Google to tackle child abuse images

17 June 2013 Last updated at 06:10 ET

Google has announced a plan to do more to tackle online images of child sexual abuse.

Using both technology and funding, it hopes to find and eradicate images and track down abusers.

Google said it was helping create a database of images to improve collaboration between law enforcement, companies and anti-abuse charities.

It has also set up a $2m (£1.3m) fund to bankroll developers creating better tools to tackle images.

Spot and stop

Web firms in the UK have been at the centre of the debate about online images showing the sexual abuse of children following two high profile court cases in which offenders were known to have sought child pornography online.

Google said that since 2008 it had used technology that classified images giving them a unique identifier or "hash" to make it easier to spot abuse pictures.

The blogpost said it was going further by helping to create unique fingerprints of images it saw and then contributing them to a larger industry-wide database. This, it said, was helping police forces, companies and charities working together to detect and remove images. This co-operation would also help track down abusers, it said.

Google has also put $2m into what it called a Child Protection Technology Fund that would reward software developers who were working on programs to help eradicate abuse images.

"We're in the business of making information widely available, but there's certain 'information' that should never be created or found," wrote Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving, in the blogpost.

"We can do a lot to ensure it's not available online - and that when people try to share this disgusting content they are caught and prosecuted," she added.

Christian Berg, co-founder of NetClean which helped to pioneer the classification of images shared online by abusers and paedophiles, said there were many other initiatives already underway that helped to spot the pictures Google was targeting.

As well as hashing systems, police forces around the world and cross-border agencies such as Interpol were using a tool known as PhotoDNA to identify images. This, he said, was a more reliable way of producing a signature of an image as it could survive changes made to images as they were cropped, re-sized or manipulated by paedophiles in a bid to hide them.

Microsoft, Facebook and others had already adopted PhotoDNA and were using it to stop images of child sexual abuse being shared by their users, said Mr Berg.

Despite this, he said, Google's initiative was a good move.

"We welcome them to the field and it's great that they have put attention on the problem," he said.

Google's announcement comes as BT and TalkTalk refine they way they block access to sites known to harbour images of child sexual abuse. Instead of a generic "page not found" error, people will instead get a detailed warning which says access was denied because the page may contain illegal images.

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China retakes supercomputer crown

17 June 2013 Last updated at 09:39 ET

A China-based supercomputer has leapfrogged rivals to be named the world's most powerful system.

Tianhe-2, developed by the government-run National University of Defence Technology, topped the latest list of the fastest 500 supercomputers, by a team of international researchers.

They said the news was a "surprise" since the system had not been expected to be ready until 2015.

China last held the top rank between November 2010 and June 2011.

According to the list, the US has the world's second and third fastest supercomputers, Titan and Sequoia, while Japan's K computer drops to fourth spot.

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1. Tianhe-2 (China)

2. Titan (US)

3. Sequoia (US)

4. K computer (Japan)

5. Mira (US)

6. Stampede (US)

7. Juqueen (Germany)

8. Vulcan (US)

9. SuperMuc (Germany)

10. Tianhe-1A (China)

The latest version of the twice-yearly list - which is overseen by Hans Meuer, professor of computer science at the University of Mannheim - was published to coincide with the International Supercomputing Conference in Leipzig, Germany.

Unique features

According to the Linpack benchmark, Tianhe-2 - meaning Milky Way-2 - operates at 33.86 petaflop/sec, the equivalent of 33,860 trillion calculations per second.

The benchmark measures real-world performance - but in theory the machine can boost that to a "peak performance" of 54.9 petaflop/sec.

The project was sponsored by the Chinese government's 863 High Technology Programme - an effort to make the country's hi-tech industries more competitive and less dependent on overseas rivals.

It has said it intends to install the equipment at the National Supercomputer Centre in Guangzhou, based in the country's south-eastern Guandong province, where it will be offered as a "research and education" resource to southern China.

The machine uses a total of 3.12 million processor cores, using Intel's Ivy Bridge and Xeon Phi chips to carry out its calculations.

