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Obama Wants Government Apps From All Agencies Next Year

2012-05-23T19:29:13Z

Today, the Obama Administration went all 21st century on its federal agencies.

In an effort to accelerate efforts to provide consumers new and useful services on their mobile devices, President Obama issued a directive requiring that each major federal agency make two key government services available on mobile phones within the next 12 months.

The administration is also ramping up its efforts to make large amounts of government data more accessible to the public, which they hope will spur entrepreneurs to develop innovative new services and mobile applications.

President Obama said, “Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device. By making important services accessible from your phone and sharing government data with entrepreneurs, we are giving hard-working families and businesses tools that will help them succeed.”

So, what should we expect from our favorite government agencies next year? We'd like to see some sort of TSA app that makes airport security less of a hassle. And let's make use of GPS integration to make that whole "See Something, Say Something" campaign capable of real-time response.

What else would you like to see, readers?

Augmented Reality Glasses Starting to Take Off

2012-05-22T20:29:51Z

Google isn’t the only company moving into the “smart glasses” space. In fact, several companies worldwide are nipping at its heels.

The Wall Street Journal reported that warehouse employees at one company use head-mounted devices to help them navigate the staggering amount of merchandise in their 22,000-square-foot facility. Digital information is displayed over each worker’s eye, giving them visual directions through a Wi-Fi connection and helping them to navigate through the 1.4 million items shelved there.

The technology even confirms that the employee picked the right product, cutting down on errors by 60 percent—not to mention the fact that it frees up their hands.

The augmented reality device is made by Knapp AG, an Austrian firm, and costs $13,000. Meanwhile, Google plans to launch its Google Glass device next year, as smaller companies like Lumus Ltd., Vuzix Corp., Laster TechnologiesSAS and Recon Instruments Inc. work on their own prototypes that will do anything from “transmit turn-by-turn directions so people won't have to look away from the road while driving, to displays built into ski helmets that show skiers how fast they are cutting through the snow,” the WSJ reports:

Some computer scientists increasingly envision a world in which people wear glasses-like devices with a built-in camera and use apps that can recognize objects and faces—using technology called "computer vision"—and automatically retrieve information about those objects from the Web or other sources.

For example, an American visiting another country could wear such a device and run a translation app to overlay English on foreign-language billboards, street signs and store fronts.

"By 2020, the world will have perfect augmented vision," said Dave Lorenzini, who designs augmented-reality apps and related businesses at consulting firm Augmented Reality Co. "It's like creating the Internet again but inside the real world."

Facial Recognition to Help Identify the Famous Faces of Art

2012-05-21T20:11:41Z

The secret behind Mona Lisa’s smile may soon be cracked, thanks to facial recognition technology.

Professor Conrad Rudolph, a professor of medieval art history at the University of California at Riverside, has won funding to use advanced facial recognition technology to try to solve the mysteries of some of the world's most famous works of art. Rudolph wants to apply cutting-edge forensic science to thousands of portraits and busts where the identity of the subject has been lost.

Rudolph’s team will use facial recognition software on death masks of known individuals and then compare them to busts and portraits. If the software can find a match where Rudolph and his team know one exists, then it shows the technique works and can be used on unknown subjects to see if it can match them up with known identities.

The identity of the subjects of some of the most famous pictures in the world are unknown, including Girl with a Pearl Earring, a 17th-century portrait. The truth behind several paintings of Shakespeare – such as the Chandos portrait and the Cobbe portrait – has also been much disputed. It is possible facial recognition software could help solve these mysteries.

The Guardian tells us how:

To be identified, the subject of a portrait would need to be matched to the identity of another named person in a separate picture. But Rudolph has some tricks up his sleeve. He believes that another forensic technique – whereby an "ageing" programme is run on a subject – could also help solve art mysteries. In fighting crime the software is usually used to produce "adult" pictures of children who have been missing for many years. But it could see if the Girl with a Pearl Earring had been painted again as a much older woman, whose identity might be known.

Away from the high-profile cases there are a legion of other unknown subjects that might be more easily identified. In many works from before the 19th century wealthy patrons often inserted themselves, their families or friends and business associates into crowd scenes.

Facial recognition technology could be used to identify some of these people from already known works and thus provide insight into personal, political and business relationships of the day. In other cases families in wealthy homes commissioned busts of relatives that were often sold when estates went bankrupt or families declined.

SceneTap Facial Recognition Coming to a Club Near You

2012-05-16T18:49:35Z

Get ready, Bay Area clubbers: SceneTap is heading your way this weekend.

The facial recognition technology is being adopted by clubs and bars across the country to help customers get a sneak peek at the nightlife and crowds on a given night.

SceneTap is already being used in multiple cities: Austin, Texas; Bloomington, Ind.; Gainesville, Fla.; Athens, Ga.; and Madison, Wis. It was originally rolled out in 50 Chicago-area venues in 2011.

As of Friday, the technology will be in 25 bars in the San Francisco area as well.

How does it work? SceneTap uses special cameras places throughout a club or bar to tell users what kind of crowd is there, in real-time. Users download the SceneTap app for free, then can get clued into the demographics of any member bar’s crowd.

Don’t worry: The information isn’t shared with police, and the venue doesn’t even have access to the video footage. Cole Harper, the CEO of Texas-based SceneTap, insists that the technology is not any more intrusive on your privacy than showing the bouncer your ID.

