This is a rumoured “extremely recent” look at a CrunchPad prototype. What do we learn? First, the demo man says the tablet will be out by this year, “for sure.” The other is that the video guy is a klepto.
Wilson caught this limited edition Red OLPC at the company’s headquarters near MIT’s campus in Cambridge today. The limited edition run of 100 is made for developers working on the dual boot Sugar Linux and Windows XP system, and has specs identical to the regular OLPC, except 2GB of RAM 2GB flash memory—the minimum required for Windows. As you can see, the colour scheme is the inverse of the all-red prototype you may have seen before. There are no plans for a public release, so the closest you’ll get to seeing this may be in the gallery below.
Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology has created this prototype physical 3D display that works a little differently than the other 3D tech out there. Those bright spots aren’t LEDs, but a complex array of lenses arranged on top of LCDs, forming the sides of a cube. By a kind of optical parallax trick, and something called “integral photography,” it makes it look like there’s an object in the box. Best of all, gCubik is a naked-eye tech and can be viewed simultaneously by a group of people. The team’s working on making it wireless and higher-res, and even hopes to commercialise it within three years for use in design, education or games devices. You can see it in person at the SIGGRAPH show in August. [Fareastgizmos]
Over at Intel’s R&D fair, Wired got to play with a robot hand that is able to sense an object it’s about to come in contact with before actually touching it. Using electrolocation, the fingertips of the robot hand send out a weak electrical impulse, and approaching objects interfere with that impulse, which allows the hand to form to the object before touching it.
Alongside the Blu-ray recorder and new TV range that Panasonic unveiled the other day were a couple of prototype TVs that showcase the upcoming technologies in their future plasma screens.
The first example was their “World’s Thinnest” plasma, a 50-inch monster which measured in at 24.7mm thick and weighed just 22kg. Although we’re pretty sure the title of world’s thinnest actually goes to Pioneer, having a TV measure in at less than half the thickness of the current range – and at a fraction of the weight – will give consumers a whole new range of mounting options.
Looking to zoom through the oceans in a stylish, but also somewhat environmentally friendly, manner? Check out the Czeers MK1 prototype solar speedboat, a 10-metre long rig that manages to pack in 14 square meters of solar panels to power an 80KW electric motor. The MK1 plows through the water at a breakneck 30 knots, using no oil and producing no fumes or engine noise. Hit the jump for a video of the boat in action.
If you’d rather pack a rare conversation piece than a mobile powerhouse to impress the fellow Starbuckians, you’ll do no better than with this Xentex laptop prototype. While most laptops simply open and close, this Xentex can fold twice for portability.
Ever wondered what stations your friends are listening to just at the same moment as you spin the dial on your own radio? Well, that’s where Olinda comes in: a working prototype commissioned by the BBC, it’s got a plug-in module that lights up when your friends are online. A simple push of the corresponding button, and via Wi-Fi and the BBC’s “playing now” service you get to listen along with your pal. There’re other innovations too, including a double-tuning dial that lets you switch to stations alphabetically or just choose among your favourites. And because the design is modular it allows for expansion with other widget-like plug-in units.
