iPazzport Multitouch Keyboard - the 4-in-1 Gadget

The market of wireless devices that are used to control a laptop computer from a distance is about to be revolutionized with the launch of the EFO iPazzport multitouch Keyboard.

This gadget was developed by EFO shop. Weighting only 60 grams the iPazzport represents a fusion of a 10-meter wireless keyboard, mouse, touchpad, laser pointer and HTPC remote controller.

Measuring 85 X 135 X 10 mm, it includes a full QWERTY keyboard, featuring all function keys from F1 to F12 along with multi-media keys (Play, Pause, Next, Previous, Mute, Volume Up, Volume Down).

In addition, the iPazzport is compatible with Mac, Linux, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The device is powered by rechargeable Li-ion batteries that can hold for more than 2 weeks (stand by time 600 hours).

Continental forward braking system to get stereo vision

More and more, we're hearing about vehicle safety systems that use video cameras to identify hazards. Like us humans, automotive supplier Continental's recently announced ContiGuard forward-looking braking system has two eyes, in the form of two high-resolution CMOS cameras, and a suite of electronics that enables it to analyze the difference in perspective between the left and right views – similar to the parallax shift which our brains also use to create spatial vision when processing images.

The cameras in the ContiGaurd vision system are mounted 20 centimeters (8 inches) apart in a housing located behind the windshield. Unlike a single-camera system, say its designers, it can determine not only how far an obstacle is from the front of the car, but also how high that obstacle stands over the road.


By combining the two images and analyzing which aspects of them are the same and which are different, the system is also said to excel at recognizing objects even when several of them are close together, or in low light or poor contrast conditions. Details that may be questionable in one camera's image can be confirmed – or ruled out – by looking for those same details in the other image. In this way, it can more accurately identify things such as pedestrians or crossing traffic, even if the driver doesn't do so fast enough.

The new setup is also reportedly capable of determining in which direction every pixel of an object is moving, along the horizontal, vertical, and longitudinal axes. This allows it to calculate the exact point of impact with the object, and initiate braking procedures or alert the driver accordingly. It works at all speeds, has a 60-meter (197-foot) range, and can determine the location of objects to within 20-30 centimeters (8-12 inches) from a distance of 20-30 meters (66-98 feet).

In future versions, it is hoped that ContiGuard will be able to recognize obstacles such as children, cyclists and wheelchair users.

Mobile phones in developing nations could charge up using dirt

There's no doubt that residents of developing nations can benefit hugely from having mobile phones. This particularly applies to the field of medicine, as the phones allow people living in remote areas to contact health care practitioners, or to use health care apps. Given how unreliable the electrical grid can be in such countries, however, keeping those phones charged can be a challenge. That's why a team from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is working on a microbial fuel cell-based charger – a mobile phone charging system that gets its power from microbes in the soil.

The project is being led by Dr. Aviva Presser Aiden, an affiliate of SEAS and a current student at Harvard Medical School. Her device incorporates a conductive surface, that harvests free electrons created by naturally-occurring soil microbes during the course of their metabolic processes. She has already used the technology to power LED lights in a lab for 14 months.

Once they're ready to go, Aiden plans on distributing the chargers within a region of Sub-Saharan Africa, as part of a field study. Ultimately, however, she would like to see the local people being able to build their own, using readily-available materials such as window screens and soda cans. She believes that a complete device could be assembled from scratch in just a few minutes, at a cost of less than a dollar. It should be able to fully charge a phone within 24 hours.

Currently, over 500 million people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack power in their homes, even though 22 percent of households in the region have mobile phones. Therefore, many people have to walk long distances to charging stations, paying between 50 cents and a dollar per charge. While solar chargers are one alternative, Aiden says that can be costly, and are often not even offered due to the lack of a distribution/repair network.

The project received a US$100,000 grant last month, from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges program.

The Internet of Things moves a step closer with open source, ultra-low-power JenNet-IP

Much has been written about the "internet of things". Right now, not every human being has an IP but in the very near future, low cost smart chips will be added to every device to give it an IP address and everything in one's life will become part of your private secure network to be monitored and controlled (and hence become smart) via a smartphone, tablet or PC.

Earlier this week, Dutch-based NXP Semiconductors announced its GreenChip, which for the cost of about US$1.00, enables every light bulb to have its own wireless IP address. NXP has subsequently announced it is to make its JenNet-IP, ultra-low-power, IEEE 802.15.4-based, wireless network layer software available under an Open Source license in Q4, 2011.

This development is very significant as it reduces the cost and greatly simplifies adding "smart" connectivity and two-way communication into a wide range of devices, and might well establish a cross-application standard for wireless connectivity in both residential and industrial environments.

SleepWell system puts mobile devices to sleep to conserve power while waiting on Wi-Fi

Although the number of Wi-Fi hotspots has increased dramatically in most places over the past few years, the explosion in the number of smartphones and laptops attempting to make use of such connections means that getting decent download speeds is as difficult as it always was. Not only is this frustrating, it can also be a major drain on the batteries of mobile devices. In an effort to address one of these problems, a Duke University graduate student has developed software called SleepWell that allows mobile devices to take a nap to save power while they wait for their turn to download.