However, the University of Tennessee's Jack Dongarra - a member of the Top 500 list team who visited the project in May - noted that many of its features were developed in China and are unique. These include:

• A custom-built interconnection network, which routes data across the system
• The inclusion of 4,096 Galaxy FT-1500 CPUs (central processing units) designed by the university - these have been installed to handle specific weather-forecasting and national-defence applications and are not included in the headline performance figures
• The use of the Kylin operating system - this Linux-based OS is named after a mythical beast known as the "Chinese unicorn", and was designed by the university to be a high-security option for users in government, defence, energy, aerospace and other critical industries

On paper the Tianhe-2's performance is nearly double that of the next computer on the list.

Titan, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, clocks 17.59 petaflop/sec of performance, according to the Linpack benchmark, and a theoretical peak of 27.11 petaflop/sec.

Mr Dongarra noted that the US government is not expected to acquire another supercomputer until 2015.

Japan's Fujitsu-built K computer - which displaced China's Tianhe-1 as the world's fastest supercomputer - now comes in fourth on the Top 500 list with a Linpack benchmark performance of 10.51 petaflop/sec.

According to the survey's editors, China now accounts for 66 of the list's fastest computers, which is actually a fall from six months ago when it had 72 in the list.

The US dominates the survey with 252 systems, Japan has 30, the UK has 29, France has 23 and Germany has 19.

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Sharp brings giant 90in TV to Europe

17 June 2013 Last updated at 19:53 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

Sharp has released what it says is the biggest LED TV ever to go on sale in Europe.

The Aquos LC-90LE757 features a 90in (229cm) screen, trumping an 84in display from LG.

Sharp has offered the size in the US since June 2012 - the world's biggest market for jumbo-TVs - but said it now believed there was demand in the UK and rest of Europe for such a set.

One analyst said the local market was indeed growing, but remained "niche".

Fifty inch-and-larger TVs represent 6% of units currently sold in the UK, according to research firm GfK. However, it adds that the sector accounts for 16% of the sector's value due to the premium prices they command.

The trend is even more advanced in the US. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 8% of all TVs sold in the country feature screens 60in or larger.

"In the States people have bigger houses and bigger rooms, so large TVs represent a larger proportion of the marketplace," GfK's Nigel Catlow told the BBC.

"But as the TVs get thinner, more rooms are able to take a big TV set, and screen size is the biggest driver for making people want to buy a new product."

Sharp posted a 545bn yen ($5.7bn; £3.7bn) net loss in its last financial year. It has since said that it is pursuing high shares of relatively small markets as part of its turnaround strategy.

Pixel scaffolding

Sharp's new TV uses a liquid crystal display with LED (light-emitting diode) backlighting, weighs 64kg (141lb), and is less than 12cm (4.7in) deep.

It supports 3D broadcasts, has three tuners - allowing several channels to be watched at once - and also offers a "wallpaper mode", which can display a static picture at a low brightness level when it is not otherwise in use.

The firm says owners need to sit at least 3.5m (11.5ft) away to enjoy its picture.

"The biggest challenge we had was to try to hide the framework that is encasing the screen's pixels," explained Sharp's UK product manager, Tommaso Monetto.

"We used a technology called Fred [frame rate enhanced driving] to minimise the structure holding the pixels together so that you hardly see the lines between them, and it becomes a seamless panel when you look at it from the front."

In the past, Sharp and other firms' 3D TVs created a different image for each viewer's eye by sending two signal lines from the device's motherboard to the display. The firm's proprietary Fred technology uses a single signal line driven at a higher speed to provide the necessary information, minimising the amount of wiring and electrical components needed.

"The plan is definitely to go bigger," Mr Monetto added.

"The long-term view is that eventually you will have entire walls that are made out of LCDs, and you can allocate different spaces for different usage. Part will be used for TV signals, part for surfing the internet and part to show pictures."

Panasonic does sell even bigger displays, offering 103in and 152in screens.

However, they are based on plasma technology making them thicker and heavier than Sharp's LED model. They are also several times the price and Panasonic pitches them at the professional market rather than at consumers.

