New solar fuel machine ‘mimics plant life’
“A prototype solar device has been unveiled which mimics plant life, turning the Sun’s energy into fuel. The machine uses the Sun’s rays and a metal oxide called ceria to break down carbon dioxide or water into fuels which can be stored and transported. Conventional photovoltaic panels must use the electricity they generate in situ, and cannot deliver power at night.” 
BBC News
occipital: 360 panorama for iPhone
“’360 panorama’ lets iPhone users take wide-angle and panoramic photographs by simply panning their phones to capture the view. a complete 360° panorama can be taken in under 20 seconds, and immediately uploaded or shared. now, gyroscope-enabled viewing lets users experience panoramic images relative to their own 3D space, so that panning or revolving the phone controls the view.” 
DesignBoom
IMOS monitors almost one-third of the world’s oceans
“Australian climate and ocean scientists are studying some of the planet’s most remote areas using a multi-million dollar array of high-tech underwater equipment that provides data vital for the monitoring of almost one-third of the world’s oceans. The kit of technology includes sensor floats and autonomous underwater vehicles, which combine with sensor tagged animals, moored scientific stations and satellite remote sensing to form the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).” 
Gizmag
‘Video DNA matching’ could thwart movie pirates
“It starts by applying a series and sequence of invisible grids over the picture, that are used to assign the footage a unique numerical code based on its visual content. The system can then scan the contents of websites suspected of distributing pirated movies, looking for that same code… or mutations of it. Even if the color, resolution or geometry are altered, or if footage has been added or taken out, the underlying DNA analogue should still be recognizable.” 
Gizmag
A Retro Look in High-Tech Electronics
“So what’s the appeal of the latest electronics wrapped in a retro design, like full-size jukeboxes that are really $4,000 iPod docks and manual typewriters reconfigured to work as U.S.B. keyboards? Has anyone ever said, “It’s a nice Ferrari, but it would be cooler if it looked like a covered wagon?” There are theories: the throwback designs make challenging technology seem familiar. For the technically proficient, an old phone handset that connects to a cellphone seems comically ironic. Retro designs can also give a sense of permanence to disposable devices. Some of it is art.” 
NYTimes.com
Projection: The Future of Augmented Reality Technology?
“Using 3D design data, the device can be calibrated to project the interior of a surface onto its exterior. This can have a variety of applications, the example in the video below being the inner workings of an automobile door. Using 3D projections instead of crude disassembly methods, understanding the inner workings of something like an automobile can be streamlined and made much more efficient.” 
PSFK
New Signal Process BreakOut Pedal
“Made from high quality hardware, it allows you music to be passed through the iPhone/iPad and right through and ready for your amp ~ “It literally breaks out of the iPhone’s headphone jack, so you can use all your favorite recording, signal processing and sampling apps. It’s mono design fits in perfectly with effects pedals and amplifiers. The internal circuitry solves all signal, feedback and detection issues you may have sending guitar and line signals in and out of the iPhone and iPad, and allows for a plethora of uses, on stage, in the field, and at home, with guitars, mics, amps, PAs, etc” 
NotCot
Archiving Musical Artifacts From Early Internet Culture
“Founded in 2009, the mission of Internet Archaeology advocates for the preservation of digital anthropology by acknowledging the contributions to early Internet culture. The organization’s work includes includes archiving GeoCities content, producing a blog, and presentations on their findings. Support the project via Kickstarter with a pledge of $25 or to guarantee your copy.” 
PSFK
Viinyl.com: Interactive Platform Promotes And Distributes A Single Song
“The platform allows anyone to create an interactive single song website, complete with video, lyrics, artwork, promotional tools and Google analytics. Upon trial and within minutes, a track, YouTube video, and about page can be uploaded, then Viinyl produces an unique url for each song site, making the tune more SEO friendly. Though, one noticeable oversight, is a ‘click here to buy’ button.” 
PSFK
Ujam Is Now Ready To Turn You Into A Rockstar
“All you do is hum, whistle, or sing, and Ujam can turn your voice into nearly any instrument and fix it so that it is in tune. You can also upload your own pre-recorded tracks or pick pre-existing tracks on Ujam from different styles of music (Kraftwerk, 80s Rock, Campfire Guitar). The Ujam music editor lets you change the instruments, tempo, pitch, and mix between vocals and music to create your own composition. Once you are done, you can save your songs and download them as MP3s for sharing. “
TechCrunch
CES 2011: iPad dock with Motion Sensing Controls to Debut
“The tech the new iPad dock will use creates a zone of gesture control that covers about one foot in front and to the side of the dock. The gestures will be able to control the primary functions of the dock. The tablet uses an app on the device and should work with the iPhone as well.” 
