In Tokyo Game show 2009, Japanese researchers(Tachi Laboratory of Keio University Graduate School of Media Design and Kawakami Laboratory of the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo) presented 3 innovatiove devices, Pen de Touch, Gravity Grabber and Twinkle.

The interesting thing is the Gravity Grabber.Reseachers adds virtual sense of touch on Augmented Reality technology.

[source: http://tachilab.org]

Gravity Grabber is a device that is cattached to a fingertip. If users move or hold an obbject on display (AR based), they can feel weight and shearing force by tightening and loosening a belt.

2 demo vedios of Gravity Grabber:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVNbe2GdG_c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRWKGRyfRrk

Other info about Pen de Touch and Twinkle.

I think now the main issue for Telcos is not how to exploit subscribers’ digital data, but how to be allowed to exploit users’ information.

When a new subscriber decides to use a telecommunication service he signs a contract with terms and conditions about that service. That’s why Telcos cannot use user data for others purposes: they need an “Opt in / Opt out” option accepted by their users.

Another solution is a NewCo, formed by all the players of the ecosystem of digital data, with the main goal of gathering, storing  and using these data. Users may opt in to accept this service and so Privacy issues would be under their control: a free choice for their Digital LIfe

This is what will become possible in a few years if the work of scientists on cellulose based battery will move from the labs to the market. The next issue of ACS NanoLetters (to be published on October 16^th, 2009) reports on progress of various research teams in this area.

This new kind of batteries are ecofriendly and inexpensive; they do not contain any metal parts. It is yet another result made possible by plastic electronics. The battery is made by a polymer (polypyrrole – Ppy) covering a large surface area. The PPy is made by nanoparticles resulting in a layer that is 1/50,000^th  the thickness of a human hair. This thin layer covers cellulose fibre derived from a green algae that have a surface area 100 times greater (per volume) of the normal cellulose.

This kind of batteries seems ideal for application in the clothing industry to power smart materials (fibers changing their dimensions and properties, making as an example a fabric water resistant when it is raining and porous when it is hot) and also to power LEDs woven in the fabric providing a new tool to fashion designers.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923133010.htm

Most Telecom Operators are facing an increase in traffic (most notably the data traffic) and a non corresponding increase in revenues. The increase of traffic (in Italy doubling every 6 months in the wireless area, every 18 months in the fixed area) requires increasing investment hence the stable (or decreasing) revenues is not sustainable.

Is this a phenomenon that requires a change in tarifing? Would an increase in price lead to killing the increase in traffic and eventually depress the market (the only outcome would be a stop to investment in network upgrade)? It is unlikely that an increase in price will result in an increase in revenues.

The problem is that present Operators margins are very high (this does not imply that they can reduce price and sustain investment and financial demands), with respect to most other sectors, hence there is still a wide berth for revenue compression through competition among existing players and entrance of new ones in the game. As this takes place, the offer of capacity is bound to increase more (at least in the fixed line area, but within 5 -10 years max also in the wireless area), and this leads to further undercut of price and margins.

It can be expected that the growth of traffic (particularly the growth of usage as social and productive fabric) will “de facto” impose the existance of the infrastructure and when private industry will no longer be able to sustain it the State is likely to take over, one way or the other.

Innovation in bio-ecosystems happens through a continuous renovation of players. An ecosystem that gets “old” is not producing any innovation.
The same is true for economic ecosystems. In the USA the (average) life cycle of enterprises is much shorter than the one in many other countries, Italy being an example.

This observation was made, focussing on the Italian economic ecosystem, by Umberto de Julio, the newly appointed CEO of Italtel.

Enterprises in a competitive market have to focus on efficiency, and a fall out effect is that they become more and more constrained by their own efficient processes and in turns this stifles innovation.

New enterprises may face the marketplace with radically new approaches and processes, thus they can innovate.

I have been used this new service from Google for a while. I might be a little bit late to say something about Google Fast Flip. But here are some impressions that I had so far.

Have you ever think that the fullness of information might explode your brain out one day?  This kind of feeling overwhelmed me before. The way that how we organize and exploit the information now is the major reason for this.

Fast Flip sorts the information from popularity, sector, topic and source. I found most of my general online news source there. You can pick your favorite sources up to 6 in 39. Covering range not just in news report but also some entertainment, leisure and fashion sources.

Even I didn’t pick up sources by my interesting at the beginning. They have standard sources for me. Well, it might just looks standard. But they supposed already gave me the news sources base on the news websites that I usually visit. Nevertheless, I feel more efficient to read news with Fast Flip‘s help. I roughly browse the news topics that I always focus on, and the design of Fast Flip layout gave me some similar reading experience with traditional newspaper. I can read short topics with captured views of news pages, more easier to jump between categories of topics and sectors.