4K v 1080p

Sharp opted to make its screen support 1080p video and not the ultra high definition 4K format which uses four times as many pixels.

The advantage of the higher definition format is that owners can sit closer to their screen, allowing a smaller set to take up more of their field of view - and thus appear more immersive - than one limited to 1080p resolution.

Sharp said it took the decision because there was a current lack of 4K content.

It has also allowed it to keep its price down. Sharp's new set costs about £12,000 compared to the £17,000 charged for LG's 84in Ultra HD LED model.

Even so, at that price its appeal may still be limited.

"You won't get serious sales volume until you get below around £2,000 to £3,000," said GfK's Mr Catlow.

"However, it will open up a bigger market because there have been some 70in and 84in sets out there that were recently selling for £20,000."

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Yahoo reveals US data requests

18 June 2013 Last updated at 06:21 ET

Yahoo is the latest company to reveal its dealings with the US authorities, following revelations about the Prism surveillance programme.

It said it had received between 12,000 and 13,000 US government requests for user data in the past year and a half.

Most of them had "concerned fraud, homicides, kidnappings, and other criminal investigations", it said.

Yahoo voiced frustration that it was unable to reveal the number of requests that had concerned national security.

It urged the government to "reconsider its stance on this issue".

"Like all companies, Yahoo cannot lawfully break out Fisa [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] request numbers at this time because those numbers are classified," it said in a blog post by chief executive Marissa Mayer and general counsel Ron Bell.

Under pressure

FISA is widely seen as the legislation under which Prism operated.

Earlier in the week Twitter also said it was important to be able to publish numbers of national security requests.

And Google said lumping police requests with national security requests was "a step back for users".

Tech firms have been under pressure to disclose information about data passed to the National Security Agency (NSA) since the Guardian and Washington Post revealed the existence of Prism - a programme giving the NSA access to user data held on the servers of tech firms including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, and Apple.

The NSA later confirmed the existence of the surveillance scheme as well as a separate phone-records programme, which it said had helped it thwart terrorist plots in the US and more than 20 other countries.

Rebuilding trust

Technology companies, which initially denied any knowledge of the Prism project, are now rushing to rebuild trust from users shocked at the idea that their data was viewable by the authorities.

Yahoo laid out plans to publish a twice-yearly global transparency report, the first of which will be issued "later this summer".

"Democracy demands accountability," the blog said.

"We appreciate - and do not take for granted- the trust you place in us."

Other companies have been quick to rebut suggestions they simply hand over data whenever asked.

"Only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities," said Apple.

Facebook's general counsel Ted Ullyot said: "We aggressively protect our users' data when confronted with such requests; we frequently reject such requests outright, or require the government to substantially scale down its requests, or simply give the government much less data than it has requested."

So far disclosures have revealed:

• Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from federal, state and local authorities between December 2012 and May 2013
• Facebook received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests between July and December 2012
• Microsoft received between 6,000 and 7,000 requests between July and December 2012

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Huawei unveils 'slimmest' smartphone

18 June 2013 Last updated at 10:03 ET

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Shao Yang, chief marketing officer for Huawei Device, discusses the Ascend P6

Huawei has unveiled what it says is the world's thinnest smartphone.

The Android-based Ascend P6 is 6.18mm (0.24in) thick and is also unusual in that it has a 5 megapixel front camera for "high quality" self-portraits.

The Chinese firm has said it expects the handset to do "miracles" for its brand.

One analyst praised its design, comparing it to a "steamrollered iPhone", but said its lack of support for 4G networks might limit sales.

"It's undoubtedly the most impressive phone that Huawei have launched to date in terms of the design, the materials used and its quality," said Ben Wood, director of research at consultancy CCS Insight, who was at the London launch.

"We've seen mainland Chinese manufacturers rapidly improve their ability to make competitive devices over the last 18 months and this is possibly the best so far. But its 3G status means there has undoubtedly been a trade-off to get it as thin and cheap as possible."

Thinnest phone

Huawei says it designed one of the slimmest and narrowest circuit boards in the industry to squeeze the electronics into the new handset.