I4U News
ID tag combines online and offline tools to help get lost pets home
“Should a pet with a BlanketID go missing, the owner simply notifies the service, and it will automatically send a broadcast email to the local SPCA, animal hospitals, shelters and other local BlanketID members. Included in that email is a link to the owner’s online data so that everybody has 24/7 access to all the information they might need to help identify the lost pet. Owners, meanwhile, can print a “Lost Pet” poster from their BlanketID.com account. When the pet is found, the finder can enter the BlanketID tag number at the company’s website to gain immediate access to all of the information they need to care for and safely return the pet. ” 
Springwise
eCLOUD: Simulating the Real-Time Weather around the World in an Airport
“The permanent art work, located between gates 22 and 23 at the San Jose International Airport, is made from polycarbonate tiles that can face between transparent and opaque states. The tiles are activated by real-time weather from around the world, so that passers-by will feel as if they were dropped into a city around the world and were effected by it’s specific weather conditions. So, if it were windy in Rio de Janeiro, the animations in the installation behave in a way that evokes the wind and direction in that specific city. A separate, dynamic display shows which city the eCLOUD is listening to, it’s current real time weather data, and a preview of how the eCLOUD is actually behaving.” 
information aesthetics
Online ‘grab bag’ lets Twitter users thank their followers with gifts
“A sister site to Pay with a Tweet, which we covered earlier this year, Gift a Follower can actually be used for both Twitter and Facebook friends. Either way, gift-givers pay only USD 1 per gift via PayPal; that, in turn, entitles the recipient to one “grab” into what the site calls “the internet’s surprise bag.” Possible items they may come away with include links to “cool, weird, fun and fascinating stuff online”; donations made in their name to reputable charities; gift cards and coupons from major brands; or even gadgets such as flip cams or iPads. ” 
Springwise
Kinect could bring touch-free interface to operating theaters
“With software based on ofxKinect, libfreenect and open frameworks, the prototype uses a mix of voice control via a wireless headset and gesture control via the Kinect’s 3D video camera to control OsiriX, an image processing application specially designed for navigation and visualization of medical images. The user can switch modes using voice commands and then navigate the images – zooming in or out and moving the view through a 3D image – using one or two-handed gestures.” 
Gizmag
A Way to Make the Smart Grid Smarter
“Today’s transformers are single-function devices. They change the voltage of electricity from one level to another, such as stepping it down from the high voltages at which power is distributed to the 120- and 240-volt levels used in homes. The new solid-state transformers are much more flexible. They use transistors and diodes and other semiconductor-based devices that, unlike the transistors used in computer chips, are engineered to handle high power levels and very fast switching. In response to signals from a utility or a home, they can change the voltage and other characteristics of the power they produce. They can put out either AC or DC power, or take in AC and DC power from wind turbines and solar panels and change the frequency and voltage to what’s needed for the grid. They have processors and communications hardware built in, allowing them to communicate with utility operators, other smart transformers, and consumers. ” 
Technology Review
The stress reducing pen
“According to Alonso, experiments performed in the course of his research indicated that people tend to play with their pens when they’re tense – I know that I tend to do so when I’m bored, but perhaps boredom counts as a type of tension. Motion sensors in his “anti-stress pen” detect nervous movement, at which point internal electromagnets create a counterweight effect, making the pen more difficult to move. Once the nervous movements stop, so do the effects of the electromagnets. The user is thereby rewarded for ceasing behavior that indicates – and apparently worsens – mental stress.” 
Gizmag
The palm-sized Plug PC thin client computer from Chip PC
“Within its black and silver enclosure sits a 528 MHz RMI 1250 RISC processor (1.8GHz x86 equivalent), which is said to give the user PC-like in-session performance. The chip includes local multimedia acceleration for powerful multimedia performance at up to 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution. Like the Jack PC, most of the data generated by users would be stored at the data center, so the device itself is provided with 256MB disk-on-chip flash storage and 128MB DDR2 RAM.” 
Gizmag
Solar-Powered Cargo Pants by Slvr Lining Gives You a Charge on the Go
“A practical piece from their newly launched GO Collection, the Go Urban cargo pant by Silvr Lining includes a pair of built-in photovoltaic panels able to give you all the juice you need to keep your portable electronics jumping throughout the day. Composed of animal-friendly Ultrasuede, this casual and comfy cargo is lightweight, water-resistant, stain-repellent, and tough as nails.” 
Inhabitat
Printing transistors using a 3D printer
“This seems pretty amazing- Mr.Kim and John Sarik used a 3d printer configured as a plotter to print their own transistors. They appear to have tried a number of know recipes for OFETs, including TIPS-Pentacene and P3HT as semiconducting materials. Their results section is unfortunately a little light, so hopefully they will expand on their process characteristics in the future. In the meantime, the files that they used for printing are all available.” 
Makezine
Interview with Scott Summit of Bespoke Innovations, creator of kick-ass prosthetics
“Bespoke Innovations has a clear mission: Apply good industrial design and rapid prototyping techniques to make kick-ass prosthetics. They don’t do off-the-shelf parts–they interview amputees, find out what makes them tick, and design some seriously cool custom limbs based on their interests and tastes.” 
Core77
Body Browser
“Beginning with the skin as its default viewpoint, a toggle bar guides you through the other levels right down to the central nervous system. Alternatively you can switch the toggle to adjust the opacity of each layer independently, letting you fine tune exactly what systems you want to see in conjunction with any of the other five. ” 
Cool Hunting
DeleteMe: Cleaning Up Your Digital Clutter
“DeleteMe is a remarkable new service that assists consumers in deleting inactive online accounts, undesirable search results, and other information that they do not wish to be seen. Composed of actual people searching and sifting through online content, the service aims to provide Internet users the opportunity to mediate themselves responsibly and safely.” 
PSFK
The Low(er) Tech Way to Share Your Camera’s Photos
“It’s sad to say, but when it comes to quickly sharing photos, point-and-shoots really can’t compete with the phones in our pockets. This camera concept has a unique solution: it saves photos to three USB memory sticks for easy distribution. If your sharees are in the immediate vicinity, the UCIM concept, designed by Jung Eun Park, works great—just snap your shots and let your friends run off with the USB nubs full of photos. That becomes problematic when that friend lives half way around the world, sure, but it’s better than not having a camera without any sharing options.” 
