Can a Myoelectric Armband Replace Your Mouse?

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t looks like Minority Report, but better: the MYO armband will (according to the promo video) let you control iTunes by snapping your fingers, command radio-controlled toys like Luke using the Force, and flash through Powerpoint presentations without using a clicker. And you won't have to wave awkwardly in front of a depth camera in order to do it. MYO doesn't rely on cameras at all: as its name implies, the device uses myoelectric sensors (similar to those used in prosthetics) to sense electrical impulses in your arm muscles as you move your hand, wrist and fingers. Then it translates those impulses into UI commands. It's like a Nintendo Power Glove without the glove. 

It also looks a bit too good to be true, so I reached out to Thalmic Labs to ask a few questions. First, do all those uses shown in the video actually exist, or are they just visual-effects mockups? Thalmic Labs co-founder Stephen Lake answered somewhat ambiguously: "The video is designed to show a small sample of ways the device can be used – to inspire people to think of ways they might use the technology," he told me via email. "The things we showed – Sphero, Parrot drone, Powerpoint, and so on – are all real integrations that will be available when the MYO ships (will be open-source too)." The snowboarder using MYO to control a HUD is definitely just a visual effect, he confirmed. 

I also asked Lake what the out-of-the-box user experience would be like. If MYO is supposed to potentially replace the mouse as an all-purpose computer peripheral – which Lake says he intends, along with "a whole host of new scenarios that are completely outside of what we think of for human-computer interaction currently" – then it should be pretty obvious what you can and can't do with it, regardless of what application you're using. But that's the rub with gestural UIs: there's no physical controller to manipulate, so the basic affordances of the interface are invisible. MYO is just a featureless black armband. How are you supposed to know what snapping your fingers does with it – or that "snapping fingers" is a command that MYO can interpret in the first place? Read the manual, I guess. (Not that there's anything wrong with that on principle.) 

Lake confirmed that MYO will be pre-programmed with a small "menu" of gestural commands, much like a mouse can click, double-click, and scroll. That's smart: since new users will have to read the manual anyway, it's best not to inundate them with an intimidating glossary of complicated movements to memorize. Lake also said that MYO will not allow users to customize their own gestures, at least not at first. That seems a bit odd for an open-source device, but again, it's probably a smart usability choice. You need to walk before you can run. 

So will it catch on? Wearable computing is the new hotness, but I'm not sure a device like MYO will be knocking the mouse off its pedestal anytime soon. As the video aptly shows, MYO seems much more useful in very specific, intentional (as opposed to casual) applications. If you're going to spend the next hour cooking a meal and you'd like to use your iPad at the same time, why not slip an armband on before you get started so you can control the touchscreen without getting chicken juice all over it? On principle, it's no different than putting in a pair of earphones or connecting a bluetooth speaker. DJ's, TED presenters, surgeons, soldiers – anyone who has to "suit up" in some regard before performing a technology-augmented task – might love MYO for the same reasons. It's low-profile and silent, so it probably won't get in the way of your work (or any other devices you may be manipulating). And taking depth cameras out of the equation simplifies things greatly, too: no more worrying about whether you're staying within the camera's "capture volume" or not. 

But at the end of the day, MYO is still more Power Glove than Nike Fuelband. You're not going to want to wear the thing when you're not purposefully using it. But maybe that'll work to MYO's advantage. There's something appealing about a wearable computing interface whose designers don't assume you're going to want it attached to you all the damn time (like Google Glass). Sure, it's fun to be a cyborg sometimes. But maybe MYO's savviest design feature is the fact that – like a pair of headphones – you'll eventually want to take it off. 

testing network

NETRA QUADROTOR DRDO

Design and development

The Netra is a lightweight UAV, constructed of carbon fiber composites, that uses quadrotors to provide lift and control giving a VTOL capability. With no moving parts other than the rotors, motors and transmissions, the Netra requires very low maintenance and the low weight of 1.5 kg (3 lb), due to its carbon-fibre construction, makes the Netra easily portable.

A backpack case allows an operator to carry the system to field locations, initiate the flight plan and serve as the base station. It also contains the power supply, military-grade controller, hand-held operator console and the communication systems.

The development stage has been completed and Ideaforge is responsible for the production. The end-users can directly approach the company to buy the product and deliveries are expected to start by two months, and then continue at the rate of 10 units per month. The base price of the UAV is Rs1.5-2 million, and this can increase with purchase of additional components like a thermal camera.

Trial

10 prototypes were made during the development stage by DRDO and they were put under various tests like temperature tests (from -10°C to 55°C) and high-altitude tests. After the successful trials, the UAV was cleared for production and induction.

Capabilities

Operational altitude of the UAV is 200 meters and it is equipped with a wireless transmitter. It can carry out surveillance in an area of 1.5 km Line of Sight (LOS) and has an endurance capacity of 30 minutes, limited by battery charge. It has a high resolution CCD camera with a pan/tilt and zoom to facilitate wider surveillance and can also carry a thermal camera for night operations.

Navigation

The user does not have to provide input for flight and navigation, which is controlled by an on-board auto-pilot. The user interface offers waypoint navigation. The user specifies the target location, and the UAV automatically flies to the desired location. A built-in fail-safe allows it to return to base if there is loss of communication with the controller or if the battery is low in power. The UAV cannot operate in rain and further research is being done to make it operable in all weather conditions.

Applications

The Netra was designed for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations in forested areas. It can also be deployed in hostage situations, border infiltration monitoring, local law enforcement operations, search and rescue operations, disaster management and aerial photography. It can operating in all conflict theatres, including urban quarters, in situations similar to that of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. It can track human activity, even in dense forests, using its camera payloads and was deployed at the request of the local law enforcement during a political rally in Chandigarh.

