Mind-controlled wheelchairs are becoming all the rage these days, but before you begin letting your thoughts wander elsewhere, this latest from researchers at the Brain Science Institute (BSI) — Toyta Collaboration Center have what they claim is a system that’ll control the ride using brain waves examined each 125 milliseconds, which it boasts bests the competition by several seconds. Testers using the wheels and EEG cap system have reached accuracy up to 95 percent which, as you can see in the video after the break, will make cubicle obstacle courses a challenge of the past. So what mindset do we have to be in to trigger the flames?

[Via Switched]

Continue reading Toyota’s mind-controlled wheelchair boast fastest brainwave analysis yet, most stylish EEG cap

Filed under: Transportation

Toyota’s mind-controlled wheelchair boast fastest brainwave analysis yet, most stylish EEG cap originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Filed under: Misc, Accessories

Mushroom Networks has been in the “broadband bonding” business for quite a while now, but we’re guessing they’re going to find a few more fans with their new wireless broadband gear, which promises the fastest cellular-based world wide web connection to date. Like the company’s previous PortaBella device (pictured above, not exactly to scale), its new rig can combine up to four different cellular data cards into a single high-speed connection, but this one is fully portable (just over a pound) and, perhaps most importantly, it has an optional battery pack that’ll let you be truly mobile with it. That, Mushroom says, makes the device ideal for a whole range of applications that can be a bit tricky with a single modem, like mobile Television broadcasting or temporary offices set up in a disaster area. Unfortunately, there’s no word on pricing just yet, but it doesn’t exactly take much guesstimating to figure out that it’s likely not the most cost-effective solution around.

Mushroom Networks announces new wireless “Broadband Bonding” technology originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Although we get irked by all the names assigned to netbooks, smartbooks, or in this case, viewbooks, we are still pretty excited about the

Popularity: 2% [?]

Robots and other devices linked to social networking sites aren’t exactly anything new, but few have been in the form of little robot penguins, and even fewer have been tiny robot penguins with hats. That bit of mold-breaking comes courtesy of upstart Arimaz of Switzerland, which is now busy showing off its MyDeskFriend “Facebook companion” that’s set for release this September. As you can see in the video after the break, the bot is able to mosey about your desk without falling off and react to your voice like any good robot, but its real secret is that it can connect to Facebook and read your messages, or even be controlled (some may state tormented) by your real Facebook friends. Look for it to run $99 when it’s released.

[Via Technabob]

Continue reading MyDeskFriend robot penguin will link to Facebook, be a true friend

Filed under: Robots

MyDeskFriend robot penguin will link to Facebook, be a true friend originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Filed under: Media streamers, Other hardware, World wide web

The PlayStation 3 has kept access to Hulu even without PlayOn or other workaround while others were blocked — with the exception of its own remote friendly desktop software — thanks to its browser’s Flash support, but this morning multiple users have reported the above message indicating “Unfortunately, this video is not available on your platform. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Some odd glitch related to the recent 2.80 firmware update or other temporary problem, or is this the latest platform to get the Boxee treatment when trying to bring streaming video to Television screens? We’ve reached out to Hulu for an explanation but so far, haven’t heard a response. Interestingly, the Hulu TOS was just updated as of June 26, and even though we haven’t found any PS3-specific passages, changing a browser’s user-string to match the console reveals it is definitely being specifically blocked.

[Thanks Sev, and to Tyler from FormatWarCentral.com for the picture]

Hulu to PlayStation 3 browsers: “This video isn’t available on your platform” originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Popularity: 2% [?]