Kotaku: Technology

The Louvre's New Tour Guide is a 3DS

Brian Crecente — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:20:00 EST

Starting in March the Louvre, one of the largest, most visited art museums in the world, plans to replace their audio guides with 5,000 Nintendo 3DS programmed by the game maker to give full tours in seven languages, the AFP reports. More »

How DUST 514 and EVE Online Bridge the Gap Between PC and PlayStation 3

Mike Fahey — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:40:00 EDT

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In CCP's DUST 514 for the PlayStation 3, battles are initiated by corporations in the PC-based space MMO EVE Online. In a post on the PlayStation Blog, CCP server architect Lin Luo talks about how much fun making that work is. More »

Now You Can Shoot Doom Demons ... With Your Mind

Kirk Hamilton — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:40:00 EDT

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First wireless controls, then motion controls, then motion-tracking like the Xbox Kinect... sooner or later, someone's going to come up with a computer (and therefore a video game) that can be controlled entirely with our minds. More »

Kinect was Tested by Dropping It on Concrete

Owen Good — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EDT

The Microsoft engineers building Kinect "knew this thing was going to be viewed as a toy," says one, "and so it was going to be abused." So they abused it first, toughening the thing up to the point it could be dropped on concrete and still function. More »

Kinect Tech Inspires Glasses That Could Help "the Blind See"

Brian Crecente — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EDT

A clinical neurologist at the University of Oxford is working on a pair of glasses that is meant to help the near blind better see shapes and people. More »

Gaming is One Reason This Amazing Driving Technology is a Bad Idea

Mike Fahey — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:30:00 EDT

According to UK windscreen replacement company Autoglass, this video represents a future where augmented reality windshield displays can usher in a new era of driver safety. At least until gamers get a hold of them. More »

The Witcher 2 is Blurry in All the Right Places

Mike Fahey — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:30:00 EDT

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Amidst all of the nudity and subtle gags lurking in CD Projekt Red's latest PC role-playing adventure, the aspect of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings that has impressed me the most so far is how blurry it is. More »

Think L.A. Noire Has Impressive Facial Animations? Check This Out

Mike Fahey — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:20:00 EDT

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It's true that work that Team Bondi has done animating the faces of real life actors in Rockstar's L.A. Noire is nothing short of astounding, but Janimation's facial recognition technology creates virtual faces so real you can almost smell their stinking breath. More »

Kinectimals Creator Sets His Sights on Building the $25 PC

Owen Good — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:30:00 EDT

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David Braben, whose Frontier Developments studio has delivered Elite, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, LostWinds and, yes, Kinectimals, has now created Raspberry Pi. It's not a game, it's a working, Linux-based PC on something not much larger than a standard USB memory stick. More »

Here's How You Handle Looking and Turning in a Motion-Control FPS

Owen Good — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EDT

Head- and eye-tracking will be the next big breakthrough in motion-controlled gaming. Forza Motorsport 4 will deliver it via Kinect. But for first-person shooters, we're still stuck controlling our look with our arms, an act as unnatural as it is inconvenient. Some University of Texas students have whipped up a solution for that. More »

World Exclusive First Look Under the Hood of the Next Unreal Engine

Joel Johnson — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EDT

You've seen the sexed up trailer showing what games based on Epic's Unreal Engine will look like in the coming generation. Now join Kotaku and Gizmodo for the world's first peek at the tools and technology that will be used to create some of the biggest games on every platform from PC to iOS in coming years. More »

The 3DS's 3D Is Easier To Understand Under A Microscope

Mike Fahey — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EDT

We can toss around terms like parallax barrier to describe the Nintendo 3DS 3D effect all day long, trying to explain how the system alternates lines of pixels to trick your eyes, or we could just show you. More »

Kinect Aids in $4 Million Research Into Mental Disorders

Brian Crecente — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:30:00 EDT

The University of Minnesota has saved more than $100,000 in research funds by using the Xbox 360 Kinect to aid in research on the diagnoses of mental disorders in children, according to a Minnesota Daily and AP report. More »

Want To See What A Hacking Attempt Looks Like?

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST

Contrary to 1995 movie Hackers, breaking into a computer system does not involve colorful cartoon characters. The act can be accurately represented visually, however, as proven in this excellent video created by Ben Reardon of Dataviz Australia. More »

Keyboard-Friendly Robotic Hand Is Probably Harmless

Mike Fahey — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST

One thing ever fledgling robotic killing machine needs is a good pair of hands, deft enough to type but strong enough to choke the life out of its victims. Virginia Tech's DART is a good start. More »

The World's Smallest Computer Wants To Be Inside Of You

Mike Fahey — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST

With computer technology forever striving towards smaller and smaller form factors, it was only a matter of time before engineers created the first millimeter-scale computer system, ready for implantation in the human body. More »

Light-Absorbing Anti-Lasers Could One Day Rule Your Computer

Mike Fahey — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST

Scientists at Yale University have created the world's first anti-laser, a device in which two beams of light clash together, ultimately cancelling each other out. How could such a device change the way we do our computing? More »

Could This Be The Future Of Typing On A Control Pad?