The SleepWell system was developed by Justin Manweiler, who likens its advantages to those that would be seen if companies in major cities staggered their work hours to reduce rush hour traffic. And like traffic congestion relief, the biggest advantages of the SleepWell system would be seen in cities where the density of Wi-Fi-enabled devices is greatest.

"The SleepWell-enabled Wi-Fi access points can stagger their activity cycles to minimally overlap with others, ultimately resulting in promising energy gains with negligible loss of performance," said Manweiler.

When a neighboring device is downloading information on the same Wi-Fi network, other devices can go to sleep while waiting for their turn to download, thereby saving precious battery life. Depending on usage patterns, Manweiler claims the system can potentially double the battery life of mobile devices.

Romit Roy Choudhury, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering who oversaw Manweiler's work, says the emergence of cloud computing will see mobile devices needing to access the Internet more frequently and that such frequent access could be severely constrained by the energy toll that Wi-Fi takes on the device's battery life.

"Energy is certainly a key problem for the future of mobile devices, such as iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones," Roy Choudhury said. "The SleepWell system can certainly be an important upgrade to Wi-Fi technology, especially in the light of increasing Wi-Fi density."

Having tested the technology over a number of device types and situations, Manweiler is confident that the SleepWell system is, "a viable approach for the near future."

Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite portable HDD streams media wirelessly to mobile devices

With a lack of USB ports or SD card reader there's no easy way to expand the storage capacity of an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. With the iPad and iPod touch topping out at 64GB and many opting for the cheaper, lower capacity models, users are either faced with the task of picking and choosing and switching and swapping the media files and documents they think they'll be wanting to enjoy, or looking for an app to stream media over the Internet to their device. With this latter option leaving users at the mercy of increasingly congested Wi-Fi hotspots or chewing through data over 3G or 4G networks, Seagate has just announced another solution in the form of the GoFlex Satellite – it combines a 500GB portable HDD with a built in wireless streamer to let users take their entire media library with them.

The GoFlex Satellite device is basically a standard GoFlex 500GB HDD packed in an enclosure along with an 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi module, rechargeable lithium polymer battery and web-server. Used in conjunction with the free GoFlex Media app for iOS devices, the drive appears as local attached storage for up to three devices at the same time. However, an Android app is due this northern summer and in the meantime users of Android smartphones and tablets can stream media to their device's web browser.

Getting content onto the drive from a Windows PC or Mac OS X computer is accomplished using the included Media Sync software. The software is configured to only allow the transfer of files that are compatible with your iOS device, including music and videos purchased through iTunes that will then play on all authorized devices. For those with a USB 3.0 enabled computer, the drive also comes with a USB 3.0 cable to take advantage of the higher transfer speeds offered by USB 3.0.

Seagate says the GoFlex Satellite's battery has a 25-hour standby battery life and will deliver up to five hours of continuously streaming video. To help extend the battery life, the GoFlex Media app also provides a progressive download feature that will temporarily load video onto your iOS device so the drive can go into standby mode. Along with the wall charger, the drive also comes with a car charger to ensure the kids aren't left hanging halfway through on a long car trip.

The GoFlex Satellite is available now for pre-order from Seagate for US$199.99 and is set to arrive in Best Buy stores in July, 2011. Global availability is scheduled for later this year. The GoFlex Media app is available now as a free download from the iTunes App Store.

Verifying passwords by the way they're typed

There are good passwords and bad passwords, but none of them are totally secure. Researchers at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, are working on strengthening an approach to password security that's not just about what you type, but how you type it.

Ravel Jabbour, Wes Masri and Ali El-Hajj of the American University of Beirut have developed software that aims to improve upon past attempts at linking password authentication to the the speed and rhythm of the user's keystrokes, a method called key-pattern analysis (KPA).

Instead of just measuring the time-lapse between keystrokes, the researchers also measure how long each key remains depressed. They argue that this extra parameter of "intra" timing significantly boosts reliable authentication and improves the overall KPA approach.

Modified keyboards that measure keystroke pressure represent another avenue for, but this approach works on a standard keyboard. It would work like this:

-> The user enters their password multiple times to set-up a log-in;
-> The program creates a user profile based on intra and inter timing and other parameters like the relationships between two keys (digraph) and three keys (trigraph);
-> This profile is stored for comparison when the user logs-in again.
It's a bit of a double-edged sword because the longer and more complex the password, the harder it is to repeatedly type it in with the same rhythm. The researchers acknowledge the trade-off - it's a matter of finding a "sweet spot" between length and reliable typing. If one had a choice between a longer password and a system that stopped someone with my password written down in front of them from gaining access, one would choose the latter.

The researchers say they have also integrated secure "group" functionality into the system to cater for another possible drawback - the ability to share passwords when you do want someone else to have log-in access.