I'll welcome Intel back the day they add hardware transform and lighting to their graphics line. Seriously folks, vertex processing has been on NVIDIA and ATI GPUs since the Geforce 256, yet Intel is still running *ALL* vertex processing in software.
Perhaps the addition of a discrete line of cards will force them to reconsider hardware T&L for their integrated solutions. Once the Media Accelerator 9XX (or its successor) include hardware vertex processing, my interest will be piqued.
I know this is a little bit off subject, but in the interest of DIY you could build your own. I've been using Sharp's OEM IR sensors to good effect in my indoor lighting projects. They're basically a frequency modulated IR beam emitted from the sensor, coupled with an IR sensor configured to detect only the frequency of the emitter. The devices output a voltage which is proportional to the distance detected. If you know how to program a microcontroller, you could program your own object detection algorithm which would likely trump most of the commercial devices out there.
Anyway, my two cents. I'm using the shorter range versions of the sensor for my lighting design (http://www.designeb.com/).
More information on the Sharp distance sensors can be found here:
Slashdot Mirror
I'll welcome Intel back the day they add hardware transform and lighting to their graphics line. Seriously folks, vertex processing has been on NVIDIA and ATI GPUs since the Geforce 256, yet Intel is still running *ALL* vertex processing in software.
Perhaps the addition of a discrete line of cards will force them to reconsider hardware T&L for their integrated solutions. Once the Media Accelerator 9XX (or its successor) include hardware vertex processing, my interest will be piqued.
I know this is a little bit off subject, but in the interest of DIY you could build your own. I've been using Sharp's OEM IR sensors to good effect in my indoor lighting projects. They're basically a frequency modulated IR beam emitted from the sensor, coupled with an IR sensor configured to detect only the frequency of the emitter. The devices output a voltage which is proportional to the distance detected. If you know how to program a microcontroller, you could program your own object detection algorithm which would likely trump most of the commercial devices out there.
a rp/sharp.html
Anyway, my two cents. I'm using the shorter range versions of the sensor for my lighting design (http://www.designeb.com/).
More information on the Sharp distance sensors can be found here:
http://www.acroname.com/robotics/info/articles/sh