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Tag: projections

  • Disney’s New Tech Will One Day Let You Feel Holograms

    Holograms have remained firmly in the realm of sci-fi for years. It was only recently that scientists have been able to crudely replicate what we’ve been seeing in film for over 60 years. Now researchers at Disney have made another breakthrough in technology that lets you feel holograms.

    Disney Research recently announced a new project called AIREAL – a technology that allows the user to “feel” a virtual object. Here’s how Disney describes it:

    AIREAL is designed to use a vortex, a ring of air that can travel large distances while keeping its shape and speed. When the vortex hits a user’s skin, the low pressure system inside a vortex collapses and imparts a force the user can feel. The AIREAL technology is almost entirely 3D printed using a 3D printed enclosure, flexible nozzle and a pan and tilt gimbal structure capable of a 75-degree targeting field. Five actuators are mounted around the enclosure which displaces air from the enclosed volume, through the flexible nozzle and into the physical environment. The actuated flexible nozzle allows a vortex to be precisely delivered to any location in 3D space.

    One of the more interesting things about AIREAL is that it’s actually pretty cheap to make. Most of the components are made on a 3D printer so the researchers at Disney can instantly prototype at their lab instead of having the parts made somewhere else.

    As for uses, Disney sees AIREAL playing a role in its continued research into “large-scale computer augmented environments.” In other words, you might see the technology show up in an attraction at Disney World or Disneyland. It also sees the technology playing a role in the future of “gaming and story telling, mobile interfaces and gesture control.”

    If you want to see more about AIREAL, check out Disney’s research paper on the technology. You can also check out a video demo of the technology below:

    [h/t: 3ders]

  • iPhone 5: Apple’s Weapon Against Android?

    iPhone 5: Apple’s Weapon Against Android?

    It looks like we have reached the “rumor-a-day” phase of the iPhone 5 mania. With the latest rumors hinting at either a September or early October release date, we might be only a month or two away from Apple’s next-gen smartphone.

    According to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, a lot of people are ready to shell out the dough for the new iPhone when it drops – not just current Apple customers.

    He made some projections based on a survey of 216 mobile phone users and decided that the huge demand for the iPhone 5 could translate to Apple doubling their market share – a market that is currently controlled by Android OS mobile devices.

    Here’s what the makeup of the survey group looks like – 29% currently own iPhones (3G, 3Gs or 4 not specified), 17% currently own Android phones and 28% currently own a BlackBerry. The rest own other types of phones.

    Of everyone in the survey, 64% said that they plan on buying an iPhone 5. 60% said that they are simply waiting for the iPhone 5 to come out, and that they will buy it then even if their current phone is still working and their contract is still valid. If only 29% of respondents currently own an iPhone, this means that a giant percentage of non-iPhone users want to make the switch.

    In fact, 42% of Android OS users said they will probably switch to iOS when the iPhone 5 drops. In contrast, only 6% of iOS users said they would be switching to Android when they purchase their next phone.

    94% of iPhone users plan on buying another iPhone. That’s some customer satisfaction.

    The iPhone 5 might also help Verizon specifically – of the 55% of non-iPhone users that expect to buy an iPhone, 74% said that they were waiting on the iPhone 5.

    Will the iPhone 5 bring Apple closer to market supremacy?

    The latest buzz about the device in question is that it will have a slightly larger display than the 4 and a thinner bezel. Some reports point to an October 1st release date, a little later than the previously discussed mid-September release date.

    For a more in-depth roundup of today’s iPhone 5 buzz, check out this rumors article.

  • Smartphone Market Projected to Increase 50% in 2011

    Smartphone Market Projected to Increase 50% in 2011

    According to a study by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the worldwide smartphone market is expected to grow by 49.2% in the year 2011. In 2010, venders shipped 303.4 million smartphones, and that number is expected to climb to over 450 million this year.

    As mobile customers look to equip phones that can do more, the market for non-smartphones will continue to decline. According to the IDC’s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the market for smartphones will grow four times faster than the overall mobile phone market.

    “Overall market growth in 2010 was exceptional,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “Last year’s high market growth was due in part to pent-up demand from a challenging 2009, when many buyers held off on mobile phone purchases. The expected market growth for 2011, while still notable, will taper off somewhat from what we saw in 2010.”

    The IDC report also projected market share for particular devices, saying that the Android operating system will take over the #1 spot by a wide margin in 2011. It is projected to garner 39.5% of the market. The next closest competitor is projected to be the Symbian OS, with 20.9% share.

    The recent news that Nokia will abandon the Symbian OS in favor of the Windows phone has greatly shifted projections for 2015. The Windows phone is now looking to take over the #2 spot in 4 years, according to the IDC: “The new alliance brings together Nokia’s hardware capabilities and Windows Phone’s differentiated platform. We expect the first devices to launch in 2012. By 2015, IDC expects Windows Phone to be number 2 operating system worldwide behind Android.”