For instance, if someone shows fear, the robot can learn to change its behavior to appear less threatening. If someone seems happy, the robot can make a mental (or, I guess, digital) note of what brought on that response. And if someone seems upset and lonely, the robot can give her a pat on the back, offer her a stiff drink and say "Elaine, you deserved someone better than that dickwad anyhow."

I, for one, welcome our new emotionally adept overlords. [Physorg]

Microsoft:

In addition to Microsoft technology we are already familiar with like Surface, Home Server, Vista, the Zune , Xbox 360 and the like (the home of the future is still running the 360?), there are a number of future technologies installed in the home that were inspired by innovations from their prototyping lab:

•Magic Mirror: A mirror projects different clothes, accessories and hairstyles onto each family member’s image when they stand before it. The clothes not only morph to the contours of the body, but also sway as the person in front of the mirror moves.

•Kitchen of Your Dreams: The kitchen recognizes ingredients as a family member sets them on the counter, suggesting recipes for those items and providing instructions once a recipe is selected.

•Story Time: Visit the child’s room to be transported to Neverland. Read “Peter Pan” aloud to absorb a full multimedia experience, as cues in the story set off lights, sounds, colors and video.

HP:

In the kitchen, HP has their TouchSmart PC keeping things organized and the iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger is available to make calls. In the living room the aforementioned iPAQ is connected to the Surface table to transfer and display photos. They can also be transferred wirelessly to any number of HP digital photo frames in the house as well as to the MediaSmart TV.

As for Life|ware, they provided much of the RFID technology and media center solutions that tied all of the technology together.

To get the full scoop on the home of the semi-present, hit the following press releases. [HP and Microsoft and Life|ware and Disney via Hemagazine]

Second place went to a concept called WITHUS. The device is intended to "help preschool children shape the right values and human relationships by driving them into playing and learning with multi-human interactions." Children are encouraged to break away from traditional computing and make genuine connections with other human beings using an interactive, collaborative display.

Third place went to The Backpacker's Diary—a PC that focuses on travelers using a "book" with "pages" that offer different functions like GPS, media recording and solar charging.

Rounding out the list in the finalist category we find a number of familiar gadgets like the Alphagrip HC (which I thought was too ergonomic for its own good), Siafu (a computer for the blind that is made from a material that does not exist) and the Illusion PC (cool but not really next-gen). Hit the following link for the complete list. [Next-Gen PC via CNET]

[Next-Gen Design Competition]

The sanitizer also provides running water to prevent secondary contamination and all comes together in a box that resembles a retro future record player. This thing reminds me of those showers in sci-fi movies and shows where you step into a chamber, get sprayed with smoke for 5 seconds, and a soothing voice informs you that you are now sanitized. Except the megasonic cleaning device might actually appear sooner than later. [Appliancist]

The RSD5 uses the same technology as ionic air purifiers, which create an electric current to generate a breeze. The fan uses plasma-generating live wires to release ions, which in turn creates an electric field where the ions push air molecules to an uncharged conducting plate that envelops the wires. This moving of air molecules creates a breeze, or a Corona Discharge. A mechanical fan for portable electronics moves wind at a speed of .7-1.7 meters per second, whereas the RSD5 can do 2.7 meters per second.

Lead engineers Dan Schlitz and Vishal Singhal just presented their research for the project at a symposium for thermal semiconductor research on March 17, and ultimately hope that this technology can be integrated into processors to create self-cooling chips. [Thorrn Micro via Science Blog]

Card Viewer - An information device which consists of a main part and two or more "electronic paper" sleeves which are detachable. These can be used for sharing data, information, directions, etc... Simply detach a display and hand it to a friend or colleague. The information stays on the screen.

Clerk Browser - An information terminal which a salesclerk uses in stores, like a boutique, super store, car dealership, etc... It attaches to the wrist and is used to provide information to help customers. Product information like bridal registries, inventory levels, specifications, product locations; and customer data like buying patterns, other products customers buy, recommendations if product is out of stock.

Fabric PC - Based on the concept of electronic paper, this PC supports varying usage models due to the flexibility provided by the display. The unit is soft, pliable, and can comfortably be carried like portfolio of paper. Yet it is a fully functional PC that can be used as a notebook, notepad, address book and digital map.

Customer Browser - An information device which consists of an easy to carry store and product reference device. Maps of the store complete with product location, descriptions, detailed information, and on-line help. Customers can register products, scan devices to have alerts emailed to them for up-coming sales, register for weddings, make purchases for delivery, etc...

