Motion sensor

Recent advances made in the automotive world have found an unlikely application: a new high-performance portable lantern called the CampLight Pro. And it’s such a cool bit of kit that it could change the way we light the outside of our homes too.

Wi-Fi security usually means keeping virtual intruders out, but a new system claims to use Wi-Fi networks to detect physical intruders. Gamgee’s Wi-Fi Home Alarm System can learn to recognize people who belong there and alert you to strangers.

Late last year, Sony launched a mobile motion-capture system in Japan that worked with a companion app to create a VR avatar for such things as gaming or chat. Now the Mocopi system is up for pre-order in the US.

Although there are various systems that detect quadriplegics' head movements, most such setups are limited to the control of wheelchairs. Such is not the case, however, with the MagTrack system.

German startup the Instruments of Things wants to turn your movement into music with the SOMI-1, wireless motion-tracking sensors that send data to a hub connected to a smartphone running an app, which translates your moves into sounds or effects.

We've seen a number of LED turn indicators for bicycles, almost all of which are activated by a handlebar-mounted remote. The hands-free Bigo is different, however, in that it's triggered by a tilt of the head.

Even when they're allowed to roam, chickens are still susceptible to infestations of blood-sucking mites. It now turns out that a backpack-like device could let farmers know when those mites are biting, so treatment could begin as soon as possible.

Glamos is a tiny device that uses LIDAR technology to project a kind of virtual touchscreen anywhere one is needed, turning TVs and projectors into giant motion-controlled displays that you don’t need to actually touch.

VR has aced movement of the hands and head, but it’s still tricky to track the feet. Now games hardware company Kat is crowdfunding the Kat Loco, a set of three sensors that attach to a player’s feet and hip to translate movements in the real world into walking, running or strafing in the game.

​It was seven years ago that we first heard about the motion detector-equipped Smartrod, which sounds an alarm when a fish hits the lure. Well, its inventor is now back on our radar, with a spinning reel that alerts anglers via their smartphone.

Not only do firefighters have dangerous jobs, but they often work in dark, smoke-filled environments where they'd be difficult to find if they ran into trouble. A new motion-powered wearable sensor could make all the difference in such situations.

One of the prevailing features of the NGV's Triennial spectacle is just how deeply technology is infiltrating the world of art, from gorgeous 3D-printed death masks to an overwhelming room-scale installation that incorporates projections with movement sensors.