Engadget RSS Feed http://www.engadget.com Engadget http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif Engadget http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2013 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Researchers achieve world record in wireless data transmission, seek to provide rural broadband]]> http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/22/world-record-wireless-data-transmission/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/22/world-record-wireless-data-transmission/ http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/22/world-record-wireless-data-transmission/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Researchers achieve world record in wireless data transmission, seek to provide rural broadband

Speed. It's a movie. It's a drug. And it's also something that throngs of internet users the world over cannot get enough of. Thankfully, the wizards at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology have figured out a way to satisfy the unsatisfiable, announcing this week a world record in the area of wireless data transmission. Researchers were able to achieve 40Gbit/sec at 240GHz over a distance of one kilometer, essentially matching the capacity of optical fiber... but, you know, without the actual tether.

The goal here, of course, isn't to lower your ping times beyond where they are already; it's to give rural communities across the globe a decent shot at enjoying broadband. Distances of over one kilometer have already been covered by using a long range demonstrator, which the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology set up between two skyscrapers as part of the project "Millilink". There's no clear word on when the findings will be ported over to the commercial realm, but given the traction we're seeing in the white spaces arena, we doubt you'll have to wait long.

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Via: Physorg

Source: Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics

]]> broadbanddataFraunhoferinternettransmissionwirelesswireless datawireless data transmissionWirelessDataWirelessDataTransmission Wed, 22 May 2013 02:28:00 -0400 21|20578625 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer releases its 'CD-like' audio codecs to developers, lends a little HiFi to VoIP apps]]> http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/13/fraunhofer-releases-iis-full-hd-voice-codec-library/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/13/fraunhofer-releases-iis-full-hd-voice-codec-library/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/13/fraunhofer-releases-iis-full-hd-voice-codec-library/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Fraunhofer releases IIS FullHD Voice codec library, lends a little HiFi to VoIP apps

For those who relish high fidelity but not high data consumption (and bills), Fraunhofer introduced its IIs Full-HD codec for Android and iOS earlier in the year, which is currently being used in apps like Facetime. Now you can bring some of that "CD-like" audio quality to your own VoIP app development with the release of the Fraunhofer FDK Codec Library for Android 4.1 and up, iOS 4.0 or higher and OSX. That'll let you build less tinny VoIP apps across platforms with "direct, native access" to all the IIs codecs, according to Fraunhofer. Grab it from the coverage below, or check the PR after the break.

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]]> AAC-ELDappsdeveloperkitFraunhoferFullHDIISminipostVoIP Tue, 13 Nov 2012 06:49:00 -0500 21|20378014 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer develops extra-small 1Gbps infrared transceiver, recalls our PDA glory days]]> http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/05/fraunhofer-develops-extra-small-1gbps-infrared-transceiver/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/05/fraunhofer-develops-extra-small-1gbps-infrared-transceiver/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/05/fraunhofer-develops-extra-small-1gbps-infrared-transceiver/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Fraunhofer develops extrasmall 1Gbps infrared transceiver, recalls our PDA glory days

Our 1997-era selves would die with envy right about now. Fraunhofer has developed a new generation of infrared transceiver that can transfer data at 1Gbps, or well above anything that our vintage PDAs could manage. While the speed is nothing new by itself -- we saw such rates in 2010 Penn State experiments -- it's the size that makes the difference. The laser diode and processing are efficient enough to fit into a small module whose transceiver is as large as a "child's fingernail." In theory, the advancement makes infrared once more viable for mobile device syncing, with room to grow: even the current technology can scale to 3Gbps, lead researcher Frank Deicke says, and it might jump to 10Gbps with enough work. Along with the usual refinements, most of the challenge in getting production hardware rests in persuading the Infrared Data Association to adopt Deicke's work as a standard. If that ever comes to pass, we may just break out our PalmPilot's infrared adapter to try it for old time's sake.

