Peripherals
Gyration MotionSense Air Mouse Don't Need No Stinkin' Mousemat
Posted by Kit Eaton at 10:00 PM on September 24, 2008
Movea's Gyration Motionsense Air Mouse adds to the ranks of new mice with gyros and accelerometers inside so you can control your computer just by waving them mid-air. It's an ambidextrous mouse using 2.4GHz wireless tech with 100-foot range and it's got both customizable buttons and gesture recognition. Inside there are two rotational gyro axes and three linear accelerometer axes to detect your movements with greater precision, and it's got a mere 20ms start-up time. As if that's not enough, it's also got a standard laser mouse option in case your arm gets tired. Available early October for $US100. Press release below.

Researchers at the University of Virginia hope to combat injuries suffered from elderly falls with these teched-out pants, which employ multiple sensors sewn into your standard flannel jams (aka blogging pants) to monitor the gait of the wearer for potential problems in real time. So long as he doesn't shuffle out of Bluetooth range.
I was really excited to see A-Level hit the App Store today--I've actually needed to use a level recently, but I don't have one. And replacing a physical tool with a 99-cent mobile software app is what the future's all about, right? But after grabbing it and giving it a test, it's a well-executed app but with one fatal flaw: you can't re-zero your accelerometers.
Some information has leaked out about Samsung's upcoming M3510 music-player mobile phone, and it looks like it'll have some accelerometer-driven control built-in. A bit like the
Perfect for Speed Racers and out-of-control Soyuz capsules, this DIY personal g-force meter attaches to your dashboard and enhances the driving experience when a mere speedometer won't do. The device measures acceleration/tilt on one axis and attaches to the windshield of your
Seismologists at Stanford are learning from their roommates over in the biology department and rigging up a distributed computing system to gather quake data from laptops with accelerometers. It's used to save resources for scientists by using assets (your laptops) that are already deployed in a widespread area. They're rolling this out primarily in quake-heavy areas like SF and LA, but should be spreading to other zones later.
The cops won't be the only ones with those wild car wreck videos any more, because now you can clamp this Clarion DriveEye recorder onto your car's windshield and record some really rad video as soon as you get into your next accident. But wait, who would buy this? Someone who's planning to have an accident later today?