Archive for December, 2011
No Joke: A Robot That Controls Your Limbs, Instead Of Vice Versa
"It’s hard to tell this story without making a Skynet joke, but here goes: Researchers have developed a prototype robot that can take control of a human partner’s arm and use it to complete tasks. Thanks to electrodes strapped to the human’s arm and a technique called functional electrical stimulation (FES), the robot can send signals that will cause the arm to move and the hand to open or close. From the perspective of the human, these movements are entirely involuntary. From the perspective of the robot, it is controlling a second serial robot."
via Co.Design
Social platform creates network of trusted recommendations
"To begin using the platform, individuals send Vineloop requests to the friends whose opinions they value most on specific subjects — for example, restaurants, wine or music — with a limit of five friends per subject. The user will then be given access to the recommendations of these trusted friends, as well as recommendations from the people those friends trust most. Vineloop call this network a “Trustline”."
via Springwise
Google’s Updated Street View of Fukushima Makes Me Want to Cry
"The search giant has delivered on a promise it made in July to obtain updated photos of the afflicted region. The shots are now available on Google Maps as well as a special site "Build the Memory," where users can compare before-and-after shots of the devastation. The updated pictures also include a new and much requested Google Maps feature—timestamps listing the month and year the photo was taken."
via Gizmodo
Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch – a new take on an all time classic
"Featuring a stainless steel case with a spring-hinged cover and a 35 cm (13.7 in) stainless steel chain, the Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch resembles its classic counterpart on the outside only. Like its wrist-worn sibling, it comes with touchscreen-based hybrid LCD/LED interface, capable of displaying dual timezones and animations. The touchscreen is unlocked via swiping your finger across the screen from left to right. There are four "hot-zones" on Kisai Rogue’s touch-sensitive face (top, bottom, left and right), that allow to switch between modes – time, date, alarm and LED light up. Settings are triggered by holding your finger in place for a few seconds, to set the time, date, or the alarm."
via Gizmag
Penguin To Publish ‘Digital Only’ Editions
"The Penguin Shorts progamme, a collection of short digital reads, has just launched with nine titles, ranging from a creepy short story by Dunmore to an essay on multiculturalism from Elif Shafak, accounts of the battles of Alamein and Isandlwana, recipes for the perfect Christmas day from Felicity Cloake and a novella by Anita Brookner. Toby Young has written an essay on How To Set Up a Free School, John Gapper an analysis of rogue trading, Colm Tóibín a memoir of growing up in Ireland. Priced at £1.99 – “approximately the same price as a cup of coffee,” says Penguin – the ebooks are available across all digital formats, each emblazoned with the iconic tri-band design with which Allen Lane launched Penguin’s paperbacks back in 1935."
via @PSFK
Berkeley creates flexible, rugged, plastic electronic skin with carbon nanotubes
"To make the electronic skin, the Berkeley researchers had to purify a solution of carbon nanotubes so that 99% were the semiconductor form. The team then took a thin sheet of polyamide, laser-cut stretchable hexagonal cells into it, then deposited layers of silicon, aluminium oxide, and finally the carbon nanotubes. The end result is a thin-film, active matrix of transistors that the engineers then wired up to a computer to create a 96-pixel, 24-square-centimeter pressure sensor."
via ExtremeTech
MorpHex: A Sphere-Shaped Hexabot
"I don’t know what to say about MorpHex (which Sean blogged about in August) except WOW"
via MAKE
Speed of Light Lingers in Face of M.I.T. Media Lab Camera
"Now scientists at M.I.T.’s Media Lab are using an ultrafast imaging system to capture light itself as it passes through liquids and objects, in effect snapping a picture in less than two-trillionths of a second."
via NYTimes.com
Japan Is Leading The Market Of Virtual Companions With Their Nintendo DS Dating Game
"Yuuya Iwama is a young Japanese man who enjoy taking his girlfriend Manaka Takane on dates around Tokyo. What makes Manaka special, is that she’s a virtual character found on the dating game Love Plus, which is available on the Nintendo DS portable gaming console. However, just like a real relationship, Iwama can converse with Manaka, reply to her e-mails and go on romantic dates. Love Plus includes over 5,000 scripts, 150 CG events and over 25,000 voice expressions. The game is set in real-time and essentially can be played 24 hours a day for a lifetime. The game only ends when the relationship falters."