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Via: Gizmag

Source: Fraunhofer

]]> 10 giga-ir10Giga-ircellphonecellphonesfraunhoferfraunhofer institutefraunhofer institute for photonic microsystemsFraunhoferInstituteFraunhoferInstituteForPhotonicMicrosystemsgigabithandheldsidainfraredinfrared data associationInfraredDataAssociationirmobilemobilepostcrossold schoolOldSchoolpdapenn statePennStatepennsylvania state universityPennsylvaniaStateUniversitypsuresearchsmartphonesmartphones Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:32:00 -0400 21|20342221 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer black silicon could catch more energy from infrared light, go green with sulfur]]> http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/fraunhofer-black-silicon-could-catch-more-energy-from-infrared/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/fraunhofer-black-silicon-could-catch-more-energy-from-infrared/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/04/fraunhofer-black-silicon-could-catch-more-energy-from-infrared/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Fraunhofer black silicon could catch more energy from infrared light, go green with sulfur

Generating solar power from the infrared spectrum, or even nearby frequencies, has proven difficult in spite of a quarter of the Sun's energy passing through those wavelengths. The Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications may have jumped that hurdle to efficiency through sulfur -- one of the very materials that solar energy often helps eliminate. By irradiating ordinary silicon through femtosecond-level laser pulses within a sulfuric atmosphere, the technique melds sulfur with silicon and makes it easier for infrared light electrons to build into the frenzy needed for conducting electricity. The black-tinted silicon that results from the process is still in the early stages and needs improvements to automation and refinement to become a real product, but there's every intention of making that happen: Fraunhofer plans a spinoff to market finished laser systems for solar cell builders who want their own black silicon. If all goes well, the darker shade of solar panels could lead to a brighter future for clean energy.

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Via: Gizmag

Source: Fraunhofer

]]> black siliconBlackSiliconclean energyCleanEnergyelectronsfraunhoferfraunhofer hhifraunhofer instituteFraunhofer Institute for TelecommunicationsFraunhoferHhiFraunhoferInstituteFraunhoferInstituteForTelecommunicationsgreen energyGreenEnergyinfraredirradiationlaserminipostresearchsciencesiliconsolarsolar cellsolar panelsolar panelssolar powerSolarCellSolarPanelSolarPanelsSolarPowersulfursulfuric Thu, 04 Oct 2012 05:32:00 -0400 21|20340605 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer's Full-HD Voice brings high fidelity VoLTE to Android smartphones]]> http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/24/fraunhofer-full-hd-voice-for-volte/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/24/fraunhofer-full-hd-voice-for-volte/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/24/fraunhofer-full-hd-voice-for-volte/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Fraunhofer's Full-HD Voice brings high fidelity VoLTE to Android smartphonesThe audio nerds at Fraunhofer are set to raise the bar for Voice over LTE next week in Barcelona, as the company has announced a new technology known as Full-HD Voice. By leveraging the AAC-ELD codec, Fraunhofer claims that consumers will experience audio quality that rivals the experience of chatting face-to-face. Technically speaking, it's said the codec offers four times the audio bandwidth of regular phone calls and twice the bandwidth of HD voice services, all without an increase in bit rate. The technology will only be available for Android phones initially, but that seems like a fine place to start. The full PR is after the break -- presented in Full HD, of course.

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]]> aacaac-eldcodecfraunhoferfraunhofer iisFraunhoferIisfull hdfull hd voiceFullHdFullHdVoicehdltemobilepostcrossmwcmwc 2012Mwc2012voicevoice over lteVoiceOverLtevolte Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:19:00 -0500 21|20178602 <![CDATA[DASH promises stutter free streaming video over LTE, hopes you don't care about quality]]> http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/05/dash-promises-stutter-free-streaming-video-over-lte/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/05/dash-promises-stutter-free-streaming-video-over-lte/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/05/dash-promises-stutter-free-streaming-video-over-lte/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments YouTubeWe've all been there: fire up a clip from YouTube or a movie on Netflix and things start out great. But, then, after just a few moments, that LTE connection starts to give up the ghost and suddenly you're faced with unbearable stuttering or a video that just dies mid stream. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications are looking to solve that conundrum with DASH, or Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP. The idea is actually surprisingly simple -- files of different sizes and qualities will be available depending on signal strength and network load, and the stream will be able to seamlessly switch between them as these variables change. While this sounds like a win for both consumer and carriers, we're sure there are a few of you out there who just want the highest quality possible, even if that means waiting forever for that HD clip of the all accordion cover of Take On Me to buffer. Full PR is after the break.