The device has a 4.7in screen making it comparable to the HTC One but is more than 3mm (0.1in) thinner.

It is also slightly slimmer than both the iPhone 5 and the Alcatel One Idol Ultra - which previously claimed to be the world's thinnest - but at 120g (0.26lb) weighs a little more than both.

The phone features Huawei's own tile-based user interface called Emotion and proprietary software, including an "auto-facial enhancement" tool designed to make self-portraits look better.

Other specifications include:

• An 8 megapixel rear camera
• Use of the latest Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating system
• 8 gigabytes of internal storage - a relatively low amount - but support for 32GB microSD cards
• A 1.5GHz quad core processor developed by Huawei
• Various power saving technologies based on the firm's experience as one of the biggest telecoms equipment makers. As a result, it says the device's battery lasts 30% longer than it would do otherwise.

Building the brand

Huawei is already a well known brand in China where it grew to become the country's biggest maker of telecoms equipment after being founded in 1987.

Its more recent shift into Android phones has also found success. According to data research firm IDC it shipped 9.9 million smartphones in the first three months of the year making it fourth biggest vendor after Samsung, Apple and LG.

However, the firm acknowledges it still needs to do more to make western consumers familiar with its name and has committed 2% of its revenues to try to ensure it is widely recognised as a leading smart device brand within five years.

"Seven years ago nobody would have believed Apple could be so successful, and maybe five years ago that Samsung could be so successful," Shao Yang, chief marketing officer for Huawei Device, told the BBC.

According to a recent study by at Strategy Analytics, Samsung accounts for about 95% of all profits in the Android smartphone market, thanks to "an efficient supply chain, sleek products and crisp marketing".

That has led some analysts to question the wisdom of competing directly against the South Korean firm. But Mr Wood suggested Huawei might be able to make headway thanks to the economies of scale offered by its rapid rise in its homeland.

"This year Huawei is expected to sell 60 million units - double what it did last year - with the lion's share of that coming from China," he said.

"So, when competing with companies like Sony or Nokia it has an inherent advantage which will help with cost.

"It has to make the most of that as it has to pay a kind of tax in the west: since its name is less well known, for big operators or retailers to take its products they expect to get them at a lower price feature-for-feature, spec-for-spec than from a recognised brand."

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Minister hails 'web porn' progress

18 June 2013 Last updated at 12:59 ET

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Maria Miller: "The Internet Watch Foundation will be proactive in making sure more of those sites are removed and blocked from public view"

Ministers say agreements reached with internet firms will lead to a "fundamental change" in how images of child abuse are dealt with online.

Firms such as Google, Microsoft and Twitter were summoned to a meeting in Whitehall amid calls for them to do more to remove illegal material.

They have agreed to give the Internet Watch Foundation more powers and resources to search out abusive images.

Prime Minister David Cameron said "important steps" had been taken.

But Labour said the outcome was a "damp squib".

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Sophie Linington, Parentzone: "It's a law enforcement issue"

Internet service providers in the UK have been at the centre of the debate about online images showing the sexual abuse of children following two high-profile court cases in which offenders were known to have sought child pornography online.

'Unrelenting'

Mark Bridger, sentenced to life in May for the murder of five-year-old April Jones in Machynlleth, Powys, searched for child abuse and rape images.

And police who searched the Croydon home of Stuart Hazell, jailed for life in May for murdering 12-year-old Tia Sharp, said they had found "extensive" pornography featuring young girls.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

They are two tribes with power over all of our lives - but politicians and internet companies just don't speak the same language"

End Quote

The prime minister has pledged to "put the heat on" companies to make removing obscene material and blocking access to indecent images more of a priority, saying he is not "satisfied" that enough is being done.

The meeting, chaired by Culture Secretary Maria Miller, was attended by Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Vodafone, O2, EE and Three.

The government said the companies had agreed to allow the Internet Watch Foundation to proactively search out abusive images, rather than just acting upon reports it receives, and to give it an extra to boost its capabilities.

