PlayStation Eye Research - Auto Generated Avatars

via Gizmodo by Danny Allen

Sony Labs has demoed some advanced facial recognition that it's researching for the PlayStation Eye. The system figures-out gender, knows where you're facing, and even tracks mouth movement. And eventually, the tech will make its way into new PS3 games.

Sony Labs has been researching this technology for a while. I think most people are familiar with it from Smile Shutter in the Sony CyberShot, and autofocus with face detection. But now, we've migrated this technology to PS3, and made it available as an SDK.

Through its various points of detection, the system can recognize individual faces and overlay a different model for each person. And that's where things get a little more interesting.

BMW's Augmented Reality Glasses

via Gizmodo by Mark Wilson

If BMW's research labs have a say, future service staff will learn the intricacies of working on German cars through a pretty handy looking augmented reality interface.

Look beyond the cheesiness of the music, smug actor and his Oakley Thumps for a moment and actually examine the incredible practicality at work�highlighting/identifying parts of an engine and offering step by step instructions for completing complicated procedures.