Thursday, October 20, 2005
Cellphones learn to recognize their owners' faces
Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. this week began marketing a technology that inexpensively adds face recognition to camera-equipped cellphones. Oki's "Face Sensing Engine" (FSE) "middleware" decodes facial images within 280mS on a 100MHz ARM9 processor, and can restrict access to mobile devices by recognizing their owners, the company says.Oki says its FSE technology can help protect sensitive personal information such as phone numbers and email addresses from unwanted access, in the event of loss or theft of a mobile device. The use of face recognition, based on the mobile device's built-in digital camera, eliminates the need for users to enter passwords to use their devices, and provides a faster and more natural method of authentication. Oki points out.
FSE can acquire facial images from within a larger image. It works by locating and mapping key facial features -- such as eyes, eyebrows, and mouth -- and adapts to changing facial conditions such as winking and smiling, according to Oki.
Oki lists the following key features of its FSE technology:
- Compact system footprint -- requires approximately 260KB on an ARM9 processor
- Fast image processing -- requires approximately 280mS on a 100MHz ARM9 processor
- Face recognition algorithm automatically adjusts to ambient lighting conditions
- Supported processor architectures -- ARM9, SH Mobile, and others
- Supported software platforms -- Symbian, uITRON, Linux, BREW, WIPI, Windows, Solaris, and others
Earlier this year, Omron, another Japanese company, announced that it had developed an imaging technology for camera-equipped handheld devices that uses face recognition to authenticate users. Like Oki, Omron said its "Okao Vision Face Recognition Sensor" technology aims to increase the security of mobile devices such as camera phones and PDAs, and protect the data they contain.
Oki says its FSE technology can be applied to other embedded applications, such as games, not just to mobile phones. The company's goal is to sign up at least 500 10,000-unit licensees within the next two years.
source:http://www.deviceforge.com/news/NS2876211743.html
Honda’s More Powerful Fuel Cell Concept with Home Hydrogen Refueling
 |
| FCX Concept with the Home Energy System for refueling. Click to enlarge. |
Honda’s new FCX fuel cell concept vehicle, unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, is a stylish sedan featuring a redesigned fuel cell system that delivers more power and increased range in less space than the current FCX 2005 model on the road, and a low-floor design that maximizes cabin space.
Enabling the low-floor design is Honda’s new “3V” system: vertical gas flow, vertebral layout, and volume-efficient packaging.
 |
| The V-Flow system. Vertical gas flow, vertebral layout, volume-efficient. Note the cutaway of the rear wheel showing the in-wheel motor. Click to enlarge. |
In the 3V schema, oxygen and hydrogen flow from the top to the bottom of the fuel cell stack (vertical gas flow) and the fuel cells are arranged vertically in the center tunnel (vertebral layout) for new, high-efficiency fuel cell packaging (volume efficiency).
Compact enough to fit neatly into the center tunnel but robust enough to deliver 100kW of power, the V Flow fuel cell stack offers both space efficiency and high energy output. The key to fuel cell performance is water management. With vertical gas flow, an innovative process in which oxygen and hydrogen flow downward through the stack, Honda’s new fuel cell stack takes full advantage of gravity to efficiently discharge water formed during electricity generation.
By contrast, the FC stack in the FCX 2005 offers a maximum of 86 kW. (Earlier post.)
This improves system performance in sub-zero temperatures, achieving a new level of system reliability. The problem of cold-weather startup had been a key obstacle to the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles. In 2003, Honda solved the problem with the introduction of the Honda FC Stack, the world’s first fuel cell that can be used at temperatures as low as –20° C. The V Flow fuel cell stack, on the other hand, now delivers ultra-low-temperature start-up performance on par with that of a gasoline engine.
 |
| The 25-kW in-wheel motor |
The FCX-V Concept drive train features three energy-efficient motors: one in the front and two in the rear. The efficient delivery of this power through all four wheels and the low-center-of-gravity platform combine to deliver torquey performance and agile handling. The space-efficient layout also contributes to the interior efficiency of the low-floor design, eliminating the need to use floor space for motors.
Coaxial motor and gearbox. The 80-kW front-drive motor output shaft is coaxial with the gearbox for a more compact package and a shorter front-end.
Rear in-wheel motors. Each of the rear wheels contains a thin, eccentric 25-kW motor.
To increase the driving range, Honda engineers chose not to increase storage tank pressure, but to use a newly-developed hydrogen absorption material that doubles the capacity of the tank to 5 kg of hydrogen at 350 atmospheres. With the new material, the tanks supply enough hydrogen to extend the cruising range to 560 kilometers (350 miles)—exceeding the DOE’s range target for 2010.