At the moment, it is estimated that there are one million unique images of child abuse online, yet only 40,000 reports are made to the industry-funded body each year.

'Personally committed'

Culture Secretary Maria Miller said the public expected that everything possible was being done to remove "absolutely abhorrent" material - including images of child abuse - from the web.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We need proper measures to stop people viewing child abuse hiding in anonymity"

End Quote Helen Goodman Labour culture minister

"What has been agreed today is a fundamental change in the way the industry will approach child abuse images and removing them from public view," she told BBC Radio 4's The World at One programme.

"It does mean that more of those images can be removed too."

Mrs Miller also said the use of splash pages, warning people they may come into contact with indecent and illegal content, would become universal by the end of the month and the government would work with industry to tackle the distribution of obscene images by e-mail and other channels.

Speaking at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, Mr Cameron said he was "personally committed" to securing action and urged firms to "use their expertise, their brains and their brilliance to get these disgusting images off the internet".

He also said he would be happy to meet the parents of April Jones to discuss what was being done.

'Zero tolerance'

The UK's four largest internet service providers - BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media - said they had a "zero tolerance" approach to child abuse material online and would work with the Internet Watch Foundation to increase its effectiveness as well as taking further steps themselves to help parents protect their children.

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Sir Richard Tilt of the Internet Watch Foundation says the abusers are technically skilled

"The ISPs are already the largest funders of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) making it the most effective hotline in the world at removing child sexual abuse content, and one of the best funded," they said in a statement.

"The ISPs also already work closely with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to support its work in eradicating the sexual abuse of children, particularly in relation to online activity," they added.

BT said recently that any of its customers attempting to access web pages on the Internet Watch Foundation's list of identified images of child sexual abuse would now see a message telling them that the site was blocked and the reason why.

Under the previous system, the site is blocked, but internet users only see an "Error 404" message.

'Virtual dangers'

A 2011 review by Mothers' Union chief executive Reg Bailey concluded children were being bombarded by sexual images on the internet, television, videos and in advertising and it should be much easier for parents to block under-age access online.

Leading internet firms have said they will continue to promote the use of "family friendly parental controls" but have rejected calls for default filters for pornographic content to be introduced from next year - arguing they can be "circumvented".

Mr Bailey said no filters could be wholly effective and he said they risked giving parents a false sense of security and stopping them from talking to their children about the "dangers they encounter in the virtual world".

Labour said the funding pledge for the IWF, spread over four years, was "woeful" and filters would not be available to all parents until 2018 at the earliest.

"We need proper measures to stop people viewing child abuse hiding in anonymity," said shadow culture minister Helen Goodman. "This shows the Tory-led government is weak in standing up to powerful companies even when the safety of children is at stake."

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Huge 'holograms' created for doctors

18 June 2013 Last updated at 13:48 ET By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News

A system which uses an illusionary effect to help medical students master their subject has been pioneered by two London-based junior doctors.

They have demonstrated a 3D graphic of a kidney measuring 4m (13 ft) to demonstrate renal function at a "test lecture" last week.

It was one of a series of hologram-like animations they are developing.

However, the university which hosted the event, said it was not ready to be rolled out yet.

"The cost would be prohibitively expensive," said a spokesman for St George's, University of London. "It's more a proof-of-concept at this stage."

Optical illusions

The effects were developed by Dr Kapil Sugand, who works at St George's Hospital and Imperial College London, and Dr Pedro Campos from St George's Hospital.

The animations are not true holograms, but are rather based on an illusion called Pepper's Ghost which uses glass or foil combined with special lighting techniques to make objects appear in mid-air.

They said they wanted to make it easier for students to absorb the large amount of detail necessary to pass their exams. Medical students can attend up to nine hours of lectures per day and typically study for six years in order to qualify.

"Research in educational sciences has shown the attention span of the average student is 20 to 30 minutes, but standard lectures are at least an hour," Dr Sugand told the BBC.

"The human body is a very complex machine. It's very difficult to comprehend and appreciate how a kidney or liver functions, for example, from Powerpoint slides."

