This week most major advertising organisations all cried out in pain after Apple announced that it would be improving user privacy on macOS. Apple is planning to integrate cookie-blocking technology into its Safari browsers for desktop and mobile, which will limit the amount of information marketing agencies and advertisers can …
Read More »Valve ditches $3,000 tracking course requirement for SteamVR developers
Valve has announced that it is ditching the requirement of a $3,000 training course to become a SteamVR tracking partner, meaning just about anyone can make SteamVR enabled hardware. While the course and in-person training will still be available for those who want it, Valve is also making much of …
Read More »VR locomotion solved? The CAOTS system
One virtual reality developer claims to have solved some of the major problems with getting around in virtual reality beyond room scale. Called the CAOTS system, it utilises head bob tracking and arm motion to calculate your pace and lets you move around large, virtual environments while bobbing, walking and …
Read More »Even with Oculus Touch, HTC Vive will still be better at Roomscale
One of the biggest gaps between the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive is about to be closed with the launch of Touch motion controllers in the next few days, but camera set up guides suggest the Rift will always fall behind the Vive in terms of roomscale tracking. Even with …
Read More »Siren Care smart socks help prevent diabetic foot issues
Although diabetes in both its types is much more manageable today than it was in the past, it's still far from an easy condition to live with and there are some nasty health problems that can go along with it. Looking to help alleviate issues with feet and swelling, Siren …
Read More »ARM partners with digital health firm for wellness wearables
ARM has teamed up with Austin based digital health company, US Trusted Care, to create new medical devices for the elderly and those suffering from chronic medical conditions. The purpose of the technology will be to record as much information on the patients as possible and to make it easily …
Read More »PetHub tags help keep your pet safe when you can’t
For people who really want to keep track of their pet should they run off, GPS collars offer a really easy way to get find out where they are. But if you aren't around to do that, or you want your pet to have a backup option should you fall …
Read More »IBM now using biometrics to prevent fraud in online banking
Banking institutions that make use of IBM's Trusteer Pinpoint Detect system to help secure their online platforms, will now be able to make use of biometric tracking to prevent fraud. The system is able to track mouse movements, clicks and other interactions, to build up profiles of users, thereby detecting …
Read More »Arktika.1 is an FPS built from the ground up for Oculus Touch
Oculus has had a difficult six months, with us and just about everyone else claiming that the HTC Vive is the superior headset to its Rift, but that may be harder to justify when Touch controllers arrive. Especially since some of the games that have been built for it from …
Read More »Wireless Oculus Rift prototype shown at Connect 3
Oculus VR made a lot of announcements at this year's Connect event, but one of the more exciting demonstrations was for a new wireless prototype called Santa Cruz. As well as untethering itself from a PC, it contains a battery pack, on board processing and self-contained positional tracking, meaning you …
Read More »Pokémon Go has a tracking system again! Sort of…
Removing the three step tracking system entirely from Pokémon Go was one of the worst received moves in recent game developer history. Fans were really not impressed, but it's good to see Niantic has responded quickly by releasing a newly revamped tracking system in its early stages of development. You …
Read More »HTML5 battery status check is being used to track web users
The battery status and longevity check built into HTML5 to allow web providers to display low-power versions of their sites to those without much battery left, has been hijacked by tracking APIs to keep an eye on web users. Using battery status and estimated time left as unique identifiers, they …
Read More »Updated: Niantic on why it removed the Pokémon Go tracking bug
Update: Niantic Labs, the developer of app mega-hit, Pokémon Go, has released a statement to the community, ending a long silence to comment on why it removed the three step tracking system from the game. In typical Niantic fashion, it's not very candid, but it does at least give fans …
Read More »Not just for hookups: Tinder Social now available worldwide
Tinder might be one one of the world's most popular ways to hook up with someone that you might want to swap fluids with, but that's not all the company behind it wants it to do. Tinder Social is now available on both iOS and Android and makes it possible …
Read More »U.S. may ask for your Facebook data when you cross the border
The United States border control could begin asking visitors who plan to stay up to 90s days, about their social media activity. Although the proposed changes to visa screening would be optional if brought into play, it's thought that it could give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a better …
