via [likecool]

A few months back we covered Microsoft’s vision of 2019 concerning technology, now it’s Nokia’s turn. Nokia’s vision of 2015 focuses on portable devices which features technology we’re on the verge of obtaining.

Overview of Features

Social Networking:

Face recognition software: When a mobile device is facing a crowd, the device is able to identify where your friends are (headshot of friend, phone number, when they last met, even pictures of you with each other.) By 2015, Nokia’s vision of gathering data will be much more advanced then it already is, leaving users with the ability to truly connect with anyone.

Connecting:

Music Sharing: I’m not sure how legal this feature is, but apparently the ability to listen to your friend’s music will become available.

News Fetching: Not only will the mobile devices be used as a common GPS, when driving to work, news stories related to your interests will be read out to the driver.

Hardware:

Because mobile devices are becoming more of a computer then a phone, the idea is to be able to use the device wherever you’re going. To do this, Nokia believes that data will be stored on a small sim card that can then be inserted into different devices. For example, if you’re riding a bike, you’ll be able to insert the sim card into a smaller device perfect for the outdoors. In a nutshell, there will be different designs for different users.

Summary

Nokia’s vision seems almost so realistic that it could be done even before 2015. Companies like Foursquare are already figuring out how to connect random people with each other. For example, say you’re at a bar, using foursquare, you can see the interests of people around you using a mobile device, so connecting with people of the same interests will be much easier. Nokia’s concepts certainly aren’t anything that can’t be reached by 2015, but the direction they see mobile devices going in, is right on target.

The highly anticipated mobile phone browser caller Layar, could be coming to the iPhone 3GS Soon. When I read about the Android browser, I was amazed how much new technology was shown off in this one phone browser. Layar lets you explore your surroundings live as you walk. The owner of the Android based company said it may soon be released to the iPhone 3GS because of it’s specific compass feature.

The browser contains 3-D graphics on a live camera feed. When it launched two months ago, it was limited to the Netherlands. However a lot of changes have been made. The browser has now added Wikipedia and Twitter components, along with opening the browser up globaly for everyone to use.

I wrote about the concept of this a while back, it’s cool to see this actually being used by the world. Take a look at some examples of the revolutionary browser…

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I’m speechless; this new prototype by MIT is nothing short or astonishing. This wearable device let’s you physically interact on any surface that’s in front of you. The “Sixth Sense” system from Patti Maes’ Fluid Interfaces Group at the MIT Media Lab opens the doors to touch interfaces. With the Sixth Sense, you can watch a video over a newspaper, navigate through images on a wall, or view a map on a countertop. MIT’s new prototype can also recognize certain hand gestures. For example, if you were to make a picture gesture with your fingers, a picture would be taken.

The SixthSense prototype implements several applications that demonstrate the usefulness, viability and flexibility of the system. The map application lets the user navigate a map displayed on a nearby surface using hand gestures, similar to gestures supported by Multi-Touch based systems, letting the user zoom in, zoom out or pan using intuitive hand movements. The drawing application lets the user draw on any surface by tracking the fingertip movements of the user’s index finger. SixthSense also recognizes user’s freehand gestures (postures). For example, the SixthSense system implements a gestural camera that takes photos of the scene the user is looking at by detecting the ‘framing’ gesture. The user can stop by any surface or wall and flick through the photos he/she has taken. SixthSense also lets the user draw icons or symbols in the air using the movement of the index finger and recognizes those symbols as interaction instructions. For example, drawing a magnifying glass symbol takes the user to the map application or drawing an ‘@’ symbol lets the user check his mail. The SixthSense system also augments physical objects the user is interacting with by projecting more information about these objects projected on them. For example, a newspaper can show live video news or dynamic information can be provided on a regular piece of paper. The gesture of drawing a circle on the user’s wrist projects an analog watch.

The current prototype system costs approximate $350 to build.

via [sixthsense]

View the extended version here…

via [istartedsomething]

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The Roland HD-1 V-Drums Lite is similar to Rock Band except this drum tutor actually helps you learn the drums. The HD-1 Drum Tutor connects to a PC with an included USB-MIDI interface. It’s got an easy to follow notation screen with a bouncing ball to notify where you should be while reading the music. Now if you don’t believe this will be enjoyable, there’s even a tetris-type game that lets you try to rack up points depending on your drum score.

Price of  DT-HD1 Drum Tutor software (available in March):  about $75

Price of the HD-1 V-Drums Lite (available now): about $800.

via [ohgizmo]