Vocal Joystick controls PCs for those with hand injuries

For many Iraq war veterans who have returned home with debilitating injuries that, for example, make it impossible to use their hands, doing anything on a computer is a hopeless task.
But a research project under way in the University of Washington's electrical engineering, linguistics and computer science departments could be the latest tool at such veterans' disposal, as well as for anyone who lacks the full use of their hands.

The project, known as the Vocal Joystick, is designed to allow someone to control a computer cursor using nothing more than their voice.

University of Washington graduate student Jon Malkin, who spoke at the Gnomedex conference here Saturday, described it is an extension of speech recognition technology.

It works by having a user train the Vocal Joystick software with his or her voice.

"We can do a lot with that," Malkin said. "Speech is a very complex signal."
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Laser weapons: A distant target

Laser technology may yet yield the weapons of the not-so-distant future, but the future is certainly not now.

For the moment, it's all R&D business as usual. Earlier this week, both Boeing and Northrop Grumman put out statements about their ongoing work on US Army's High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator, or HEL TD. And for Boeing, it was also a chance to crow about a contract win: US$36 million to continue its work on a HEL TD design.

With that money, Boeing says it will first finish its design work, and then move on to building and testing a ruggedized beam control system on a heavy-duty truck (specifically, the Army's Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck). The defense contractor finished the preliminary design of the beam control system earlier this summer. Boeing also plans to develop the systems-engineering requirements for the complete HEL TD.
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Hillcrest Labs sues Nintendo over Wii controller patents

This post was updated at 4.20pm PT with Nintendo's response.

The Nintendo Wii is the subject of yet another patent dispute.

On Wednesday, Maryland-based Hillcrest Labs announced that it has filed a complaint for patent infringement with the US International Trade Commission, as well as a separate patent infringement suit in a US District Court in Maryland regarding Nintendo's video game console.

Hillcrest is asking the ITC to stop the import of Wii consoles into the US, and is requesting that the US District Court award unspecified monetary damages.

Hillcrest, which makes and licenses interactive media systems to consumer electronics companies, says it owns three patents related to "a handheld three-dimensional pointing device," and another on a "navigation interface display system that graphically organizes content for display on a television".

The company makes a motion-sensitive remote called The Loop, which Hillcrest says is protected by the patents at issue.
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Lotus leads across the ice

Lotus is known for making small, fast cars with Toyota engines, but the company's engineering department gets into all sorts of projects, with the Lotus Concept Ice Vehicle (CIV) being one of the more novel.

Lotus designed this propeller-driven vehicle to lead the Moon Regan Transantarctic Expedition, a scientific expedition which will chart the effects of global climate change while traveling from the west coast of Antarctica, over the South Pole, then north to McMurdo Station.
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Philips patent reveals smart specs for visually impaired

A future product from electronics maker Philips could make it easier for the visually impaired to detect moving objects in daily life.

According to New Scientist, Philips has filed a patent for a movement-detection system, including a pair of glasses that will use a camera and accelerometers to distinguish between stationary and mobile objects.

The smart specs would work with a computer to spot obstacles, while an orientation sensor worn on the body would tell the computer about the wearer's movement. To help the user navigate, the device would also provide audio signals notifying them of moving objects.

The patent was filed in August. Along with other concept products aimed at serving the visually impaired, here's hoping it could soon become a helpful reality.

Via CNET Crave

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