https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. While a visit to the great outdoors is a common prescription for reducing screen use, a pioneering new study finds that time outdoors doesn't always reduce smartphone screentime. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-smartphone-city-forests.html Social Sciences Mon, 15 May 2023 07:59:33 EDT news603356363 Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new, green technology for both accelerated screening and retrieving "switchable" solvents used in green chemistry applications. The new approach makes the screening process hundreds of times faster and drastically accelerates the rate at which solvents can be retrieved from solution. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-green-approach-optimization-switchable-solvents.html Materials Science Tue, 18 Feb 2020 09:13:02 EST news501239568 If you're getting your news from a smartphone, size matters. https://phys.org/news/2019-07-screen-size-consumers-attentive-news.html Social Sciences Mon, 08 Jul 2019 16:24:21 EDT news481821852 The next generation of in-flight entertainment will include screens that know when you've fallen asleep, while new apps will very soon let you sync your personal devices with the onboard system. https://phys.org/news/2015-06-future-in-flight-youre-asleep.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 18 Jun 2015 03:38:06 EDT news353817479 Russia's first domestically designed smartphone, the YotaPhone, was unveiled in Moscow on Wednesday, featuring an always-on second screen as a unique feature to differentiate it from the plethora of competitors. https://phys.org/news/2013-12-russian-smartphone-dual-screen-yotaphone-moscow.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 04 Dec 2013 08:19:21 EST news305367549 (Phys.org) —Fujitsu Laboratories has unveiled a new twist in touch-screen technology—an overhead projector/camera device that turns printed pages into interactive media. Called the Fingerlink Interaction System, it lets users highlight text or images using a single finger then drag them to one side for future use; tap on web-links and have web pages open, or use their fist to animate virtual 3D objects. https://phys.org/news/2013-04-fujitsu-unveils-device-paper-interactive.html Hi Tech & Innovation Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:20:01 EDT news285325647 (Phys.org) —"Scent-delivery" technologies continue to interest marketers, who are always looking for ideas on how to deliver an enhanced shopper experience. Scent stimulation related to targeted products is one way to go. Now, a "smelling screen" has been developed by researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) and it makes smells appear to come from the exact spot on any LCD screen that is displaying the image of a food item. A peach or a steaming cup of coffee, for example, would lend the illusion that their respective smells were coming from the images on the screen direct to the viewer. The smelling screen was shown at the IEEE Virtual Reality conference in Orlando, Florida, which ran from March 16 to March 23. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-tokyo-smelling-screen-demo-scents-virtual.html Hi Tech & Innovation Sun, 31 Mar 2013 10:40:01 EDT news283941145 (Phys.org) —Beyond reading body motions, Kinect is getting a workup by researchers at Microsoft, now showing substantial control additions. Microsoft Research this week showed how Microsoft Kinect for Windows may be used for picking up enhanced hand gestures. At this week's TechFest, the annual event revealing what Microsoft Research teams are up to, the Kinect capability for hand gesture recognition was unveiled. The presentation showed how Kinect for Windows allows more refined gestures that can translate on the computer screen as pinching, zooming, and panning around. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-microsoft-ripens-kinect.html Hardware Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:00:01 EST news281899891 (Phys.org)—Tobii Technology is introducing the REX, a USB-connected peripheral that works with Tobii's software Gaze. The Stockholm-based company will show its REX device for Windows 8 at the CES show in Las Vegas, from January 8. Visitors will see how REX offers an eye-tracking difference in the way that desktop and laptop users can manage their screen images, pages and content. One example is a computer user looking at an app for its launch and then just tapping once on the touchpad. The eye-tracking technology from Tobii is designed to use eye positioning to help control the computer, but working in combination with, rather than replacing, other controls such as touch, mouse and keyboard. The user will still find the mouse useful for interacting, but the eyes will handle movements across the screen. https://phys.org/news/2013-01-tobii-eye-tracker-rex-showcase.html Hi Tech & Innovation Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:00:29 EST news276415211 (Phys.org)—Scientists at The University of Manchester have used synchrotron-based imaging techniques to identify previously unseen anatomy preserved in fossils. https://phys.org/news/2012-12-prehistoric-ghosts-revealing.