Tan Le’s astonishing new computer interface(on base of sensors) reads its user’s brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). She demos the headset, and talks about its far-reaching applications.

NETRA (Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment) uses a phone’s LCD display(iPhone) and intelligent software to administer a quick, effective and accurate vision test that patients can perform at home.

he NETRA test consists of a small plastic device clipped onto the phone’s screen. The patient looks into a tiny lens, presses the phone’s arrow keys to make a set of parallel green and red lines overlap, bringing view into sharp focus, and repeats this eight times for each eye as the lines appear at different angles. Software loaded onto the phone then provides the precise prescription data. It may sound laborious, but the entire process takes under two minutes.

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V-Sido For Smartphones is a real-time control system for humanoids that turns smartphones into multi-touch remote controls for those robots. For example, if the user draws the shape of a star on the phone’s screen, the humanoid in question does the same in the real world (and in real-time). Move your fingers faster, and the robot will move its arms faster, too. Yamazaki said his future plans include developing a solution of life-sized robots and commercializing V-Sido by year-end.

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Minput is a device that uses a couple of optical sensors to track movement on a device such as an MP3 player. By moving the device around, various menu functions can be accessed. By using optical sensors on a device such as an MP3 player or mobile phone, it gives you the option to use the device as its own computer mouse.

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DeviceFidelity, Inc. today announced the availability of its In2Pay™ solution for iPhone, designed to enable iPhone users to make contactless transactions, such as Visa mobile payments, by simply waving the iPhone in front of a contactless payment terminal. The solution combines DeviceFidelity’s In2Pay microSD technology with a specially designed, patent-pending protective case that adds mobile contactless capability and works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

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Apple has filed a patent application that shows an interesting way the firm is looking at telling if the user holding a future iPhone is authorized to use it. The app shows an iPhone with sensors in the case that reads the users heart rhythm.

Patent: link

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In about a year, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) hopes to have prototype phones from Apple, LG, Qualcomm, and Samsung that can sense carbon monoxide and fire.

On Friday, the S&T said that it has begun actively funding a project that has been in the research phase since 2007 to develop cell phones equipped with sensors capable to detecting dangerous chemicals.

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This device can connect to your iPhone via Bluetooth, sending vital information such as physical activity, your pulse and other medical details to the app, which will then show you the information and store it for you to track it later.

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Asthmatics should regularly monitor their airways to determine if there’s any deterioration, but checking in to see a doctor that frequently is time consuming so designer Felix created Blue Flow. The system combines a peak flow monitor with mobile phone software. Information is wirelessly transmitted to the phone for your doctor to monitor. The information gathered can be used to determine the best course of action since the condition is finicky and changes based on a number of health and environmental variables.

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The German research organization(the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Munich) has announced that they are working on a chip that can detect deep vein thrombosis using only a single drop of blood, as well as a compact wristband that measures temperature, skin moisture and more.

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