Category: Video

Taking a hint from how the F-35 demon helmet maps multiple video feeds into a 3D space, a Carnegie Mellon University team has created an augmented reality car system to see through any massive obstacle. The objective: Avoid car collisions.

The system takes video from two cameras and mixes them into one, creating the illusion of being able to see through any object. A video processing system compares the feed from one of the cameras—installed in the car—to the other camera—installed on a street. By identifying common points between the two sources, the software can distort the street camera's video feed to match the driver's view. The matching perspective video gets projected onto the windshield, allowing the driver to see through walls in a natural, seamless way.

The Carnegie Mellon team, lead by Yaser Sheikh, thinks that the system could be easily implemented by tapping into the CCTV camera networks available in most major cities.

I’m glad to see that someone is thinking about making CCTV useful for everyone. On the other side, I wonder why people spend time creating these absurdly useful, accident-preventing augmented reality systems, instead of working in making a software like iNaked (NSFW) a reality. Get on the with the program, people. You need to get your preferences right. [New Scientist—Thanks Jimmy Flores]

We’re already gone hands-on with the Boxee Box and its sweet QWERTY RF remote, but now that we know there’s a dual-core Tegra 2 in there it’s time for a little interface demo with founder Avner Ronen. First things first: yes, it ran Hulu in the browser — but the network connection on the show floor was acting up, so we couldn’t demo it very well. Avner tells us the built-in browser IDs itself as essentially standard Mozilla, so we’ll have to see if Hulu goes out of its way to block it –it’s definitely still possible, but it’ll take some work. Apart from that minor drama, we’ve got to say we’re incredibly impressed — the interface was lightning fast, the remote’s keyboard felt great, and we’re liking the Facebook / Twitter integration, which mines your feeds for videos posted by your friends and displays them on the home page. Avner tells us he thinks D-Link will be “aggressive” with that under-$200 price point when the Box launches in Q2, and there’ll be tons of content partners at launch. Video after the break!

Continue reading Boxee Box interface demo video

Boxee Box interface demo video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forget about any Olympics inauguration ceremonies or any Fourth of July: The Burj Dubai is the tallest building in the world, and it got the highest fireworks too for its opening ceremony. So colossal you’ll think they are destroying it.

The tower—which officially is 2717 feet tall (828 meters)—was inaugurated today, and the developers launched it with all they got. The people who attended the ceremony couldn't stop cheering in awe. I don't blame them. Watch the whole video to see the lighting effects just before the final fireworks. They look designed by aliens.

I admit it: I’m part of a worldwide plot coordinated by a secret international agency. We’re the same people who covered the fake Apollo landings, JFK’s assassination, and Tom Cruise. Fortunately, some readers uncovered the truth behind the mysterious spiral.

You are right, dear UFO and strange phenomena experts who sent the emails in the gallery. It is true, this is not what happened with the mysterious giant spiral in Norway. And since you are right, I’m sharing your theories on the matter with everyone in Gizmodo (yes, these are serious emails and comments from real readers).