Shutting up

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

App designed to keep motormouths in check
“After a brief calibration period to identify the voices in a dialogue, the app recognises who is speaking and keeps track of each person’s talk time. The results are displayed as red and blue bars indicating the balance. Speakers can then glance at the Talk-o-Meter as they converse, and—the designer hopes—make adjustments if they are monopolising the discussion.”
image 
Springwise

Simple testing

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

Stamp-Sized Paper “Chip” Diagnoses Diseases For Just a Penny
“One Harvard University chemist has developed an ultraportable “paper” chip that can diagnose killer diseases like malaria, HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis for just a penny at a time. A finger prick’s worth of blood on one side of the paper, according to inventor George Whitesides, produces a colorful, tree-like pattern on the other that indicates what ails you. The surprisingly low-tech secret? Water-repellant comic-book ink.”
image 
Inhabitat

Making networks

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

MIT Team Makes Wireless Network in Afghanistan Out of Trash
“…members of MIT’s Bits and Atoms lab taught locals in Jalalabad, Afghanistan how to transform bits of trash into stuff they could use to create a high speed wireless network for the area. Called FabFi, the network uses reflectors made from discarded pieces of board, wire, plastic tubs and some cans! FabFi currently has 25 live nodes up in Jalalabad, and people are able to reap the benefits of having a stable connection throughout the city. Taking the knowledge that was imparted to them from the MIT crew, residents are still adding to the network by creating more reflectors and routers too.”
image 
Inhabitat

Matching brainwaves

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

EEG Sensors Used To Detect Matching Brainwaves
“Each helmet reads the concentration-level brain waves of the wearer, adjusting the position of a gradient polarized filter. If the brainwaves of the two participants match the filters align such that each participant can see the other’s face, but if the wavelengths are conflicted the other’s face is obscured.”
image 
PSFK

Customization

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

Street Headphones by Brian Garret
“Street Headphones by Brian Garret is a graduate thesis on rapid manufactured designs that was picked up by Freedom of Creation for manufacture. What makes them so special is that owners of the headphones can customize the headband with the names of musical artists they enjoy listening to. What names would you want on your headphones?”
image 
materialicious

Painting your lighting (concept)

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

Ceiling Painted By Light
“It’s not hard to imagine a ceiling covered in RGB LEDs, like Seo Dong-Hun’s Draw the Lights concept. Equipped with a few sensors, a laser (or IR) pen could “paint” an array of light, allowing you to customize your entire living space in a manner not unlike a Philips LivingColors lamp…only a lot more immersive.”
image 
Gizmodo

Easy abstraction

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

Draw Abstract Wallpaper Using the Flame Drawing Tool
“Using Flame you can create a variety of shapes and patterns and the user interface is simple. You have a palette which is black by default, white is the only other option. You have an adjustable brush, customizable in size, softness, and other variables, and you can select your colors and the level of opacity and saturation. One of the best ways to create really soft and flowing lines is to move the mouse quickly. The faster you move the mouse the “wider” the brush stretches and the softer and more diffuse the lines are. If you move the mouse slowly you get a laser-focused beam of intense color, move it quickly and you get a wide swath of gossamer-like color.”
image 
Lifehacker

Making something multi-touch

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

The Latest in Wonka Vision: A Flexible Multitouch Surface
“With Displax, it is possible to make virtually any surface interactive to touch. Measuring only 100 microns thin an active area could be as small as 13 inches (35cm) and as large as 118”(3m). The technology currently can track up to 16 unique touchpoints when scaled to 50” and is not hindered by lighting or environmental conditions. Adhering the material to any existing monitor or projector turns the surface into an interactive touch screen.”
image
Johnny Holland

Talking without sound

March 6th, 2010 by rbanks

Lip reading mobile promises end to noisy phone calls
“The technology measures the tiny electrical signals produced by muscles used when someone speaks. The device can record these pulses even when a person does not audibly utter any words and use them to generate synthesised speech in another handset.”
image
BBC News

3D cameras

March 4th, 2010 by rbanks

Ikonoskop A-Cam3D video camera brings 3D to HD
“So far Ikonoskop is not releasing many details about the 3D shooter, but they have released a few teaser specs including 1080p 3D video, RAW images in DNG format, choice of lens mounts, and an if-you-have-to-ask price tag.”
image 

Gizmag