Google Glass
Google’s much-anticipated foray into
wearable tech will finally be available for the general public towards the end
of this year. Google Glass is an augmented reality head-mounted display that
nestles like a pair of spectacle would on a user’s ears, eyes and nose. Running
on Android, Google Glass comes with a GPS and can connect to a smartphone
through Bluetooth; it can also take HD 720p video and photos on its own. The
device is completely voice-controlled, requiring you to utter “OK Glass” before
a specific command. The device is priced at US $1,500 and is only available for
“bold, creative individuals” right now.
Google
Glass
OUYA
This began life as a Kickstarter project
and quickly mushroomed into the next big thing in video gaming. A 3-inch cube,
the OUYA is a video game console that runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, sports a
1.7GHz quad-core ARM chip based on NVIDIA Tegra 3, 1GB RAM, NVIDIA ULP GeForce
graphics, and 8GB internal memory. It has a host of connectivity ports,
including HDMI 1080p for display and its very own wireless controller. It
retails for US $99 in June later this year, with a strong lineup of gaming
titles. There’s so much flux in the video game console market right now that it
won’t be surprising if the OUYA becomes a hit, seeing how it has a six-month
head start to Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles.
OUYA
Moneual Touch Table PC MTT300
A product not only corporate boardrooms but
also gourmet restaurants and luxury lounges. It’s basically a touch-screen PC
built into a table – the product sports an Intel Atom D2700 processor, NVIDIA
GF119 graphics, 2GB RAM, a 128GB SSD, Ethernet and Wi-Fi, running on Windows 7.
The MTT300 has a 22-inch multi-touch screen that can be used for interactive
gestures and whatnot; the possible applications are quite mind-boggling. The
MTT300 not only has a large-screen touch-enabled display that can be your
table-top, but it also has USB ports, microphone and headphone jacks at the
side away from coffee spills. What’re the odds that you’ll see one of these in
a restaurant near your house in the coming months? It might take a while, but
it will be worth the wait.
Moneual
Touch Table PC MTT300
Oculus rift
It’s a classic case of science-fiction
inspiring real-world science to engineer a technological breakthrough. Spawn
from a successful Kickstarter project, the Oculus Rift is a virtual reality
headset that takes your in-game immersion to a whole new level. Apart from
taking 3D gaming to the next step, the Rift lets you virtually inhabit a game
environment unlike any other device. Think of airline pilots honing their
flight skills in a state-of-the-art virtual reality simulator – the Oculus Rift
is something similar for video games of the near future. It can plug into a PC
or a dedicated console, according to prototypes revealed last month.
Oculus
rift
Hiriko
Imagine an uber-cool version of the TATA
Nano that could fold itself, and you wouldn’t be too far away from picturing
the Hiriko. Measuring less than 100 inches and meant only as a two seater, the
Hiriko is being hailed as the ideal urban car of the near future, which can
fold and park itself in tiny, cramped spaces. Being an electric car, the 500-kg
Hiriko’s range is limited up to 120-km before a recharge, but that’s more than
enough for one’s daily urban commute. What’s more, the Hiriko is the first
commercial implementation of the CityCar project developed by MIT Media Lab
since 2003. If you covet this marvelous European automobile, you’ll have to
wait till next year and be ready to shell out Rs. 9 lakh (plus import duties).
Price: $10,000.
Hiriko
