NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Unlock Your Door With ShareKey

In the last year, I've locked myself out of my home no less than three times. Consequentially, that's resulted in me having to shimmy through open windows like a burglar. I'm surprised my neighbors never called the cops on me.

If only I had ShareKey, a near field communication (NFC) app for a smartphone, I could have avoided all the breaking and entering.

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Developed by Dr. Ahmad-Reza Sadeghi of Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT), the Android app communicates with smartlocks on one's door via NFC, which allows data to be exchanged wirelessly over a short range. To lock or unlock the door, simply wave the phone near the lock.

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Unlike systems such as Lockitron and UniKey that use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to send instructions remotely, ShareKey requires that a phone be physically waved in front of their locks, making it more difficult for hackers to steal the signal.

Better yet, the system allows for any smartphone to be granted access to the doors for a specified amount of time, be it a few hours or a few weeks. House guests, dog walkers and plant waterers all know what a three-ring circus it can be swapping keys and getting them made, so this feature is an added bonus. ShareKey can send these "electronic keys" directly to the recipient's smartphone as a QR code via email or a multimedia text message.

"For instance, I can grant the building superintendent access to my apartment for a short period so that he can open the door for the gas meter to be read while I'm at work," explains Alexandra Dmitrienko from the SIT. “The solution is built around modern security technologies and can be easily integrated into existing access control systems."

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At this year's CeBIT trade fair in Hannover, Germany, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT in Darmstadt will demo ShareKey in an attempt to drum up interest in hopes that it will be on the market soon.

 via Gizmag

Credit: Fraunhofer SIT

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Double Revolving Doors Block Armed Intruders

The holidays may have provided a temporary distraction from the Newtown, Conn., massacre, but now that the new year's here, it's time to pick up where we left off. Here's one security company that thinks they have a way to prevent a dangerous intruder from entering a school or any other building.

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It called the Linear Revolving Door (LRD), and it was recently patented by Barbecan Security Systems. The door consists of series of parallel hallways that can be built at the entrance of buildings. Each hallway has two doors that revolve in front of and behind a person as they enter.

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The system is equipped with sensors that keeps pace with one's stride to cut down on the bottlenecking of most security checks. Once both doors close, sensors also check for bombs or firearms. If a threat is detected, the doors move in reverse and push out the potential offender.

Check out this animation to see the LRD in action. Though beware, it's quite hypnotic.

With statements like "Newtown could have been prevented," Barbecan's press release is confident, if not cavalier.

"A guard at a building entrance won't stop a determined and well armed attacker -- especially if they have suicidal motivations," it states. "The LRD portal WILL NOT let an armed gunman enter a building. Period. When a threat is detected, the portal reverses and the potential assailant is backed out of the portal. Gun control is not the answer."

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While some parents of Sandy Hook Elementary school children might beg to differ about that last statement, Barbecan contends the LRD is the new solution that's needed.

"Operation is completely safe," states the press release, "and by adapting to the pace of pedestrian traffic, LRD Portals can be used in high traffic entrances like schools, malls, theatres, stadiums and factories."

via Mashable

Credit: Barbecan Security Systems

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Detector Alerts Asthmatics to Nasty Air

Asthmatics often feel like we're gambling, discovering triggers a breath too late. AT&T Labs recently developed a prototype for a device that can detect nasty air and alert us before things get bad.

Some asthma are blatant and obvious, and yet every once in a while I've been blindsided by an attack that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Volatile organic compounds or VOCs are a common asthma trigger found all over the place but they can be tricky to spot. AT&T Labs might have a solution.

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A prototype for a trigger detection device, led by head of communications technology research Bob Miller, can pick up on the presence of cleaning products, fragrances, smoke, and even troublesome carpet. Then the portable device can wirelessly transmit data to an online health network so my doctor could potentially spot patterns over time.

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Although the device hasn't been publicly named yet and there are no images available, AT&T Labs did indicate that it will contain a VOC sensor, a microcomputer, a battery and a Zigbee wireless modem. The VOC sensor contains a chip that is heated by a small current.

Talking to Technology Review's Susan Young, Miller said the device could prevent asthmatics from staying in a place where the trigger level is too high. Miller added that one day it might even be connected to a home network and automatically start up the furnace blower to clear the air.

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Asthma is so prevalent in the U.S. that one in every 12 Americans has it. Better prevention means fewer ER visits, fewer absences from school, fewer sick days from work. A device to prevent that first ominous wheeze could help us all breathe easier.

Credit: Jonathan Kos-Read

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Control This Roach Via Twitter

We've told you before about remote-controlled cockroaches being strapped with steering wheels so that the insects could help rescue earthquake victims. Now roaches are skittering into a more aesthetic venue -- the art gallery. As part of the "Life, in some form" exhibit by the Chicago Artists Coalition (CAC), Dallas-based artist Brittany Ransom debuted her Twitter-Remote-Controlled Cockroach.