"We've been privacy advocates from day one," Harper told NBC. "SceneTap helps increase foot traffic by matching up people with the scene for them. So if you're with a group looking to grab a drink at a table and have an audible conversation, you can find a place ahead of time that isn't too crowded. On the other hand, if you're looking for a busier atmosphere, SceneTap can help you find that scene, too."

App Connects Two Smartphones to Take Synchronized Photos

2012-05-15T13:52:25Z

SynchroCam is not just another app. Really, it's a step toward a new age of photography: a collaborative level that is perfect for the social-media world.

SynchroCam lets you wirelessly link multiple devices (on the same wi-fi network or via Bluetooth), freeze a moment in time and save it as a 3D-like animated GIF.

Hopefully, projects like the Apollon concept will come next, allowing your camera to be physically combined with your friends’ cameras. This would let you snap images together to create things like panoramas and 3D photographs. Check out the idea below.

Hey, we can dream. In the meantime, download SynchroCam for free here.

A License to Self-drive: Google's Autonomous Cars Get Plates

2012-05-09T16:07:22Z

Since 2011, Nevada has been the only state to allow autonomous vehicles to cruise its roads. And now, the first license plate for a self-driving car has been issued—to Google, of course.

The new, futuristic plate identifies the car as a self-driving vehicle, helping other drivers and law enforcement officials to distinguish it. The licensing process took a while; Google had to first prove to the state of Nevada that its car is safe and that the company has measures in place for insurance, training, accident reporting, etc.

Although Google is the first company to receive a plate, that might not last long. Other car manufacturers may soon flock to the state to take advantage of its laws and wide open spaces and develop their own self-driving vehicles. According to the DMV, "just about every manufacturer in Detroit" is interested, though some are closer to the goal than others.

Chinese and European companies are looking into autonomous cars too. Germany's Continental Automotive group has driven thousands of miles in their self-driving car to qualify for a license in Nevada.

It will be interesting to see where this Nevada trend takes us in the coming years. What do you think? Would you ride in a self-driving car?

Creepy Wall-mounted Robot Tracks Your Movements

2012-05-08T19:43:55Z

G.I.A. (Gestural Interactive Automation) is your new creepy robot friend. Created by Daniel Jay Bertner, the GIA robot sculpture is anchored to a wall and tracks you around the room, using motion tracking software. It also uses facial recognition technology to interact with you and, worse yet, projects a video image of a human face on a sphere that responds with facial expressions.

When you enter GIA’s room, it tracks your movements and appears to be watching and following you from its perch… ready to strike? The projected facial video changes expression based on gestures or reactions it picks up from the audience.

Check out the video to see GIA in action.

Robotic Hair Dresser Coming Soon

2012-05-02T15:53:25Z

Panasonic is really branching out with their robotics efforts these days. Their latest development? A robot that washes, massages and blow-dries a user’s hair, the Daily Mail reports.

The robot is being tested in Japan before it’s available for commercial use. And though it was originally developed for the elderly and disabled, it might stop cropping up in hair salons.

Panasonic’s new Head Care Robot has 24 “fingers” that massage a person’s head, which supposedly beats the whole head-massage-from-a-human experience. Each user can customers his or her shampooing experience, and the robot has specially-placed nozzles for rinsing longer hair. It even mists the hair with conditioner to ensure an even coat.

So will people feel comfortable using a robotic hair dresser? Well, Panasonic says the massage portion of the wash is “extremely relaxing.” And not at all creepy. They swear.

Harrassed by TSA? Now, There’s an App for That

2012-05-01T19:03:10Z

No one is a fan of the Transportation Security Administration’s screening tactics. But for some travelers, a trip through airport security is worse than others. Enter FlyRights.

FlyRights is a new app, designed by the Sikh Coalition, that enables travelers to report instances of airport profiling by TSA officials, in real-time. Officials from TSA and the Department of Homeland Security will review each app-submitted complaint.

Before the app became available yesterday, complaints had to be filed on TSA’s website. But the ability to submit real-time complaints can only be a benefit to travelers. It will help them to remember each detail of their experience, right after it happened, and increase the transparency of TSA’s operations.

“The TSA asserts it doesn’t profile. This application will allow us to better assess whether that’s true,” Amardeep Singh, director of programs at the Sikh Coalition, told ABC News. “All travelers now have an easy way of speaking to their government on the issue of airport profiling.”

The Sikh Coalition was inspired to create this app after finding that Sikhs at some airports are subjected to secondary screening 100 percent of the time. What a stressful, time-consuming ordeal to experience every time you fly.

The app was developed with input from DHS and various civil rights groups in the black, Latino, South Asian, and Muslim communities.

Ready to let TSA hear what you think? Download FlyRights here.

CLEAR is Back!

2012-04-26T21:41:52Z

CLEAR, the biometric-screening program that lets members speed through airport security checkpoints, is back, baby. After a brief hiatus, in certain cities, the expedited lanes are available at Denver International, Orlando International, San Francisco and Dallas/Fort Worth airports.

Pay an annual membership fee of $179 (or less for a corporate rate) to skip the lengthy security lines that plague these major airports.

After completing online registration, you receive instructions to visit an enrollment center with a driver's license and passport (or other approved ID) to complete enrollment. During the security clearance process, CLEAR will collect biometric scans of your fingerprints and irises. Those biometrics will be linked to a chip-enhanced card, which ensures that you are who you say you are.

Since a CLEAR member has already been screened and scanned, he or she can sail on through, right past TSA.

More than 85,000 members have already signed up, and the program will only become more popular as TSA ridiculousness continues.

Enroll in CLEAR right here.