Read More »Meta data can reveal more about you than you thought
One of the big arguments for more government surveillance, is that they're only ever after metadata. While that is rarely true, in the cases that it is, it's cited as being just a record of your calls, not the content of them. But it turns out that knowing who was …
Read More »Adding tracked feet to VR is very, very simple
As much as tracked hands might be one of the major selling points of the HTC Vive, some developers are already looking beyond that. With talk of HTC/Valve releasing standalone tracking pucks at some point, one developer has strapped a pair of ‘old' controllers to his feet and has used …
Read More »Smartphone app proves almost as effective as contraceptive pill
Although the rhythm method is one that non-religious organisations might mock or deride as ineffective, it turns out that if you take that sort of idea and mix it up with smart tracking, it actually becomes very effective. Natural Cycles is an application that tracks the user's temperature over time …
Read More »The Oculus Rift can do roomscale, but watch your head
One of the big selling points of HTC's Vive virtual reality headset, is that it can “do roomscale.” That means users can get up and walk around in the real world, while ensconced in virtual reality. It turns out though that the Oculus Rift can do that pretty well too, …
Read More »Testing glucose in sweat: how graphene could help fight Diabeties
Graphene is a wonder material in oh so many ways and that seems likely to remain true for quite some time. In one of its more recent, exciting uses, the allotrope of carbon is now being used to create a wearable device that could help combat type II diabetes. The …
Read More »Smanos X300 plug and play alarm system
While a smart home was once thought the preserve of the uber rich today with wireless apps and plug-in security systems, anyone can have a connected household. All you need is something like the Smanos X300 Plug and Play Alarm system, which bundles a motion sensor, door sensor and a …
Read More »LiveLike shows the future of watching football in VR
We've seen what it would look like watching sports in augmented reality, but virtual reality is much closer to an affordable reality. That's why LiveLike has been putting its efforts into making watching football in VR a reality and it already looks fantastic, with your own personal box-seat, alternative camera …
Read More »Is big-data a real hope for Minority Report style pre-crime?
The use of big-data has exploded in the last few years, allowing for new weather prediction algorithms, Netflix suggestions and more targeted advertising among many other uses, including some controversial ones. Take for example its use in predicting criminal activity. Could this one day lead to a Minority Report-like pre-crime …
Read More »Ancient 2G mobile networks could be used for drone traffic control
One of the interesting legislative challenges facing politicians the world over right now is how to deal with drones. The manned and unmanned quad-copters are taking to the skies in ever increasing numbers, and keeping track of them all is nearly impossible. However it could be that old 2G mobile …
Read More »Nvidia Pascal GPUs to be used to help model future hurricanes
As much as we are pretty safe here in the UK from major storms and tectonic activity, the rest of the world isn't quite so lucky. Fortunately though, we live in a world where not only can PS3s be connected together to form modular super computers, but commercial graphics cards …
Read More »RF-Capture uses Wireless signals to see humans through walls
Researchers at MIT have come up with a new device that makes use of wireless signals in order to see humans through walls. The device is known as RF-Capture and it works by emitting wireless signals through walls, which then bounce off of human bodies on the other side. As the …
Read More »HTC Vive VR headset may debut 8th December, release on 15th
There are a handful of dates that fans of virtual reality are awaiting with bated breath. When will the Oculus CV1 pre-orders begin? When will it and the Touch Controllers arrive? And when will the HTC Vive go on sale? While we're still awaiting the first two dates to be …
Read More »Oculus buys another hand tracking tech firm
Oculus VR made a big splash when it announced prior to E3 that it had developed its own hand tracking controllers, called Touch. It was a surprise too, since Oculus previously purchased a company called Nimble Sense, which used a camera system to track hands, rather than the control system Oculus …
Read More »Philips develops supermarket navigation system using LEDs
For people that don't shop for their food online, finding their way around supermarkets isn't always the easiest of tasks. If they haven't been there before or staff have rearranged everything, they are forced to rely on signs hanging from the ceiling and spotting the particular product they want can take a while. …
Read More »Legislation delays mean US falling behind in drone race
Even though some members of the House of Lords want to see tighter regulations on drone usage in the UK, that may not be the best way to help grow the industry on the British Isles, as the US' own restrictive governance of the technology has led to it falling behind international developments. …
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