vision

NEW ORLEANS--Sprint Nextel is preparing to bid adieu to the Nextel side of the business.

Sprint executives today ran through its Network Vision upgrade plan, which includes the decommissioning of its Nextel iDEN network. The company has already shut down 1,900 cellular sites and plans to turn off 9,600 sites by the end of the third quarter, Bob Azzi, senior vice president for networks at the company, said here today. The entire network will go dark by the middle of the second half of next year, he added.

By shutting down its Nextel network, Sprint can reuse the … Read more

Although Sprint has been playing catch up with its competitors in securing 4G LTE markets, internal documents imply that the mobile network may be further along in its quest than previously thought.

According to the technology news site TechnoBuffalo, which received the documents, it seems that Sprint's Network Vision campaign has been in progress in Akron, Ohio; Chicago; Fort Worth, Texas; Nashville; New York; Rialto, Calif.; and Stockton, Calif., since last year. This means that these markets could possibly be next on the list to get 4G LTE activation.

As computers and robots advance, more of the physical world will become "machine readable," whether by a security camera or a robotic car able to process information on the road.

Designer and filmmaker Timo Arnall last week created a video of machine vision footage that helps illustrate the point of view of these machines. The video is a montage of experiments to make machines "see" the human world and create some order around it.

In some scenes, the computer places a colored rectangle around cars and pedestrians to analyze parking-lot traffic or highway congestion. In others, they graphically track the movement of people in city streets, walking through buildings, or waiting in lines.

In a blog post, Arnall said he's captivated simply by the look of the videos, with their colored arrows and boxes superimposed on street corners and roadways. But it's also part of getting familiar with the perspective of robots. "It's something we need to develop understandings and approaches to," he wrote, "as we begin to design, build, and shape the senses of our new artificial companions." … Read more

Green Car Journal dubbed the Ford C-MAX Energi winner of the 2012 Green Car Vision Award yesterday at the Washington Auto Show. This is the second consecutive year Ford has won top honors; the Ford Focus Electric garnered the award last year.

The Ford C-MAX Energi, which will be available in late 2012, is built on the same global C-car platform as the Ford Focus and future Ford models, the automaker said.

The C-MAX Energi bested four other finalists, including the BMW i3, the Cadillac ELR, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell, and the Tesla Model S.

"The C-MAX Energi delivers … Read more

Green Car Journal announced five finalists for the publication's annual Green Car Vision Award. The award recognizes innovations in fuel efficiency, low emissions, alternative fuels, or electric power.

To be considered for the Green Car Vision Award, vehicles must be in demonstration on public highways today or nearing commercialization but not yet widely available to consumers, Green Car Journal said in a press release.

The five finalists include the BMW i3, the Cadillac ELR, the Ford's C-MAX Energi, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell, and the Tesla Model S.

The 2012 Green Car Vision Award winner will be announced at … Read more

Sprint Nextel is looking to get its 4G LTE rolled out sooner, rather than later.

Sprint plans to launch its 4G LTE service, part of its Network Vision upgrade plan, in 10 markets by the first half of the year. That includes major cities including Dallas (AT&T's headquarters), San Antonio, Houston, and Atlanta, CEO Dan Hesse said today during an investor conference. The event was Webcast.

The timing adds a little specificity to its 4G LTE plans. The company previously said it expects to launch the service by midsummer. Sprint, which has for years relied on Clearwire'… Read more

You can't do push-ups with your eyeballs, but doctors are discovering there are exercises that can make eyesight stronger.

Professional athletes spend countless hours improving their physical strength, speed, and agility. Now, thanks to new gadgets developed by Nike and optical science company Acuvue, high-performance professionals are working to better their vision without the need for surgery, glasses, or goggles. … Read more

I am always of two minds about knowing what my neighbors are doing behind their closed doors. I know it must be something weird.

Why, one of my neighbors sits in his car--which is running and parked outside my house--for hours on end watching videos. Of course, he's married.

So I (or at least a part of me) is grateful that I might soon have the opportunity to see straight through their walls and spy on what kinds of videos they watch at home. You see, extremely clever people at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory have come up with a … Read more

I reviewed the first version of Nvidia's 3D Vision technology more than two years ago. Since then, 3D has become synonymous with controversy. Whether it's higher movie ticket prices, 2D-to-3D conversions, or the home 3D TV dilemma, 3D definitely sparks interest.

According to Nvidia, the number of 3D-capable monitors increased by 112 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter in 2011 and the number of 3D notebooks increased by 126 percent in the same period. And with more than 550 3D games available on the PC. So, it would seem that at least hard-core gamers are taken with the tech.

The technology isn't perfect, though, and Nvidia seeks to improve the 3D experience in a couple of key ways with its new 3D Vision 2. … Read more