Gizmodo
Communicating GM cells may pave the way for ‘biological computers’
“The cells in our body may one day communicate with each other to monitor our health and fight illness in its early stages. Swedish scientists have developed genetically modified yeast cells that send signals to other yeast cells forming a synthetic circuit. Cells with different genetic modifications can be used to build more complex circuits capable of more complicated “electronic” functions, which the researchers hope will pave the way for “biological computers” – systems in which our body’s own cells would keep us healthy.” 
Gizmag
Will CES 2011 Revolutionize Guitar Training?
“The soul of the system is the RT Evaluator, which measures the students sound input and compares it to the instructor. It provides a percentage score for comparative purposes, which allows you to continuously monitor your progress. Also included is something called the guitar-to-USB Stealth Plug and AmpliTube, which appears to hook your guitar into your computer’s sound output.” 
I4U News
TweetMag
“TweetMag uses your Twitter account to create simple magazines. It collects the content from the links in your feed giving you a focused, current view of what people are tweeting about. Watch the video to see it in action. It can build mags based on anything; other users, hashtags or lists. Curated categories make it easy to explore content outside your network.” 
TweetMag
Physical store for 3D printed objects
“Joris sez, “.MGX is Materialise’s design label and it has just opened the world’s first physical shop for 3D printed goods. The .MGX Flagship Store is in Brussels and showcases .MGX’s 3D printed lighting and furniture designs.” 
Boing Boing
Strange Rain turns your iPad or iPhone into a skylight on a rainy day
“Created by Operton and Erik Loyer, Strange Rain turns your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch into a skylight on a rainy day. Raindrops fall and splatter on your screen, shifting perspective as you tilt your device. Touch the screen and guide the path of the raindrops, stepping through the notes of an eerie melody as you go. It’s a relaxing, intriguing experience that feels as if you’re holding a living window in your hands.” 
CreativeApplications.Net
Google NGram
“With Google’s new tool Ngram Viewer, you can visualise the rise and fall of concepts across 5 million books and 500 years!” 
Information is Beautiful
MTM06 land crawler extreme
“the MTM06 land crawler extreme is the invention of a japanese robotics designer, who made the small moving robot for his 2 year old son. this unusual 12 legged design came about because his son ask him to build a robot he could stand on. the bug-like motion of the robot is based on the work of kinetic artist theo jansen, who has even ridden on the device himself. the robot can support 360 kg but is only able to walk with 90kg, enough for an average person. the device is controlled by a wired remote control and weight sensor using a 7.2v Ni-H battery. it can move for
45minutes on a single charge. ” 
DesignBoom
Isle of Tune
“Isle of Tune is a musical sequencer with a twist…you build little roads with houses, trees, streetlights, etc. that cars can then drive past, making music as they go” 
Kottke
Tracking The Real-Time Spread Of The Flu
“Each student, teacher, and staff member were outfitted with credit-card sized sensors that transmitted and received radio signals every 20 seconds. The device also relayed their live location to a central server continuously throughout the school day, providing researchers with a better understanding of how disease can spread based on which people were close enough to others. The devices recorded 760,000 instances when two people were within 10 feet of each other, approximately the maximum distance that a disease can be transmitted through a cough or sneeze. After the collection of tracking data, the researchers ran thousands of simulations asking questions like: “What would happen if there were enough of a vaccine to inoculate only a fraction of the school’s population. Would it be better to vaccinate teachers or students?” The researchers discovered that it doesn’t matter who you vaccinate, unless you are certain of how people are interacting with others.” 
PSFK
Augmented Reality App Adds An eBay Layer To The World
“Junaio is an augmented reality app that recently began tagging eBay classified posts on its interface. Much like how other AR platforms work, these transparent ads pop up when a user points to search their environment. While the innovation does bring up the privacy of the sellers, it does give them increased exposure. It also begs the question of how else can such applications help people, on a local level, with other needs such as finding a doctor or work opportunities.” 
PSFK
FitFu Wants To Get You Exercising At Your Desk, And Everywhere Else
“FitFu uses pretty slick animation (creative was designed by agency Despark) and voice over to encourage and remind you to do little bits of movement throughout the day. The app uses an accelerometer to measure reps (you can choose from 8 exercises), so you actually have to move to have your exercises be counted. FitFu also ingenuously adds a social element i.e. you can compete with your friends with regards to number of reps completed, keeping you motivated through competition.” 
TechCrunch
This Kinect Hack Lets You Chat With Holographic Friends
“The project shown above, created by Oliver Kreylos, uses two Kinect cameras to capture someone’s image, then streams the 3D image over the internet. The result? A (slightly choppy) 3D image showing up on your screen for a video chat. In an unholy alliance of motion gaming technologies, a Wiimote is used to control the program and navigate the virtual space.” 
Gizmodo
Hyundai’s Revolutionary iPad Owner’s Manual
“Hyundai got a lot of attention this past spring when they announced their all-new Equus luxury sedan would come with an Apple iPad loaded with a digital app version of the car’s owners manual. The company recently released a new ad showcasing the digital manual and it is way more than a dry text document containing a lot of warning labels. As much a marketing tool for the car as it is an owner’s resource for information, the app takes full advantage of the iPad’s interactive features. It contains interactive demos and videos which illustrate the features and characteristics of the Equus.” 
