Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
  • CNET
  • All sensei posts

sensei

Feeling kind of blue? This digital avatar can tell

It's nice to think each of us is entirely unique, a one-of-a-kind aggregate of life experiences colliding with genes that set us apart from everyone else. And while this is true to an extent, it's also true that certain telltale blueprints exist for us, all the way down to the way we move our faces if we are, say, depressed.

So researchers at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies are developing a Kinect-driven avatar they call SimSensei to track and analyze in real time a person's facial movements, body posture, linguistic patterns, acoustics, and behaviors such as fidgeting which, taken together, signal psychological distress.… Read more

Filmmaker shoots kung-fu vid on Samsung Galaxy S3

Freddie Wong, also known on YouTube as FreddieW, makes videos packed with dazzling special effects that appeal mainly to gaming geeks. His latest effort, "Sandcastle Sensei," is born of his claim that anyone can make good videos without high-end equipment as long as they have a good idea and the right execution.

The short film was shot entirely on the Samsung Galaxy S3. … Read more

Ninja Umbrella wards off rain, vanishes without trace

I still plan on living out my childhood ninja fantasies: jumping across thatched straw rooftops, stealing precious family heirlooms in the middle of the night, throwing pointy stars, and honoring my giant rat sensei by ridding the world of mutated rhinos and warthogs. And now I won't have to worry about getting wet in the process.

The handle to this Ninja Umbrella resembles the old samurai katanas of yore, replete with a crossed grip hilt and a cloth scabbard that you can swing across your back when the sun comes out. The umbrella section expands to a 3-foot-long canopy, … Read more