Innovation Zone - Recent Threads

Acoustic Barcodes - Technology waiting for a purpose?

Sunny Li — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:08:01 GMT

http://gizmodo.com/5951490/acoustic-barcodes-are-music-to-your-phones-ears

DNA Storage: 700 Terabytes per gram

Adrian Stagg — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:19:27 GMT

Pretty interesting:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/134672-harvard-cracks-dna-storage-crams-700-terabytes-of-data-into-a-single-gram

Sensordrone

Lee Hunt — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:45:33 GMT

Whilst browsing last night I stumbled across an interesting Kickstarter project: meet Sensordrone.

I'm really interested in this as it takes the little project I started working on and expands it in a much bigger way.
Here's a list of sensors included:

Precision Electrochemical Gas Sensor - Calibrated for Carbon Monoxide (Also can be used for precision measurements of Alcohol, Hydrogen, and others)
Gas Sensor for Oxidizing Gases - MOS type for Chlorine, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, etc.
Gas Sensor for Reducing Gases - (MOS type for methane, Propane, alcohols, other hydrocarbons, etc.)
Temperature - Simple resistance temperature sensor type
Humidity
Pressure - can be used for Barometer, Altimeter, Blood Pressure, etc.
Non-Contact Thermometer - Infrared sensor for scanning object temperature
Proximity Capacitance - fluid level, intrusion detection, stud finder & more applications
Red Color Intensity
Green Color Intensity
Blue Color Intensity
Illumination - combine RGB & illumination for color matching
Digital & Analog Interface - Expansion connector for connecting anything you want to your mobile device through the Sensordrone

...and as the software is Open Source, porting it to Windows Embedded Handheld or Windows CE shouldn't be too hard either.

It would be a great little integration project for the Omnii - maybe a few of us should club together and do it?

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Imagining the future with Brunel University's Industrial Design students

Mark Fountain — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:59:39 GMT

Recently we (Psion's Industrial Design team) have been working with a team of students from Brunel University's Industrial Design department imagining the future of the Psion brand in 2021. We have been putting together a series of 3 webisodes to showcase their journey from understanding the brand, exploring their ideas and then conceptualising future possibilities.

The full details of the project and the first webisode can be found on IW here.

As an Industrial Designer myself, this has been a fascinating project to work on and I'm really looking forward to seeing their concepts presented at their show, 'Made In Brunel' this week.

It would be great to hear what people's thoughts are about this project, working with universities, your ideas on Psion in 2021 or any other thoughts you have!

Modules for the Omnii family

Lee Hunt — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:22:34 GMT

I've been thinking about developing a module for the Omnii family for a while now. The idea started as a flashlight end cap way back when we first launched XT10, this has been much talked about since by others but as far as I'm aware, nobody actually did it. I thought of other modules too, like a temperature sensing probe for use in cold chain to check core temperatures of boxes but I think there is something better and I'm going to actually do it this time!

There is a great amount of activity online around the Arduino open source prototyping platform and a lot of projects based on it. I am going to use Arduino as "middleware". This should give me access to manuy useful open source projects that already exist and with some small changes I plan to make Omnii the output device.

Some really good projects I've seen using Arduino that would be interesting to play with include a number that are healthcare related like the Pulse Oximeter, environmental sensors like a geiger counter and various temperature and humidity sensors. There are so many projects out there that it just makes sense to have a go at doing this in my spare time.

So, I'll be starting this project on IngenuityWorking and no doubt I'm going to be after some help along the way! Electrical engineering is not my day job so I hope to show that creating something for our devices isn't too hard to do when you have the community... we provide all the HDK documentation publicly and I'm only going to use whats available to me through this community. I'm not going to cheat by going to see our electrical engineers around the office!

Ultimately I hope this crowdsourced solution opens the door to a bunch of quick customizations to the Omnii platform!

I will be looking at my options this week but my first impressions are pointing me towards the Arduino Pro Mini as the PCB of choice.

NEW IKÔN PROJECT WITH IKÔN. FIRE EQUIPMENT REVIEW.

Roberto Rodrigo Palacios — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:33:54 GMT

Our Partner Sico has developed a system for monitoring and review of the material that necessarily have to carry the fire trucks and checking the status of some of these. It also helps to control inventory in warehouses.

The equipment used are Ikôn Psion them to communicate with RFID reader and a pencil to communicate through a voice system "Push to Talk".

The system is already working on some fire stations with total success and Asturias.

Este ambicioso proyecto ya está teniendo una gran demanda e interés. It is possible that in other countries there is also this need, if so contact me.

This ambitious project is already in high demand and interest.

