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Star Wars Jedi Challenges transforms kids into a Jedi with AR

Every kid dreams of being a Jedi, but Lenovo has figured out that swinging a lightsaber alone isn’t enough to satisfy kids in 2017. That’s why they’ve partnered with Disney to come out with Star Wars Jedi Challenges. Star Wars Jedi Challenges uses augmented reality to simulate the experience of being Jedi. The system, which requires a smartphone to work, includes a Lenovo Mirage AR headset, Tracking Beacon, and a Lightsaber controller. 

The lightsaber itself is modeled after Anakin Skywalker’s own lightsaber, while the headset is where the smartphone is anchored, and the beacon allows players to freely move with natural motion as they duel or direct their pieces across the battlefield.

Jedi Challenges will come with plenty of games entrenched in the Star Wars universe. Gameplay includes everything from training to lightsaber battles against villains like Darth Vader and Kylo Red, combat games and Holochess. In addition, Jedi Challenges introduces a new Star Wars character, the Archivist, whose jobs is to teach players how to properly use the Force.

“With Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, Lenovo and Disney are bringing Star Wars to fans in ways they could previously only imagine,” said Jeff Meredith, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lenovo Consumer PCs & Smart Devices.

Star Wars Jedi Challenges is compatible with Android and iPhone and is available for pre-order at Best Buy and Lenovo for $199.99. It will be available in November, and we’re sure it will be a hot holiday item for kids, and probably some adults too.

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Star Wars Jedi Challenges transforms kids into a Jedi with AR originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2017 at 12:06 pm.

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Your fidget toy collection isn’t complete without an Infinity Cube

Fidget spinners are so 2015. Don’t embarrass yourself in with public fidget spinning. It’s time to fidget to impress and the Infinity Cube fidget toy looks like way more impressive than balancing a twirling thing on the end of your finger.

What is an Infinity Cube? It’s a cube (duh!) shaped stress reliever toy that looks like a gift that Borg parents give their Borg children. It that can be flipped and folded over and over for optimum fidgeting fun.

You can find eleventy million Infinity Cubes on Amazon in all manner of colors. The one shown above is made of plastic and is priced at $7.88. Visit Amazon for more info.

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Your fidget toy collection isn’t complete without an Infinity Cube originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2017 at 11:16 am.

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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a… defibrillator?

Yep, here it comes to save the day! Alec Momont, a graduate student at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands, created the Ambulance Drone project. Their intent was to develop a drone that would deliver life-saving equipment like an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), medicines, and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) aids to the scene of an emergency. The first drone prototype focused on delivering an AED. They created a compact, lightweight drone (using 3-D printed microstructures and a carbon fiber frame) that flies 100 kilometers per hour and reduces the average emergency response time from 10 minutes to one minute (in the European Union).

According to the American Heart Association,

Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation, with an automated external defibrillator (AED), can more than double a victim’s chance of survival. In fact, early defibrillation, along with CPR, is the only way to restore the victim’s heart rhythm to normal in a lot of cases of cardiac arrest. For every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, however, the chances of survival decrease by 7–10%. A recent study sponsored in part by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association shows that most cardiac arrests that occur in public places are “shockable” arrhythmias or those that respond to a shock from an AED, making AEDs in public places highly valuable. Yet, there are not enough AEDs and persons trained in using them and performing CPR to provide this lifesaving treatment, resulting in lost opportunities to save more lives.

Hopefully, drones like this one will turn those lost opportunities into life-saving events because the developers incorporated “a two-way, video supported, communication channel in the drone” that allows the 1-1-2 emergency operator and the person there at the scene to communicate. The emergency operator is then able to provide step-by-step instructions on how to use the AED.

Where are they at in development? According to TU Delft, “The complex nature of a systems innovation like this makes commercial exploitation, not an easy task. TU Delft is considering further steps in the development.”

