HOW INTEL HELPS STEPHEN HAWKING COMMUNICATE WITH THE WORLD

Happy Birthday Stephen Hawking! Although Dr. Hawking has been paralyzed for decades by Lou Gehrig’s disease, it hasn’t stopped him from continuing his research into uncovering the secrets of the cosmos and earning the title as one of the world’s top scientists. And since 1997, one of Hawking’s many birthday gifts have come from Intel; every few years, Intel builds Dr. Hawking a custom-made computer that helps him communicate with the world.

When Hawking turned 71 on January 8th, Intel announced the company will develop a new system that will give him the ability to communicate faster, even as his disease progresses. Hawkings controls his current computer through cheek movements; the movement triggers an infrared switch attached to his glasses that allows him to select the characters of individual words on a screen in front of him. The process allows Hawkings to create a word a letter at a time, which is inefficient even with an iPhone-like autocomplete feature. Once he has constructed a sentence at about one word per minute, a digital voice synthesizer can speak it for him, allowing him to give lectures and talks.

Hawking recently reached out to Intel to develop a more efficient way to talk, and CTO Justin Rattner jumped on the case with Intel’s latest gesture and facial-recognition technology. Showcased at CESearlier this month, Intel’s perceptual computing initiative is developing new ways to interact with computers using speech, eye-tracking, gestures and facial expressions.

By measuring Hawking’s mouth and eyebrow movements, as well as using intensive facial recognition and a better word predictor, Rattner hopes to increase Hawking’s language composition speed up to ten times its current pace.

Once developed, Hawking’s computer will be an example of the cutting edge assistive tech that is central to the future of computing. Devices are increasingly becoming more natural to use, and Intel’s perceptual computing initiative is at the forefront of this trend. While beneficial to everyone, the increasingly easy to use tech will be especially exciting for the elderly and disabled, who may not have the full range of motion currently required to operate modern devices.

An excellent example of how this technology is currently being deployed can be seen in the EyeWriter, a pair of glasses that track eye movement. Tony Quan, (aka TEMPT ONE) an LA based graffiti writer, was also paralyzed by Lou Gehrig’s disease, but like Dr. Hawking, still has a passion for his work.

How will the move towards more natural interaction continue to evolve? Continue reading on iQ by Intel.

To read more inspiring stories about how technology is unleashing the world’s human potential to create a better future visit iQ by Intel.

The MOVEO is a Lightweight Electric Scooter that Folds Up For Easy Storage

Electric scooters are great for urban travel, but what happens if you have very limited storage space? The folks at Antro, a Hungarian nonprofit devoted to developing green transportation methods, recently unveiled the MOVEO – an electric scooter that folds in two and can be wheeled around like a rolling suitcase. The lightweight scooter weighs just 25 kilograms (55 lbs), so instead of looking for a parking space on the street, users can simply fold it and lug it up to their apartments.

Source: Inhabitat.com

CHIP CAN DIAGNOSE HIV IN 15 MINUTES

The mChip is a new cheap, highly portable blood test and has proven to be as accurate as expensive hospital-based analyses in detecting HIV, syphilis and other infectious diseases Researchers tested prototypes of the credit card-sized lab-on-a-chip with hundreds of patients in Rwanda, reporting nearly 100% accuracy. This new mChip could help knock down three barriers to effective delivery of healthcare into the world’s poorest regions: difficult access, high costs and long delays for results.

Read More: http://www.mchip.info/

USB WRISTBAND IS A WEARABLE, MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM

StormFly is a wristband developed by Now Computing that provides the wearer with a complete operating system. Plugging it into the USB port of a PC or Mac allows you to use your own personalized settings without changing the host system.

The super-fast USB 3.0 storage device is embedded with an open source OS, so you can take it and your data with you wherever you go and use it on any available computer. StormFly can hold application programs and files, without you needing to carry around a laptop, and it securely encrypts all of the data on it. The wristband also comes with an automatic Backup Service, so if you lose it or it gets stolen, you are sent a new one with all the files and applications that were saved on the home folder within 24 hours.

ow Computing is trying to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter to fund their first manufacturing run. A pledge of $59 will get you a StormFly in either blazing orange or sleek black, customized with your name or company. 

Source: www.psfk.com

FUJIFILM UNVEILS A FLEXIBLE SPEAKER THAT ROLLS UP

Fujifilm unveiled a new film that can be used as the diaphragm or vibrating plate of a speaker at Nano Tech 2013 in Tokyo. ‘Beat’ makes it possible to realize a flexible speaker that can be folded or rolled up like a piece of paper.

As soft materials absorb vibration, Fujifilm used a viscoelastic polymer that hardens when subjected to the audible range of 20Hz to 20kHz, and otherwise remains soft so it can bend and fold.

Geek.com notes that the polymer is combined with piezoelectric ceramics, electrodes, and a protective outer layer. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the piezoelectric ceramics vibrate and the polymer functions as a diaphragm.

Fujifilm displayed three versions at the trade show; a slim speaker, a retractable speaker that can be rolled up, and a speaker that looks like a traditional Japanese fan.