The images are all animated and can be controlled by the lecturer.

Three projectors are used to generate the full colour images on stage and they are designed to be used in a large auditorium.

While a "holographic "human body has previously been trialled in an anatomy class at Imperial College, it was not intended for a mass audience, said Dr Sugand.

"This could be a way to teach surgical procedures to a large group of trainees quite easily," he added.

The pair have spent £10,000 building up a small library of 3D animation lecture aids - including a sequence which outlines the various effects of malaria on different parts of the human body.

Funding came from the universities where they work, and also Dr Campos's parents.

Teething problems

Technical problems prevented the first test - scheduled for last Wednesday - from working, but an event later in the week was more successful.

The response from first year medical students at St George's, University of London, was positive.

"We spend a lot of time looking through textbooks and listening to lectures to try to get our heads round the subjects and I think this would make a lot of medical areas easier to understand," said Hannah Barham.

Andrew Salmon added: "As a concept it's fantastic, but I don't think it will replace the traditional kind of lecture at the moment though as it's not as customisable."

Dr Sugand acknowledged that the animations were intended to be an extra tool, and would not be a substitute for using dead bodies.

"Nothing can substitute dissecting a cadaver - it is the optimal and most traditional way of learning anatomy," he explained.

"But multimedia has become a way of complementing, not replacing, that process."

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US surveillance 'foiled 50 plots'

18 June 2013 Last updated at 20:50 ET

The head of America's electronic spying agency has told Congress surveillance programmes leaked by Edward Snowden helped thwart 50 attacks since 2001.

Army General Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), told the House intelligence committee the snooping operations were critical.

Plans to attack the New York Stock Exchange were among those foiled, the panel heard.

Meanwhile, Mr Snowden's father urged his son not to commit "treason".

It was Gen Alexander's second public appearance before Congress since the internet and telephone surveillance programmes were exposed this month.

Snowden to face 'justice'

"In recent years these programmes, together with other intelligence, have protected the US and our allies from terrorist threats across the globe to include helping prevent potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11," he said.

Ten of those plots had been intended for the US, the panel heard.

Sean Joyce, deputy FBI director, told the committee one of the cases had involved a "nascent" plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

Mr Joyce said a tip from the NSA had led the FBI to arrest Khalid Ouazzani of Kansas City, Missouri, on conspiracy charges.

Continue reading the main story

I pray and ask that you will not release any secrets that could constitute treason"

End Quote Lon Snowden Edward Snowden's father

Ouazzani admitted in a federal court in 2010 plotting to provide material support to a terrorist organisation, but he was not charged with the alleged stock exchange plot.

Mr Joyce also said the surveillance had been essential to disrupting the 2009 conspiracy to bomb the New York City subway, resulting in the capture of that plot's mastermind, Najibullah Zazi.

Asked what was next for Mr Snowden, Mr Joyce said simply: "Justice."

The former NSA contractor fled to Hong Kong shortly before the scandal broke. His leaks revealed that US agencies had systematically gathered vast amounts of phone and web data.

On Tuesday, Google challenged the US government's gagging order on its internet surveillance programme, citing a constitutional right to free speech.

The web firm asked the secretive US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to allow it to publish the number of government requests in the name of national security for data about its customers.

Tech firms including Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Yahoo have released limited information about the number of surveillance requests they receive.

But they are currently not allowed to show the split in numbers between requests related to national security and to criminal investigations.

Meanwhile, Mr Snowden's father, Lon Snowden, urged his son, in an interview with Fox News: "I hope, I pray and ask that you will not release any secrets that could constitute treason."

He also called on his son to come home and "face justice".

Edward Snowden has vowed to fight any extradition attempts by the US.

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PlayStation update freezing consoles

19 June 2013 Last updated at 07:03 ET

Sony has pulled an upgrade to its PlayStation 3 after it caused some users' machines to stop working.

The 4.45 system software, released on Tuesday, causes the console's on-screen navigation to disappear.

Sony told BBC News it was investigating cause of the issue, which had affected a "small number" of machines globally.

