-centric software package will allow you to do just that. The only problem? Figuring out where the $2,700 (for software) is going to come from. Head on past the break for a demonstration vid, or peruse the gallery below if you're feeling extra creepy.

Continue reading Visualized: 3D3 Solutions scans our face in two seconds flat

Visualized: 3D3 Solutions scans our face in two seconds flat originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CHART OF THE DAY: Apple Closes The Day As The Most Valuable Company In The World For The First Time Ever (AAPL, XOM)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-apple-exxon-mobil-market-cap-2011-8

Apple has closed the day as the most valuable public company in the world knocking off Exxon Mobil.

It's an incredible feat considering Apple was a broken company 15 years ago. In the world of technology, which evolves so rapidly, only a handful of companies have been able to reverse course and find new life.

Apple's rise to the top happened rather suddenly. Just a year ago it passed Microsoft to become the biggest company in tech. At the start of the year it was still $75 billion behind Exxon. Today it's $6 billion ahead.

But, a market crash coupled with Apple's astounding earnings performance have vaulted it to the top of the heap.

chart of the day, apple, exxon mobil market cap, aug 2011

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Perceptive Pixel shows world's largest projected capacitive display at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/09/perceptive-pixel-shows-worlds-largest-projected-capacitive-disp/

Perceptive Pixel wasn't kidding around when it launched the planet's biggest projected capacitive display here at SIGGRAPH -- all 82 inches of it were here on display, and naturally, we stopped by to give it a look. While 82-inch panels aren't anything new, this one's particularly special. You see, the company actually procures the panels from Samsung, and then it rips the guts out while bonding its own network of sensors directly to it; most large-screen touch devices simply pop a touch layer on top of whatever TV shows up in the labs, but this integrated approach takes sensitivity to a whole 'nother level. For those unfamiliar with the term 'projected capacitive,' we're surmising that it's actually far less foreign than you think -- it's a technology used in a handful of smartphones, from Samsung's Moment to Apple's iPhone. 3M was also showing off a PC tech preview back at CES, and after using it here on the show floor, there's no question that it's the future for larger-screen devices. To quote CEO Jeff Han: "once consumers get a taste of this on the mobile front, they start demanding it elsewhere."

Continue reading Perceptive Pixel shows world's largest projected capacitive display at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video)

P! erceptiv e Pixel shows world's largest projected capacitive display at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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