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BUG 2.0 platform adds support for Android

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 04:30 AM PST


If you’re interested in getting into mobile development, you should probably check out Bug Labs. Their BUG system is a modular collection of snap-together components to rapidly prototype a new mobile device. The BUGbase is the backbone — think of it like the mainboard of a traditional PC — into which you can connect a GPS, touchscreen, accelerometer, etc. It runs Linux, and is programmed with Java. At Mobile World Congress today Bug Labs is making the big announcement of version 2 of their product, which supports Android. You can port existing Android apps to run on the BUG hardware, as well as develop new Android apps.

Bug Labs unveils BUG 2.0 platform, adds support for Android and OMAP™ 3 platform from Texas Instruments

New BUG 2.0 brings open hardware movement to rapidly expanding developer communities

New York City and Barcelona – Feb 15, 2010 – Bug Labs, the award-winning open hardware development platform for prototyping and deploying next-generation electronics devices, unveiled at the Mobile World Congress today its second-generation hardware system, BUG 2.0.

The new version of the BUGBase product is based on the OMAP™ 3 platform from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) and also supports the popular BeagleBoard by seamlessly running all applications written for that device. BUG 2.0 also adds support for Android, allowing developers to port current Android apps to the BUG as well as create new apps that utilize BUG's modules to create new Android-based hardware applications.

"We are very excited that the next generation of BUG devices support TI platforms and even more excited to see the hardware innovations that will come from developers, given a new vehicle to quickly and affordably bring their visions to life," said Russell Crane, high-performance ARM marketing manager, TI.

Bug Labs has a presence at the Mobile World Congress along with its business collaborator Accenture, where they are jointly demonstrating next-generation mobility applications in the fields of health care monitoring, vehicle fleet tracking, and home automation. 

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.  Its global mobility business, Accenture Mobility Operated Services, which is working with Bug Labs, helps enterprises develop and deploy new, revenue-generating mobile applications to their customers.   The Accenture business group offers a mobile "services store" that includes the design, delivery and management of a broad portfolio of vertical mobility applications using Accenture's proven platform for mobile applications. 

 "The BUG components and platform helps enable our developers bring revolutionary ideas to market in a fraction of the time that it takes for standard prototyping," said Fabio Mungo, chief technology officer, Accenture Mobility Operated Services.  "We are demonstrating just a few of the devices that we have in development together, with many more innovative embedded mobile services on the horizon."

With Bug 2.0, OMAP 3 users will now be able to take advantage of Bug Labs' unique collection of BUGmodules to explore new application categories. This second generation platform now brings more power, more compatibility and more support for individuals and companies who are conceptualizing, prototyping, testing, and building wireless, networked and headless devices.

"We've seen tremendous interest and excitement around BUG since our product launched two years ago," said Peter Semmelhack, Founder and CEO of Bug Labs. "We've spent a lot of time learning from our community and our customers, and have designed our second generation product to meet their growing needs. BUG is now a part of the growing OMAP community supporting open development, and TI has been a pioneer in open source hardware."

The company also announced support for the Android platform. This is a leap forward for both Bug Labs and Android, as it brings a wide developer community into the open hardware movement. Current Android applications can be ported directly to the BUG hardware, giving developers a new platform to expand on these apps and add significant functionality through open hardware. Further, Android developers can now build devices that span far beyond typical consumer-focused needs, such as in the healthcare, M2M and telematics industries.

BUG is comprised of a unique modular hardware system, integrated web services and related applications that help companies prototype, build, test and deploy new, custom wireless devices at fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods.

About Bug Labs
BUG is comprised of small, functional BUGmodules, such as cameras, LCDs, GPS, audio, accelerometers, olfactory sensors and more. Users snap together the modules they want to a palm-sized CPU base with a bit of programming, they can build virtually any device they want. Consumers use BUG to build innovative one-off devices for everyday use, while entrepreneurs and enterprises can use it to prototype a game-changing device in half the time and at half the cost of traditional development. Each BUGmodule is also web addressable, allowing for an endless array of cloud devices and applications. To learn more visit www.buglabs.net.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Bug Labs for Businesses: www.buglabs.net/biz
Bug Labs at Mobile World Congress: www.buglabs.net/MWC


Panasonic’s portable neck and leg massagers

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 04:00 AM PST

Panasonic Japan has announced [JP] two devices of a very different kind today: A massage device for your neck and one for your legs.  Both massagers are primarily targeted at women and marketed by Panasonic as “compact and portable”.

The neck massage device is cordless and weighing just 48g, it allows you to walk around in your house or office while you use it. It’s powered by CR2032 button cell batteries and offers four “massage programs” that you can choose from.

Walking around with the leg massager is obviously a little difficult, but it’s pretty compact (size: 20.3×51.8×1.5cm, weight: 450g), too. It’s not battery-powered though (you’ll need an AC adapter).

Both devices are Japan-only at this point. The neck massager will be released in Japan on March 1 (price: $80), while the device for the legs will go on sale March 15 (price: $170). If you’re interested but live outside Japan, I suggest to contact import/export specialist Geek Stuff 4U.