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:48:12 EST news275042845 (Phys.org)—A Canadian company is talking about having a window, aka computer screen, into your mind. Another of the many ways to put it—they believe your computer can be so into you. And vice-versa. InteraXon, a Canadian company, is focused on making a business out of mind-control technology via a headband device, and they are planning to launch this as a $199 brainwave computer controller called Muse. The company is running an Indiegogo campaign to obtain needed funds. Muse is a Bluetooth-connected headset with four electroencephalography sensors, communicating with the person's computer via the Bluetooth connection. https://phys.org/news/2012-12-brainwave-headband-debut-paris-leweb.html Hi Tech & Innovation Wed, 05 Dec 2012 06:05:55 EST news273909920 (Phys.org)—Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Ames Laboratory have discovered new ways of using a well-known polymer in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which could eliminate the need for an increasingly problematic and breakable metal-oxide used in screen displays in computers, televisions, and cell phones. https://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html Materials Science Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:42:16 EST news273775313 By the time Joe Rosenkrantz took his seat in his company's conference room, a video camera had already handled the introductions. An image of Rosenkrantz, taken as he walked toward his chair, instantly popped up on a nearby TV screen. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-instant-facial-recognition-two-edged-sword.html Engineering Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:24:00 EST news272744629 (AP) — South Korean TV manufacturers are making billion-dollar bets on a new display technology that promises an even thinner screen and imagery of eye-popping clarity. It might prove to be a costly last gasp of innovation from an industry finding it harder to excite consumers wowed by smartphones and tablets. https://phys.org/news/2012-06-samsung-lg-revive-tv-sales.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:17:16 EDT news259399024 Liquid crystals, the state of matter that makes possible the flat screen technology now commonly used in televisions and computers, may have some new technological tricks in store. https://phys.org/news/2012-05-smallest-scale-liquid-crystal-behavior.html General Physics Wed, 02 May 2012 13:10:01 EDT news255180013 (PhysOrg.com) -- NEC, which has been working on what is called "organic radical battery" (ORB) technology for some years, has announced its latest ORB breakthrough, the 0.3mm thick ORB. According to Geek.com, the output rated as 5kW/L with a capacity of 3mAh. On full charge, the new battery prototype can refresh a screen 2,000 times. A recharge takes under a minute, about 30 seconds. The new batteries maintain 75 percent of their charge-discharge after 500 charges. https://phys.org/news/2012-03-nec-ultra-thin-03mm-thick-batteries.html Energy & Green Tech Sun, 18 Mar 2012 06:17:15 EDT news251270202 A radical new camera that lets you adjust the focus after you take a picture began shipping this week. https://phys.org/news/2012-03-radical-focus-camera-shipping.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:02:44 EST news249843724 Inspired by natural products, scientists on the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute have created a new class of small molecules with the potential to serve as a rich foundation for drug discovery. https://phys.org/news/2011-11-scientists-class-small-molecules-chemistry.html Biochemistry Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:00:19 EST news241013997 A court has temporarily banned Samsung from selling its new Galaxy tablet computer in Australia, another setback for the South Korean electronics giant in a global patent battle with Apple Inc. that accuses it of slavishly copying the iPad and iPhone.A court has temporarily banned Samsung from selling its new Galaxy tablet computer in Australia, another setback for the South Korean electronics giant in a global patent battle with Apple Inc. that accuses it of slavishly copying the iPad and iPhone. https://phys.org/news/2011-10-australian-court-sales-samsung-tablet.html Business Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:13:56 EDT news237693732 (PhysOrg.com) -- Lonely gamers who have felt the pain of being separated by a screen from their favorite personalities now have a way to reach out and touch their game characters, and that new way is RePro3D. A group of researchers from Keio University in Japan have come up with a 3-D screen that lets the user, glasses-free, see and "touch" characters on the screen. The word "touch" is in quotes because the technology is about a 3-D parallax display with infrared camera that recognizes the movements of the user's hand and the character on the screen reacts to the