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]]> dashDynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTPDynamicAdaptiveStreamingOverHttpFraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhoferInstituteltelte dashLteDashmobilepostministreamingstreaming videoStreamingVideovideo Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:19:00 -0500 21|20164243 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer's STAN: four cameras, three dimensions, no glasses]]> http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/fraunhofers-stan-four-cameras-three-dimensions-no-glasses/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/fraunhofers-stan-four-cameras-three-dimensions-no-glasses/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/fraunhofers-stan-four-cameras-three-dimensions-no-glasses/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
There are some glasses-free 3D TVs around, but their limited viewing angles and poor picture quality aren't very inspiring -- so Fraunhofer's latest project is a welcome endeavor. It's developed STAN (STereoscopic ANalyzer), a system that lets broadcasters easily use four cameras instead of the usual two, for 3D recording. 3D needs a minimum of two lenses to register depth and keeping multiple shooters in sync is tough and expensive. That's led to the industry relying on two, which is why glasses-free (autostereoscopic) 3D TVs get such a poor picture; more cameras means more viewing angles. STAN co-ordinates the setup of the four cameras and then uses a feature detector to identify common elements in the pictures and merges them into a 3D image. Four cameras provide much more depth, which means more viewing angles, which means that if STAN gets picked up, these guys can throw away the sunglasses, even for live broadcasts.

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]]> 3D3D TV3DTVAutostereoscopicAutostereoscopic 3DAutostereoscopic3dFraunhoferFraunhofer STANFraunhofer Stereoscopic AnalyzerFraunhoferStanFraunhoferStereoscopicAnalyzerFrederik ZillyFrederikZillyGlasses FreeGlasses Free 3DGlasses LessGlasses-freeGlasses-free 3DGlasses-free3dGlasses-lessGlassesFreeGlassesFree3dGlassesLessSTANSTereoscopic ANalyzerStereoscopicAnalyzer Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:46:00 -0400 21|20043746 <![CDATA[Viatag NFC system pays parking lot fees with an RFID tag, saves lives]]> http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/05/viatag-nfc-system-pays-parking-lot-fees-with-an-rfid-tag-saves/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/05/viatag-nfc-system-pays-parking-lot-fees-with-an-rfid-tag-saves/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/05/viatag-nfc-system-pays-parking-lot-fees-with-an-rfid-tag-saves/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Paying for parking isn't exactly a fun experience, but Germany's Fraunhofer Institute is doing its best to make it slightly less painful, with Viatag -- an NFC system that allows you shell out your hard earned cash without even reaching for your wallet. The setup is relatively simple, consisting of a small RFID tag, compatible transceivers and a centralized database. Once attached to your car's windshield, the tag communicates with the transceivers installed within a given parking lot, alerting the system whenever your vehicle enters or leaves. An application running on the central server, meanwhile, keeps track of how much time you spend in the lot, and charges your debit card accordingly. Researchers have already installed Viatag at car parks in Essen, Duisburg and Munich, and are hoping to expand it to other locations. It might not be as sophisticated as some of the other automotive communications systems we've seen, but it could come in handy during those moments when you really don't feel like swearing at a parking meter. Cruise past the break for the full PR.

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]]> carconveniencefraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhoferInstitutegermanymoneynear field communicationnear-field communicationNear-fieldCommunicationNearFieldCommunicationnfcparkparkingparking lotsParkingLotspaymentrfidrfid tagRfidTagtransport Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:53:00 -0400 21|20010083 <![CDATA[Wimbledon NetMix lets you turn down on-court grunts in favor of staid commentary]]> http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/wimbledon-netmix-lets-you-turn-down-on-court-grunts-in-favor-of/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/wimbledon-netmix-lets-you-turn-down-on-court-grunts-in-favor-of/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/wimbledon-netmix-lets-you-turn-down-on-court-grunts-in-favor-of/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Wimbledon, typically a quiet leafy suburb in the great urban sprawl of London, tends to get a little noisier around this time of the year as the world's top tennis players descend upon it with a grunt and a huff of exertion. It's precisely those un-British howls of effort that the BBC is offering to filter out for you with a new Wimbledon NetMix tool. It's a simple audio mixing slider, available to BBC Radio 5 Live listeners, that adjusts the balance between ambient on-court sound and the soothing timbre of commentators' voices. The technology's enabled by the guys and gals at Fraunhofer, who were nice enough to do it for free, and is being introduced in response to a great many complaints received by broadcasters about the primal screaming that's accompanied this year's matches. If the reaction to the NetMix slider is positive, it could find further job opportunities on the Beeb's iPlayer or in coverage of other sporting events.

