A team of scientists at Duke University are attempting to assist us in some everyday identification.  They are attempting to develop an app called InSight.  This app pairs with Google Glass in attempt to recognize your friends based on more than just their face.  It will also identify them based on what they wear.  For it to work, it simply needs you to input some samples from friends to identify what they normally wear.  InSight then uses colors, textures and patterns to mark the individual.  This could be utilized to pick out a friend in a crowd and maybe even eventually upload this information from social media like Facebook.

While I know what you are thinking, “Why would I need InSight to tell me who my friends are?”  The possibilities are endless once this technology is developed.  It could be made to instantly tag your friends in Facebook photos, or even discreetly remind you of someone’s name you met at that party last weekend.

Does this sound like something you’d like?  What other possibilities can you come up with for this technology?

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The proposed e-paper uses electrowetting (a process of moving colored pigments from pixel to pixel using electronic charges) on a paper substrate. Electrowetting consumes lesser power and outperforms the present day E-ink electrophoretic screens in terms of better color, faster response times and video capability.

Firms such as Liquavista and Plastic Logic already are in possession of similar technology, but they employ electrowetting on the surface of glass instead of paper. The researchers at Cincinnati claim that their model offers the same results on paper and at the same time provides greater flexibility at reduced cost.

“One of the main goals of e-paper is to replicate the look and feel of actual ink on paper. We have, therefore, investigated the use of paper as the perfect substrate for EW devices to accomplish e-paper on paper,” claim researchers Steckl and Kim. “In general, this is an elegant method for reducing device complexity and cost, resulting in one-time-use devices that can be totally disposed after use.”

For best results, the EW process involves a specific grade of paper with a particular surface coating, roughness, thickness, water uptake and a precise contact angle at which the electrowetted material is applied to the paper support. Quite obviously, the industrial model of the process is not making its debut anytime sooner than three or five years. Electrowetted glass, on the other hand, may appear sometime in the next year itself.

Source:  University of Cincinnati Press Release

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It’s amazing how a single grain of sand can supposedly destroy the glass back on the iPhone 4, shattering it into a million pieces. That’s not a burden that anyone wants to deal with, but you can prevent it with a simple $13 fix: install a metal back.

Yes, cell phone “modifications” can be a little intimidating for some folks, but apparently this fix is reasonably easy to do and it’ll only take a few minutes after purchasing a replacement metal backing plate. Basically, all you do is unscrew a couple screws, remove the glass backing, put in the metal replacement, screw it back in to place. Done. No more sleepless nights or worries of an abrupt sitdown breaking something.

The aftermarket metal back isn’t as shiny as the OEM glass one, but at least you don’t have to worry about it cracking. Even if it gets marred, you can replace it again for another thirteen bucks.

SOURCE: Unplggd, Buy

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