Gizmag News - Google TV and new translate 'conversation mode' showcased at IFA 2010

Welcome to the newsletter for gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for September the 8th, 2010. Google TV and new translate 'conversation mode' showcased at IFA 2010 IFA is billed as the world’s largest consumer electronics and home appliances tradeshow, so it's fitting that the closing address for the 2010 event was delivered by the CEO of one of the biggest players in the technology space – Dr. Eric Schmidt of Google Inc. He discussed the age of the smartphone, cloud computing, plus some tasty samples of Google TV and what's just around the corner for the Android platform including a game-changing tool for mobile speech translation called "conversation mode"... read on for a summary of the key points. Read More Goodbye touchscreen? XWave brainwave interface for iDevices unveiled Until humans evolve huge brains like the Talosians, it seems we’ll have to rely electronic headwear to allow us to control devices with our brainwaves – electronic headwear like the XWave from California-based company PLX Devices. The XWave is the first brainwave interface accessory for the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad that is worn over the head like a pair of headphones. Unfortunately, the device won’t allow you to scroll through playlists or select a contact to call with the power of your mind. Rather, like the Star Wars Force Trainer, it detects your attention and meditation levels for use in games and getting the old gray matter into shape. Read More Arzum shows Termotwin double reservoir vacuum flask If you’re into camping but miss your creature comforts, you’re going to love Arzum’s Termotwin, which was on display at IFA 2010. It’s a vacuum flask that consists of two separate reservoirs that keep liquids at the same temperature for up to four hours – so milk and coffee or brewed tea and hot water (or I’m thinking maybe rum and cola!) are ready when you are. Now that’s good thinking. Read More LG Optimus Series smartphones first to be powered by dual-core Tegra 2 processor With smartphones packing more and more features and people using them for increasingly processor intensive tasks LG has announced plans to introduce the first Android smartphones to be powered by a dual-core processor. The new phones, which will be part of the company’s new Optimus Series, will feature the second generation NIVIDIA Tegra mobile processor, the Tegra 2. Read More The PG-Bikes BlackTrail - world's fastest ebike! It’s no secret that as gas prices soar and battery technology evolves, electric bikes are fast becoming the next big two-wheeled thing. That trend is clearly evidenced by the strong showing ebikes are making at this year’s Eurobike trade show, currently taking place in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Over the next several days, we’ll be showing you a few examples that we’ve spotted at the show, but to start things off... well, let’s kick out the jams and go with the “Oh come on, you can’t be serious” ebike. It called the BlackTrail, and with a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph), it’s officially the world’s fastest electric bicycle – and probably the most awesome-looking, to boot. Read More Researchers develop self-assembling, self-repairing photovoltaic technology One of the problems with harvesting sunlight and converting it into stored energy is that the sun’s rays can be highly destructive to many materials, leading to a gradual degradation of many systems developed to do just that. Once again, researchers have turned to nature for a solution. Plants constantly break down their light-capturing molecules and reassemble them from scratch, so the basic structures that capture the sun’s energy are, in effect, always brand new. By imitating this strategy MIT scientists have created a novel set of self-assembling molecules and used them to create a photovoltaic cell that repairs itself. Read More Mobileye claims 'An End to Motor Vehicle Collisions' Before we go any further, let’s get this out of the way right up front – nothing is ever going to stop cars from running into things. Until drivers are taken out of the equation completely, accidents will always happen. Nonetheless, Dutch tech company Mobileye has declared that with the release of its new C2-270 collision warning system, “an end to motor vehicle collisions [is] now in sight.” This system warns drivers of dangerously-close cars, alerts them when drifting out of their lane and includes a Pedestrian Collision Warning component. Read More Panasonic promotes 3D Viera with ingenious AR iPhone app While augmented reality still hasn't quite lived up to the initial hype (at least in terms of practical applications), it's still a great source of eye candy and geeky fun, especially in Japan. Panasonic is the latest company to jump on the AR bandwagon, as they recently released an iPhone app called '3D VIERA AR Greeting' that uses augmented reality to promote the new 3D VIERA TVs. Read More Using radio waves to identify counterfeit drugs Technology used to detect bombs and explosives could have a beneficial side-effect – identifying counterfeit and substandard drugs, which pose a major threat to public health, particularly in developing countries. Around one percent of drugs in developed countries, and 10 to 30 percent of drugs in developing countries are counterfeit, and the percentage of substandard drugs is thought to be even higher. Swedish and British researchers are developing a cheap, reliable system that uses radio waves to analyze the chemical structure of drugs to identify fakes. Read More 'Hearing' paint pigments helps restore historic masterpieces DaVinci, Caravaggio, VanGogh and Monet are just a few of the artists whose works attract thousands of visitors every year. However these paintings often suffer from damage due to aging and exposure to the elements. What once was a masterpiece on a church ceiling or wall often requires a highly skilled restoration team to return it to its original form – a process which is being aided by researchers at McGill University in Quebec, who have used a technique called "photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy" to identify the composition of pigments used in art works. Read More If you would like to refer this newsletter to a friend or colleague, please point them at our free subscription page. 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