Our current experience with the experimental He3 reactor here on Earth requires 1 kilowatt of power to generate 1 milliwatt of electricity. Which, if anyone is counting, is not at all worth it. So, aside from it taking a few decades before we figure out how exactly to use He3, and then taking a few more decades to actually build an He3 mining facility on the moon, and then having us, the Human Race, survive that long — well, chances are slim, is what we're saying. Still, science is cool, huh? [Treehugger via SciFi]

Yeah, we're talking armor that soldiers can see and fire through on one side, but is invisible and impenetrable on the other. "Friendly forces will be able to see through it and shoot through it, but hostile forces will not. [It'll also have] the ability to 'self-heal' if necessary. The materials must be lightweight, respond instantly, and be easy to deploy and retract in confined spaces." They'll accomplish this using metamaterials, crazy compounds that I can't even begin to wrap my head around. This doesn't seem to be all that realistic at the moment, but hey, the Internet was just an insane DARPA project at one point too. –Adam Frucci

Shoot-Through, Invisible, Self-Healing Shields: Darpa Goal [Danger Room]

Well, this year's open house just happened, and Sony had some pretty neat stuff to show off.

Up at the top there is a speaker with ferromagnetic nano particles inside, dancing and reacting to the music playing.

Next up is ChatScape, a circular table with a projector shooting down images on it, allowing users to email photos from their phone and have them show up in real time. Think of it as a poor-man's Microsoft Surface Table.

There's plenty more to check out, so head on over to Digital World Tokyo and get the whole story straight from the horse's mouth. –Adam Frucci

Sony's geeky backside exposed in Tokyo R&D extravaganza [Digital World Tokyo]

This crazy HD stuff won't be around for another 20 years, so don't get excited just yet. Next up? 3D HD. Mmmm... – John Biggs

'Ultra' HD might be the future[News14 via HDTVUK]

A cloak made of those materials, with a structure designed down to the submicroscopic scale, would neither reflect light nor cast a shadow.

Instead, like a river streaming around a smooth boulder, light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation would strike the cloak and simply flow around it, continuing on as if it never bumped up against an obstacle. That would give an onlooker the apparent ability to peer right through the cloak, with everything tucked inside concealed from view.

The authors of the study that posits the cloak say that "[They] will have a cloak after not too long." – John Biggs

Early 'Invisibility Cloak' Could Be 18 Months Away [CBS]

Product Page [TauCeramic via El Mundo]

Though they've been bouncing the idea of a $100 laptop around for a while ($100 Laptop - No Child Left Behind), it looks like it's finally becoming a reality. The lime green laptop is about the size of a text book and with a hand crank to allow it to operate without electricity. Designed at the MIT Media Lab, the project mainly aimed at developing countries where a calculator and Internet access can mean the difference between starvation and a good year. The goal is to allow these kids and even adults to actually own the laptops, though governments or charities will pay for them.

Looks like Brazil, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria are the choices for the first wave of laptops early next year and each is slated to buy at least a million of them. Though not in production yet, one unnamed company has offered to build them fro $110 each and four others are considering joining the effort. They operate at about half the speed of store-bought laptops and will run on an open-source OS. The screen is actually from a portable DVD player and can be viewed in either color or black and white.

Researchers unveil $100 laptop for schoolkids [Reuters]

Unfortunately, many of my digital images end up looking more like this picture than I'd like to admit, so it was with a happy heart that I read about a new technology that could refocus photos after they've been taken. A team at Stanford University are claiming to have figured out how to adjust the rays of light after they've reached the camera, thereby letting us make blurry, nasty images look good as new. To do this, they inserted a sheet of 90,000 lenses between a cameras main lens and its image sensor. The angle and the amount of the rays of light are then recorded, letting software adjust them, basically reconstructing the image to what it would have looked like if properly focused. Not a bad deal. Now how can we convince the camera manufacturers to get on board?

Shoot a picture first, focus later [New Scientist]

The E-Ink kits are available on a first come first serve basis, and begin shipping November 1. The price: $3,000. A bargain considering the multitude of cool and strange devices you can make with this kit. Post ideas about what you would build in comments. And don't forget to send us photos of the finished product.

Update:Don't miss the 400x300 full color display.

Product Page [E-Ink]

Coverage of Nokia Concepts 5: Nokia Global Nomads - Necklace Cellphone? [PhoneMag]

Bendable electronic color paper... [New Launches]

As a video business card, you could use it to show off your company's latest goods or services via streaming video/audio, or by loading product demos straight on it through a USB cable. The card can also be password-protected and can be set to release time-sensitive data, which could prove useful for special trade show announcements.

But the potential uses of this lie far beyond that of a video business card. Enterprising users could hack it for use as a portable gaming device, or perhaps slip in a few TV shows for light viewing on the train. And at $25 each, you could probably afford 3 or 4 of them. They're only available for companies now, but we're sure they'll get into the hands of regular consumers soon enough.

rCard [CardTek via Gizmag]

Deciphering a brave new world [Cnet News]

MARU the Robot to Debut at APEC [Hanooki]

I believe this is portfolio-ware i.e. vaporware for design students but it's still an interesting idea.

Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk [YankoDesign]

Polymer Vision, a subsidiary of Philips, reports that they will present a portable consumer device with a "rollable display" at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin, Germany, September 2-7. The prototype, called Readius, has a monochrome 5-inch QVGA display with four grey levels that can show maximum two images per second; colour screens with quick move images aren't possible yet.

