Hitachi develops finger vein authentication technology for steering wheels

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Hitachi, Ltd. announced today the development of finger vein authentication technology which provides authorized driver verification in a fraction of a second just by gripping the steering wheel.

This technology is expected to play an important role in future car information systems to prevent unauthorized access as information technology (IT) systems becomes increasingly integrated in automobiles; for example, authorizing automatic payment in drive-throughs or payment for music downloads to car audio systems, as well as preventing car theft.

Further, by registering different functions to each finger, it is possible to use the system as a multi-function switch enabling, for example, one finger to set the driving environment such as seat or side mirror position, air-conditioning, etc. to suit the verified driver, and another finger to operate car navigation or car audio systems. Another advantage is that the system does not require the driver to glance to an operating panel and select a button, thus supporting even safer driving in a natural position.

An automobile exhibit fitted with the technology will be on display at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007, to be held at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan, from Saturday, 27th October through to Sunday, 11th November 2007.

Security consciousness has increased in recent years as crimes such as unauthorized entry or access to cars, information, etc. become increasingly visible. Amidst this current situation, in the field of personal identification, attention is being focused on biometric methods of personal verification to provide greater security.

In relation to automobiles, as well as security of the vehicle itself, there is also a growing demand to be able to enjoy the vehicle as a comfortable private space reflecting the driver's preferences.

Hitachi has been developing an original biometric, finger vein authentication technology, which uses the finger vein pattern obtained from passing light through a finger as a key since 1997. In 2005, a grip-type finger vein authentication technology* was developed, enabling a door to be opened simply by gripping the handle. Since then, Hitachi has been working to develop an even more compact system to extend market applications.

In this development, the area of the finger scanned was changed from the finger surface to the side of the finger, and together with other improvements, provide easy operation as well as high security, and the possibility of developing new value. By this, the process from opening the car to authorizing in-vehicle payment, can be conducted without a key and protected by finger vein security, as well as instantly providing a driver specific comfortable driving environment. Further, all these operations can be conducted without transferring driver gaze from the forward direction, thus contributing to safer driving as well.

Source: Hitachi

Ericsson Predicts Mobile Phones With Full HD, 1 GHz Processor Frequency By 2012

(PhysOrg.com) -- Mobile phones of the future will be equipped with a 12 MP to 20 MP cameras with full HD capability by 2012, according to Jonas Lundstedt, Director of Ericsson's Portfolio Management, Product and Portfolio Management.

New technologies aptly named HSPA Evolution and LTE which means long term evolution will increase the transmission speeds initially to 100Mbps and make possible the progression to full HD quality images. Ericsson plans to actively develop embedded modules, base station facilities and other products in order to bring about the future mobile terminal hand-held device, according to reporter Hiroki Yomogita published on November 6 by Nikkei Electronics.

Currently, HSPA technology has a maximum transmission speed of 7.2Mbps. Ericsson´s system has the lion´s share of commercial networks utilizing HSPA compatible terminals. Today, 805 kinds of HSPA-compatible terminals have been released from approximately 129 manufacturers. According to Hakan Eriksson, Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson, LTE will significantly enhanced the mobile broadband experience for users, who will be able to enjoy more performance-demanding applications like interactive TV, advanced games or professional services. It is expected that 1.8 billion people will have broadband by 2012 and of this amount 2/3 will be mobile broadband subscribers.

Wireless technology will be the predominant way of accessing broadband and Internet connectivity in homes, offices, schools and businesses. Initially, the developing world and other countries will rely primarily on HSPA. LTE is expected to pick up quickly relying on its relationship with the current GSM/WCDMA/HSPA technology family. Another key benefit of LTE is its performance and capacity. Ericsson has already demonstrated peak rates of 160Mbits/s. The future will deliver speeds 300Mbits/s and higher.

The LTE Radio Access Network round trip times will be 10ms or less. Thus, LTE is a prime candidate for the 4G network because it meets all the requirements. Another advantage of LTE is its operator deployment flexibility. It supports flexible carrier bandwidth from 1.4MHz to 20MHz. It also supports both FDD and TDD. The advantage is that an operator may introduce LTE in new bands to where it is easiest for 10 MHz or 20 MHz carriers and eventually switch exclusively to LTE.

According to Mr. Eriksson, the strong market pull for HSPA is creating a burgeoning mobile bandwidth eco-system of device makers, network makers, application developers and enterprises. Since LTE supports hand-over and roaming to existing mobile networks, all devices will have ubiquitous mobile broadband coverage from day one. Ericsson plans to be at the head of the pack for a total transformation of mobile communications. Their vision is a terminal display with XGA resolution and the operating frequency of the application processor will reach 1GHz. It is expected the Japanese market which is moving fast in HSPA will be first to deploy the HSPA Evolution and LTE technology.

New York taxis could get iPads report

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New Yorkers may be able to surf and ride at the same time if a plan to put iPads, or a similar device, in the back of taxis takes off.

A San Francisco company, Square, is proposing a pilot program to install tablet computers in the back of 50 taxis, replacing the little-loved miniature television screens used in all cabs since 2007, showing commercials and some news and entertainment clips, The New York Times and New York Post reported.

Riders would be able to make Internet searches, play games or shop on the tablets.

Square is due to present its plan to city authorities next month, the reports said.