Again, by contrast, the current FCX 2005 model offers a range of 190 miles.
 |
| HES System |
Honda also unveiled its current model of the Home Energy Station (HES), a home cogeneration and fueling system that uses natural gas to supply electricity and heat in addition to hydrogen fuel for vehicles.
The system is equipped with fuel cells that generate electricity (5 kW) for the home, and is configured to recover the heat produced during power generation for domestic water heating. The HES can produce 3 Nm3/hr of hydrogen. In addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by some 40%, according to Honda’s calculations, the HES system is expected to lower by 50% the total running cost of household electricity, gas and vehicle fuel.
source:http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/10/hondas_more_pow.html
SwiftShader
SwiftShader, the latest addition to TransGaming's family of portability products, is the world's fastest, pure software 3D renderer with DirectX 9.0 class features, including support for Pixel and Vertex Shaders. SwiftShader is built to provide the same APIs that developers are already using for their games and applications. This makes it possible to directly integrate SwiftShader into applications without any changes to source code. Direct3D 8 and Direct3D 9 compatible APIs are available immediately and OpenGL-compatible APIs will be available soon. Vertex Shader 1.1 and Pixel Shader 1.4 features are currently supported along with the majority of features used by most developers when producing 3D games and applications.
SwiftShader performs over 50 times faster than Microsoft's Direct3D Reference Rasterizer in tests with sample applications and can achieve performance close to low-end hardware 3D cards in many cases. SwiftShader achieves this unprecedented level of performance by dynamically compiling highly optimized code specific to an application's 3D rendering needs. SwiftShader is currently available for x86 CPUs with Intel's SSE multimedia instruction set extensions. SwiftShader runs on Microsoft Windows 98 and higher and on Linux through TransGaming's Cedega portability technology.
Technology
For more information on the technology behind SwiftShader, as well as information on how SwiftShader can integrate with your application, please see our SwiftShader Technology page.
Frequently Asked Questions
A list of frequently asked questions about SwiftShader is available here.
Download
To download the SwiftShader demo, please go to the SwiftShader Download page. The SwiftShader demo will work with many Direct3D 8 and Direct3D 9 based games and applications without any modification. The demo is subject to a license agreement which restricts commercial use and redistribution of SwiftShader.
Commercial Licensing
SwiftShader is available now for commercial licensing for PC based deployment as well as for use within device drivers and operating systems. For more information or to obtain pricing for your particular game or application, please email sales@transgaming.com.
source:http://www.transgaming.com/swiftshader.php
Transgaming Launches SwiftShader Software Renderer
Technology company TransGaming has announced the release of SwiftShader, a software-based rendering product that enables the use of 3D graphics in PC games and applications without the cost and complexity of dedicated graphics hardware.
Oberon Media, a major publisher of casual games and the leading global provider of casual gaming solutions, has also announced that it has licensed SwiftShader for integration into its future titles.
"A large percentage of casual games players have no interest in spending money on the latest graphics card," said Scott Bilas, Director of Product Development, Oberon Media. "One of Oberon's missions is to expand the overall size of the casual gaming market. By including SwiftShader in our future titles, we will have the freedom to design and sell more appealing graphics-oriented game titles to a much broader market base."
TransGaming's SwiftShader technology provides the world's fastest pure software 3D renderer with DirectX 9.0 class features, according to the company, including support for Pixel and Vertex Shaders. SwiftShader is built to provide the same APIs that developers are already using for their games and applications. This makes it possible to directly integrate SwiftShader into applications without any changes to source code. Direct3D 8 and Direct3D 9 compatible APIs are available immediately, and OpenGL-compatible APIs are also under development. Vertex Shader 1.1 and Pixel Shader 1.4 features are currently supported, along with the majority of features used by most developers when producing 3D games and applications.
According to a Transgaming statement, SwiftShader can perform over 50 times faster than Microsoft's Direct3D Reference Rasterizer in tests with sample applications, and can rival the performance of low end hardware 3D graphics solutions in some cases. SwiftShader achieves this level of performance by dynamically compiling highly optimized code specific to an applications 3D rendering needs.
SwiftShader is currently available for x86 CPUs with Intel's SSE multimedia instruction set extensions. SwiftShader runs on Microsoft Windows 98 and higher, and on Linux through TransGaming's Cedega portability technology.
Transgaming
source:http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=6891