Users should await further instructions and a downloadable system update rather than try to fix the issue, it added. "We apologise for the inconvenience."

Disgruntled users have taken to message boards to discuss the problem.

"You'd think they test these things out, right?" wrote one.

The issue presents something of a public-relations blip in the week following a strong showing at games industry event E3.

Sony was widely regarded as having "won" the show - its presentation showed a PlayStation 4 console that will be $100 or £100 cheaper than its rival, Microsoft's Xbox One.

Both consoles are due on sale before Christmas.

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Smart ring and socks unveiled

19 June 2013 Last updated at 08:59 ET

Smart socks and rings are among the latest wearable tech to be announced.

US-based Heapsylon says it is developing sensor-equipped socks that help their owners monitor their balance while walking or running.

Meanwhile, Chinese company Shanda has unveiled the Geak Ring - a finger-worn device that can unlock a user's smartphone or pass data to others.

Credit Suisse has forecast the market in wearable tech could be worth $50bn (£32bn) in five years.

That would be more than 10 times its current value, making it a "mega-trend", said the bank.

"[It is] profoundly altering how we interact with our technology, our environment and each other," it added in a research note.

But others have warned that during this time of experimentation, many products will likely end up flops.

Washable sensors

The three co-founders of Heapsylon originally worked for Microsoft's Xbox and health software divisions.

They say their Sensoria socks have sensors built into their fabric to measure pressure readings in order to provide data about how their owner walks or runs.

The socks attach to an ankle band that then communicates the gathered data via Bluetooth to a smartphone or computer running the firm's software.

The developers say the washable product could provide real-time feedback to runners, allowing them to adjust their strides to reduce the risk of injury.

In addition they say the product could be used to help monitor diabetic foot ulcers or warn of elderly patients losing their balance to alert carers they are at risk of falling.

The firm's boss, Davide Vigano, told the Bloomberg news service that "we want to become the GoreTex of embeddable computing".

But for now the product only exists as a prototype. The firm hopes to bring it to market via a fundraising campaign to be launched on Indiegogo later this week.

Tap to unlock

Shanghai-based Shanda's Geak Ring uses an NFC (near field communication) chip to identify the accessory.

The firm says this can be used to unlock its range of Android smartphones by tapping the two together as an alternative to keying in a password. It aims to make the ring compatible with other manufacturers' phones before the end of the year.

In addition it says the device can trigger downloads of the owner's photos, contact information and other data on to friends' handsets by touching them against the ring.

It adds that the device should last for 99 years and does not need to be charged.

The firm has also unveiled an Android-powered watch offering a range of wrist-worn apps including weather forecasts, exercise feedback and a remote control for smartphone cameras.

Shanda says it will start taking pre-orders from China-based consumers for the watch in July and the ring the following month.

'Ripe for exploration'

The biggest segment in the existing wearable tech market is currently fitness trackers, with Nike's Fuelband, Jawbone's Up and Fitbit's Flex among the leading products.

However, interest in Pebble's smartwatch and Google Glass - which places a small Android-powered screen in front of the wearer's right eye - is fuelling forecasts that the sector is set to boom.

Samsung has confirmed it is also working on a smartwatch concept, and reports have suggested Apple and Microsoft also have such products in development.

However, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook - who also sits on Nike's board - recently warned that "wearables" had problems to overcome.

"There's nothing that's going to convince a kid that's never worn glasses or a band to wear one," he said at a conference organised by the AllThingsD tech site last month.

"So I think there's lot of things to solve in this space, but it's an area where it's ripe for exploration."

The Juniper Research consultancy also warns that the wearable tech market is still in its early days and that some of the smaller firms getting involved might not survive.

"Take-up of any new technology will be low at least in the short to medium term," Nitin Bhas, senior analyst at the firm, told the BBC.

"If a player like Apple or Microsoft entered the smart wearable segment it would feed demand as they would publicise such products, educating the average consumer.

"But it will still take some time for such devices to go mainstream - perhaps not until 2016 or 2017 - and it will be difficult for smaller firms in the meantime."

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