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:00:00 EST

Having to enter letters and numbers via a control pad sucks, as anyone typing out credit card numbers or download codes on an Xbox 360 or PS3 will attest. If only there was a way to make this necessary evil easier... More »

Teaching Robots To Walk The Baby Way

Mike Fahey — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST

Why do human children learn to walk so much easier than robots do? Because babies learn to crawl before they walk. University of Vermont robotics expert Josh Bongard demonstrates how robots develop faster when their bodies change with their brains. More »

New Type Of Memory Could Boot Your Computer Instantly

Mike Fahey — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST

Imagine turning on your computer from a powerless state and instantly seeing your desktop without having to wait through a lengthy loading process. NC State researchers have developed a device that could make that happen. More »

A Wearable Brain Scanner That Keeps You In The Zone

Mike Fahey — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST

From playing video games to operating nuclear facilities, focus and attention are key factors in excelling at important tasks. Freer Logic's BodyWave scanner trains users to be aware of their brain functions without making them wear a silly hat. More »

What Good Is A Computer Processor That Does Bad Math?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST

One of the core functions of a computer processor is to perform the basic arithmetical functions of the system. Why would we want a processor that gets those basic calculations wrong? Carnegie Mellon's Joseph Bates has the answer. More »

How About A TV With Built-In Tetris?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

With today's smart television sets capable of packing multiple internet applications directly on the hardware, why not just install games directly on the TV? That's what Oberon Media is doing with Tetris. More »

Kinect Gives Life To This Humanoid Robot

Mike Fahey — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST

Using Microsoft's Kinect to control a modified Roomba is impressive. Using it to get a kit-built humanoid robot to mimic your actions is pretty damn amazing. More »

New Technology Could Revolutionize the Search For Internet Porn

Mike Fahey — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

When you search for "work related" videos on the internet, the results are normally limited to the title or tag given to any uploaded clip. What if computers could recognize specific human interactions? Would they get embarrassed? More »

Apple Readying A Slimmer, Lighter, Dual-Camera iPad

Mike Fahey — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

According to sources within Apple's component supply chain the company is gearing up to introduce a new version of the iPad in 2011 that's slimmer profile and front and back camera will make existing units look like last year's tech. More »

A Robot That Knows How To Read

Mike Fahey — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

Teaching a robot to recognize symbols is one thing; teaching a robot to actually read and understand those symbols is another thing entirely, but researchers in the UK are getting the job done, thanks to a little artificial intuition. More »

Is Technology Ready For Japan's Holographic World Cup?

Mike Fahey — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

Tomorrow is the day Japan finds out if its promise of a fully holographic worldwide broadcast earns them the bid for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Can the country possibly deliver? More »

Your Personal Jetpack Is Almost Ready For Purchase

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:30:00 EST

Martin Aircraft Company's "Segway for the sky" is about to go into production. Can anyone lend me $100,000? More »

Apple Patent Takes Augmented Reality Games To The Next Level

Mike Fahey — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 11:20:00 EDT

Apple explores the awesome potential of augmented reality in a patent application that describes a multiplayer shooter that allows players to track each other for real using networked iPhones. More »

The 3DS Has A 3D Market All To Itself

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 03:30:00 EDT

There's a reason people are excited about the Nintendo 3DS, and are not excited about 3D on a TV set: because nobody wants to wear those stupid glasses. And it's going to stay that way for some time. More »

The United States Army Is Testing Fallout PIPBoys

Mike Fahey — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:20:00 EDT

You can call the devices the U.S. Army is testing out at Fort Dix in New Jersey wrist mounted phosphorescent OLED Displays is you want. We're calling them PIPBoys. More »

Force Feedback Helps Doctors Poke Patients With Robots

Mike Fahey — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EDT

A popular method of adding more immersion to video games could make a life or death difference to doctors using robotic proxies to perform delicate surgery. More »

What Could A Credit Card-Sized Projector Mean For Gaming?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 11:40:00 EDT

You're looking at a micro-projector, a credit card-sized device with a projector head of 1 cm³, and it could change the way we play and share our portable games. More »

The Rock Band Of The Future

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Most signs point towards the future being a place free of clumsy plastic instruments with our video games. On the off chance they are still around, though, we hope Rock Band plays a little like this concept clip by Freddiew. More »

Sony Explores Alternative to Split-Screen Multiplayer

Owen Good — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:20:00 EDT

A couple of patent applications published recently show that Sony's looking at stereoscopic video for more than just 3D gaming; it could take the place of split-screen local multiplayer. More »

Ubisoft Is Waiting For The Price Of 3D To Drop

Mike Fahey — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EDT

With only two games in their current line-up slated to support 3D, Ubisoft is waiting on widespread 3D support for the same reason consumers are slow to adapt 3D television technology - the high cost. More »

Intel Inside Your Mind, Serving You Drinks

Mike Fahey — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:20:00 EDT

We're one step closer to browsing the internet with our mind while our robot butler brings us drinks, and it's all thanks to Intel. PC Magazine tells us about the wonderful tech on display at the company's latest R&D day. More »

3D Gaming Would have Cost A Fortune 10 Years Ago

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EDT

Think a PlayStation 3 and a 3D-ready television expensive now? According to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe senior engineer Ian Bickerstaff, the same technology would have cost you near three-quarters of a million dollars. More »

High School Swaps Out Textbooks For iPads

Mike Fahey — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:30:00 EDT

When the students of St. Catherine's High School's new middle school program arrive next year, they'll be sporting shiny new iPads instead of textbooks, giving students plenty of games to play while they should be learning, until they get stolen. More »