Many iPhone owners seem to like to play games with Siri, like suggesting what it can go do with itself and seeing how it responds. I'm guessing the second-gen Siri will be more innovative as far as how it replies to queries it doesn't "understand."
You've got a point there, Alex, with the problem of the machine "overhearing" a conversation not meant for it. Do you know how that is addressed with Siri? Do you have to touch a button first to get it's attention or do you address it directly? I can see it now: To friend: "Seriously, I'm not going to call my boss and tell him..." PHONE: "Calling Boss...."
Jack, now that touch is being accepted and widely deployed, it'll be interesting to see how quickly voice (recognition) will evolve. If you'd asked me a year ago, I would've said it isn't even on the radar. Now, with Apple's Siri, which I believe is based on Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition technology, we see that voice is actually consumer-ready. So this means it will move into the business arena shortly, too. The scary thing with speech, though (aside from the technical challenges of background noise), is that you actually DON'T want in-plant speech recognition technology to be too responsive. You want to authenticate the user (not that you do that with touch-- their presence on the plant floor and/or access to the HMI panel is their authentication). I guess what I mean is, you don't want to voice recognizer to do stuff when a command isn't really intended. Like when someone says "I was so tired last nite, with I got home I went to sleep," you don't want it putting some industrial computer in sleep mode.
Glad to see this technology taking shape. I remember when I first introduced touch as the operator interface at my former company - a manufacturer of off-road industrial vehicles. Half the place said that it would never be accepted. Then, as soon as it was introduced, people started clamoring for this type of technology.
"Touch mania," as author Colin Johnson characterizes it, is indeed the order of the day. I can't tell you how much interest I've seen in HMI and touch-panel interfaces of all sorts at all the automation shows I went to in 2011.
This is definitely a game changing moev from Freescale. This will really boost not only consumer domains but also medical domain as this will improve workflow. Freescale is really doing wonders.
Freescale does it again. I have some experience with the Xtrinsic line (accelerometer). This is definately a game changer. As touch screens become more widely deployed, the cost of the screens becomes a driving cost factor. With MS Windows 8 supportig touch screens, there will be a move to support touch screens on a PC platform without increasing the cost significantly to compete with tablets.
As users get more and more comfortable with the touch screen paradigm via increased use of smart phones and tablets, it definitely ups the ante for deployment of the same interface technology on other kinds of platforms. This seems like a good alternative to help defray some of the high costs of touch screen technology so manufacturers can stay with the times without having to pass on the expense to customers. I'm assuming there are or will be other alternatives with the same value proposition.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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