My Home Can Now Talk To Me

For about a year I have had my eyes on a small device called The Ubi.  Essentially The Ubi is promised to be a computer without a computer.  The device can do such things like setting alarms, notification of temperature, connecting calls, sending text messages, and even controlling home automation devices.  However what is really cool is the fact that The Ubi can (from what I assume) Google different questions that the device is asked.  For example, if I ask the device “What is 2 plus 2?”  The device will respond with the correct answer.  Or if I ask the device “How did George Washington die?”  The device will respond with the correct answer.

Some of you may be thinking, doesn’t your Denise program do the same things?  In short, yes.  However the difference between these two devices are that A.) The device can be used without having the computer on 24/7.  B.)  Can connect with my phone to call or text people from my contact list.  Other than that, that is where the majority of  the differences end.

My Ubi is already on its way to my home and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. 

This was the initial video I saw when I first learned about The Ubi.  Apparently this video was featured during their Kickstarter campaign.

Doing Something Entirely New And Cool

I have decided that I was going to make the leap and do something totally new for me.  I admit, this so up my alley it gets me so excited that I can hardly contain myself.  I have come across something called Ubi Displays.  This is not to be confused with the Ubiquitous computer also named The Ubi, this is completely different.

Ubi Displays will literally make any surface you want an interactive touch screen.  However the best part is, it only requires a Microsoft Kinect, a projector, and a computer.  I looked into it and it seems fairly simple to do.  I already own a Microsoft Kinect from my old Xbox 360.  In fact, I recently parted ways with it however I was smart enough to keep the Kinect itself.  The only piece of hardware I seemed missing was the projector.  Once I learned how to set this up I grew impatient and decided that I would try and set it up even though I do not own a projector as of this moment. 

That was when I ran into my first issue.  It appears as if the Kinect needs a power supply and adaptor to plug into the computer.  This was actually something that I was unaware of since it plugged directly into the Xbox 360.  I did not know that the Kinect connection, (which looks like a regular USB) was proprietary.  Not only that, the device was not powered by the "USB" even if I bought an adapter to connect it to the PC.  Damn, and I was hoping that the connecting wire would power it, it would make everything so much more simple.  While my hopes of the "USB" powering the devices didn’t pan out, I acknowledged that I was being forced to purchase a power supply and adaptor for the Kinect through Amazon.  Luckily, I found a wire with both a power supply cord and a "USB" connection for less than $10.  So unfortunately, I am forced to play the waiting game.  However I cannot stop thinking of what cool things I can do with this. Here is a small demo of how it works.



Here is another video of two guys making a two-sided Ubi Display. Very cool and very impressive!



I will keep you all informed of when I begin this project and what becomes of it.