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]]> audiobbccommentaryfraunhofergruntgruntingnetmixradiosoundsportsportstenniswimbledonwimbledon netmixWimbledonNetmix Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:41:00 -0400 21|19980107 <![CDATA[Ultra-thin handheld microscope could sniff out skin cancer, forged documents]]> http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/ultra-thin-handheld-microscope-could-sniff-out-skin-cancer-forg/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/ultra-thin-handheld-microscope-could-sniff-out-skin-cancer-forg/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/ultra-thin-handheld-microscope-could-sniff-out-skin-cancer-forg/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments It may not look like it, but that sleek black thing pictured above is actually a microscope. Designed by engineers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, this little guy boasts a 5.3mm optical length, rendering it slim enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet powerful enough to deliver images at a scanner-like resolution of five micrometers, over a wide surface area. Fraunhofer's researchers achieved this balance by essentially tossing out the manual on traditional microscope design. Whereas most devices slowly scan areas and construct images on a piecemeal basis, this handheld uses several small imaging channels and a collection of tiny lenses to record equal sized fragments of a given surface. Unlike conventional scanner microscopes, all of these 300 x 300 square micrometer imaging channels are captured at the same time. With a single swipe, then, users can record 36 x 24 square mm shots of matchbox-sized objects, without even worrying about blurring the images with their shaky hands. The prototype is still two years away from going into production, but once it does, engineers say it could help doctors scan patients for skin cancer more easily, while also allowing bureaucrats to quickly confirm the authenticity of official documents. We can only imagine what it could do for Pac-Man. Full PR after the break.

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]]> cancerdocumentsengineeringfraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhofer-GesellschaftFraunhoferInstitutegermanyhandheldhealthimageslaser world of phototonicsLaserWorldOfPhototonicsmelanomamicroscopeopticalopticsphototonicsprototyperesearchscanslimultrathin Thu, 05 May 2011 09:14:00 -0400 21|19932351 <![CDATA[Eye-tracking microdisplay delivers Terminator vision, distracts joggers]]> http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/20/eye-tracking-microdisplay-delivers-terminator-vision-distracts/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/20/eye-tracking-microdisplay-delivers-terminator-vision-distracts/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/20/eye-tracking-microdisplay-delivers-terminator-vision-distracts/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Fraunhofer IPMS Eye-Tracking Display The folks at Fraunhofer IPMS have done it! After years of tireless research and promises of Borg-like eyewear, the group has delivered a prototype of the world's first bidirectional, eye-tracking OLED microdisplay (got all that?) at SID 2011. The rig is much like a monocle, except with a transparent OLED display inside, which overlays digital information on top of the reflected light that usually hits your eyeballs. What's more, there are integrated photodetectors inside and special software to monitor the direction of your gaze, allowing you to interact with your newfound augmented reality using only the flick of an eyeball. Fraunhofer foresees joggers taking in movies while out for a run, which sounds more than just a little dangerous. We, on the other hand, envision a world in which the first thing anyone does upon meeting someone new is discreetly check their relationship status on Facebook -- finally fulfilling the social network's full creep potential. One more pic and the poorly translated PR after the break.

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]]> bidirectionalborgeye trackingeye-trackingEyeTrackingfraunhoferfraunhofer institute for photonic microsystemsFraunhofer ipmsFraunhoferInstituteForPhotonicMicrosystemsFraunhoferIpmshead mounted displayHeadMountedDisplayheads up displayHeadsUpDisplayhmdhudmicrodisplayoledSIDSID 2011Sid2011terminatortransparent OLEDTransparentOled Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:47:00 -0400 21|19918963 <![CDATA[Researchers steal iPhone passwords in six minutes (video)]]> http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/10/researchers-steal-lost-iphone-passwords-in-6-minutes-video/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/10/researchers-steal-lost-iphone-passwords-in-6-minutes-video/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/10/researchers-steal-lost-iphone-passwords-in-6-minutes-video/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Losing your smarpthone is bad enough. But if you lose your iPhone and don't issue a remote wipe command (available for free with the Find My iPhone app) then you could find yourself in a world of hurt. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute Secure Information Technology (Fraunhofer SIT) can jailbreak and decrypt passwords from the iPhone's keychain -- for say, your Gmail account, corporate VPN, home WiFi, and MS Exchange -- in about six minutes using existing, known exploits. Sorry kids, your flimsy lockscreen passcode won't help. Video proof, after the break.

