Technology Category Archive

Sony use crystal LED display in next generation TVs

2 Replies Penny Cooper

Sony, a global leader in gadgets and technology, has managed to stun the world again. This time it has come up with a new Crystal LED TV technology, which it introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012, which took place this January.

The future technology is being developed to give consumers the best TV watching experience. The company is known for introducing innovative products and the Crystal LED (CLED) technology is just another addition to the growing list.

Crystal LED Display Feature

The company displayed its 55” prototype crystal LED TV, which apparently has about 6 million LEDs to create a complete HD image. These LEDs put together create a superior quality 1080p image. Each RGB color uses 2 million pixels. The technology is something new and different from the other HD TVs.

A Sony televisionThe technology creates high quality images that are brighter as it uses the 6 million micro LEDs as the source of light for the television. The LEDs are mounted on the front of the display and therefore require no extra backlight source, which is why this technology is also referred to as self-emitting display technology.

The TV, according to the Sony, has enhanced features like better response times, more brightness, better scope for contrast and wider range of colours compared to the other TVs. The Crystal LED display is also said to be “ideal for large screens”.

The contrast is said to be 3.5 times higher and the brightness of the TV is said to be over 400cd/m2. Video images have a greater response time that is about 10 times better than the other Sony TV models. The TV has a resolution of 1920X1080 pixels and the angle of viewing is close to 1800.

One more positive of this technology is the amount of power consumed by the TV. According to the company, it consumes less than 70W of power. The TV has an incredibly thin structure that is only about 4mm deep and 7.6mm thick.

The Future of TV

The new technology increases the life of a TV as there are no any organic materials like Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) used. The problem of colours fading over time on OLED TVs can be effectively solved by this technology. It ensures that the rich colours of the TV remain intact for a longer time.

The product has already created a buzz and the reviewers have also been kind. Sony has managed to attract eyeballs with this next generation technology. It has been touted to be the next big thing in consumer electronics industry, which means that the plasma and OLED TVs have serious competition.

The company is yet to give out a date of release and the cost of the TV. Since the crystal LED technology is more “stable” and might lead to lesser manufacturing errors, Sony claims that the price of the TV would be lower than OLED TVs. Consumers will just have to wait until the company launches the final version of the TV in the market.

NanoArt

5 Replies Jonny Hankins

A couple of weeks ago whilst writing about nanotechnology and the associated risk involved in such engineering techniques I mentioned Nanoart.  This week I would like to expand and to present a gallery of examples.

nano playboy logo

To quote Cris Orfescu, founder of Nanoart 21, “NanoArt is a new art discipline at the art-science-technology intersections. It features nanolandscapes (molecular and atomic landscapes which are natural structures of matter at molecular and atomic scales) and nanosculptures (structures created by scientists and artists by manipulating matter at molecular and atomic scales using chemical and physical processes). These structures are visualized with powerful research tools like scanning electron microscopes and atomic force microscopes and their scientific images are captured and further processed by using different artistic techniques to convert them into artworks showcased for large audiences.”

One of the issues raised during discussion in my previous posts was about the usefulness and point of such artistic expression, so here I quote the NanoArt 21 website:

“The purpose is to promote  NanoArt worldwide as a reflection of a technological movement… a more appealing and effective way to communicate with the general public and to inform people about the new technologies of the 21st Century. NanoArt is aimed to raise the public awareness of Nanotechnology and its impact on our lives”.

There are several organizations that promote this form of expression and at least one international competition that offers cash prizes for the best examples (NanoArt 21 have an international competition). The German Centre for Research and Innovation hosted an exhibition of their collection in New York in 2011 and the number of artist/scientists involved seems to be growing.

The following gallery should give you an idea of this particular art form. Also take a look at the Nanobama here. The image is of nanotubes made in the shape of President Obama’s face, similar in style to the playboy above.

a guitar

A guitar

 

self explanatory

 

extra planetary

in blue

A nano landscape

You can find many other examples online. Do you like them? I personally like the 3D effect. It seems more accentuated because the images are created by electrons (electrically charged particles) rather than photons (particles of light). The electrons penetrate deeper into the structure creating images with more depth.

Technology and the future of gaming

14 Replies Christopher Roberts

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about how technology is going to impact the way we work in the future. Now I am going to let you into some treat that may be in-store for us, sooner than you might think, in the world of gaming.

More Family Integration

Critics believe that in the future, despite popular belief, gaming will not be more individual, each of us in separate rooms, but more communal, with entire families uniting, in order to play together.

This is mainly due to the rapid developments in home entertainment systems based on competition, and also movement. In 2006 we saw this trend start to develop with the launch of the Nintendo Wii. This immediately pulled people together to game, more so than ever before. Games like Wii Play, and Mario Kart have brought families (and friends) together to play across the world.

In 2010, Kinetic for the Xbox 360, adding further elements of full body participation to gaming. Later this year, Kinetic will be available for computers too. Also later this year, we are going to see the release of the Wii U, the next model of the Wii.

The Wii U

A preview at Nintendo’s new Wii: the Wii U

It is devices like the Kinetic and Wii that are making gaming more social, with even more exciting and innovative devices coming out soon, also aimed at bringing us together.

Mind Control

You read right, mind controlled games are much closer than you might think. Thanks to the developments of advanced brainwave sensors, it is now possible to control things using your mind. All you need is to wearing a simple headband and earpiece with the advanced sensors attached, as brainwaves can be captured and interpreted on your scalp.

In the near future, we could potentially have ditched the controller, and be doing battle with our minds. Games where the the more you concentrate, the better you do, are a leap forward that has been made, and will be released to the mass market very soon.

Mind control could work with all sorts of games, however currently the technology works best with simple ones, like a game of tug of war (the harder you think you pull, the harder you pull!) and archery – focus on the bullseye, and you are more likely to hit it.

Mind control can help to create a much more personal experience, when gaming. This technology can also be applied to movies. Multiple scenes can be shot, and depending upon your emotions and how you are reacting to events, you could see different things. Sound cool hu?

More Interactive Experiences

I have already talked about things like the Wii, and Kinetic, but other systems, like the the Trixter Xdream are going to revolutionise the way we play, and the way we keep fit. The Wii let us play golf and tennis in our living rooms, but it didn’t feel all that real, did it? The Xdream accurately simulates riding a bike outside, using a computer display and a modified exercise bike.

Trixter Xdream Exercise Bike

The Trixter Xdream exercise bike

This means that you can feel like you are going for an outdoor workout, on a real bike, but becoming totally immersed in the experience, in the comfort of your own home – you may need to open some windows to create the draft effect! The bike is currently on sale for around £6,000 GBP, however in the future more and more of these devices (which will get cheaper and cheaper) are going to make their way into gyms around the country, and also even our homes.

TVs are set to get smarter soon too, with firms like Samsung and Google revolutionising the way we use our televisions.

3D

3D has been around for a while now, decades in fact, however there has always been the need to wear glasses. In the very near future, we could see glassesless 3D TV’s in our homes, providing us with 3D entertainment with no goofy glasses.

This technology will be able to offer gamers total 3D immersion, making the experience feel even more real. Match that with motion technology and the gap between fiction and reality narrows even further.

To Conclude

There are so many other revolutionary technologies and products that are set to change the way we have fun in the future. I have written about just a few to wet your appetite for what is going to be appearing on the high street within the next few years.

By all means research this further, and if you find anything interesting, let me know!

Gaming is set to change, quite radically and quite soon. The question is are we ready for it?