For people who always want the newest technology, the old models usually get chucked out as soon as the next big thing comes along. In an effort to reduce e-waste and generally make using computers more awesome, Hong Kong-based company Gowin Technology created a device that turns standard computer screens into touchscreens.

The Zmartframe Touch PC fits over an existing monitor and is attached via straps around the back. It works with 19″, 22″, or 24″ Windows monitors, connecting via USB and calibrating with a Windows-based program that has users touch certain spots on the screen. The device has an impressive response time of 8 ms so there’s no maddening delay when you type or tap using the device’s two-point touch system.

Although it is designed to work on Windows systems, the Zmartframe Touch PC also comes equipped with an Android Mode. When set to Android Mode, plugged into a power source, and connected via HDMI, the monitor becomes a standalone Android tablet – albeit a very large, not-so-portable one.

We love the idea of reducing e-waste, but we aren’t sure just how large a market the product will have. There aren’t too many folks still using desktop PCs, and those who do aren’t likely to be so eager to hold onto them that they’ll spend $130-$300 (some of the funding levels on the product’s IndieGoGo campaign) to hold onto them. Still, the Zmartframe Touch PC is a pretty cool idea that could make usable computers out of the old LCD and LED monitors you might have lying around.

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One of the worst parts of being in the hospital is having to stay in bed for constant monitoring – even having vital signs taken intermittently can be a nuisance. This wearable health monitor from Sotera Wireless lets patients go about their days without the hassle of being poked at and bothered by staff taking their vitals every hour. Just a little bulkier than a wristwatch, the ViSi Mobile Monitor straps onto the patient’s wrist easily for constant remote monitoring of their state of health.

The ViSi monitor constantly measures the patient’s heart rate, temperature, blood pressure and respiration rate – all without disturbing the patient in any way. The vital signs are sent wirelessly to the doctor’s or nurse’s smartphone, tablet or computer. The clinician can keep an eye on the patient’s state of health without ever disturbing the patient, and the patient can continue to move around more or less normally. Sotera Wireless has already gotten FDA approval to sell the ViSi monitor to hospitals, so patients should soon get to enjoy a newly-increased amount of mobility.

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When LG wants to prove a point, apparently the electronics company does it with a wicked sense of humor. They wanted to show off how realistic the picture is on their IPS monitors, so they went to an office building and replaced the floor of an elevator with nine of those monitors.

When a passenger stepped into the elevator, the lights flickered and speakers played sounds that indicated the elevator was breaking apart. The monitors on the floor then showed graphics that made it look like the floor panels were falling down into the elevator shaft. The elevator passengers, filmed by a hidden camera, were understandably (and hilariously) terrified. At least one tried to escape immediately, and we can’t say we would have reacted any differently.

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Interacting with someone via Skype can be a pretty lonely activity. You can see and hear the other person, but never really feel like they are right there with you. A team of researchers at Stanford University in California wants to use synchronized motion to put some personal interaction back into video chats. Their research revolves around motorized flat-screen computer monitors that move around in concert with the speaker’s own movements.

The researchers, working at Stanford’s Center for Design Research, attached motors to a monitor and programmed it to nod, shake side-to-side (as in “no”) and jostle about to signify laughing – all mirroring a user’s movements. A robotic arm is incorporated to reach out and make an attention-grabbing noise when necessary, the result of previous research which showed that humans respond strongly to an actual arm waving rather than a video of one and an actual real-time sound rather than a recording of one.

Overall, it may seem like useless science – but this technology actually has powerful implications for remote workers in the future. People who work from home or from geographically distant offices often suffer because they are treated as though they are not part of the team. Monitors which move as though they are using human gestures would help to make those remote workers seem more physically connected – especially if they are atop whole-body telepresence robots that allow users to “move” around in physical space just as if they were really there.

The post Dynamic Computer Monitors Let You Be in 2 Places at Once first appeared on Gajitz.

Keeping workers awake while they perform dangerous jobs like driving trucks or heavy machinery is a pretty major issue. Currently, many companies rely on the honor system or GPS tracking to ensure that workers in these jobs are taking appropriate rest breaks. But while tracking the location or travel times of trucks can tell bosses how often a worker is resting, these methods can’t reveal whether the driver got enough sleep the night before or is too tired to drive safely.

The SmartCap is a baseball cap that measures the wearer’s brainwaves to detect his level of alertness. Measurements are taken once per second by detecting electrical activity in the brain. The painless process is undetectable to the wearer and no special preparation of the head is needed before the hat goes on.

The data is passed on to a linked device such as a smartphone, letting the employee or his supervisor monitor alertness levels in real time. An integrated data card can be removed and plugged into a base station for charging or downloading data once the shift is over. By building up a database of an employee’s fatigue levels over time, supervisors can manage scheduling and ensure the safety of the human race – the segment that travels on highways, anyway.

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