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]]> exploitFraunhoferFraunhofer Institute Secure Information TechnologyFraunhofer sitFraunhoferInstituteSecureInformationTechnologyFraunhoferSithackiosiphonekeychainsecurityvideowhite hatWhiteHat Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:16:00 -0500 21|19838091 <![CDATA[German researchers prototype 6mm thick pico projector]]> http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/29/german-researchers-prototype-6mm-thick-pico-projector/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/29/german-researchers-prototype-6mm-thick-pico-projector/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/29/german-researchers-prototype-6mm-thick-pico-projector/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Pico projectors just keep shrinking, and a new prototype developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Engineering is helping said shrinking along pretty strikingly. The team has developed a prototype pico which is just 6mm thick, making it the world's slimmest ever. Better yet, the projected image is 10 times brighter than a pico projector of its size would have previously been -- had it existed. The new lens on the projector is so small that it could potentially be integrated into smart phones without boosting size or weight. The new prototype is made of 45 red, green or blue microlenses, each with a 200 x 200 pixel LCD, inspired by a microlens array called a fly's eye condenser. The resulting resolution is nearly, but not quite, WVGA with 11 lumens of brightness. The prototype will be shown off at Nano Tech 2011 in Tokyo.

[Image credit: Fraunhofer Institute]

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]]> displayfraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhoferInstitutegermanypicoprojectorprojectorsprototyperesearchtiny Sat, 29 Jan 2011 12:31:00 -0500 21|19820082 <![CDATA['Trilobite' compound eye puts a Paleozoic spin on mobile camera design]]> http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/22/trilobite-compound-eye-puts-a-paleozoic-spin-on-mobile-camera/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/22/trilobite-compound-eye-puts-a-paleozoic-spin-on-mobile-camera/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/22/trilobite-compound-eye-puts-a-paleozoic-spin-on-mobile-camera/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Extinct marine arthropods make for great design references -- just ask Andreas Brückner. The Fraunhofer Institute of Applied Optics and Precision Engineering researcher has taken a cue from the trilobite in creating a 1.4mm thin "cluster eye" camera to take 221 images at 39 pixels per side to form a 700 x 550 (0.38 megapixel) composite. At this point, it's also capable of recording 13 frames per second for video, and with a size like that, if they can bump up the specs it could pave way for smaller camera components in mobile phones. Not anytime soon, of course, as it's still in the research state (and it's just one of many camera research projects out there). The next step for Brückner and company is shrinking the aforementioned design to 1mm thin (and up the video to 30fps), as well as 1.5mm variant with one megapixel resolution.

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]]> Andreas BrücknerAndreas BrucknerAndreasBrücknerAndreasBrucknerarthropodbrücknerBrucknercompound eyeCompoundEyedesignfraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhoferInstituteresearchtrilobitetrilopod Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:20:00 -0500 21|19772201 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer IIS uses Awiloc indoor positioning magic to guide museum patrons]]> http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/13/fraunhofer-iis-uses-awiloc-indoor-positioning-magic-to-guide-mus/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/13/fraunhofer-iis-uses-awiloc-indoor-positioning-magic-to-guide-mus/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/13/fraunhofer-iis-uses-awiloc-indoor-positioning-magic-to-guide-mus/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments If you've been to a museum in the past year and change, chances are you've been coerced into ponying up an extra five bones for some sort of handheld apparatus. Supposedly, these things accompany patrons and enhance the experience, but more often than not, you're stuck with a grimy audio device that tells you little more than you brother Bob, who is undoubtedly tagging along behind and educating everyone in a 50 foot radius. Folks who choose to spend their time waltzing through the Museum of Industrial Culture in Nuremberg, however, have it better. The Fraunhofer IIS has developed a new technology for WLAN-based positioning, and unlike conventional GPS approaches, Awiloc actually works indoors. As the story goes, visitors to the museum can grab a handheld that follows their movement and then shows them what they're facing (or aren't facing, for that matter) in detail. Of course, they could also use the tracking data to see which exhibits were drawing the most attention if they were smart, but how exactly would the privacy advocate in you feel about that?