via @PSFK
Hitachi ships world’s first 4TB hard drive, sticks it to Thor
"The monstrous 4TB Deskstar 5K. With a rotational speed of 5,900RPM, a 6Gbps SATA 3 interface, and the same 32MB of cache as its 2 and 3TB siblings, the 4TB model is basically the same beast — just with four platters instead of two or three. The list price is around $345 — not great, but definitely reasonable"
via ExtremeTech
BIG + AUDI: urban future at design miami 2011
"the 185 square meter (1991 square feet) LED installation had 3D cameras which tracked the movement of passers-by. this data was processed and generated into artwork which was fed back to the panels, following the moving visitors with colorful pockets. the AUDI A2 driverless concept car was featured as the centrepiece of urban surface prototype, continuously emitting arrows to indicate its future path as it navigated between the visitors."
via Design Boom
Favo.rs: Good Ol’ Boy Network as a Service
"When you join the marketplace, you provide your social networking vitals — i.e Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook profiles — and then you can negotiate with other members for favors, whether you’re “connected” to them or not. A marketeer working on a technical doc may reach out to a Java developer, looking for critical feedback. If the feedback is good, the developer can accrue a better standing on the site as a helpful person — or an authority on the topic — and his visibility within the network rises."
via Wired.com
World’s first programmable quantum photonic chip
"With multiple waveguide channels (made from standard silicon dioxide), and eight electrodes (see image above), the silicon chip is capable of repeatedly entangling photons. Depending on how the electrodes are programmed, different quantum states can be produced. The end result is two qubits that can be used to perform quantum computing — and unlike D-Wave’s 128-qubit processor (well, depending on who you ask) this is real quantum computing. Most importantly, though, unlike existing quantum photonic setups which require apparatus the size of a “large dining table,” this new chip is tiny: just 70mm (2.7 inches) by 3mm (pictured below) — not exactly a 22nm component size, then, but small enough to squeeze inside a computer"
via ExtremeTech
Wristband lets swimmers monitor their progress and share online
"Users begin by swiping their Swimtag card at the swimming pool reception and collecting a wristband. When worn in the pool, this wristband can monitor the swimmer’s split times, stroke rate and stroke type, as well as the number of lengths swam. Once the swimmer is finished, performance data and statistics are automatically analyzed and uploaded to the user’s account, which can then be viewed online on the swimmer’s smartphone or computer, or via web-connected kiosks. Records of performances are kept, and specific training targets can be set up, incorporating distance, calories, speed and lengths. Swimtag also offers specific training plans, designed to help swimmers lose weight or improve their stamina, for example. Swimtag swimmers can also take part in online competitions, and further social functionality enables them to add friends from Facebook and Twitter, sharing status updates and scheduling joint swims."
via Springwise
Mitsubishi Thinks Curved Rear Projection Dashboards Are Just a Decade Away
"Rear projection displays were used instead of LCDs because they allow for extreme curves, surrounding a driver so that information was always visible to them. And for navigating menus and the UI, a touch-friendly half-sphere display sits just to the right of the driver, even allowing them to hand write letters and characters for programming a destination."
via Gizmodo
Social Folders Syncs Your Facebook Pics, Google Docs, and Other Online Media with Your Desktop
"You’ll be able to connect to a good variety of services, such as Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Google Docs, Instagram, YouTube, and Box. Social Folders will then sync all your content so you can access it easily from your computer. It will also scan for updates periodically, whether they were added via the web or to one of the synced folders on your machine, and synchronize the changes. This means, for example, that you can upload new photos to Facebook by just dropping them in a folder."
via LifeHacker
Digital messages left for individuals at specific, real-world locations | Springwise
"With the app in hand, users can leave multimedia messages for each other at any location in the world. Those text, photo, video or audio messages — called “Repudos” — can be left for a specific individual or for a complete stranger to collect. Potential recipients also in possession of the app can then check for messages left exclusively for them in their “to pick up” folder, or they can use the map to view Repudos left for anyone. In order to collect a Repudo, users must simply visit the designated location. Once they’ve received the message, the sender is notified."
via Springwise
The WHILL turns any wheelchair into an electric vehicle
"The WHILL incorporates two circular "hubs" (for lack of a better word) that attach to the outside center of both of the wheelchair’s wheels. These hubs are joined by a curved control section, which bridges over the user’s waist. The angle of that section can initially be manually adjusted by the user, then locked into place by locking the hubs onto the wheels. Each of the hubs contains a separate 24-volt motor, powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. These turn the chair’s wheels, propelling it up to a top speed of 20 km/h (12.5 mph). The battery reportedly takes two hours to charge, and offers a range of approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles)."
via Gizmag
Screen Printed Interactive Invite
"We have created interactive invites for the Product Design MSc launch party. The invites also double as musical instruments, when brought along to the event the audience can plug their invite into a little box and they become fully interactive playing 8bit music. The user can control the pitch as well as the frequency of the beeping. The large circle acts as a distance sensor, the closer your hand is to it the higher the pitch of sound. The three small circles control the frequency of beeps. This all works with capacitance."
