Digital street artist replaces car headlights with projectors

A video artist became the subject of a recent LG viral advertising campaign when he used the electronics manufacturer’s Minibeam projectors and a Mini car to stage a series of clever digital street installations. The artist, only known as Jaun, removed the headlights from the car and replaced them with the small, WiFi connected, 500g projection units.

The video shows Jaun opening up pools, complete with swimming sharks, in the road and synchronised swimmers performing on a zebra crossing.

Finally, Jaun jets off as the car appears to sprout wings and transform into a jet plane.

The applications are novel but projector powered headlights aren’t new. In April Mercedes-Benz displayed a concept car with headlights capable of beaming pictures of videos onto screens or other surfaces at the Shanghai motor show.

Casio Projectors Power Virtual Assistant

Communicating to the thousands of people streaming through a busy airport each day is a challenge. Airport staffs are shrinking and security inspectors compete with the sounds of other passengers, vendors, and more.

 

 

 

 

 

While waiting at an airport security checkpoint, you are verbally instructed by a woman to “please power down all electronics for screening purposes.” You glance over and notice the woman’s nametag reads “AVA.” She stands in front of the long, crowded line guiding everyone to ensure an efficient prescreening process. With a second glance you realize that she is not a real person at all, but an avatar.
Developed by Airus Media, AVA, also known as the Advanced Virtual Assistant, is a virtual mannequin predominantly used for communicating messages effectively in high volume areas such as airports and other mass transit locations.

Advanced Virtual Assistant,

AVA combines a discreet projector with a specially designed screen that has been cut to look like a live presenter. This virtual presenter engages visitors by speaking as a live presenter would. AVA is designed to enhance customer service and welcome centers by answering basic and routine questions asked by arriving visitors. Employees and security personnel are able to focus on more important things while the AVA makes announcements.

Arius Media chose Casio’s XJ-M250 projectors because they are LampFree and run on Casio’s LASER & LED Hybrid Light Source. This means lamps do not need to be replaced every few months, which typically cost almost as much as the original projector cost over one year. With the light source having an estimated lifespan of 20,000 hours, AVA can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Since AVA can be utilized for a number of applications outside of airports, Arius Media made sure details could be customizable. Customers can choose a male, female, cartoon or animal avatar, write the script and design the case structure to fit location needs. AVA can also be set with a motion sensor which will keep it in sleep mode until someone walks past.

Currently, five airports across the United States are equipped with AVA at security checkpoints and customer service areas including LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark International Airport in New Jersey, Northwest Florida Regional Airport in Florida and Long Beach Airport in California. Installation for each AVA unit took approximately two hours which includes both set-up and calibration.

source :http://www.avnetwork.com

Where’s the video in AVB?

AVB standards promise real-time, guaranteed delivery of AV signals across networks and it’s got the pro AV industry talking. But, with developments heavily focused on the audio side Anna Mitchell asks where’s the video?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For many applications Audio Video Bridging (AVB) standards represent an incredibly attractive networking option. However, whilst AVB enabled products are starting to be released on the audio side, video developments seem rather more elusive.

 

Limited bandwidths in Ethernet networks have long been considered a barrier but with the landscape changing could we soon see certified video bridges and end points in the industry and what affect will this have on professional AV?

 

“We at Riedel believe that Audio Video Bridging (AVB) will [become an established] standard in the broadcast and pro audio world,” begins Henning Kaltheuner, head of product management at Riedel.

 

“AVB has a couple of important characteristics that sets it apart from more general video-over-IP network protocols,” says Jan Eveleens, CEO of broadcast equipment vendor, Axon Digital. “It supports guaranteed low latency, guaranteed delivery and it is asynchronous.

 

“But there are also applications where these requirements are not needed,” he continues. “Then AVB is perhaps not the right technology. It’s not going to replace all video-over-IP applications.

 

According to Rick Kreifeldt, vice president of research and innovation at Harman International and chariman of the AVnu Alliance, video developments have been running concurrently with audio, just not always in the professional AV space.

 

“From the silicon side there has been early development in video. Automotive is a big application area for AVB and, from Harman’s perspective, we included video from the get-go in our automotive system.

 

“So the good news for those operating in the professional space is there are high volume applications that require video on the AVB side. That’s helped with silicon development that can be used in professional applications.

 

At this year’s InfoComm Barco nudged the prospect one step further, using prototype equipment to demonstrate a basic distribution scenario on the show floor in Orlando, USA.

 

Read the full article in InAVate Active.

LCD TVs using LED backlighting will top 90%

With LED backlighting technology approaching the saturation point in the LCD display market, LED suppliers are turning their attention to the new growth opportunity in the fast-expanding lighting segment.

The proportion of LCD TV panels that use LEDs for backlighting is set to reach 90 percent in 2013, according to the new report entitled “Q3 2013 GaN LED Supply and Demand” from IHS. Of a total of 231 million LCD TV panels forecast to be shipped during 2013, 207 will use LED backlighting, with the remainder utilizing the older cold-cathode fluorescent lamp technology.