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Similar to the RoboRoach, Ransom's device used a small electronic backpack that attached to the cockroach's antenna, enabling the insect to respond to stimulated left or right commands. Using Arduino hardware and custom-programmed software, Ransom was able to link the roach to Twitter. Visitors to the exhibit could send commands to the @TweetRoach account such as #TweetRoachLeft and #TweetRoachRight.

As her artist bio explains, Ransom likes to explore the "paradoxical bond between human, nature, its inhabitants and the co-evolution between the living and budding technological innovation while questioning these technologies."

Ransom told CNET that her project mirrors the digital overstimulation that many of us experience everyday. She also said she wanted to see if the cockroaches could eventually learn to adapt and ignore her system's signals.

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"At what point does its intelligence and ability take over? How much does it take before we are all desensitized to overstimulation?" Ransom wrote in an email to CNET. "As we, as human beings, grow more cyborgian and interconnected through social media, this project helps us participate in discovering the answer."

via CNET Crave

Credit: Brittany Ransom

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Party Horn Only Works If You're Drunk

Now that Christmas is in the rear-view mirror, you're speeding towards one last holiday destination: New Year's Eve, typically one of the most besotted nights on the calendar.

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Once you make that last exit towards Boozetown, here's a little party favor that'll remind you not to get behind the wheel after you've sung those last notes of "Auld Lang Syne."

Although the Buzzed Buzzer, created by Tyler DeAngelo and Sacha De'Angeli, sounds like any old party horn blown on New Year's Eve, it only makes a sound if you're drunk. Maybe not lamp-shade-on-the-head drunk, but alcohol must be present on the breath of the reveler who's blowing it.

Unfortunately, you have to buy the materials and put it together yourself. Think of it as your last craft project of 2012.

All you have to do is take a traditional party horn, add a micro-controller, an alcohol sensor, a resistor, a buzzer, a battery and a battery charger. Yeah, I know, it sounds a little more complicated than just Scotch-taping everything together. Fortunately, there are detailed instructions on how to make your own. Just a heads up, you're going to need your soldering iron, wire cutters, wire strippers, needle nosed pliers and a computer installed with Arduino IDE and Teensyduino. You might want to do this before you start in on the cocktails.

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Another word to the wise: Buzzed Buzzer is not a breathalyzer device, so don't think it's going to give you your blood alcohol level and let you know if you should drive or not. Better just to throw your keys in a bowl, uncork the champagne, get out the lamp shades and blow your horn.

Bottoms up.

via Gizmag

credit: Buzzed Buzzer

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Urinal Video Games Played With Pee

My girlfriend and I once drove across Michigan's Upper Peninsula. One day, after we downed a couple pasties, we stopped in to the VFW post in Ontonagon for a few beers. There, in the men's room, I saw something I'd never seen before: Hanoi Jane Urinal Targets.

In an era before Smart Technology, slapping a Jane Fonda sticker on some porcelain was the best the world had to offer in urinal target-practice games...at least in certain circles of disgruntled veterans and political malcontents. However, full-bladdered fellas, the future of mens' room gaming is upon us.

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Last year, we told you about Captive Media, a London-based start-up that created a urinal entertainment system. Think of it as X-Box meets Hanoi Jane Urinal Target, with the joy stick already in your hand.

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Well, the company has had a golden year since it's launch. Co-founder Gordon MacSween told Wired the response has been "beyond his wildest expectations." After being on the market in 18 bars, hotels, corporate offices and private residences across the U.K. and Europe, the company is set to soon aim its success at the U.S. market as early as next year.

In case you forgot what the system entails, here's a refresher:

Mounted on the wall above the urinal is an LCD screen that plays advertisements loops until you step up to the trough and unzip. By the time you let it flow, the game is on. Infrared sensors below the screen shoot into the urinal and detect your pee stream. That data is fed back into the system and used to control the game. For you stray shooters out there, there are decals in the urinal to correct your aim.

There are five games that, unfortunately, you don't get to choose from. They just randomly pop up. As you'd expect, a few titles are very tongue-in-cheeky. There's "On the Piste," a POV ski run game where you navigate the slopes trying to hit penguins; "Clever Dick," a trivia game and Art Splash, a coloring book of sorts that lets you email your masterpiece to loved ones, friends and art critics once you're finished.

As Captive Media's website proclaims, the gaming doesn't have to stop once you've zipped up. The system is well-endowed with high-score features and an online leaded board that let's you take your measuring contest to new lengths.

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The company just raised $700,00 from U.K. investors, so at least they'll have a pot to pee in for awhile. British blokes like their pints of ale. That they're rewarded with urinal video games the more they drink must be making bar tenders swoon. In fact, they already are. According to Wired, one bar in Cambridge reported a 22 percent spike in sales of a cocktail advertised on the game screens.

