Future tech

Feel like Spidey in a real-life spider-sense suit

If Peter Parker's spider-sense ranks high on your list of coveted superpowers, you may experience a strange tingling sensation at news of a suit that alerts the wearer to the presence of nearby objects.

Victor Mateevitsi, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois' Electronic Visualization Laboratory in Chicago, is the main man behind SpiderSense, a "wearable device that projects the wearer's near environment on the skin and allows for directional awareness of objects around him" in much the same way Spider-Man can detect danger without the benefit of sight.

The suit -- which is for better or worse far less pec-revealing than Spidey's getup -- consists of 11 sensor modules positioned for 360-degree coverage. Each sensor module houses an ultrasonic range finder and a servo motor. The sensor modules scan the environment for obstacles and alert the wearer to them by exerting pressure to the skin via the servo motor's arm. … Read more

Mobile oddities: Delve into the stranger side of MWC

Imagine waking up, reaching for the tablet on your nightstand, and turning on your coffee maker from bed. You catch a few more winks before it alerts you that your hot java's ready. If Qualcomm's concept Wi-Fi coffee maker ever goes into production, your mornings may never be quite the same.

The coffee maker, however, is just one of many odd and unusual gadgets on display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.… Read more

LG's 4K phone upscaling squeezes Ultra HD from your mobile, wirelessly (video)

BARCELONA, Spain--LG is showing off a new system that transforms your smartphone into a 4K media hub.

The South Korean company is calling the new platform the "world's first wireless Ultra HD transmission technology." If you've got a game or video playing on your mobile in HD, the new platform will upscale the feed to a 4K resolution, before beaming it out wirelessly to another device.

In this situation that second device was an LG 4K television, acting as a simple monitor for the 4K feed that the phone was pumping out.

At Mobile World Congress, … Read more

Leap Motion controllers to ship in mid-May for $80

Leap Motion, which has developed an innovative motion-control system that's accurate to the hundredth of a millimeter, said today that it will begin shipping its controller on May 13.

The controller, which gives users the ability to control what's on their computers with touch-free pinch-to-zoom gestures, will sell for $80 -- though customers who have already pre-ordered it will pay $70 -- and will ship to pre-order customers on May 13, and be available to everyone else on May 19.

The device will be available in the U.S. only through Leap Motion's Web site, and at … Read more

Inventor gets off the ground with homemade jetpack

It might look like a recipe for disaster, or at least a trip to the hospital, but a German inventor is trying to take to the skies with a jetpack that's designed to race along a runway before flying.

Inspired by daredevil Felix Baumgartner, Fritz Unger wants to soar like a bird by strapping wings and two jet engines to his back.

That hasn't happened yet, but his Skyflash jetpack has lifted him off the ground for an instant as he rolled along at 34 mph. … Read more

The 404 1,215: Where we stand up to stereotypes (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Beatles fan exhibits record store that only stocks The Beatles' "White Album," featuring more than 650 first pressings. Here's a preview.

- Stereotype.fm comes up with quirky statistics about music fans, like "MJ fans likely to join a cult."

- Nine new ways to sit, thanks to tech.

- Illegal music downloads took a nosedive in 2012.

- Check out Samsung/GameSpot's Unicorn Apocalypse contest for a chance to win $25k.

- Ghostbusters HQ Lego creation by Orion Pax.… Read more

The 404 1,214: Where we stop shaking and start snooping (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Satire site The Onion apologizes for offensive Oscar tweet.

- Daniel Tosh apologizes on Twitter for rape joke during stand-up routine.

- The most terrifying button on Facebook.

- Billboard starts counting YouTube Hits on its Hot 100 lists, Harlem Shake gets first place.

- Video: Harlem residents respond to Harlem Shake.… Read more

Fujitsu New Generation GPS Cane takes you places

BARCELONA, Spain--We all need a bit of direction in life, especially when we're getting on in years. With the Fujitsu New Generation Cane, a prototype superconnected walking stick, seniors can find their way, stay healthy, and keep loved ones posted on their progress.

The cane prototype is on show at Mobile World Congress, proving that "mobile device" doesn't just mean a phone or tablet. Packed with GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it not only guides you to your destination but records data to make sure you're not in trouble.

The cane is topped by a contoured handle made of glossy plastic, which curves all the way around the hand in a loop. The handle flares at the front, a bit like the pommel of a sword, where there's a screen of large light-up colored dots that displays useful information to the walker. It displays either big green arrows pointing you in the right direction, or big green numbers to tell you your heart rate. … Read more

Researchers develop flexible, transparent image sensor

Researchers from the Institute of Computer Graphics at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, have developed a way to capture images on a flexible sheet of plastic. Unlike traditional image sensors that use circuits and other internal structures to develop an image, this new solution is fully transparent.

This is no ordinary sheet of plastic though. The sensor is a polymer film (luminescent concentrator) containing a multitude of fluorescent particles that absorb a specific wavelength of light. It then transmits this light at a longer wavelength to optical sensors at the side of the sheet, which captures it all, reconstructing … Read more