PSFK
“Tron” skate ramp with interactive projection
“This looks really cool! It’s some sort of promotion for the new Tron movie, done in Melbourne by interactive agency eness. ” 
@Makezine.com
Word Lens Translates Words Inside of Images. Yes Really.
“Founder Good explains the app’s process simply, “It tries to find out what the letters are and then looks in the dictionary. Then it draws the words back on the screen in translation.” Right now the app is mostly word for word translation, useful if you’re looking to get the gist of something like a dish on a menu or what a road sign says.” 
TechCrunch
lekki phones
“lekki is a french company aiming to buck the trend of ever-improving mobile phones, by refurbishing vintage handsets. the company starts with the classic motorola startac flip phones first popularized in the 90’s and re-clads them with colourful plates. while other phones have social networking, push notifications and touchscreens, lekki phones are a return to basic phone call features. while functionally the phones work great, lekki is hoping some users will be interested in their sustainability commitment, bring old phones back into use.” 
DesignBoom
Record in a button: The Playbutton
“This is kind of a bold step not quite backwards, but sideways in the development of portable music players: The Playbutton, a pin-on button containing a single predetermined album. You can pause, skip tracks and adjust the volume, that’s it–no adding your own tracks or futzing with the playlist order.” 
Core77
Toronto Public Library Allows Patrons To Also Borrow People
“The Toronto Public Library held its first Human Library event at five branches on Nov. 6, attracting more than 200 users who checked out the likes of a police officer, a comedian, a sex-worker-turned-club-owner, a model and a survivor of cancer, homelessness and poverty. They’re all volunteers whose lives would make good reading, but even better one-on-one chatting.” 
PSFK
DanKam: mobile app to correct color blindness
“Legendary DNS hacker Dan Kaminsky has a new, out-of-left-field project to mitigate color blindness with augmented reality software for mobile phones. DanKam is a mobile app that you calibrate so it knows the specifics of your color blindness (I can’t see a lot of greens), and then it automatically color-corrects the world as seen through the phone’s lens to compensate for your deficit.” 
Boing Boing
Data journalism and visualisation: welcome to our new data site
“Data journalism has become an increasingly big part of our work here at the Guardian – from Wikileaks to government spending, it’s our job to make the key data accessible and easy to understand. […] So, we’ve pulled all our data journalism into one new place: guardian.co.uk/data.” 
guardian.co.uk
All of These Lights Are At Your Command
“DJ Lights pretty much does what the name suggests: the light-based, interactive art installation follows your gestures with a heat-sensitive camera placed above your head, and alters the DMX-controlled lighting and audio according to your movement.” 
Gizmodo
Interactive touch screen movie lets viewers control the plot
“It was created by Tel Aviv University‘s Prof. Nitzan Ben Shaul and centers around three Israeli friends who reunite by chance in Manhattan, 20 years after going their separate ways. At key points in the story line, certain “action items” will glow on the screen – in one scene, for example, a character is contemplating sending a text message, so his cell phone glows. If viewers want him to send the message, they touch the glowing phone on their touch screen. Not only do viewers decide how the plot progresses, but they can also search back through the various forks-in-the-road, and change their earlier choices. Without any viewer interaction, the film runs 83 minutes. With interaction, however, it lasts anywhere from one to two hours.” 
Gizmag
Troika’s “Falling Light” installation in full flow
“Troika’s awe-inspiring “Falling Light” installation, commissioned by Swarovski, was a major hit to emerge from all the creative goings on in Miami earlier this month.” 
Core77
New iPhone App “Friends” Gives Social Contact Aggregation A Warm Embrace
“Friends is an app that allows you to easily manage your contacts across your phone’s address book, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace. Once you login to each of these accounts from within the app, your contacts are synced to provide you with one killer list of people you’re connected with. Just the Twitter and Facebook syncing alone makes this app well worth the $1.99 price. But it actually is much more than just a contact organizer. It also allows you to see friend streams and update your own status from within the app. And it’s a pretty nifty way to browse articles, photos, and videos your friends are sharing as well. And you can see comments on all these items, and comment on them yourself directly from within the app. It’s really, really slick.” 
TechCrunch
Self-Encrypting Hard Drives At CES 2011
“Self-encrypting drives have several advantages over software-based encryption. For one thing, they are idiot-proof. Each drive has a key installed at the factory and the drive is constantly encrypting. There’s also a standard SED interface used for password recovery or remote data management.” 
I4U News
The Human Body As A Drum Kit
“Tokyo-based Daito Manabe has done a string of body hacking and physical computing experiments and workshops. In his latest work, he and Masaki Teruoka convert his body into a drumming machine by creating a program that uses myoelectric sensors to detect activity on his skin. Drumming is initiated by tapping on his skin or when he makes particular movements (like moving his nose or cheeks muscles).” 
PSFK
Keepsy: A Photo Album Made By A Friend Is Cool. One Made By All Your Friends Is Cooler
“Essentially, they use the social dynamics of the web to crowdsource the creation of photo albums amongst friends. So instead of me making a photo album for you filled with the pictures I have with the two of us in them, a group of friends bring all their pictures together to make the book. The first product Keepsy is focusing on is for birthdays. Up to 100 friends can collaborate on an album for a friend. This works through Facebook. Someone initiates the Keepsy book, then they invite friends to help them make it. Each person adds the pictures they think will be good for the book and contributes to the cost of the book (everyone can also chip in at this point for a gift card to something like Amazon). Keepsy is smart enough to give you a list of all the common Facebook friends between the person who starts the present and the person who is going to receive it. And obviously, all of this is hidden from the person who will receive it, until it’s ready.” 
