Future security and fun to rely on pressure-sensitive keyboard?

I can tell you my computer password, but unless you type it in exactly the way I do, you won't be allowed entry. That's the idea behind Safelock, one of the just-announced winning entries in the UIST 2009 Student Innovation Competition, a Microsoft-sponsored contest aimed at inspiring keyboard innovation. About a month ago, the company sent out prototypes of pressure-sensitive keyboards to 40 international teams, which had four weeks to cobble together their creations. Here are just a few of the cool ideas they came up with:

First place, most useful: Safelock
Safelock, by Jeff Allen and John Howard of Southern Methodist University, biometrically authenticates a user with just eight characters entered. The key (forgive the pun) is that the user has to enter that relatively short password just right. To create a machine-learning algorithm that discovers the unique way each person types, the team measured four keystroke attributes: flight time (the interval between each keystroke); hold time (the amount of time the key was held); maximum pressure; and a curve fit to the pressure over time as a user pressed each key.
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A starring role for 3D at Ceatec 2009

TOKYO--In the exhibition halls of a gadget trade show, the things that normally jump out are the wacky outfits the female booth attendants are forced to wear, the mammoth wall installations of TVs, and long lines for booth swag.

For better or worse, the enduring image of Ceatec 2009 has been the sight of suit-clad men waiting in twisting queues for the chance to don a pair of plastic 3D glasses for a five-minute TV demonstration. There are two reasons for that: Because the major TV makers here couldn't miss out on the chance to show their prototype models of this trendy technology, and because there wasn't really much else going on this year.

There isn't yet a final, official count, but this year's show, which started Tuesday and runs through the weekend, so far seems far less crowded than in years past. Attendees could have been kept away by the sluggish economy, or the inclement weather, including a tropical storm that hit Tokyo midweek. Either way, the general vibe at the Makuhari Messe has been much more subdued.
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Hoya's robotic firefighter

South Korea's Hoya Robot is developing a mini firefighter helper bot that can enter burning buildings to conduct reconnaissance and check for people.

The Firefighters Assistant Robot can apparently operate for up to 30 minutes in fires, and can withstand temperatures up to 320 F. It can also survive falls of more than 6 feet. It's water-resistant, as seen in this experiment video.

It may look like a tank up close, but the bot can nearly fit in the palm of your hand and weighs only 3 pounds.
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3M's mobile 3D works without glasses

3M has come up with a new optical film that lets you ditch the glasses when viewing stereoscopic 3D images on mobile devices.

The 3D optical film goes into the gadget's backlight unit and uses two alternate rows of LED lights to project left and right images sequentially into the viewer's eyes. As the sequential images are focused on the individual eye, the technology eliminates the need for 3D glasses to block the picture for the other eye. And, according to Erik Jostes, LCD business director of 3M's Optical Systems Division, it does so without sacrificing screen brightness or resolution.
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Yamaha teams with singing bot at Ceatec 2009

CHIBA, JAPAN--Want to request a song from a creepy childlike automaton? There's an app for that.

At Ceatec 2009, Yamaha showed off its prototype HRP-4C robot, which can show a range of motions, strut down a catwalk, and now belt out tunes from a preselected list. During the demonstration Tuesday, audience members were encouraged to use their iPhones to request one of six songs from the raven-haired robot, decked out in futuristic stormtrooper gear. The winning track was titled Give Me Wings.

The HRP-4C was featured as part of Yamaha's Play IT initiative, which explores ways to incorporate music and information technology

Via Crave CNET

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