Looks like more proof-of-concept, but if they've got something moving on that screen, we're entering the diamond age.

Philips presents rollable display prototype [GadgetFlash]

Sony Ericsson, DoCoMo combine radio and TV in Radiden [MEX]

Product Page [Sensitive Object via Module-Records]

The Smart Lighbulb [OhGizmo]

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will set up an industry-academia-government research and development unit this year that will work to commercialize virtual reality television by 2020, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Tuesday.

That's right. Virtual Reality TV in Japan by 2020. We might get HDTV, Windows Vista, and the Phantom Console in 2020 but Japan will be working for Spacely Sprockets and have robot maids.

Gov't to push for virtual reality TV by 2020 [JapanToday]

When a drop of urine is added to the copper chloride paper, a chemical reaction takes place and produces electricity, which is harnessed by the battery. A few drops will generate about 1.5 volts, the same as a AA battery. The battery needs to be developed further to make it commercially viable.

The devices will be used in medical testing systems which can be powered by and test the same liquid stream simultaneously. If only my bed was urine powered. I could fly to the moon! [Thanks, Karl!]

Power of Pee Runs a Battery [Yahoo.com]

Special Post Bonus: Check out these t-shirts. I'm totally getting one.

The DARPA Long Gun program will evaluate and develop a re-useable, long endurance, low cost, joint, unmanned/armed missile system combined with a tri-mode long wave infrared/near infrared/visible (LWIR/NIR/VIS) sensor with laser spot targeting.

In fact, there are actually more than we care to recount here and, if these things move off the drawing board expect robot striders and demon cyborgs to be right around the corner.

Unmanned Future Plotted [DefenseTech]

Robots get covered in skin [T3]

It sounds great, but there's a problem here: it's that, in fact, lots of gadgets are designed with elegance and logic in mind. It's just that people aren't. People work in funny ways, and some of the ways of doing things that they like most are exactly the ones that don't make sense.
Take the ubiquitous hierarchical menus of the digital camera world. God knows how much effort has been devoted to putting together just the right sequence of menu presses, organized with Dewey decimal clarity and maximum button placement economy.

The thing is, people don't need economy and logic. They need intuitiveness, which is not the same thing. They like dials and knobs. I have, for instance, an old (film) camera called the Pentax ZX-5n. That particular camera, from the mid-90s, is something of a fetish item among interface connoisseurs. I paid a premium for the old used camera a year ago; in fact, I paid more than I would have for a brand new Minolta or Canon. Unlike most autofocus cameras, the ZX-5n was built with controls that almost exactly mirror older manual focus models. There is an aperture dial, a shutter speed dial, and an exposure compensation dial.

Now is this more logical or economical than Canon's cleverly designed menu systems? Hell no! It's just plain more usable. It might sound messy on a spec sheet, but actual human beings easily remember what knob or dial to turn for what. They don't easily remember what menu choice to navigate to. The reason why some of us are automatically drawn to older, low tech objects like the Pentax ZX-5n is not because they are more "logically" designed (well, in some ways they are, but we'll leave that aside for now) but because they take advantage of easy, tactile design cues that are actually much easier for real human beings to manage than abstract logical hierarchies.

There is not a single low end digital camera model right now that has an exposure compensation dial. This is pretty amazing because, first, proper exposure is a lot more important with digital than with computer film, second, the ability to easily analyze and adjust exposure is one of the big advantages of digital, and finally, the basic notion of making pictures lighter or darker is pretty darn easy for people to understand. Even my mid-60s vintage Polaroid has a lighten-darken wheel. So, then, why not put in this kind of a dial? (Bonus points: it can automatically call up a histogram, too!) The answer, from the point of view of a designer at an electronics company, is that it messes up the beautifully organized logic of his camera's menu system. It just doesn't make sense, from the standpoints of logic, economy, elegance and simplicity, to have a bunch of separate dials for commonly used features—especially if they'll actually duplicate commands already available in the menu system. Isn't one basic, easy to explain system for choosing commands and features obviously better?

In a word, no. Easy to explain isn't the same as easy to use. Logic is nice, but intuition is better. You wonder why people don't use the features on their digital cameras? Try giving them some knobs to turn and switches to flick. -Mark Gimein

You can press, grab, twist, punch and play with the screen. It can even support your full bodyweight. The Hyperfabric screen is specially designed to communicate with a computer to generate interactive computer graphics, in realtime.

Images are projected onto the film that react to touch and pushing, so it feels like you're actually pushing through the image. The resulting coolness, which must look great while stoned, doesn't have many practical implementations yet, but it does appear to be an interesting potential interface system.

Hyperfabric [HMC Medialab]

Remote-Controlled Humans [Forbes]

UPDATE - Found a bit more info on it, including a first-person experience, on BoingBoing.

RoboLase: Real-time Cell Surgery via Internet [MedGadget]