Over the period, cellphones incorporating latest technologies have turned into a utility gadget that not only allows making or receiving a call but also works as a portable system to fulfill multimedia needs of the users on the go. Taking the mobile phones a step ahead, Italian designer Marco Vanella has come up with an innovative handset named the “Motoworkr,” which apart from performing basic communication needs also incorporates different tools required for regular health checkup to provide first aid during emergencies. Intended towards doctors or medical professionals, the new cellphone integrates a Bluetooth thermometer and tensiometro port for reading digital and medical card to update or transfer health records of the patients.
Paris-based Aldrebaran Robotics is scheduled to bring France into the elite club of countries engaged in developing advanced adult humanoid robots with their humanoid robot called Romeo being created to assist the elderly and disabled people. Scheduled to be unveiled in March next year, the 1.4-meter-tall robot will be good to walk about in the house, do household chores like fetching food from the kitchen, taking out garbage and assisting elderly and disabled with their everyday tasks, and would cost about 250,000 Euros and weigh 40 kilograms. We learn that the humanoid Romeo will be capable of being communicated with using natural speech and gestures, and will be a robot equipped with “four-vertebra backbone, articulated feet, a partially soft torso, a composite leg exoskeleton, and a an actuator that’ll let the bot control its limbs in a safer way.”
Braille may have empowered the visually impaired with the ability to recognize text, but contemporary gadgets are not only expensive and difficult to learn, they also replicates the Braille with audio feedback to make life even worse for the blind. Providing a solution, Canada-based designer Joshua Sin has developed a device concept that liberates the lives of the visually impaired by allowing access to regular text, i.e. newspapers, textbooks, food labels etc, using the same experience as reading Braille. Hailed as “Panopticon,” the futuristic device uses scanner technology to convert text into refreshable-Braille and audio feedback. The device ensures instant audio and Braille feedback based on the speed of scanned input, motivating users to read and build their confidence.
The multimedia needs of modern consumers are increasing by the day, and we need some highly advanced devices to withstand the latest technological advancements, while fulfilling new requirements. Developed by the creator of the Mercator, Kingyo xie, the “iHolo” is a futuristic cellphone that makes use of holographic imaging technology to achieve the separation of the contents of the screen, allowing a completely new experience to the user. Featuring advanced technologies, including touchscreen, infrared, Bluetooth and so on, the multimedia cellphone projects the content on any flat surface, so the users could have a life-size screen to realize different applications with ease.
Designer Michael Harboun from Paris has lent out promise of a ‘Living Kitchen’ based on Claytronics, a technology developed by guys at Carnegie Mellon. Michael’s Living Kitchen comprises a communicating wall which functions according to user needs.