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]]> awilocfraunhofergermanygpshybrid gpsHybridGpsindoor gpsIndoorGpsindoors gpsIndoorsGpsmuseumNurembergpositioningtourwirelesswlan Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:22:00 -0500 21|19758478 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer working to make HD video conferencing a little less laggy]]> http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/fraunhofer-working-to-make-hd-video-conferencing-a-little-less-l/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/fraunhofer-working-to-make-hd-video-conferencing-a-little-less-l/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/fraunhofer-working-to-make-hd-video-conferencing-a-little-less-l/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Fraunhofer working to make HD video conferencing a little less laggy The early days of VOIP calling required a lot of patience, as the half-second or more delay between you speaking and your conversation partner receiving often turned the convo into a start and stop mess. Those days are gone for voice, but we're right back there again when it comes to HD video calls. However, random product researcher Fraunhofer is working on a new device to kill the lag and speed up your two-way monologues. It's basically an encoder card able to do hardware squashing of HD video via H.264 and audio via AAC, not unlike the sort of tech Skype requires for its SkypeHD-compatible video cameras. Fraunhofer's tech is also said to remove boomy room echoes and even handle network hiccups to keep you streamin' in style. The result is said to be sub-100ms lag, which would be more or less playable for a shooter. Expect more on this development soon from IFA.

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]]> aacencodingfraunhoferh.264hardware encodingHardwareEncodinghd video conferencingHdVideoConferencingta2video conferencingVideoConferencingvoip Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:04:00 -0400 21|19613035 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer FIT touch-free gesture-control for multiple users (video)]]> http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/21/fraunhofer-fit-touch-free-gesture-control-for-multiple-users-vi/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/21/fraunhofer-fit-touch-free-gesture-control-for-multiple-users-vi/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/21/fraunhofer-fit-touch-free-gesture-control-for-multiple-users-vi/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments It seems like everyone is cooking up their own touch-free gesture-based control technology, just like every blogger is destined to refer to it as "Minority Report-like" or "Minority Report-esque," or "Tom Cruise-tastic!" Fraunhofer's FIT, the newest such project, has recently appeared on the YouTubes, where we must say it looks pretty darn good. Not only does it not require special gloves or markers, this thing also works in real time and can support multiple users (and multiple fingers). The researchers hope to use this for working with complex simulation data and in education, although there are some kinks to be worked out: currently elements like the reflections caused by wristwatches and the orientation of the palm confuses the system. That said, the demo is pretty rad! See for yourself after the break.

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]]> fitfraunhoferfraunhofer fitFraunhoferFitGesture ControlGesture recognitionGestureControlGestureRecognitionminority reportMinorityReportvideo Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:01:00 -0400 21|19563277 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer developing bike helmets (and other products) that stink when damaged]]> http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/fraunhofer-developing-bike-helmets-and-other-products-that-sti/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/fraunhofer-developing-bike-helmets-and-other-products-that-sti/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/03/fraunhofer-developing-bike-helmets-and-other-products-that-sti/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
We're glad you're using a bike helmet (and we're glad you've opted for that really scary one we first saw in 2007). You do realize, however, that the more blows to the head you receive, the less effective the headgear is, right? Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have developed a manufacturing process that injects microcapsules containing malodorous oils into the helmet itself, causing it to stink when damaged -- alerting you that it's time to replace it (and making it difficult to try and make do with a less than safe one, at that). Indeed, the process, which a thick foil made of polypropylene to house the microcapsules, extends to other products as well, including: pressure hoses, water, and gas pipes (in which case the odor can be detected by automated "smell sensors"). As for the lids, they're still trying to decide exactly which scent to use, but we have a suggestion -- smelling salts. Seems logical, right?

