A web app interface made available for free to qualifying cat shelters around the country allows people from all over the world to queue up and interact with feline friends in need of entertainment.

Users can engage different toys and cause them to move in various directions, occupying the time of kitties waiting for adoption and encouraging participants to become adopters as well.

Cats may not care too much about whether their owner is around, but they do need stimulation and interaction, hence the development of iPet Companion. Anyone interested in playing this uniquely ‘real’ game can check out the list of participating shelters and humane societies on their website.

The technology can also be employed by cat owners looking to stay connected to their pets from work or distant travel destinations. More from the company: “iPet Companion is the world’s first interactive, web-based pet toy. We Allow users from anywhere in the world the ability to play with animals awaiting adoption in humane societies located across America by controlling a camera and moving toys, in real-time, right from their computer. We aim to improve the lives of shelter pets with a more active lifestyle, higher adoption rates, and increased donations to shelters.”

The post iPet Companion: Play Live Online with Needy Shelter Cats first appeared on Gajitz.

As devices get ever smaller the need to sacrifice functionality and screen size seems inevitable, but could be prevented by something that like this clever device that uses an external surface as both its display and interface.

The Cicret Bracelet is a wristband that turns your arm into a tablet, allowing you to use swipe, tap and pinch gestures along your own appendage instead of on a built-in screen. Naturally, it is possible to also use this device on either wrist for those who are left- or right-handed.

The tiny projector works in concert with a series of long-range proximity sensors and, while still being developed, is intended to come in multiple storage capacities, sizes and colors. Games, maps, phone calls, the device will do anything your current mobile gadget can.

“Here is a video shot by the Cicret Team showing the uses of the first working prototype of the CICRET BRACELET. It shows that the Cicret Team is the first one and only one in the world who succeeded to combine 4 technologies which create this groundbreaking wearable device: – project with a low-angle. – make it work on any skin color. – controllable with the finger. – and make it work even in bright daylight.”

The post Wearable Smartphone: Bracelet Projects Screens onto Arms first appeared on Gajitz.

Freeing up your hands, pockets and desktops from excessive hardware, this design combines elements of smartphones, computers and smart watches but also proposes a novel predictive piece, forecasting the future on demand right into the palm of your hand.

A wrist-worn and tabletop pair of projectors display data on your hands and walls, respectively, using hand gestures for interaction with dots of different sizes and colors (denoting importance and category).

The idea is not to replace your computer or phone keyboards but to provide a faster and easier way to sift through important updates and see what is happening in your world, socially and otherwise. Detailed responses would still take place through the use of other familiar device types.

The result is something both aesthetically impressive but also functional and intuitive – a system you could learn to interface with quickly and easily, and one that reduces the need to pull out your phone or flip open your laptop. Think of it like the next level up from a smartwatch (with limited display space) or Google Now (which is intelligent but still takes more time to interact with and scroll through).

Designed by Dor Tal, the system “largely consists of two parts. The first part constitutes an app that scours for the digital data an individual and his social circle produces. This app then connects the dots to make sensible patterns and intelligently proposes future outcomes. The second part consists of systems that interfaces with the individual. The interaction with the individual is made possible using intuitive interfaces projected on a variety of surfaces using a smart watch or a desktop pico projector.”

The post Predictables: Personalized Wearable Projection Interfaces first appeared on Gajitz.

They might have seemed like a novelty at first, but tablets have shown their usefulness in just about every industry and in countless applications. But something has always been missing from the touchscreen tablet experience: haptic feedback that lets you feel more physically connected with the tool you’re using. The Modulares Interface gives you that physical sense of control.

Interaction Designer Florian Born‘s project gives users a tangible physical connection to their iPads through a series of knobs, sliders, and buttons. The Modulares Interface consists of three parts: a frame to hold the iPad, a set of modular controllers, and the app that conveys your movements to the corresponding software as commands. The controllers contain magnets to snap securely to the frame, and they’re conductive so they send electrical signals to the touchscreen just like human fingers would.

When your iPad is in the frame, you can arrange the controller modules in any way you like. When it’s all set up, it looks like a genuine old-fashioned sound board. While it looks ideal for music composing, mixing, and arranging, the project would theoretically be compatible with all kinds of tablet functions. Don’t look for the Modulares Interface on store shelves anytime soon, however – it’s a student project and the creator doesn’t have any intent to produce it commercially.

The post Touch + Go: Modular System Gives iPad Physical Controls first appeared on Gajitz.

We’ve all heard the stories about how dangerous hitchhiking is: you’ll be kidnapped, dismembered or, at best, forced to listen to a smelly person go on and on about their quest to find themselves on the open road. In this environment of inherent fear of hitching, then, it’s surprising that anyone would use that “dangerous” mode of transportation as a social experiment. But that’s exactly what a group of researchers set out to do with a robot made of junk.

HitchBot is a simple looking bot: its body is a bucket covered in solar panels, its appendages are pool noodles, and its LED display “face” is covered with a plastic cake protector. Its wears Wellington boots and rubber gloves, one of them with an upturned thumb to signal drivers that it’s looking for a lift. Its creators wanted to see whether Canadians would shuttle the little contraption from one end of the country to the other. It was an exercise in trust – both in humans and in technology.

HitchBot talks (often quoting Wikipedia articles) and is equipped with a friendly smile and a GPS tracker. It also has an integrated camera with which it takes photos and uploads them to its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Along its journey, Hitchbot’s many generous transporters charged its batteries, took it to visit landmarks, and even invited it to a wedding. It seems that the friendly face was enough to convince plenty of humans to stop and pick up a device that some might consider dangerous.

Of course, part of the reason for HitchBot’s success might have been the international attention the project received before it even started. The world was curious to know just how well humans would interact with this unusual piece of technology, and the world was not disappointed. Although the team made backup HitchBots in case of theft or damage, the original bot made the journey on its own with just a few incidental bumps and cracks along the way.

The journey began on July 26, 2014 in Halifax, Novia Scotia. It spent the next 21 days traveling 6,000 kilometers (3700 miles) to Victoria, British Columbia. Along the way it hitched 19 rides and gathered the signatures and well-wishes of tons of people. After its long and eventful hitchhiking trip, HitchBot embarked on a plane ride home and held a party to celebrate the success of a truly one-of-a-kind experiment in trust between humans and robots.

The post Smiling, Talking Robot Hitchhikes Across Canada Unharmed first appeared on Gajitz.