A startup named Apotact Labs takes to Kickstarter to propose a wearable take on gesture-based control-- the Gest (pronounced "jest"), a "one size fits all" soft glove fitted with flex and motion controls.

Somewhat reminiscent of a stripped down version of motion control gloves such as the Nintendo Power Glove, the Gest consists of 4 small bands attached to an adjustable black strap. The bands and strap carry accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers, and pair with PCs or mobile devices via Bluetooth to transmit the relative positions of the fingers wearing the device.

The Gest is designed to be as light and simple as possible, and the makers claim the battery provides up to a "full day of work" on a single charge. It does not capture the exact way the hand moves, but supposedly allows for fairly complex gestures wearers can assign to specific controls.

Researchers at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab present a non-networking use for wifi-- as a means to see through walls, essentially making an X-ray vision of sorts.

Dubbed RF-Capture, the technology uses variations in wifi signals to recognise human silhouettes from behind walls. To do so it first transmits wifi signals before analysing reflections in the signals to piece together a human form. In other words, it is a little bit like a radar. It requires no wearable sensors and transmission power is "10000 times lower" than standard mobile phone signals.

The researchers say the technology (or rather, the algorithm behind it) is accurate enough to know who the person behind a wall is, determine how he or she is moving and even trace a person's handwriting in air, all by piecing together a silhouette from the reflected wifi signals.

Samsung presents the consumer version of the Gear VR, the smartphone-powered virtual reality headset developed in collaboration with Rift maker Oculus.

Improvements on the previous "Innovator Edition" headset include lighter construction (by 22%, Samsung says), foam cushioning for additional comfort and an improved touchpad controller on the temple.

The headset also fits more Samsung smartphones-- namely the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge+, S6 and S6 Edge-- through the addition of sliding clamps allowing users to insert larger phones. The smartphones should provide a similar VR experience, since all have 2560x1440 resolution displays.

A Japanese startup named Beatrobo presents an interesting way to bring the game cartridge to the smartphone era-- the Pico Casette, a tiny cartridge one plugs into device headphone jacks to unlock games.

Unlike its larger, retro brethren the Pico Cassette does not actually store games. Instead it transmits an inaudible tone to authenticate games on a companion app. In addition it also connects with Beatrobo servers to allow users to play and save progress on multiple devices.

The technology behind the Pico Cassette is called PlugAir, and is already used to sell physical music and video content at Lawson HMV stores in Japan.