movements instantly. https://phys.org/news/2011-09-lonely-gamers-repro3d-characters-video.html Hi Tech & Innovation Sat, 17 Sep 2011 03:53:51 EDT news235450407 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new list published by the British Geological Survey, or BGS, ranks 52 of Earth's elements based on their risk of supply disruption. Andrew Bloodworth, from BGS, points out that the likelihood of the world running out of these elements in the near future is slim but that the risks to their supply are from humans. https://phys.org/news/2011-09-earth-rarest-metals.html Earth Sciences Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:10:14 EDT news235229004 (AP) -- There has been a big push for 3-D at movie theaters and on TV sets, so it was only a matter of time before digitally enhanced fisticuffs started popping out of smartphone screens, too. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-d-silly-evo-3d-smart.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:07:43 EDT news228067626 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from the University of Stuttgart, University of Duisburg-Essen and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence have created a prototype automotive steering wheel that uses a touch screen to enable the driver to control things such as the radio or navigate a map without having to take their eyes off the road. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-touch-screen-wheel-drivers-focused-road.html Hi Tech & Innovation Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:11:01 EDT news226581010 (PhysOrg.com) -- Pioneer has recently conducted a demonstration of its floating image display technology, which is being called Floating Vision, that allows for a small sized 3D floating screen to be projected into spaces like the dashboard of a car. The system, which was shown off at the Embedded Systems Expo, uses a set of infrared sensors that allow this projected screen to be used in a manner similar to that of the current touch screen systems in use, in a limited capacity at the present moment. The system was demonstrated both in a car, and in the context of a customer service scenario. https://phys.org/news/2011-05-previews-image-technology.html Hi Tech & Innovation Thu, 26 May 2011 13:55:01 EDT news225636859 (PhysOrg.com) -- Most people have become familiar with E-ink through e-readers. Devices, such as the Amazon Kindle and the Nook, have brought a less limited version of the bookstore to the reader. E-ink technology works by using an electrophoretic display that either push black magnetic powered to the top, or hides it on the bottom, creating a black and white screen. Either way, the result is the same, a matte finished screen, without any serious sun glare issues, that displays black and white text. https://phys.org/news/2011-05-e-ink-video.html Hi Tech & Innovation Thu, 05 May 2011 16:00:01 EDT news223828082 Television cop shows love "biometric" technologies -- fingerprints, eye scans and so on -- but a blue-ribbon panel report calls for caution on widespread use of biological identification. https://phys.org/news/2010-10-biometric-technologies.html Other Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:50:01 EDT news205502260 (PhysOrg.com) -- After a wave of 3D movies such as Alice in Wonderland and Avatar, and a number of television manufacturers producing 3D TVs this year, there is growing interest in a three-dimensional viewing experience. The usual 3D technology uses a stereoscopic principle in which a slightly different image is presented to each eye, thanks to the special glasses the viewer has to wear. Now a device named pCubee gives you the experience of 3D without the need for the glasses. https://phys.org/news/2010-03-3d-glasses-pcubee-video.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:00:01 EDT news189235880 (AP) -- The Transportation Security Administration on Friday announced nine more U.S. airports that will receive body-scanning technology, as the U.S. heightens its effort to detect hidden explosives and contraband amid a threat highlighted by an attempted bombing on Christmas Day. https://phys.org/news/2010-03-airport-body-scanners.html Hi Tech & Innovation Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:38:46 EST news187015037 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from New York University have formed a company to bring flexible multi-touch screens using a new technology to a range of devices, from e-readers to musical instruments. The new touch screens respond to all kinds of objects, as well as fingers and hands. https://phys.org/news/2010-01-multi-touch-screen-technology-video.html Hi Tech & Innovation Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:20:01 EST news182502758 (PhysOrg.com) -- Sony is showing off prototypes incorporating its super-thin, flexible OLED technology at the CREATEC JAPAN 2009 IT and electronics trade show in Makuhari Messe (Chiba) in Japan. https://phys.org/news/2009-10-super-thin-flexible-oled-sony.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:10:02 EDT news174112703