Watch the video to see how it works:

You can read more about the Ambulance Drone project here

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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a… defibrillator? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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LG V30 takes on the Galaxy Note 8 with a beautiful new look and improved optics

LG’s follow up to the V20 is here, and the rumors and leaks were pretty spot on. To that effect, the new V30 packs in a stunning 6.0″ QHD+ OLED Display with a 2880 x 1440 resolution, but by the size of it you would never guess it was packing in such a large display. That’s because it sports an 82% screen to body ratio (with a 18:9 aspect ratio), allowing the LG V30 to pull off a big screen in a relatively small body that measures just 5.96 x 2.96 x 0.29 inches. 

Design-wise, the LG V30 takes queues from the LG G6, not the V20. And in comparison to its predecessor, we wholeheartedly prefer the V30’s new look, and find it to be more attractive this time around. Overall, the phone is gorgeous, thin, and weighing around 158g, it feels surprisingly lightweight to hold in your hand. The phone is also IP68 water and dust resistant, it’s rocking Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back, and it has passed 14 different military-standard durability tests – so not only is it pretty, but it’s also pretty tough.

The LG V30 is heavily focused on imaging, optics and Hi-Fi audio. When it comes to filming video, you can smoothly zoom in on objects. We tried this out and were impressed with how smooth the zooming in is compared to most other phones. In addition to video recording with Hi-Fi audio, there’s also a feature called Cine Effect which produces more cinematic videos. The phone also comes with a Quick Video Editor for easy editing on the fly.

For photos, the camera sports a crystal clear lens for capturing more light and more detailed images with improved dynamic range and darker darks, thanks to a 10-bit HDR image sensor. LG has also preloaded the phone with GRAPHY, which we’d best describe as part EYE.EM / part learning tool. Essentially, GRAPHY lets you browse through a catalog of photos taken by professional photographers. If you spot a photo you like and feel inspired to snap a similar photo, all you have to do is select the photo and you can import the manual camera settings that the original photographer used for that photo. This seems like a potentially great way to up the ante with your photos by cheating, and we wholeheartedly approve.

Fingerprint locks are soooo 2015. Fortunately there are various ways to wake-up the V30. In addition to using your fingerprint, you can use face recognition, voice recognition, or you can knock on the display with your fingers. Other notable specs of the V30 include an improved f1.9 wide angel camera, a 3,300 mAh battery, an SD card slot a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.

The biggest hurdle for the V30 is whether or not it can properly take on the recently announced Galaxy Note 8. Both devices sport a similar look and a similar large screen to body ratio, but the Note 8 has its iconic S Pen feature. The V30 on the other hand doesn’t have a reputation for blowing up, so it will be interesting to see which device comes out on top with consumers.

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LG V30 takes on the Galaxy Note 8 with a beautiful new look and improved optics originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2017 at 6:18 am.

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Make music anywhere with IK Multimedia’s new iRig Keys I/O production station

The iRig Keys I/O production station from IK Multimedia is a music controller that is available in either a 25 or 49 key version. This ultra portable music production station is compatible with iOS, Mac, and PC and features 24-bit audio with up to a 96kHz sampling rate, a combo input jack for line in, instrument or mic input, balanced stereo output and a high quality 1/8″ headphone output. It also has velocity sensitive multi-colored pads, programmable touch-sensitive sliders, buttons, and knobs.

The iRig Keys I/O is certified Apple MFi hardware that offers plug and play setup for iPhone and iPad devices. It also works with popular digital audio workstation (DAW) software like Apple’s GarageBand, Logic, and more.

The music station can be powered either by USB, an optional external power supply, or even with 4 AA batteries.

iRig Keys I/O won’t be available until October 2017, but it can be pre-ordered now from the IK Multimedia online store. The 25 key version is priced at $199.99 and the larger 49 key version is $299.99.

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Make music anywhere with IK Multimedia’s new iRig Keys I/O production station originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 30, 2017 at 1:00 pm.

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