What’s Google doing here? I think once you start using this service, they would willing to give you capability to customize your own preference. Once you customized it, they could study costumer’s interests more accurately. Just like what Facebook and other customer behavior research companies are doing now. So, that’s why after you clicking the pages that you want to read, they are more capable to deliver some interesting messages than before. Not just base on you browsing history from browser cookies but also your Google account.

Telecom Italia and Movincom, the national consortium of operators and managers interested in developing mobile sales business, signed an agreement that will allow customers of Telecom Italia to purchase with their mobile phone a wide range of goods and services offered by Movincom.
From 2010, in fact, Telecom Italia will integrate into the new SIM card a specific application through which you can, for example, buying mobile licenses valid travel on urban transport networks and rail tickets and parking fees for facilities lifts of ski resorts, tickets for theater shows and other events, or make hotel reservations.

The payment of the purchased service will be undertaken with the financial means made available by the banking industry to join the initiative.
The service of mobile commerce technology solution is based on the SAT (SIM Application Toolkit) developed by Telecom Italia, which guarantees high safety standards and certification of the telephone number from which individual transactions are originated.

The Consortium Movincom, currently represents over 650 operational services with a potential of more than 1,500 services in seven different market sectors. Members of the consortium, today, are: Trenitalia, GTT (Turin), CTM Cagliari, 5T (Turin), ATAF (Florence), ATV (Verona), AMT Genova, TEP Parma, Ne-t (Group APS Padova), Mobility and Parking (L’Aquila), Florence Parking, Telepark, Teleparking CLUB Italy, AIPARK, ANAV, SIB – Società Impianti Bormio, Madonna di Campiglio, Monterosa Ski, Ski San Bernardo – La Thuile, Pila, Cervinia, Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Vittoria Assicurazioni, Coris Broker – 24h Assistance, Fratelli Carli, Chart-Vivaticket, BOL.it (on-line library of the Mondadori Group), SMS Group Hotels and Prima. Several other companies are in the process of joining.

How could the information of what, when and where we have bought and how much we spent be used (or exploited)? For sure, this data can now be made accessible to the owner (the user) in a more simple way .

A Japan carrier KDDI developed a different Augmented Reality (AR), 6-Axis Real Space X-ray (sorry, the website is in Japanese…).

The core technology of 6-Axis Real Space X-ray is not image recognition. Specific mobile phone with 6-axis sensors (3 acceleration and 3 geomagnetic) and GPS are used for the different AR. With the specific mobile phones, users can acquire information to detect orientation (direction and tilt) immediately.

Another feature, KDDI’s 6-Axis Real Space X-ray application can cut out the clutter with a simple and show information in virtually. It does not only show the things in front of you, but also let users virtually “see through” their mobile phone’s screen. When users tilt the phone, from vertical to horizontal, the display incrementally zooms out from the map to display locations that are farther away. KDDI relies on the contribution of end users to make the app more worthwhile.

[DEMO Vedio]

[KDDI concept]

Photographers are always concerned about a battery life and a storage. Even the battery technology is improving everyday, still we have chances to miss the shot because of low battery.

Probably in the future, we will be able to charge the battery ourselves. Just by shaking the camera for a second.

This camera is called ‘one shot’ designed by German designer ‘Tino Klaehne’. This product represents true ‘minimalism’ by its appearance. No lcd-screen, just a lense and a shutter to take pictures. It is said that it can charge enough battery to take a single picture just shaking it for 1~2 seconds. It’s funny but usable.

What would be possible methods of power supply in the future? Since IT is getting mobile, maybe we will have portable mini solar charge pannel -or similar self chargeable power battery- for digital cameras, cellphones, and even for laptops. As we all know, technology is already availble. It’s time to design applications.

I just read this news on dpreview.com:

Panasonic is pleased to announce that a new firmware is released for the Lumix G interchangeable lens LUMIX G VARIO 45-200mm / F4.0-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. (H-FS045200).  The firmware includes improvement of auto focus performance in AFC mode for taking photos. It also enhances performance of auto focusing and stability of O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer) while reducing noise of aperture control for taking movies(Except for FHD mode of AVCHD in DMC-GH1).

The Pentax lens that is being upgraded by a new software release

What strikes me is seeing the change that is happening in objects as they get a computer embedded: we have been used in the last 5 years to buy digital reflex (and more recently top of the line point and shoot) and get software updates fixing problems and providing new features. Now it is the turn of lenses. They have an embedded PC and you get software updates.

I consider this as a general trend that in the next year will  make washing machines, cars, televisions, you name it, looking mor elike services than products. I can easily imagine offering new features at a price through software updates (this is already reality for the iTouch). The possibility to third parties to offer software upgrades is also around the corner. Ecosystems are coming to the mass market, sooner that I imagined.