This week on WDD’s HotSpot, brought to you by Memory Protection Devices:
iOS virtual reality
AirVR by Metatecture is leveraging the retina hardware already in millions of peoples’ hands. The AirVR is a Head Mounted Display (HMD) made to work with the iPad Mini to deliver a high quality virtual reality experience. The AirVR is made from lightweight and durable plastic, with ergonomic foam padding for comfort, and adjustable straps to ensure a snug fit. There are two aspherical lenses mounted above the iPad’s screen, allowing your eyes to focus on the screen at such a close distance. The iPad slides into the front of the AirVR, leaving all the ports and buttons exposed, as well as a thin strip of the touchscreen which can be used to interact with apps while the iPad is in the unit.
Morphing technology
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a technique for controlling the surface tension of liquid metals by applying very low voltages, opening the door to a new generation of reconfigurable electronic circuits, antennas, and other technologies. The technique hinges on the fact that the oxide “skin” of the metal – which can be deposited or removed – acts as a surfactant, lowering the surface tension between the metal and the surrounding fluid.
SmartEyeglasses
Sony has announced the development of “SmartEyeglass,” transparent lens eyewear that connects with compatible smartphones* to superimpose information such as text, symbols, and images, onto the user’s field of view. Equipped with a diverse range of sensing technologies, including a CMOS image sensor, accelerometer, Gyroscope, electronic compass, brightness sensor, and microphone, the SmartEyeglasses use these features, together with GPS location information from the connected smartphone, to provide information optimized to the user’s current circumstances. Sony has leveraged its unique hologram optics technology to develop a lens that achieves high transparency of 85 percent and thickness of just 3.0 mm, without the use of half mirrors that obstruct the user’s vision.
Microwave safe?
A group of Internet pranksters known as 4-chan released an ad that suggested Apple’s new operating system, iOS 8, was so advanced that you could “wave charge your device by placing it within a household microwave for a minute and a half.” The ad also cautioned users not to “wave-charge” for more than 300 seconds. And it has not wasted any time tailoring the ad to another Apple moment concerning Apple’s secret feature of bending. Some of Apple iPhone users have complained about their phones curving when left in their pockets for long periods of time and a Toronto-based technology blogger demonstrated how his phone bent when he applied pressure with just his fingers. However, a CNN reporter had difficulty bending his phone in this video, and according to Apple the new devices are subject to rigorous testing and are reinforced with steel and titanium. They feature “the strongest glass in the smartphone industry” and aluminum bodies that are “tempered for extra strength.”