American dudes, I know you're anxious for your favorite watering hole to get one of these, but you'll just have to hold your horses. However, between now and then, if you're looking for a little target practice, you can always head up to the Ontonagon VFW lodge.

 

via Wired

credit: Captive Media

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Skullcap for Sports-Related Head Injuries

It's way too often that we hear of athletes getting hurt on the job, especially football players. Whether it's high school, college or a professional team, the risk of head injuries and concussion from high-impact sports is a growing concern. Reebok and Massachusetts start-up MC10 teamed up to create an impact-sensing skullcap for players that can be worn with or without a helmet.

The cap, set to release in 2013, will fit much like the ones swimmers use. It's outfitted with sensors and stretchable electronics to measure and detect when an injury has occurred. LED lights on the cap flash red, yellow or green to advise on the severity of the injury.

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The driving force for the creation of this product was the lack of biometric data for head injuries in sports. There are helmets that already have biometric sensors embedded in them, but they are costly and usually only limited to one sport.

The cap costs a lot less than current technology. This makes it more accessible to all sports, regardless of budget constraints so that every player -- from the kid on a pee-wee football team to the professional hockey player -- will have the same opportunities to monitor and manage their safety.

via Technology Review

Credit: Chabruken / Getty Images

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Headpiece Reveals Brainwaves in Real Time

The mind is a beautiful thing, full of mystery and wonder. It's the true window into who we are. Getting to know your mind can be just as mysterious, though, and at times, difficult. A project from Interaxon is claiming to "change the way the world thinks" through its brainwave-sensing headband, Muse.

The thought-controlled computing company developed the lightweight headband with four EEG (electroencephalography) sensors that pick up brainwaves to control applications in games and computing. Another purpose it serves is to provide a window into the workings of your mind. The sensors in Muse record electrical outputs from the brain to measure alpha and beta waves. Alpha waves are the ones that show a relaxed state and beta waves depict intense concentration and activity.

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The headband measures these waves and uses an algorithm to graph changes in the brain to show you when your mind is wandering or when your concentration is at its best. It sends that data to a mobile device via Bluetooth. Through an application you can play games and participate in memory improvement training to change how those waves look.

At first glance, the idea of measuring your brain waves seems sort of silly, but it's no different than the brain training games that have become so popular. The added benefit here is that it's real-time feedback. You can see the changes in concentration as they happen.

The project is seeking funding through Indiegogo, check out their page for more info.

 

via Indiegogo

Credit: Interaxon

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Lifelog Yourself With Memoto

If you're quick to bemoan the over-sharing epidemic plaguing Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, the road ahead, I'm afraid, is only going to get bumpier.

However, if you're the type who thinks the world can't get enough photos of your daughter in her ballet tutu or snapshots of your brunch frittata, your ship has come in.

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Memoto is a Swedish-designed wearable device that allows a person to document every moment of her life. Simply clips it to a T-shirt and the device automatically captures a photo every 30 seconds with a 5-megapixel sensor. Once Memoto links up with a computer via Micro-USB port, the device uploads photos to the Memoto Web Service for sharing and archiving.

Each photo includes the current GPS position of the camera and a time-stamp for each image. The device is equipped with an accelerometer so every photo comes out correctly oriented regardless of how the camera is tilted. Memoto has LED lights that indicate remaining battery life and contains 8 GB of storage in a square unit the size of a matchbox.

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The Web service, which has yet to be finalized, is expected to cost five dollars a month when it's slated for release in 2013. The unit itself will cost $279 and be offered in the colors graphite, grey, white and orange.

If Memoto sounds like the kind of lifelogging gadget you need, you can contribute money to the company's Kickstarter campaign. Donate $199 and you'll receive a camera and one-year Web service subscription.

via Gizmag

Credit: Memoto

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Robot Paints Your Sleep Pattern

Measuring sleep usually involves attaching sensors to a person's head and then creating basic charts and graphs based on brain waves. Now a robot is using similar technology to create art. It's part of the "Sleep Art Experience," a six-week project being promoted by five Ibis-brand hotels in France, Germany and Great Britain.

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It starts with 80 sensors embedded in hotel room mattresses. The sensors record sleep variables including motion, temperature and sound between midnight and 7 am. That data is transmitted via Wi-Fi to a robot housed in a studio in Paris. The robot uses an algorithm to convert the data into art, which is expressed through a series of brushstrokes on a black canvas. The result is a beautiful depiction of what an individual's sleep looks like, blending together the best of science and art.

Forty participants will have their sleep patterns turned into possibly the coolest piece of bedroom art ever. Registration for the Paris dates have already passed, but if you're in the Berlin or London area this month, check out Ibis' Facebook page to enter for a chance to participate.

 

via Gajitz

Credit: Ibis

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