TechCrunch
Hovering flapping flight of a 3D-printed mechanical insect
“This project has focused on developing a flapping-wing hovering insect using 3D printed wings and mechanical parts. The use of 3D printing technology has greatly expanded the possibilities for wing design, allowing wing shapes to replicate those of real insects or virtually any other shape. It has also reduced the time of a wing design cycle to approximately one hour. An ornithopter with a mass of 3.89g has been constructed using the 3D printing technique and has demonstrated an 85- second passively stable hovering flight. This flight exhibits the functional utility of printed materials for flapping wing experimentation and ornithopter construction.” 
Makezine
NYTimes Maps U.S. Census Data in Every City Block
“The New York Times has released the mapping of the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, based on samples from ranging from 2005 to 2009. Unlike the 2010 decennial census, which counts every American, the American Community Survey details characteristics using samples taken from about 1 in 10 Americans between 2005 and 2009. The available maps are divided by specific topics, such as “Race and Ethnicity”, “Income”, “Housing and Families”, “Education”, and can be explored until the level of a unique city block. Eventual insights can be saved and shared through the obvious social networks like Twitter or Facebook.” 
information aesthetics
Visualizing Friendships On Facebook
“engineer at Facebook took a sample of ten million pairs of friends from the service, crunched and tweaked the data, and came up with this remarkable data visualization. The result is a beautiful view of the planet earth that shows our web of social connections.” 
PSFK
Digital ‘passport’ proves identity for online transactions
“Essentially, the miiCard lets consumers skip the offline identity-verification step by providing a third-party-validated identity to the vendor website. Once it launches officially, consumers will sign up for the miiCard by simply supplying basic personal information such as full name, address and date of birth. To add validation, they can then choose additional pieces of information to supply — the higher their resulting “level of assurance,” as the company puts it, the wider the range of services and products they’ll have access to using the miiCard. In any case, every time consumers use their miiCard, their identity is verified via a series of secure token exchanges between them, their computer, their mobile phone and the website owner’s computer system. miiCard is free to the consumer and charged to the vendor on a transactional basis. ” 
Springwise
Japanese Kids Go Skydiving Over a Google Earth Projection
“These giggling Japanese will make you fall in love with the country all over again. And Google Earth, which is really the star of the video. If you’ve got a harness and projector, it’d be super-easy to do this yourself.” 
Gizmodo
Researchers turn bacterial colonies into logic gates
“For the past several years, researchers have been creating living logic gates, using the genetic on and off switches we’ve discovered in the biochemical world to create simple logical functions. But these systems typically run into a wall: we can only stuff so many functions into a single bacterium before the noisy processes within the cell start to interfere with their function, causing unpredictable results. Now, researchers have avoided this problem by getting small populations of bacteria to produce soluble factors that act as circuit wires. Arranged appropriately, these bacteria can perform any possible logical function.” 
Ars Technica
SARTRE multi-vehicle road train project enters implementation phase
“With the project aiming to carry out the first development tests of a single lead and following vehicle before the end of 2010, the installation of the necessary hardware and software into the two vehicles has already commenced. This includes a navigation system, a transmitter/receiver system that communicates with the lead vehicle and technology that can take control of braking, acceleration and steering. Since the systems are built into the cars, no need to add any additional infrastructure to existing roads.” 
Gizmag
Sony demonstrates ‘Flower Power’ solar windows
“Sony showed intentions to bring new meaning to the phrase “flower power” with this beautifully designed Hana Mado, or “Flower Window.” The device is actually a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) which converts light into electrical energy. For the purposes of the demonstration, Sony attached a small fan to the device to show how it continuously generates power. When the light is blocked, the fan stops spinning. Hana Mado is exciting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the technology costs less than other solar tech, and is easy to install in already existing buildings. The smart design is very aesthetically pleasing too, using screen printing to generate custom designs according to the consumer’s preference. Other colors are available for use as well, not just the green and yellow you see in the picture above” 
Gizmag
Wristband Charger For Powering Gadgets On The Go
“This interesting wristband charger straps comfortably around the user’s wrist, enabling gadget charging while on the move. The device features a rechargeable Lithium ion battery and LED indicators with a 4 Levels Power Meter. It’s compatible with most cell phones, gaming systems and music players and comes with a Mini USB Cable.” 
PSFK
Interactive projector that turns any flat surface into a touch screen wins UK design award
“Light Blue Opitcs (LBO) has won the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation Awards 2010 prize for Product Design with its Light Touch interactive projector. The device uses an infra-red touch sensing system that transforms a projected image into a virtual 10-inch touch screen. It allows users to interact with multimedia content and applications by touching the image, which can be projected onto any flat surface.” 
