Tag Archives: pressure sensor

MIT’s sensor-packed glove helps AI identify objects by touch

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Researchers have spent years trying to teach robots how to grip different objects without crushing or dropping them. They could be one step closer, thanks to this low-cost, sensor-packed glove. In a paper published in Nature, a team of MIT scientists...

iPhone 6 May Feature Temperature, Humidity and Pressure Sensors

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iPhone 6 Barometer

iPhone 5 has had its time in the spotlight, so now iPhone 6 rumors should start gaining momentum. The latest suggest that Apple’s next smartphone may turn the device into a hygrometer, barometer and thermometer.

The idea of integrating these sensors into a smartphone is anything but new. Last year’s Samsung Galaxy S4 already had pressure and temperature sensors, so all that Apple did was to get inspired by the South Korean company. As a paradox, Apple might sue Samsung at a later point, claiming that they stole the idea from an iPhone launched in the future. Even the iPhone 5S was meant to come with more and better sensors than it was released with, but I guess that in Apple’s case, it’s better late than never.

Sun Chang Xu, news chief analyst at ESM-China, claims that sources close to the matter confirmed that Apple is looking to implement such technologies in its next flagship. In case there is any confusion, I should tell you that the pressure sensor does not refer to blood pressure (which would be really hard, if not impossible to determine using a smartphone), but to atmospheric pressure.

Apple’s great array of sensors makes a lot of sense in the context of iOS 8, which is said to bring support for them. The next mobile operating system developed by the Cupertino company will actually bring the Quantified Self closer to reality. Obviously, that has a greater meaning for the company’s iWatch, which should be able to measure a lot of parameters, including blood pressure, hydration, heart rate, calories burned, glucose levels and so on.

In the great scheme of things, the sensors and features that the iWatch should carry (given that a team of tech medical experts has been co-opted to help develop it) make the iPhone 6′s sensors not that spectacular, yet realistic.

It would be interesting to see whether Apple fans have missed such features in their smartphones, and so, if they could find various applications for these sensors. In time, I’m sure that there will be plenty of apps developed that will make use of the temperature, pressure and humidity sensors integrated in the iPhone 6. Aside from that, we’re looking forward to see what other rumors related to Apple’s flagship will surface in the future.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about iPhone 6′s 5.5″ curved display and touchscreen sensors, and iWatch’s launch, which is meant to coincide with the one of the iPhone 6.

Delta Six controller brings fragging to life, worries your friends

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Delta Six controller brings fragging to life, worries your friends

Chances are you know someone who takes their CoD a little too seriously -- well, this peripheral is for them. The Delta Six controller is the latest brainchild of Avenger inventor David Kotkin, made to please hardcore FPS gamers with immersive and responsive input. A built-in accelerometer is used for aiming, while the faux recoil and acting out a reload will put you closer to real combat than an appearance on Stars Earn Stripes. The hardware also features a scattering of pressure sensors -- allowing you, for example, to bring up the sights by meeting cheek with gun body, or if you're feeling lazy, squeezing the side of it instead. Depending on your class bias, you can add and retract plastic from the main frame for an SMG, assault or sniper rifle form factor (see below for the gist). There's no word on availability, or if it will actually improve your game, but the price is slated as $89 at launch. After the break is a short product demo in video form, although we suggest you skip straight to 1:30 to avoid the awkward live-action CTF scene.

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Delta Six controller brings fragging to life, worries your friends originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pressure-sensing PC technology knows when you’re busy, blocks notifications accordingly

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Pressure-sensing PC technology knows when you're busy, blocks notifications accordingly

We know better than most that when you're working to a deadline, constant pop-ups, notifications and pings can be a real pain. Our frustrations might soon become a thing of the past, however, with some help from boffins at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan. They are working on technology which monitors keyboard pressure and silences those distractions until it deems you're not busy, showing over 80 percent accuracy during volunteer testing. Understanding that quiet time is also appreciated for other tasks, they plan to use similar techniques to spot when you're staring intently at that report or -- more importantly -- attending to a beverage. It's still early days for the project, but if the stress-saving tech ever spawns a product, we'll take two please.