World’s first 4-port USB 3.0 port is here

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 12:21 AM PST

USB 3.0 is poised to become mainstream soon, and more and more compatible devices have been cropping up in the last few months. Today computer equipment maker Buffalo in Japan has announced [JP] what it claims to be the world’s first 4-port USB 3.0. This comes five weeks after VIA (based out of Taiwan) has unveiled the first USB 3.0 hub controller in the industry.

The BSH4A03U3 will be available in white and black. It will work with Windows XP, 7, Vista and Mac OS X 10.4. Buffalo says the port is backwards compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0, promising a (theoretical) data transfer speed of up to 5Gbps for 3.0. The 58g-device can operate as both a bus powered or self powered hub.

The new port will hit Japanese stores in the middle of next month for $88 (including an AC adapter). Buffalo sells hardware outside Japan, too, so expect the port to go on sale outside this country some day as well.

CrunchGear Week in Review: Snow Defense Edition

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 12:00 AM PST

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 06:36 PM PST

Happy Valentine’s Day, gentle reader. I hope you did something nice today and, barring that, I hope you enjoyed your day as much as the 4chan folks who sent in their V-day pictures did.

Yes, that is a Tenga in the middle.

Click image to embiggen.

Video: First hands-on with the Notion Ink Adam

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST


We’ve been looking forward to the Adam for a while now, and some of us think it may actually be a contender against the iPad. Personally, I’m not entirely convinced yet, since I think Android is the wrong OS for a tablet device, but with some custom software on there, this thing really looks like it could kick some butt. The first hands-on goes to Technoholik, where they’ve put up video of a brief demo. I have to say, I hope Pixel Qi screens catch on, because it’s a way better choice for a device like this than a straightforward LCD.

The hot-pants device aspect (i.e. controls on the back) is intriguing, but I wonder how practical it is. If you’re more comfortable controlling with your right hand, for instance, you’re going to be out of luck. And of course the limitations of a soft keyboard remain. But that swivel camera, the ports, all that stuff — much more promising than the iPad’s extremely limited hardware.

They’ve also helpfully put the specs into a comparison chart:

[via Gizmodo]

Video: Spy + Pyro = ???

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 03:20 PM PST


Forgive me, I’m back on TF2 after a short stint playing Borderlands and Dead Space. (the latter is super lame, btw) But this cartoon is not only absolutely genius, it’s also very appropriate as today’s Valentine’s Day. Trust me, stick with the video until the end. It will certainly bring a smile to your face — or at least it should.

Sony Ericsson keeps ‘em coming with Xperia X10 mini and X10 mini pro

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 02:58 PM PST

More Android handsets are on the way from Sony Ericsson as the handset manufacturer just announced smaller versions of the Xperia X10: the X10 mini and X10 mini pro. Clever names, right? These handsets are quite sexy, if I say so myself, and the pro version has the nice addition of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Like the bigger X10, these feature SE’s custom UX platform over Android, which includes Timescape for aggregating all your content to one place. But enough about me yapping over these handsets; I’ll step aside and let you experience them for yourself. Hit the break for the full release and some videos.

Read the rest of this entry at MobileCrunch>>

28 billion zombies killed. And they’re still coming!

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST

Left 4 Dead 2 was released on November 17th, 2009. Since then, 28,981,249,043 zombies have met cruel and unusual, along with plenty of mundane and unimaginative fates at the hands of gamers everywhere. Now I love zombie killing, but 28 billion? Let’s put that into perspective a bit.





  • Approximately 3855.5 zombies were being killed per second
  • If each zombie killed was worth $1, it would still only be 1/20th of the US military budget for 2010
  • If a band sold an album for each zombie killed, they would have sold 1000 times more copies than Michael Jackson’s Thriller

And my personal favorite from the L4D blog:

  • If you placed 28,981,249,043 rulers end to end, they would reach 28,981,249,043 feet in the sky

Thank you, Valve.

Sony Ericsson announces Vivaz pro at Mobile World Congress

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 12:47 PM PST

While you love birds are busy being smitten on a lazy Sunday, Sony Ericsson is busy dishing out new goods from Barcelona, Spain. Mobile World Congress is sure to bring some interesting news in the mobile space this week, and SE is kicking things off with the pro version of the Vivaz. What makes it “pro,” you ask? Well, it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for starters.

Read the rest of this entry at MobileCrunch>>

Virtual guitar pedalboard interface

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 12:40 PM PST

If you have a friend who is a “serious” guitarist, you probably know how they love to show off their pedal collection. A dizzying array of brightly colored metal housings that more often than not, they don’t know exactly how they all work. Dave Verlee from the University of Illinois has cooked up a really cool virtual pedalboard using a wiimote and custom “toe-mouse.”

Video after the jump.

This device uses Johnny Lee’s wiimote project to act as the control surface for a laptop running Guitar Rig software, a pedal / amp emulator. I imagine it feels like using a SMARTboard with your feet. It’s a really cool concept with a lot of application potential. Still can’t beat that analog feel of stomping a real pedal though.

[Nowhereelse]

Samsung makes the Wave with Bada official

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 11:45 AM PST

After being teased with a washed out banner image, leaked images on the Internet and stealthy screen shots of its gorgeous AMOLED screen, the Samsung S8500, or Wave, has finally become official.

Read the rest of this entry at MobileCrunch>>
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