Gizmag
What Should We Wear (Paper Doll Tag) by Yong Jin Kim
“What Yong Jin Kim’s idea consists of is a tiny version of whatever clothing item the tag is attached to printed on the tag that’s attached. What does this mean for you and your kids? It means that you (and/or your kids) will be able to take your entire clothing collection (provided you only buy this one brand) and dress up paper dolls the same as you to your heart’s content! Hooray! What an excellent idea for working out clothing combinations with paper instead of the the rigorous activity of picking them out yourself” 
Yanko Design
21st Century ball game: the smartphone-controllable Sphero
“Sphero, which was first unveiled as a prototype by Orbotix back in June, measures 74 mm (2.9 in) in diameter and is charged using an inductive charger. Once paired to an iOS or Android smartphone, it can be controlled by tilting your phone in the direction you want it to roll and opening up the ball to a whole new variety of interactive games” 
Gizmag
New infrared camera delivers significantly better resolution
“Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new infrared imaging system that delivers a 16-fold increase in resolution over long wavelength infrared radiation (LWIR) cameras currently used in industrial, security and nighttime surveillance applications. Based on a type of semiconductor called a Type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice, the IR camera is mercury-free, more robust, cheaper to produce and can collect 78 percent of the light showing temperature differences as small as 0.02° C” 
Gizmag
Music site offers ‘cure’ for songs stuck in your head
“A new venture from Washington-based startup Liftoff Media, Unhearit uses what it likes to call “the latest in reverse-auditory-melodic-unstickification technology” to help afflicted consumers get stubborn songs out of their heads. Specifically, those currently suffering from the ailment — known as earworm — can visit the site to hear “equally catchy songs,” as Unhearit puts it. It’s a cleverly disguised free music service, in other words, with streaming, download and purchase capabilities.” 
Springwise
Toyota’s glass of water app aims to help drivers reduce emissions
“Dubbed A Glass of Water, the free app is based on the idea that if everyone drove with a glass of water on their dashboard — and aimed not to spill it — driving would be both gentler and more economical. Accordingly, the Glass of Water app records the user’s driving distance, time, fuel consumption and “water” spilled. After each drive, the user can analyze the results and see on a map where they could improve their driving for the future. The results are automatically uploaded to Toyota’s website and compared against those of other participants.” 
Springwise
Digital photo booth uses free photos as brand marketing tool
“Consumers pose for free digital photos using the rented self-serve booth at a venue or event. Those photos then get instantly delivered to their email account, mobile phone and social networking sites along with the advertiser’s logo or message in an accompanying frame. From there, the photos spread virally as they’re shared across myriad social networks — as does the brand’s message. Advertisers even receive a Proof of Performance report indicating the number of photos taken; they also get users’ email data in Microsoft Excel format and social photo analytics tracking where photos have been shared. A basic rental fee of USD 795 includes four hours of rental; local delivery, set-up and on-site tech; unlimited instant photo capture; 90-day online photo storage; and photos sent to customers after the event. Clients so far have included FIJI Water, Saks Fifth Avenue, Madam Tussauds, Procter & Gamble, Chivas, Heineken, Coca-Cola and National Geographic.” 
Springwise
The day MAME saved a project…
“The publisher insisted that the map be a perfect replica of the original, with all the right tiles in all the right places. Given enough time I could have reversed engineered the ROM and reconstructed it that way, but with only a day or two left I had to come up with something fast. […] What I was left with was a partially reconstructed version of the original SpyHunter map array. I say partially because many of the tiles were missing: if a car or explosion effect etc was present on screen then the pixel-match algorithm would fail and the tiles in that part of the map would be left blank. Most of the action happened on the road where it was easy to fill in missing tiles, for the rest I had our guy play the MAME version a few more times, merging the data sets for each pass. When all was said and done there were only about 20 or so tiles missing from the entire game, at which point it was trivial to go through and add them manually using the MAME screen-shots as reference. The end-result was a 18×1538 array of tile indices representing a perfect reconstruction of the original map data.” 
@Makezine.com
Betali.st Gives Early Adopters A Heads Up
“Betali.st creator Marc Köhlbrugge has started curating an online list of not yet public startups that are currently or will soon give out invites to their private betas. Bookmark it in your browser if you want to be first to try the next Twitter or Instagram, call dibs on your account name or just see what the competition is up to.” 
TechCrunch
Interactive Literature Creation With the Automatypewriter
“Interactive fiction takes an interesting turn with the Automatypewriter, a typewriter that can type on its own and can also, to a certain extent, predict a writer’s next words in a sentence. The machine may also read to the user the words they are typing, thereby creating a potential avenue for interactive literature creation or casual gaming.” 
PSFK
Pummelvision Lets You Watch Your Life Flash Before Your Eyes
“Pummelvision takes photos from your Flickr, Tumblr, or Facebook account to create a unique and rapid slideshow of your life set to music. When it’s done, it’ll upload it to YouTube or Vimeo for sharing with your friends.” 
LifeHacker
Kinect air guitar
“First it thresholds the scene to find a person, then uses a histogram to get the most likely depth of a person in the scene. Then any pixels closer than the person to the camera are possible hands. It also uses contour extremity finding on the person blob to look for hands in situations where your hand is at the same depth as your body. It only works if you are facing the camera front on. Then it uses one hand as the neck of the guitar, drawing a virtual line from the neck through the person centroid to create the guitar line. The other hand is tracked to see if it passes through this line, strumming the guitar. The neck hand position controls the chord.” 
@Makezine
Bus Stop Video Games In San Francisco
“Yahoo has installed digital video screens, on which commuters can play video games against each other, at 20 bus shelters across the downtown core (we snapped this photo when the PSFK was in town earlier this week). Passengers identify which of the 20 specified neighborhoods they would like to represent when playing, and the one that wins the two-month long contest — presumable the area with the highest score — will win a block party featuring the band OK GO.” 