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]]> bicyclebikebike helmetsBikeHelmetschemistryfraunhoferhelmetodorolfactorystinky Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:27:00 -0400 21|19502191 <![CDATA[Fraunhofer's 3D posters make your fish-based advertising really pop]]> http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/fraunhofers-3d-posters-make-your-fish-based-advertising-really/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/fraunhofers-3d-posters-make-your-fish-based-advertising-really/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/fraunhofers-3d-posters-make-your-fish-based-advertising-really/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Fraunhofer's 3D posters make your fish-based advertising really pop The pinnacle of 3D-based content? Glasses-free, of course, and Fraunhofer has reached that level for static images -- and it plans to use it for advertising, of course. The company is talking up its new 3D posters that rely on 250,000 lenses embedded in a grooved sheet, each lens with a 2mm diameter. The effect is said to be similar to those simple "3D" lenticular postcards and cereal boxes we've all seen, but Fraunhofer promises that improved accuracy used in manufacturing here will make the resulting images far clearer, enabling the effect to be clearly seen on these five meter posters even from across the street. That's good, because when was the last time you walked up to a billboard to get a closer look?

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]]> 3d3d display3dDisplayfraunhoferglasses-free 3dGlasses-free3dlenslenticularposter Tue, 04 May 2010 09:04:00 -0400 21|19463719 <![CDATA[German researchers develop biotech sensor bracelet, disposable blood lab]]> http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/20/german-researchers-develop-biotech-sensor-bracelet-disposable-b/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/20/german-researchers-develop-biotech-sensor-bracelet-disposable-b/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/20/german-researchers-develop-biotech-sensor-bracelet-disposable-b/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments Biochips -- flexible, disposable plastic circuits that "compute" via chemical reaction -- have been nearing reality for over a decade, but for obvious reasons we don't always pay attention. German research institute Fraunhofer IZM has just convinced us it's high time we did. This week, the organization announced that it's on the verge of creating a lab-on-a-chip that can diagnose deep vein thrombosis from a single drop of blood, as well as a wristband that can measure body temperature, skin moisture and electromagnetic radiation using plastic chips and sensors only micrometers thick. Impressive, yes, but the real news is the production process -- these gadgets can be printed in reels and sheets. The organization imagines the tools will be so cheap they'll be disposable; rather than wait for lab results, worried individuals will just take one out, test and toss to feel confident about their bloodwork, before hopefully going back to their normal lives.

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]]> biochipbiochipsbloodblood testBloodTestbloodworkchemicalfraunhoferfraunhofer institutefraunhofer izmFraunhofer-GesellschaftFraunhoferInstituteFraunhoferIzmmedicalmedicineplastic chipplastic chipsPlasticChipPlasticChipsprintable circuitsprintable electronicsPrintableCircuitsPrintableElectronicssciencewristband Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:32:00 -0400 21|19446165 <![CDATA[HYPOLED develops mega-tiny VGA projector display, has a tiny coin in the photo to prove it]]> http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/05/hypoled-develops-mega-tiny-vga-projector-display-has-a-penny-in/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/05/hypoled-develops-mega-tiny-vga-projector-display-has-a-penny-in/ http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/05/hypoled-develops-mega-tiny-vga-projector-display-has-a-penny-in/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
HYPOLED, an 18-month-old project tasked with creating OLED microdisplays for upcoming pico projectors, has just released a report of its recent progress. Among the advances is a Fraunhofer IPMS-designed all digital VGA, full color OLED microdisplay backplane with matching pico projector optics. The display measures just 0.18-mm thick and is already in prototype manufacturing. The super miniscule display is connected to a MediaBox enabling it to operate via WiFi. Fraunhofer is now expected to begin developing a prototype of the full projector, meaning that with any luck, our picos should be getting a teensy, tiny bit cooler in the near future.

[Via About Projectors]

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]]> fraunhoferfraunhofer ipmsFraunhoferIpmshypoledledpicopico projectorpico projectorsPicoProjectorPicoProjectorsprojectorprojectorsresearch Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:01:00 -0400 21|19184451 <![CDATA[Tiny, printable batteries promise to change the face of obnoxious greeting cards forever]]> http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/02/tiny-printable-batteries-promise-to-change-the-face-of-obnoxiou/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/02/tiny-printable-batteries-promise-to-change-the-face-of-obnoxiou/ http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/02/tiny-printable-batteries-promise-to-change-the-face-of-obnoxiou/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS in Chemnitz led by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Baumann have unveiled tiny, printable batteries that they hope to put into production for pennies apiece. The new battery prototype is primarily composed of a zinc anode and a manganese cathode that can be screen printed and covered with a non-printed template cover. Each mercury-free battery weighs less than one gram, and can individually produce about 1.5 volts of electricity. By placing several batteries side by side, however, up to 6 volts can be generated. The institute has already produced these little power houses in the lab, and hopes to see them into production by the end of the year. The batteries have a relatively short lifespan, making them suitable for applications such as powering greeting cards. All we can say is that this battery would have made the card we got two years ago that sang "Word Up" much, much awesomer.

