Tag Archives: Mobile Devices

Ready for Your Phone to Become a 3D Scanner?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94ik3LeqLv8

Interesting speculation from AppleInsider that seems to point to a 3D scanner being part of a future iPhone. Even if it is not in the iPhone 8, we will probably ee this sooner rather than later. If virtual/augmented reality and 3D printing are already here, your phones will need to keep up. Facial recognition is probably the first thing that comes to most people’s minds, but other uses could be for augmented reality and object scanning. While it may be cool to scan things around you, copyright laws will have to adjust quickly or else we can all just start scanning and printing things in stores instead of buying. I would also assume privacy would be an issue, both from what your phone collects about you through scanning your face as well as from those that would adjust their phones to scan people in public. It sounds very convenient to be able to open your phone with just your face, but the flip side to that is hackers would just need to walk up to you while they are hacking your accounts and scan your face while you walk down the street. Takes the idea of personal firewalls to a whole new level, huh? Innovations like this are ones we need to get ahead of instead of playing catch up after people misuse them. The video above is of a different project, but looks at a more hopeful view of what smartphone 3D scanning would be like (as well as displays a possible copyright violation by scanning R2-D2).

Room Scale Virtual Reality with a Smart Phone

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If you are like me, the first time you used Virtual Reality, you probably ran into one of the more painful problems with VR: you can’t see real life obstacles with a device that blocks your view. While it might seem that mapping an entire room into VR would be incredibly expensive, Occipital has found a way to bring that price down to $500. Occipital’s Structure Sensor can apparently scan the room around you in 3-D, and bring the physical world into your virtual one. So now, instead of being a passive participant basically watching a VR movie unfold, you could possibly roam around in simulations with real movement (instead of moving virtually with a controller pad or awkwardly with an omni-directional treadmill). And while $500 is not cheap, its still less expensive than other options.

Will the Future of Augmented Reality be AR Contact Lens Connected to Your iPhone?

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The headline pretty much says it all: “Apple to meet with augmented reality contact lens firm EPGL, discuss possible iOS support.” Articles like this are a sign that innovations are going mainstream. Or at least attempting – many still don’t make it there. The biggest problem with augmented reality is that you have to hold a phone in front of you to experience it, turning your body into a wandering, distracted safety hazard (see Pokemon Go). or you have to buy an expensive pair of AR glasses like Google Glass (or not anymore – oppps). But would AR contact lens be more or less distracting? Probably depends on the design of the user interface. Or maybe they are just a temporary step towards having computers implanted in our heads? See the first few minutes of the H+ video above for what that would be like, and then the rest of the video see how scary it could become.

Bendable Smartphones and Tablets Getting Closer to Reality

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlIv7FZw73Q

Bendable screen technology has been on the horizon for a few years now, with a few gadgets here and there popping up with curved screens or edges. Science fiction has been showcasing the idea of a tablet that is basically a thin sheet of bendable touch screen paper. So it only makes sense that companies would start moving in that direction. Lenovo recently showed off two concepts they are working on: a smartphone that will bend around your wrist to become a smart watch, and a tablet that will bend in half to become a phone. The video above is a mash-up of their promo video and the recent announcement they made about this product. I can see interesting applications for both, as well as how some might kind of think these are ho-hum ideas. For example, the slap-wrist watch seems too thin to be a phone for some, and too thick to be a wrist watch for others. But these are new ideas that will probably evolve into other ideas, so something to keep an eye on even if you don’t like these two particular ideas.

Overcoming Stage Fright With Mobile Apps and Virtual Reality

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I have never been a part of Toast Masters, but co-workers that have said it is a great idea for improving your public speaking skills. While nothing will probably ever replace input from a live audience, there are some tools that could possibly help in some ways if you don’t have access to a Toast Masters meeting, or time, or maybe are still not quite to the point where you want to practice with a live group. This article from the New York Times highlights several mobile apps and virtual reality programs that could help. I would think the Ummo app for $2 would be the best place to start – it counts your “ummmms” and mistakes and helps you reduce those. The Public Speaking VR app can transform your Google Cardboard into a public speaking simulator (see video above). Not totally realistic, but interesting possibilities. Other apps like speech timers and teleprompter apps round out the list. Not really a cure for stage fright by any means, but some interesting innovations to help people on their path.

Is the Future of Mobile Devices Modular?

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I remember hearing about Google’s Project Ara to create modular smartphones a few years ago. It seemed like a far-fetched idea back then, but now it seems that these will be a reality next year. What are modular cellphone? Basically a swiss army knife phone, where you can switch out different sections (modules) with new parts. Instead of trying to cram more tools into one phone, the idea would be that you could swap out tools when you need them. This would be things like better camera lenses, better microphones, better speakers, various scientific/measuring tools, physical parts, drone parts, etc. – anything that would take up a lot of room in a single phone. I am always knocking my phone case off, so I hope they have a good system for keeping the parts in place. And to store them when not in use. Seems like it could get bulky. And they never seem to show the screen side for some reason. But there are some interesting possibilities here, and a bonus that it looks more like a real phone than the proto type from years ago did.

Turn Your Phone into a 3-D Printer

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRU6h46eAmg

I know it sounds like a crazy claim, but there is a serious project out there that wants to turn your cellphone into a 3-D printer. And it will cost $99. Watch the video above to see this project in action (and you still have time to buy one through the KickStarter!). 3-D printing is starting to come down in price, but the big question is how flexible will it become, and how will people use it in everyday life? By flexibility, I mean things like color and material. Its cool to print some trinkets in one color, but when will we see colors available? And what about things that have different materials, like metal and plastic? Someday hopefully. The other problem is how to use it in everyday life. Sure, you can print up some one time cool things, but then what? I think this OLO is one way to look at how to practically use it – 3-D messaging. The other side is to give people the ability to make things and send it to others. I see that as a better use for education.