PSFK
This Is What Touching Your MP3s Looks Like
“Underneath the box’s sheen lies an impressive array of interlocking RFID antennae, which lie in wait for song-tagged cards. The process is simple. Each card corresponds to a song on your computer. Toss on a card to play a song—or toss on seven and make a playlist. Or, jumble them all together to—that’s right—shuffle MP3s with your bare hands. Even as a prototype, it’s a fun take on listening to music with friends, and probably more compelling than scrolling through an iTunes library when you’re deliberating your next listen.” 
Gizmodo
Fujitsu converts heat and light into electricity with a single device
“Fujitsu Laboratories today announced a two-in-one energy harvesting device that can convert both light and heat into electricity. With no electrical wiring or batteries to replace, Fujitsu says that this sort of device can be manufactured from organic materials keeping costs to a minimum. Devices that use photovoltaic cells to convert light to electricity or temperature differentials to harness heat are not new, but by combining the two on a single hybrid device, Fujitsu says it can double the energy-capture potential.” 
Gizmag
Muscle wire plants come to life when you breathe on them
“Fraser Ross made these neat muscle wire plant sculptures, that come to life when you breathe on them.” 
Makezine.com
New Piezoelectric Railways Harvest Energy From Passing Trains
“A prototype of the energy-generating system was installed last year by the Technion University and Israel Railways in order to show the benefits of the technology. The project discovered that a railway track with trafficked by 10 to 20 ten-car trains could produce as much as 120 kWh, which could be used to power infrastructural systems such as signs and lights. Any surplus energy would then be uploaded to the country’s power grid.” 
Inhabitat
Tokyo’s new, huge, and very smart vending machines
“where the real brilliance comes in is with the onboard camera. The machine determines your gender and estimates your age and suggests demographically popular drinks. More importantly, after you purchase your drink, the machine has now collected some actionable data very important to drink suppliers (without capturing any personal information). For example: – Primary customers are men in their 20s and 30s; 63% men, 37% women; Men in their 30s outnumber men in their 20s that use the vending machines”.
Core77
Dustball Robot Vacuum Cleaner by Dave Hakkens
“The motor inside doubles as the dust bin and drives the unit by rotating on 2 axes to generate enough force to move. When full, it automatically returns to its starting point and glows. Again, LOVE IT but there’s a reason why most floor cleaning robots are short and squat.” 
Yanko Design
Phone calls redefine map of Great Britain
“His team used records of more than 12 billion anonymised landline telephone calls, to model who Britons frequently spoke to. These records allowed the team identify the the local telephone exchanges used in the calls. Where people spoke frequently and for extended periods, they were treated as having a stronger connection, Mr Ratti told BBC News. A map created using those connections showed that people tended to communicate most with people that we geographically close to them, he added. That enabled the team to identify dense clusters of connection as distinct regional groups.” 
BBC News
Inconspicuous Matter electro reactive wallpaper by Celine Marcq
“In an effort to visualize electrical energy flows, this project shows just that through responsive materials set up to be fabulous ambient displays, reacting to energy blasted through their veins, reacting with fabulous colors galore! This project takes material design and uses it to demand users attention (quite well I’d imagine) generating in them awareness. Awareness of what, you might ask? Well first the magical innovation displayed in this project, of course, look it’s amazing! Then in the actual visual flow or energy that’d otherwise be invisible.” 
Yanko Design
SPARQCode Makes It A Snap For Local Businesses To Use QR Codes
“SPARQCodes are very similar to normal QR codes, but differ slightly because they link to a URL instead of embedding their payload data in the QR code itself. The new feature, which is called ‘Connect N Share’, is very straightforward — it makes it easy for businesses to generate QR codes that link to the business’s presence on Twitter and/or Facebook. The idea is to direct customers who are waiting in line or for their food to scan a code that they see on the wall, which leads them directly to the business’s Facebook page.” 
TechCrunc
Babble.ly Creates Private, Disposable Links for Your Phone Numbers
“Once registered, Babble.ly will provide you with a unique URL which other people can use to call you. Instead of actually seeing your number, however, the unique URL allows users to enter their own phone number and Babble.ly and call you both. Once you’re both connected with Babble.ly the calls will be bridged together, never revealing either phone number. When you’re done with the unique URL, you can keep it for later use, remove it from your account, or create a new one.” 
LifeHacker
Researchers to Develop Protective Living Walls, Fight Climate Change
“Researchers at the University of Greenwich in the UK are developing a carbon negative building material that would not only help fight climate change but protect the structures it is built upon. The material is made from protocells — super simple cells that have only the basic elements of life, yet are able to grow and multiply — that will capture carbon in their membranes and grow over time to create a hard, coral-like armor around or under buildings.” 
Inhabitat
Studio Ve’s Manifold Clock renders time 3D
“The two hands are connected by a piece of Tyvek, drawing a random-but-not-random 3D form that literally changes by the minute.” 
Core77
Now Your iPhone Can Be the Universal Remote it Always Wanted to Be Thanks to Peel
“The Peel app on the iPhone is designed to help you figure out what’s on TV, not by giving you a list of channels in a timetable, but rather by figuring out what types of shows you watch the most, then presenting the most relevant, available options to you when you’re trying to find something new to watch. As for the part where it turns your iPhone into a universal remote, Peel actually did something kinda clever to avoid having to attach a dongle to your iPhone. See that yellowish thing in the picture? Yeah, that thing. They call that the Fruit. The iPhone talks to a cable which plugs into your home router, and then the cable relays your commands to the Fruit.” 