[Image Credit: Getty Images / Jean Louis Batt]

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Pressure-sensing PC technology knows when you're busy, blocks notifications accordingly originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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STMicroelectronics details pressure sensor in your Galaxy S III, can tell when you’re mountaineering

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STMicroelectronics details pressure sensor in your Galaxy S III, can tell when you're mountaineering

If you're the sort to tear down your Galaxy S III, you might have noticed a mysterious STMicroelectronics LSP331AP chip lurking on the motherboard. While we've known that it's a pressure sensor, we now know that it's a new generation -- new enough that ST is just getting to explaining the technology to a mainstream audience. The piezoresistor-equipped MEMS chip tracks altitude through atmospheric pressure with an uncanny knack for precision; it can tell when you've crossing between floors, which could be more than handy for future iterations of indoor navigation. Don't worry if you're an extreme sports junkie that might push the limits, either. The sensor can do its job at the kinds of pressure you'd normally see when 32,800 feet high or 5,900 feet below sea level, which should keep it working even if you're checking your phone during a climb up K2 or a HALO skydive. We don't know if anyone beyond Samsung is lined up to use ST's pressure sensor in their devices, but we wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a mainstay for smartphones and outdoor gear in the near future.

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STMicroelectronics details pressure sensor in your Galaxy S III, can tell when you're mountaineering originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft earns patent for claimed wireless charging improvement, pad with info screen

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DNP Microsoft earns patent for claimed wireless charging improvement and pad with info screen

Device makers are bent on bringing us inductive charging, and Redmond has joined the fray with a recently allotted patent that describes all kinds of tech that could make it work better. For the charging itself, a trick is proposed that's similar to one we've seen before -- careful matching of the resonant frequency of charger and device. That would amplify efficiency and allow more than one device to be charged at a time. To make it easier to use, a pressure sensor could detect if a device was on the pad, with different parts of the pad allocated for smartphones or tablets, for instance. The patent also proposes a display placed opposite the charger to give it another use when it's not juicing, which would be determined by a gyro to sense which side was facing up. Of course, a lot of patents are whimsical things, which never amount to anything -- but judging by the detail in this one, Microsoft may have something more concrete in mind.

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Microsoft earns patent for claimed wireless charging improvement, pad with info screen originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nike+ Basketball and Training stat tracking shoes launch, kick off ‘Game On, World’ challenge (video)

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Nike Basketball and Training stat tracking shoes launch, kick off 'Game On, World' contest

While the Nike+ fitness tracking platform has been around for years, the footwear giant has only just unleashed shoes with the technology built right in. The Nike Hyperdunk+ (last seen skying through the FCC) is its first basketball shoe in the line, while the first training shoes are the Lunar Hyper workout+ for women and Lunar TR 1+ for men. All feature not only the new Nike+ Pressure Sensor that tracks its wearer's movement, but also lightweight Flywire construction and Lunarlon cushioning. Both can wirelessly transfer their data to apps on user's phones (currently iOS only, pre-iPhone 4S hardware will also need the $20 Nike+ Sport adapter) or PCs, tracking activity during games, height on a dunk or movement as part of a training workout or drill.

So what is Nike going to do with all that data? Its first plan for the summer is "Game On, World", which is a series of challenges inspired by pro athletes encouraging all Nike+ users to set their personal bests in various categories. If you're still not sure how all this comes together, there are several demo videos embedded after the break. Now all we need to do is find someone (else) to get all sweaty, let us know if it works and keep us on top of the leaderboard -- has anyone seen Dan Cooper lately?

Gallery: Nike+ Basketball and Training

Continue reading Nike+ Basketball and Training stat tracking shoes launch, kick off 'Game On, World' challenge (video)

Nike+ Basketball and Training stat tracking shoes launch, kick off 'Game On, World' challenge (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Jul 2012 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft patent details pressure-sensitive Xbox controller for storing players’ profiles

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Microsoft patent details pressure-sensitive Xbox controller for storing players' profiles

Biometrics and laptop security go together like business meetings and boardrooms, but this Microsoft patent hints that gaming could be the next frontier for fingerprint recognition. The claims for "personalization using a hand-pressure signature" detail a product that may look like your standard 360 controller, but it features sensors to detect a user's identity. It seems that, based on each gamer's unique hand pressure patterns, the controller can determine who is holding the device at any given moment and deliver personalized content based on that user's gaming profile. Whatever Microsoft's mystery controller may be, E3 is just a few weeks away, so perhaps we'll learn more then.

Microsoft patent details pressure-sensitive Xbox controller for storing players' profiles originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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