In the next post i'm going to include brochure with larger explanation about the system

LF readers and livestock tracking solutions

Sebastien Michon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:22:57 GMT

Coppernic has developped new solutions dedicated to livestock tracking market integrating an Agrident module (ABR105) into the Ikon and the Neo.

It allow us to propose LF reader with WWAN for exemple. In fact you can have all the standard options of the Ikon and the Neo with Agrident LF module.

Our devices have integrated antennas and connectors if you need an external antenna.

Here is the Orion solution :

Here is the Naos solution with telescopic antenna :

Feel free to contact me for more information : sebastien.michon@coppernic.fr

VMT Security Accessories

Stephanie Blatnicky — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:58:21 GMT

I had a customer ask me today about a way to secure an 8515 to a forklift. Something that would prevent a user from removing the terminal from the lift. Has anyone been asked for something like this before? Any suggestions?

Adding a video snake to our handheld

Ron Mercer — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:38:38 GMT

I'm not a sales person so I don't know how big the market is, but adding a video snake to one of our handhelds would be such a fun project to work on!

http://www.sinoskywholesale.com/usb-snake-scope-video-inspection-borescope-camera-p-448.html

Omnii Modules Project #1 - Temperature/Pressure/Humidity Sensor (Altimeter)

Lee Hunt — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 02:56:09 GMT

This thread will document progress on the Temperature / Pressure and Humidity sensor module for the Omnii XT10 that I'm currently developing. It was spawned from an initial discussion here about possible modules for the Omnii family.

I am planning on purchasing the following sensors for this little project:

HH10D Humidity Sensor.

BMP085 - Barometric Pressure Sensor. This little guy has a bonus in store too as it also does temperature (which means I get two for one!).

Once I get them, a little code on the Arduino and a simple .NET app and we'll be flying (well, John I can write the altimeter app anyway ).

Watch this space.

Adding Fuel to the Fire...

Todd Boone — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:52:16 GMT

Although there have been a number of great developments incorporating our OSM strategy, it's should be no surprise that we want even more. I believe that there is a ton of untapped potential in the market - basically technologies for specific applications looking for a computing platform to run on top of.

In addition to the great partner-developed solutions in IngenuityLive!, you've probably also seen the developments on top of the Omnii by Lee Hunt in this forum. Sure he's having some fun, but there is a very real aspect to his work in that it showcases the ease of developing hardware on top of Psion devices. But, is there more that could be done to make it easier? There are lots of ideas swirling around within Psion about what we can do to better support those looking to develop technologies on top of our platform. Some focus on more / better documentation? Or standard, over-sized end-caps? Maybe a new wider, thicker back cover? Perhaps improvements to the HDK? Or, in the spirit of Open Source, an Arduino interface board?

What do you need that would make your development tasks easier?

The Future of Psion

dt08llg1 — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:59:11 GMT

Dear All,

Myself and some fellow peers are doing a study on Psion and what Psion will be in the next 10 years. We thought it would be a missed opportunity to not take advantage of ingenuity working and would like to ask you, Psion's consumers and partners about what you think?...

(Please feel free to answer as many questions as possible)

1. What markets do you think Psion could expand into in the future?

2. Where do you envisage using Psion in the future?

3. How do you think ingenuity working could be developed to stay a step ahead of competitors?

Thank you in advance for you contributions.

Luke

Freescale meets the electric guitar

Mark V — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:49:42 GMT

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhSo-udHuqM

Now see how he did it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI7nvLrYxc4 (I skipped over most of the math!)

I like the comment under the second video.

Omnii new features via the ST4000 Snap Module (docking connector) (Open Source Mobility --> Customization)

Brian Jay — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:54:34 GMT

The Omnii Snap Modules (ST4000, ST4001, ST4005) provide charging and power for Omnii handhelds via the Omnii 20 pin docking connector.

The ST4000 "power only" Snap Module has room for a new design of circuit board to add features like:

RFID
USB to Ethernet
Sensors

The details of the circuit board design and connector specifications are included in the Omnii HDK documentation.

Do our partners know that Open Source Mobility includes the potential to customize the Snap Modules? Has anyone proposed a "bottomside" application using a modified Snap Module?

The project Lee should be doing:

Bob Stratton — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:49:24 GMT

This is what Lee should be doing instead of the geiger counter

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0023783

Lee: I’ll contribute the $80 if you want to do the project.

DIY DNA Genomics

Lee Hunt — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:33:43 GMT

Genome at Home: Biohackers Build Their Own Labs:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/08/mf_diylab/

Using Pico-Projectors

Jordan Varley — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:05:56 GMT

Pico-projectors are an emerging technology that enables small mobile devices to provide large screen displays that can be viewed on any surface. They are, as the name implies, a small projector which can fit into the form factor of today's mobile devices.