Gizmodo
“Pictures Without Ink” Create Tactile Graphics for the Blind
“Architect Keith Carlson is currently working on “Pictures Without Ink,” a new method of creating tactile graphics for the blind through the use of rapid prototyping” 
Inhabitat
Swarm Light is an $180k LED chandelier controlled by an iPhone
“It’s a series of little LEDs hung in sequence along three clusters of grids, lit up in order by a computer to display simulated collective movement, like a swarm of bees. It’s very interesting, both as a display for a programmed algorithm, and just as an art project. All together, the display costs $180,000 — no small chunk of change.” 
TUAW
Quantum Dot Displays Start to Shine
“QD Vision, an MIT spinoff, has announced a display technology based on quantum dots that could not only be easier to manufacture than OLEDs, but also be even brighter and more energy-efficient.” 
Technology Review
Graphene-based supercapacitor hits new energy storage high
“A breakthrough in supercapacitor performance has been achieved with the development of a device that can store as much energy as a battery while recharging in seconds. The graphene-based supercapacitor being developed in the U.S. by researchers at Nanotek Instruments can store as much energy per unit mass as nickel metal hydride batteries and could one day be used to help deliver almost instant charging to recharge mobile phones, digital cameras or micro electric vehicles.” 
Gizmag
A Google Image Search Fashion Show
“Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo have created a ‘fashion show’ using Google Images and a digital projector for the launch of the new brand campaign ‘more with Google’ in Japan. Directed by Kosai Sekine, the thirty-second commercial is designed to illustrate some often overlooked features of the image directory such as the ‘sort by color’ and ‘similar images’ functions.” 
PSFK
Holographic Maps: The Latest Cartographic Innovation
“The latest development in 3D technology lets you leave the glasses at home. Zebra Imaging has created a holographic printing technology that produces incredibly detailed images such as maps that come in colour, have enough detail involved that you can see tiny people in the cityscapes, and can have multiple channels of information embedded within them so you can see various layers of information, like the insides of buildings. The holograms are printed using lasers and a special type of film.” 
PSFK
Jerusalem Design Week: “Time 02″ exhibition
“The “Jerusalem Clock”, pictured above—by designers Atar Brosh, Merav Schnaps and Ohad Banit— is a stylish yet strange concept that displays important local times—prayer times and the like—instead of simply displaying the hour of the day.” 
Core77
Reclaimed Wood Nightstand Prints and Scans Twitter Photos This Reclaimed Nightstand Makes Twitter Tangible
“The nightstand — which is entirely made from reclaimed components — has an internet connection, a scanner and a printer built in and will print photos from the twitter feeds that you follow as they appear online. In addition to printing out your friend’s and family’s photos, it will scan and post things for you too — all you have to do is pop it in the nightstand drawer and your notes will appear on twitter.” 
Inhabitat
AU 2010 Exhibition: Infinite Z’s insane 3D display
“During my demo I was presented with a complicated piece of machinery, and using the light pen I was able to pull different parts off of it, flip them around and examine them from all angles. The detail was insane. For small or convoluted parts that don’t lend themselves well to manipulation, they have a solution too: You use the light pen to pick up a tiny camera, the size of a Matchbox car, and you can then manipulate the free-floating camera inside, around or under your object. A screen pops up and shows you what the camera is seeing” 
Core77
New medical imaging technique delivers streaming video at molecular level
“The new technology is based on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), a non-intrusive optical technique that detects the vibrations in the chemical bonds between atoms through absorption and subsequent emission of photons. By intelligently rearranging the photodetectors so they would capture more photons, the team used SRS microscopy to obtain streaming footage of blood cells squeezing through capillaries, proteins and lipids, and to track the migration of medications in skin.” 
Gizmag
OnLive App For iPad Tries To Show Gaming Is Spectator Sport
“You can’t quite actually play games with the new iPad app that just launched today, but you can “tune in” to other games being played by people on their computer or OnLive game console. It’s basically the first dedicated spectator app for gaming. […] “Spectating of other players is by far the most popular OnLive activity after gameplay itself, and the convenience and mobility of iPad and Android tablets adds an incredible dimension to it,” said OnLive VP John Spinale in a statement.” 
I4U News
The Noun Project: Assembling A Free And Universal Visual Shorthand
“While I doubt that the Noun Project, an effort to make a free library of icons representing every common concept out there, will have a profound impact on your everyday life, it’s a useful service they’re volunteering to undertake, and I think it deserves some attention. The idea is simple: make a freely accessible library of clear, simple graphics that represent everything from emergency rooms and medications to different kinds of cocktails or entrees.” 
TechCrunch
Get The Contact Details For Everyone In The Room With This iPhone App
“Basically, all you have to do is download the iPhone app and open it while near people who have the same app. In seconds their names will pop up on your screen and you’ll be able to send your contact information to them. If you want to share details with people who don’t have an iPhone or the My Name Is E app, then you can simly email them everything they need straight from the app.” 
Gizmodo
Democratizing DNA Sequencing
“A device that reads the sequence of DNA using semiconductor technology could bring the power of sequencing to a much broader swath of the science world. The desktop machine, developed by a startup called Ion Torrent, is slated to go on sale this month and will cost $50,000, about one-tenth of the cost of other sequencing machines on the market.” 
Technology Review
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