This marks the end of a boom time that started in 2009, when the LED penetration of the LCD TV panel market was only 3 percent before climbing rapidly to 24 percent in 2010, to 38 percent in 2011 and to 71 percent in 2012. By 2016, LED penetration will rise to 100 percent of the total LCD TV panel market.

Sharp Corp. of Japan is the only panel supplier with 100 percent of its LCD TV panel manufacturing using LED backlighting in 2013. South Korea’s Samsung and LG are not far behind, with the two companies set to attain more than 95 percent LED usage in their LCD TV panels by the end of this year.

Because there is little growth opportunity left in the LCD TV backlighting market, LED makers are redirecting their efforts to the lighting business.

“LED suppliers that are focused on lighting are predicted to gain market share,” said Jamie Fox, principal analyst for LEDs at IHS. “Some of the companies that have a large market share in LED backlighting, such as Seoul Semiconductor and Samsung, have already managed to shift much of their business to lighting and have done very well in this area, winning market share in recent years.”

By the end of 2015, monitors are predicted to join the applications in reaching 100% LED usage.

The combined market for LED backlighting in all these applications has already gone into decline—even before 100 percent penetration has been reached.

This is driven by a number of factors. One is the reduction in the number of LEDs needed per panel. Another reason shipments are slowing is the increasing usage of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, which do not require LED backlighting.

Meanwhile, prices are declining for LEDs, impacting revenue growth in backlighting applications.

Samsung harnesses solar power to deliver telemedicine in Africa

Solar-powered videoconferencing will be used to deliver healthcare to remote African communities as part of Samsung Electronics’ Digital Villages initiative. The programme, launched at the end of October in Johannesburg, South Africa, aims to harness solar power to integrate African communities’ hospitals, schools, lighting systems and energy infrastructure.

 

Samsung hopes Digital Villages will “improve health standards, bolster education opportunities and increase the potential for people to lead economically independent lives”.

Solar-powered Tele-Medical Centres are designed to bring the expertise of skilled medical personnel to outlying rural areas of certain regions of Africa.

It is constructed as a movable container to provide rural residents with convenient access to medical services. Videoconference facilities built into the centre connect patients being treated in remote regions with general hospitals in cities so diagnosis and prescription advice can be shared in real-time. The centre also features a database and server access for the management of patient data.

The Digital Village also comprises a solar-powered Health Centre, Internet School, generator and LED lighting systems.

Samsung has also committed to building police and postal offices inside the premises of the Digital Villages, and using satellite communications.

The electronics company plans to build Digital Villages in three countries this year, beginning in South Africa and moving on to include Ethiopia and Gabon by the end of this year. Plans to expand the Digital Villages to local communities in more remote areas in co-operation with governments and international organizations are already underway.

Zwelethu Madasa, clerk of the Pan African Parliament, said: “Quality Education and Health are the two most critical challenges our many countries are faced with.  The Digital Village is an a plausible African solution to this challenge.”

Hong SungYong, head of Samsung Electronics Africa headquarters, added: “We will work together with governments and international organisations to ensure that the potential of these Digital Villages is fully realised. We will deliver better education opportunities, greater medical access and improved economic self-sufficiency for people in Africa.”

Eyevis develops 90″ LCD-displays

Eyevis has developed the new 90″ display type EYE-LCD-9000-LD for the control and conference room section as well as digital signage.

Through its optional touch surface the display enables interactivity with the observer, and it also features slim installation depths and narrow casing that is available in various colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 
It boasts full HD resolution with 1920 x 1080 pixels and direct LED rear projection, and connections for DVI-, HDMI-, VGA-, S-Video- and C-Video-signals. The unit also features a non-reflecting surface, colour temperature adjustment, slight display response time of 6 ms and a high viewing angle in the vertical and horizontal direction for added versatility.

 

 

Africa :Govt Meetings Via Video Link a Step in the Right Direction

Last week, Rwandas local government officials from all the 30 districts interacted with the Minister for Local Government and Social Affairs via a video conferencing technology that streamed across the country.

This was the inaugural central-local government meeting via video link technology, a platform that will now be the new way of conducting meetings between officials at different levels across the country. The first meeting was a success and local leaders hailed it as a milestone, saying it will spare them the burden of making trips to and from Kigali for meetings.

Interaction between the central and local governments is a crucial aspect in monitoring, coordination and fast-tracking of development programs.

Video conferencing, enabled by the availability of the ICT backbone in the form of the fiber optic cable in the country, is a breakaway from the traditional conference hall meetings, which are time consuming and expensive.

In the past it would require a lot of resources to organize such meetings in terms of hiring a conference venue, paying allowances for delegates from upcountry and booking them in hotels. This would cost the government millions of francs on organizing a single meeting.

With the new arrangement, however, government will save time and money it used to spend on such otherwise important meetings. Video conferencing will make meetings easier to arrange, overcoming some of the difficulties of getting local leaders from different places across the country to attend meetings in Kigali.

This approach is a step in the right direction and leaders at all levels should support and promote it. This initiative is the new way of conducting government business in the modern world. Other players, including the civil society, private sector and the academia should borrow a leaf.

 

Source : http://allafrica.com/stories/201310220133.html?aa_source=useful-column