At first glance, the new Pixel phone looks much like any other high-end Android phone—a sleek, five-inch rectangle topped with glass. But turn it over and you might notice an unusual detail: “Phone by Google” is etched on the gadget’s back. The …Continue reading
Virtual Reality, with Feeling
Truly immersive virtual reality requires more than just convincing visuals. Now a British startup has developed a neat way to inject feelings, too. In the past, external cameras have been used to monitor the movement of facial features as a means of …Continue reading
I Tried Oculus’s Cordless VR Headset
Crouched on all fours, I crawled forward to peer through a window cut in a sheet of cardboard and into the living room of a friendly-looking monster. Minutes into a demo of a new prototype VR headset from Oculus, the benefits of …Continue reading
High-End, Cord-Free VR Headsets Are Nearing Reality
The octopus was about five feet off the ground, over my right shoulder. I turned and stepped closer to walk around it. Anyone watching might have thought I looked silly—I had a bulky black virtual-reality headset strapped onto my face. But at …Continue reading
Intel and Microsoft Are Teaming Up to Make Virtual Reality Ubiquitous
The companies that brought the world the PC boom have a plan to trigger a similar explosion in virtual-reality hardware. Intel and Microsoft announced Tuesday that they are working together to help computer manufacturers get into the business of making stand-alone VR …Continue reading
This Wristband Can Trace Your GPS Directions on Your Skin
Our mobile devices communicate with us through sounds and screens, but a new wristband designed by Somatic Labs relies instead on touch. Moment is a wearable device that vibrates to convey information. While phones and smart watches can send a generic alert …Continue reading
Data Sources
Mobile phones are great sources of data—but we must be careful about privacy. Anyone who has worked with mobile-phone data knows how incredibly useful such information can be, even when it’s anonymous. It is amazing—but at the same time frightening—what massive quantities …Continue reading
Commuter Rail Workers in Boston Are About to Get Bionic Eyes
Add commuter rail to the list of industries adopting augmented reality to boost efficiency, cut costs, and increase their workers’ skills. In September, Keolis Commuter Services (KCS), which operates the Greater Boston commuter rail system for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), …Continue reading
Facebook Can’t Win Against Ad Blockers, and Here’s the Proof
So say Princeton assistant professor Arvind Narayanan and undergraduate Grant Storey, who have created an experimental ad “highlighter” for the Chrome browser to prove it. When you have Facebook Ad Highlighter installed, ads in the News Feed are grayed out and written …Continue reading
Augmented Reality Could Speed Up Construction Projects
Employees at Gilbane Building Company, a commercial construction firm based in Rhode Island, usually work off paper blueprints or with digital models that they view on computers or iPads. But Gilbane senior manager John Myers now gets a closer look by putting …Continue reading