Microsoft is acquiring Canesta, Inc., a developer of 3-D electronic perception technology for natural user interaction, gaming, and more. |
| Posted: 31 Oct 2010 01:18 PM PDT Microsoft to Acquire 3-D Chip Firm Canesta Michael Baron, TheStreet 10/29/10 Thanks to Harry Van Der Veen, of NUITEQ, for this link! RELATED The following video is from the Canesta3D YouTube channel. It demonstrates the 3D input sensor in action, with four people moving around in a living room. The chip used in the system depicted in the video was the precursor to the current chip, called the "Cobra 320x200". Below is a demo of gesture interaction using Canesta3D technology to control and select information and content on a large display. In my opinion, this will change the way we interact with our TV's, at least for those of us who hate using bad remotes! Microsoft's acquisition of Canesta is good news, especially if they allow this technology to be used by the masses. I'm pretty sure it has the capability of supporting interaction with HD TV's are internet-ready, and can support GoogleTV, LeanBack, and Vimeo's Couch Mode. Canesta Announces Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by Microsoft Press Rease, 10/29/10, Canesta About Canesta (From the Canesta website) "Canesta (www.canesta.com) is the inventor of revolutionary, low cost electronic perception technology and leading provider of single chip CMOS 3-D sensors that fundamentally change the relationship between devices and their users. This capability makes possible true 3-D perception as input to everyday devices, rather than the widely understood 3-D representational technologies as output. Canesta's 3-D input technology, based upon tiny, CMOS 3-D imaging chips or "sensors", enables fine-grained, 3-dimensional depth-perception in a wide range of applications. Products based on this capability can then react on sight to the actions or motions of individuals and objects in their field of view, gaining levels of functionality and ease of use that were simply not possible in an era when such devices were blind. Canesta's focus is on mass market consumer electronics, but many applications exist in other markets as well. Canesta is located in Sunnyvale, CA. The company has filedin excess of fifty patents, 44 of which have been granted so far." Canesta Corporate Fact Sheet (pdf) Videos: http://canesta.com/applications/consumer-electronics/gesture-controls I posted some videos about Canesta's technologies on the following post. There are two videos that show Canesta's 3D depth camera works on a Hitachi flat-panel display: Interactive Displays 2009 Conference For more information about interactive TV, GoogleTV, Leanback and Couch Mode, see the second section of my recent post: Philipp Geist: Blending the Physical with the Digital; Google TV/Leanback, Vimeo's new Couch Mode, oh..and ViewSonic's 3D (glasses-less) pocket camcorder... http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com  |
| Posted: 31 Oct 2010 12:16 PM PDT I'm interested in topics related to school reform and how it impacts the intersection of education/learning and emerging/innovative interactive technologies. There are many changes going on that will impact the future of education, and I thought I'd devote a post or two to this topic on the Interactive Multimedia Technology and TechPsych blogs. Over the past few years, I've noticed that there is a re-occurring theme, sort of a self-perpetuating "myth" - or hope, that if we just could fire/tweak/transform- the teachers, and if we just had the right kind of technologies and applications at hand, the multiple problems of education would be solved. Of course, we know it is much more complicated than throwing innovative technologies, teaching strategies, and new, "highly qualified" teachers into the educational mix! On this note, I'd like to share a link to an article written by Dan Sutch on the Flux blog, hosted by FutureLab. ( I've included some links to resources from the FuturLab website. I've also added my own "2-cents" to the topic of technology and education reform, which can be found at the top of this blog under the "My 2-cents: Innovative Technologies, Education Reform, which is in draft form.) In his article, Dan Sutch touches on some key problems facing education. Like the little boy in the children's book, the Emperor's New Clothes, he points out that the polarizing debates regarding education blind us to what we really need to think about- and understand. Dan Sutch, Flux (FutureLab) October 7, 2010 Here are thee three "meta-functions" of education discussed in Dan's article:
By using this framework, it might be possible for us to generate meaningful ways to use technology to support the business/science/art of teaching and learning. This framework might be something for university-level teacher educators to consider. RELATED AND SOMEWHAT RELATED About Dan Sutch "Dan's main research interests are in mobile learning, radical innovation and the role of the teacher in technology-rich learning environments. Dan's current work involves investigating new models of innovation in the design and application of digital learning resources and the capacity of teachers to act as innovators in the use of digital learning resources." I encourage you to take a look at the other people who contribute to Flux! They are on the forefront of education and emerging technologies, and come from a wide range of disciplines. About FutureLab FutureLab is an organization located in the UK that focuses on "the way people learn through innovative technology and practice". The FutureLab website has a wealth of information about interactive and immersive technologies that support- or have the potential to support- learning. FutureLab's Free Online Tools One of many examples is Create-A-Scape: "Create-A-Scape is a website that provides resources for creating digitally-enhanced learning experiences, using mobile technology to experience location-sensitive sounds and images that have been 'attached to' the local landscape. Can be used right across the curriculum with all age groups." -FutureLab Links to FutureLab topics, from the home page of the FutureLab website:
Links to FutureLab's current projects:
http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com  |
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