Un jeu gratuit sur 3DS

A tous les possesseurs de 3DS, ce message vous est destiné. Seriez-vous tentés par un petit jeu gratuit sur votre nouvelle portable, et ce sans bouger le petit doigt ?

C'est ce que proposera la prochaine mise à jour de la 3DS. En plus d'intégrer l'eShop et le navigateur internet destiné à la petite nouvelle de Nintendo, vous vous verrez tous offrir le classique Excitebike sorti sur NES il y a des lustres. Il sera d'ailleurs fourni dans une version compatible 3D, et rejoindra la future famille des jeux 3D Classics.

· Forum Excitebike

Development of male youth in jeopardy due to video games and pornogprahy

Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the American school system is also one of the lowest ranking of any in the developed world, but is the government to blame or are there other factors that influence how the youth of America develops. That said, a doctor by the name of Phillip Zimbardo and his assistant Nikita Duncan claims that video games and pornography is the one of the main catalyst in the destruction of American youths—males in particular.

The discussion of how video games and pornography are influencing the way American males develop as human beings is as touchy of a topic as it can get. A recent article by gamesindustry.biz clarifies that Zimbardo claims video games and pornography create an “arousal” and “addiction” that make males “risk-averse [and causes them] to shy away from dealing with relationships, school, or work.”

Zimbardo uses examples from recent tragedies that were correlated with gaming to make his argument. One example was the death of Seungseob Lee due to 50 hours of playing Starcraft continuously. Another example is the killing massacre that was carried out by a Norwegian male named Anders Behring Breivik—who played a lot of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

The doctor and his assistant don’t directly blame technology for the problems in male youths, but rather the “misuse” of it.

“Technology is not the issue. Rather, it’s the misuse of technology. There’s a general overuse of video games and porn – especially in social isolation – which is not balanced out by other activities like exercise, face-to-face socialization with peers, or individual time with any kind of male mentor,” Zimbardo was quoted in an interview TED.com.

There’s no doubt that the correlation between video games and porn is present when it comes to troubled youth, but does that mean causation?

Zimbardo continued on in his interview with TED.com to say that “prescription drugs, illegal drugs, and overstimulation from enticing images and games” changes the brains of male youths, and the consequence is that they get “left behind socially, sexually, and financially.”

It seems that Zimbardo and his assistant has a particular section of men – the video game loving and pornography watching ones – all figured out. What about you? Where do you place the significance of video games and pornography in how it shapes young men?

Eurocom announces availability of 6-core Intel processors for laptop

Do you fancy a huge, 17” mobile workstation with a powerful, top-of-the-line desktop-grade processor stuffed into it? If your answer is yes, then you might want to consider flying down to Canada and picking up one of these notebooks from Eurocom.

The D900F Panther Workstation, which is Eurocom's mobile workstation laptop, is now offering Intel's 6-core i7-980X processor, codenamed Gulftown, as one of the available processors available for customization on purchase, making it one of the first computing systems to feature the 980X in a laptop.

For those requiring a more professional-grade processor, Eurocom is also offering the laptop with Intel's new Xeon W56xx processors, which, coincidentally, also happen to boast 6 processing cores. And as far as customization goes, the D900F Panther Workstation supports up to 24GB of memory (DDR3), 4 hard disks, a choice between Nvidia's GeForce GTX 285M or Quadro 2800/3800 video card, along with RAID, if required.

Of course, it being a desktop replacement notebook (and a mighty fine one at that), don't expect the D900F to weigh anything less than 5kg: this is a notebook which is meant to be set atop a desk and left there for as long as needed, and not for carrying around to meetings or watching videos while on the move.

Source: X-bit labs

CUPP Announces Demo Hybrid PC With ARM and x86 Processors

Intel's and AMD's x86 processors have long dominated desktop and mobile computing, but mostly because of Microsoft's decision to have Windows run only on x86 and no other architecture. However, there is much the ARM architecture has to offer for general-purpose computing, especially when one talks into account the low energy requirements of such processors.

Unfortunately, ARM has one huge obstacle to face in getting its processors onto the desktops and notebooks of today: the lack of support for Windows. With easily more than 80% of the world running on Microsoft's OS for their desktop or mobile computing needs, the situation has reached a point where anything which is not supported by Windows is often dismissed as having little practical value.

That situation is set to change with CUPP Computing's new prototype machine, though. The company's prototype, also dubbed as the Computicator, features a unique platform which combines both a conventional x86 processor (Intel Core 2 Duo, in this case) and a Texas Instruments OMAP 3430 ARM Cortex A8-based processor clocked at 720MHz and integrated with 512MB of RAM. To top off the package, the Computicator comes with a single 320GB hard disk and a 16-inch display, giving it a laptop-like appearance.

But the real draw of CUPP Computing's Computicator is the device's ability to run two operating systems concurrently without virtualization, a feat which has yet to be achieved in current desktop computing standards. By imputing a certain keyboard command, the system will be able to instantly switch between Windows 7 Professional and Ubuntu LXDE (sometimes known as Lubuntu) on the fly, without the need for rebooting, no doubt due to the unique ability of the Computicator to operate two different architectures concurrently.

As the device is still a prototype, there is no mention of any availability date. However, it does set the stage for some major changes in the desktop computing market, especially where the CPU is concerned. Will CUPP Computing's innovation be the push that ARM needs to make a presence into an area where x86 still rules supreme? Only time will tell.

Source: bit-tech