[Via Physorg]

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]]> batteriesbatteryENASfraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhoferInstitutenanonano technano technologyNanoTechNanoTechnologyprintable batteriesPrintableBatteriesReinhard BaumannReinhardBaumann Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:10:00 -0400 21|19085380 <![CDATA[OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones using a series of lenses developed]]> http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/oled-mini-projector-prototype-for-mobile-phones-using-a-series-o/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/oled-mini-projector-prototype-for-mobile-phones-using-a-series-o/ http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/oled-mini-projector-prototype-for-mobile-phones-using-a-series-o/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute -- partnered with project HYPOLED -- have created an OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones. Unlike many previous iterations of similar technologies, this new prototype doesn't need an additional illumination system, instead relying on a lens system to project images produced by an OLED onto a screen or wall -- making it both smaller and more energy efficient. The prototype currently displays a monochrome image with a brightness of 10,000 candelas per square meter, and color images with a brightness of about half of that. The lenses are also made of glass at this point, though cheaper and simpler plastic ones are in the works. No word on when we might see these prototypes hitting the streets in actual projector phones, though.

[Via Gizmag]

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]]> cellphonesdisplaydisplaysfraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhoferInstitutelensmini projectorMiniProjectormobileoledoled mini projectorOledMiniProjectorphoneprojectorprojector phonesProjectorPhonesprototype Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:19:00 -0400 21|19081928 <![CDATA[OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones using a series of lenses developed]]> http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/oled-mini-projector-prototype-for-mobile-phones-using-a-series-o/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/oled-mini-projector-prototype-for-mobile-phones-using-a-series-o/ http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/oled-mini-projector-prototype-for-mobile-phones-using-a-series-o/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute -- partnered with project HYPOLED -- have created an OLED mini projector prototype for mobile phones. Unlike many previous iterations of similar technologies, this new prototype doesn't need an additional illumination system, instead relying on a lens system to project images produced by an OLED onto a screen or wall -- making it both smaller and more energy efficient. The prototype currently displays a monochrome image with a brightness of 10,000 candelas per square meter, and color images with a brightness of about half of that. The lenses are also made of glass at this point, though cheaper and simpler plastic ones are in the works. No word on when we might see these prototypes hitting the streets in actual projector phones, though.

[Via Gizmag]

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]]> cellphonesdisplaydisplaysfraunhoferfraunhofer instituteFraunhoferInstitutelensmini projectorMiniProjectoroledoled mini projectorOledMiniProjectorphoneprojectorprojector phonesProjectorPhonesprototype Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:19:00 -0400 21|19081435 <![CDATA[Interactive data eyeglasses could bring the PC to your face, won't fix nearsightedness]]> http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/interactive-data-eyeglasses-could-bring-the-pc-to-your-face-won/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/interactive-data-eyeglasses-could-bring-the-pc-to-your-face-won/ http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/04/interactive-data-eyeglasses-could-bring-the-pc-to-your-face-won/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
Leave it the mad scientists at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft to concoct this one. Rather than just figuring out a way to read back information in one-way fashion on one's glasses (think Sixth Sense, but with eyewear), these folks are diving right in to the real stuff: bidirectional communication. In essence, their goal for the interactive data eyeglasses is to track eye movement in order to allow ones retinas to scroll through menus, flip through options and zoom in / out on a map. Obviously, a microdisplay will be necessary as well, but that's just half the battle. We'll confess -- we're still not humble enough to take our Vuzix HMD out in public, but we just might swap our Transitions[TM] for a set of these.

[Via OLED-Display]

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]]> CMOSdata eyeglassesDataEyeglasseseye trackereyeglassesEyeTrackereyewearFraunhoferFraunhofer-Gesellschaftglasseshead-mounted displayHead-mountedDisplayHMDinteractivemicrodisplayoledresearch Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:19:00 -0400 21|19057461