Pinch Interface is a new smart device application in development by the Tokyo University of Technology.

When using the app between two or more devices, the user can ‘pinch together’ two screens by using their thumb and index fingers both on a separate device, and pinching them together, like you would when zooming in on a web page on a normal touch screen. The screens can be lined up at any angle, whether that is vertically or horizontally, and the pictures will match themselves up automatically if they become misaligned when attached.

The devices share certain information via Wi-Fi such as screen size and device position. With this it’s even possible to connect different sized displays together, such as an iPhone and an iPad.

For now, it’d be unappealing and inconvenient to use this application to watch movies on, or showcase images, as phones have quite a thick area that is not inhabited by the screen. However, the Tokyo University of Technology wish their designs to go further than just a gimmick, and want to offer the technology to other developers.

A representative for the application was interviewed at the Digital Contents Expo, and he is very ambitious for future projects:

“You could use Pinch to develop a variety of apps. For example, with a music app, if you connect devices horizontally, you could keep playing music for a long time.”

The technology is very smart, and as the video shows below, it seems to work extremely well.

“We’ve presented Pinch at conferences, but we haven’t shown it to the public yet. We’d like people to use this system to develop apps. So, we’re offering Pinch to developers and are basically just asking them to do something with it. We’ve just started several projects like that.”

Perhaps in the future we will have simple glass display tiles that can connect together to display movies and stills in larger spaces. What do you think?

[Via Diginfo]

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It’s like a docking station, except it’s shaped like a little robot dog and your iPhone serves as its face. You’ll need the SmartPet app, of course, but that will allow your little plastic companion to wag its tail, walk around, sit up and more. And yes, there’s voice recognition in there for commands, as well as gestures and touchscreen interfaces. The iPhone “face” has several expressions too.

Considering that the SmartPet is coming by way of Bandai, it’s not surprising that some of its Tamagotchi digital pet heritage is spilling over too. You can add accessories, check the health of your digital pooch, feed virtual medicine through the touchscreen, and more. Unlike real dogs, the SmartPet can be used to play music too. Look for SmartPet to hit Japanese retailers later this month for 7,800 JPY (about US$100).

[Source]

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Leica holds a very special place in the hearts of photographers all around the world. The Leica M8 and M9 are constantly touted as being among the best rangefinders on the planet, but what if you want something even more special? What if you want to stand out even further?

While companies like Apple are known to charge about a $100 premium for a new paint job, Leica is going much further with the white version of the Leica M9-P. While the regular black version sells for “just” $7,995, the white version is reportedly going to cost you $31,695. No, that’s not a typo. A swapping of the paint comes in at $23,700 extra. Aside from the paint job, the white version appears to be identical to its black cousin.

Even if you happen to have an extra thirty grand kicking around in your budget for a camera, you probably won’t be able to buy one of these. That’s because Leica is limiting production to just 50 units, meaning that the actual street price could end up being much, much more when it is officially released in July. Some Leica stores in Tokyo reportedly already have it on display, drumming up interest among the wealthiest of photography enthusiasts.

[Source]

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They have just unveiled a new vending machine that looks mostly like all of their other vending machines, except for that glowing blue sign at the top that reads “Wi-Fi.” Better still, you don’t have to take out your change and pump some cash into the machine to get onto this wireless superhighway, because Asahi is giving you the Wi-Fi for free.

Each machine will have an effective range of up to 50 meters (about 164 feet) and it will be able to support a connection with multiple devices. You don’t have to register, but you will be pushed to a splash page that displays “location-specific information,” like local stores, sightseeing information, and so on. Each Wi-Fi session is limited to 30 minutes, though clearing out your cookies should allow you to re-connect.

Unfortunately, not all of Asahi’s 250,000 vending machines in Japan will be equipped with the Internet. The plan is to roll out about 1,000 of them to Tokyo, Sendai, Chubu, Kinki, and Fukuoka next year with a total of 10,000 machines being set up within the next five years.

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If you thought that robots are nothing more than humanoid thoughtless piles of iron that are controlled by real humans, well, you’re wrong. Future robots could be even smarter than some of us. And who else could create such a robot if its not Skynet? The Japanese! The Hasegawa Group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology to be precise, they are developing a robot that can think, learn and act, all by itself, thanks to the all mighty power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). By using a technology called SOINN (Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network) the robot can think as humans do, even when taking on a task it has never done before, based on its past experience and knowledge.

The robot was subjected to a series of experiments involving problem solving and making movements in the correct order. It was told to pour a glass of water, make it cold and give it to someone. Being aware of the surroundings and the situation, it performed the action step by step: it poured water into a glass, and then it realized that in order to make it cold it should put ice in it. Since its hands were full, it put the bottle down and then took the ice and put it in the glass.

It is also well educated. If it doesn’t know how to do something, it stops and says “I can’t do this because I don’t know how.” So there you have it, our future is doomed by ice fetching robots.

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