Operators

Defence Research and Development Organisation - 10 units

Border Security Force (BSF)

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) - 12 units

Mumbai Police

A decorative paperweight made from 3D printing technology. Photo: CFP

A decorative paperweight made from 3D printing technology. Photo: CFP

As the non-tech savvy struggle to swim in the vast sea of digital information out there, a Beijing-based trade body is busy diving ahead - hoping to popularize the mind-boggling 3D printing technology, which works by transforming 3D digital information into physical objects.

3D printing will not only play a "very positive role" in upgrading Chinese manufacturing, but also help bring small-scale manufacturing out of factories and into homes, hospitals, and schools, said Luo Jun, CEO of the Asian Manufacturing Association, at the 2013 World 3D Printing Technology Industry Conference in Beijing last month.

The technology is taking off in other areas, too. The recent box office-hit Iron Man 3 put 3D printing into action - and was perhaps best displayed by Iron Man's impressive 3D-printed suit.

A cutting-edge 3D printer can build up a real-world object from a computer-created digital model by laying down layers of liquid, powder or cell tissue. It will be able to make almost everything, from bread to clothes, and from simple chess pieces to more complicated airplanes, Hod Lipson, an associate professor of Cornell University, wrote in his book titled Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing.

Lipson's research group has been painstakingly working on food printers since 2010, in hopes that people's health and metabolic data can be calculated by the machine to print out tailored meals for individual nutrition needs.

Lipson predicts 3D printing to eventually help humans master the physical world so that ordinary people can print complex tools at home, which will create huge changes for traditional manufacturing industries - and even possibly lead the global supply chain to be replaced by flexible small-scale manufacturers.

By that time, related professions are likely to be cast aside by this revolutionary technology, yet as intellectual property laws become invalid, the turn will balance the shift somewhat by fostering new jobs and opportunities for other markets, said Lipson.

A digital revolution? Plugging a 3D printer into digital technology can not only copy existing objects but also create new ones.

With this feature, 3D printing is highly likely to push the third industrial revolution, namely a digital revolution - spurring change from mechanical and electronic production technologies to ones digital in nature, Xu Zhilei, a Chinese Academy of Engineering professor, said at the conference.

But other industrial experts think it's too early to jump to such conclusions.

Terry Wohlers, president of the US 3D printing research firm Wohlers Associates, expressed his concern about the unclear prospect of 3D printing at the conference, saying that, "We are not sure whether this technology is going to expand the limits of people's life like what the Internet is doing."

After all, as Shi Yusheng, vice director of China 3D Printing Technology Industry Alliance, pointed out at the press event, the technology still remains in the research phase and it is likely to take at least another 20 years for day-to-day uses to be realized.

But that doesn't mean 3D hasn't come a far way already. Over the past 30 years, the technology has been applied to aerospace, automotive and biomedical industries, producing highly complex designs that are too difficult for traditional techniques, said Luo.

Compared to traditional techniques, which rely on subtracting or cutting materials, 3D printing is an additive manufacturing process and only contributes what is needed - making 3D-printed mechanical parts lighter while reducing costly fuel consumption.

Luo noted that, however, 3D printing is not the best choice when it comes to mass production as it is more suitable for production in smaller batches, particularly for industrial designs.

Yet for all the skepticism, Chinese and foreign governments still have great expectations for 3D printing.

US President Obama said in February that 3D printing will play a positive role in boosting the US economy and asked Congress to "guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is made in America."

"We plan to establish a 3D printing research center, to revolutionize the way we produce as quickly as possible and cut increasing labor costs in the sector," Li Chuanheng, director of Economic and Information Technology Committee in Weifang, East China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times.

OXYGENATED NOTEBOOK

WHAT WILL REALLY DO?
1  absorb water

2  extract  hydrogen

3  generate electricity

4  DISCHARGE OXYGEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Plantbook is a notebook concept that takes a leaf out of the life of a bamboo plant. What I mean is that the battery charging system is inspired by the water-soaking abilities of the bamboo!

The designers explain, "The system uses an external water tank, hence the Plantbook continuously absorbs water when soaking it in water and generates electrolysis using power stored in a solar heat plate installed on the top. In this process, it is operated using hydrogen as energy source and discharges oxygen. If you put it into a water bottle while you don't use the laptop, it automatically charges a battery and discharges oxygen. A leaf-shaped strap hanging on the top is made with silicon. It plays a role of a hand ring and a green LED indicates when the battery is charged. Using this LED, users can check how much spare capacity the batter has."

DEFENCE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORG

DRDO

pictures from Picture from DEFEXPO 2012

unmaned armed ground vehicle developed by DRDO, these one of the powerful defence tools, really cool , good job DRDO INDIA.

 boeing,s a prototype for its hydrogen-fueled UAV, Phantom Eye. Designed to fly at 65,000 feet for up to four days straight, the vehicle has two 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines, can carry 450 pounds of payload, and is scheduled to have its maiden flight in early 2011. Kochersberger compares the Phantom Eye with DARPA’s Vulture program to create a five-year battery-powered UAV that can carry more than 1,000 pounds. While Vulture is more ambitious, he says there’s probably a two- or three-year development cycle before it flies. The Phantom Eye is still on the ground, too, but closer to flying. An airplane that will stay up for several days in orbit as a communications hub is novel, Kochersberger says. “It’s a radical design.”

first ever ARM powered ARDUINO!!!!!!!!!

Due has a 32-bit ARM core that can outperform typical 8-bit microcontroller boards. The most significant differences are:

• A 32-bit core, that allows operations on 4 bytes wide data within a single CPU clock. 
• CPU Clock at 84Mhz.
• 96 KBytes of SRAM.
• 512 KBytes of Flash memory for code.
• a DMA controller, that can relieve the CPU from doing memory intensive tasks.