As most mobile devices now have sufficient storage capacity to handle presentation materials but little space to accommodate an attached display screen they are more commonly being used in compact portable devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and digital cameras.

Some examples of usage from the consumer world are :

Projectors in consumer cameras to show images and videos on a wall, say at a party!

(Please visit the site to view this video)

A projector in a smart phone can come in handy at an impromptu meeting!

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Projection onto a windshield can be used as a Heads Up Display

(Please visit the site to view this video)

As the power and size requirements for pico-projectors are getting to the point where it could be feasible to embed them into a mobile terminal. Do you see many use cases for this type of technology? It could be viewing a large document by projecting it onto a wall or table, or anything else you can think of!

We're excited to hear the community's response, thoughts and ideas on this topic!

Effect of water and humidity on the use of our devices

Coby Segall — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:12:50 GMT

Hello everyone,

I wanted to get some input from people using Psion equipment in the field as to the effect of water and humidity on our devices.

Where do you see water and humidity impacting us in a negative way?

Coby

Retail Apps

John Wolf — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:36:56 GMT

Hello,

We are talking with a company that has convenience stores throught the US & Canada. They would like to provide their store managers with a handheld device that will not only help them to do inventory counts and manage the inventory but help their managers be more efecient. That is they want to use the handheld for other applications, like maintaining the database for food items, bathroom maintenance and customer loyalty programs, possibly using RFID tags. Has anyone worked with a company or has any idea how they could use the handheld for other appliactions that you could share with us?

Augmented Reality in our mobile device?

asoulier — Fri, 13 May 2011 10:28:46 GMT

Hi,

We have products with GPS, Camera and a 3G/WiFi connection, is it possible to integrate "augmented reality" in our mobile device?

I think it can be very useful in several areas and it can be a differenciate element in the future on our market.

I think our clients like Clear Channel in mobility for maintenance, logistics customers to implementation of products ...

It's just an idea...Why not with Android applications in the future?

Adrien

Tricorder competition

Greg Smyth — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:25:35 GMT

X-Prize foundation and Qualcomm have teamed up to offer a prize for someone developing a mobile medical device. Like the tricorder used in Star Trek. With the modular connections of the Omnii platform, someone could use our base and create the module which connects to it to develop a device to get this prize.

I'm disapointed in how much our society does not yet look like Star Trek. We already have the tablet devices they carried around (clearly the hardest part). Now we just need the tricorders and star ships.

PR below:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/x-prize-foundation-qualcomm-join-forces-develop-competition-enhance-integrated-digital-1512263.htm

Integrating a USB key into NEO Back Pack

Pierre Bonnefoy — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:31:08 GMT

USB keys for PC are very popular (and cheap!)

Would you consider interesting to integrate a USB key into the NEO Back Pack ?

There is a USB interface available on the expansion connector, and we can find several options:

- 3G radio

- RFID

- Extra memory

The driver aspect needs to be consider: auto detection for WWAN radio, virtual serial com port emulation, or need to get a Win CE driver.

There is an environmental aspect to consider too (quality, drop tests, vibrations...)

Any comments ?

Pierre

A Torch in a device? What a bright idea....

Gareth Davies — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:00:18 GMT

One of our key markets is "Utilities" and I have been asked on a number of occasions by end users if we have the ability to integrate a torch into our handheld(s)? The need is driven by the user often working in poorly lit environments and they often rely on the brightness of the screen as a means of reading a mete for example. Could we integrate a LED based torch into a device? What would be in the implications of doing so?

Interesting and innovative solution of "Pick And Go"

Edoardo Rovatti — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:09:08 GMT

I don't know if many of you may already know this solution but to me it resulted innovative and very interesting.

This solution is made to coordinate the movement of the Voice/Speech guided operators and and the automatized forklift.

The picker do not have to drive the trolley which follow the user on his picking operations. The trolley automatilally positions on the right location and always and at the right level so that the user have to do the minimum effort in moving the material from the picking location to the forklift.

Also when the pallet is considered full or the order is concluded (in case of order picking) then the foklift automatically bring the pallet to his destination zone and a new forklift with an empty pallet is sent to the user location. The just seamless keep working.

This is made coordinating the messages sent by the WMS to the Voice terminal weared by the user and to the forklift Software. In Psion we already fully know the Vocollect Voice part we just need to investigate moere deeply this automatizad forklift software.

The video is quite illustrative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn7HOIPjExk

the company I found is the Kollmorgen: http://www.ndcsuite.com/pick-n-go/#/home

Diagnostic Tools

Coby Segall — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:07:17 GMT

In many cases, field workers need to carry diagnostic tools along side their Psion terminal. This could include a multi-meter, temperature sensor, inspection camera, etc.

What other diagnostic tools are used along side our terminals and what information are they providing?

We look forward to hearing your inputs