via Product Research
123D Catch Lets You Capture 3D Models Quickly & Cheaply
"Our demonstrator walked around a real model of R2-D2, shot photos from multiple angles, then dropped those images into the computer. Autodesk’s server farm in the cloud then crunched the numbers, and a few moments later an insanely detailed 3D model appeared on screen. The whole process, start to finish, was about five minutes of doing and ten minutes of waiting for the cloud-crunching."
via Core77
Community Of Storytellers Use Online Tool To Build Public Library Of Human Experience
"Individuals can document their lives with either public or private diaries that can feature a combination of words, pictures and audio, as well as tags, locations, dates, characters and dedications. Connections between personal experiences lead to larger “sagas” and member’s stories can be combined into a collective tale about a specific event. The storyteller’s writing is organized and can be explored in a timeline or on an interactive map. You can also explore an index of themes in the library or discover connections between your life and the lives of others. You can save the stories you love to your diary so you can find them again and join an author’s audience to view their new stories in your “News” area."
via @PSFK
Computer Augmented Crafts – Interactive design interface by Christian Fiebig
"Christian Fiebig designed a computer interface that makes suggestions to the designer while he’s working. In his version, the computer follows a structure in the making via a webcam and instantly generates other design suggestions based on any special parameters programmed by the designer."
via CreativeApplications.Net
Nanoscale electronic circuit suggests new possibilities for computers
"A team of scientists from Montreal’s McGill University have successfully formed a circuit between two wires which were separated by a gap of only 15 nanometers – that’s about the width of 150 atoms. It is reportedly "the first time that anyone has studied how the wires in an electronic circuit interact with one another when packed so tightly together." Along with being one of the smallest electronic circuits ever created, it has also led to a discovery that may have big implications for the world of computing. The researchers were surprised to discover that each of the wires could be either positively or negatively affected by the other. In other words, the current in one wire could produce a current in the other that either flowed in the same direction, or in the opposite direction. According to the team, this discovery could lead to a reassessment of the current understandings regarding the behavior of electronic circuits at the nanoscale."
via Gizmag
Small Demons
"Taking an ambitious approach to filtering information online, Small Demons is a new site dedicated to opening up the worlds inside of books. Not just another search engine for what’s inside your favorite novel, Small Demons collects and catalogs the millions of references to real-world and fictional music, movies, people, and objects that are found in literature. Your new favorite restaurant could be on the next page of the book you’re reading, and Small Demons hopes to provide a place where you can draw meaningful connections between stories and everyday life."
via Cool Hunting
Oscilloscope Turns iPad Into a Serious Science Tool
"It is a very small module, smaller than the Arduino Uno sitting next to it on my desk, that plugs into your iOS device and your iOS device handles all of the display and heavy duty work for the oscilloscope! I usually have my iPad or iPhone with me when I am working so this seemed like an ideal solution. I was rather reserved about my expectations. I had used some awesome high-end scopes at work and I wasn’t sure how this would stand up to my expectations. I have to say, I am impressed"
via Wired.com
In Between A Rock And A Hard Place? New App Helps You Get Unstuck
"Part personal coach, part toolbox for life, Unstuck gives you tips and strategies to move forward towards your goal, whatever it may be. By assessing your feelings, mental status, and particular behaviors, the app finds the ‘kind of stuck’ you have in a game-like process that is revealing and fun. Once it identifies the problem and how to get ‘unstuck,’ users are given practical tools to gain perspective, find root causes, prioritize goals or whatever the app determines will help them out."
via @PSFK
Design Inspiration: A 1937 Typewriter That Paints…
"This started out to be a 1937 Underwood Standard typewriter. Artist Tyree Callahan got his hands on it and recreated the whole thing into something brand new. Now instead of typing letters, it paints with colorful oils. He did this by taking the ink pads and letter keys off. He replaced them with colored paint pads and markers. He calls his new creation the Chromatic Typewriter. Of course, painting with this new machine wouldn’t make precise strokes, but as you see in the pictures, it would create a dreamy world of fantasy and colors"
via Bit Rebels
Flying robots build structure
"Four autonomous quadcopter robots retrieve foam bricks and then a networked computer vision system directs their placement. The installation consists of more than 1,500 bricks and is a 1:100 model of what the architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler call a "vertical village."
via Boing Boing
Artificial Leaf Splits Water Molecules When Exposed to Light
"Simply dropping the solar cell in water and exposing it to light, O2 bubbles begin streaming off the side coated with a cobalt borate catalyst, and H2 bubbles begin streaming off the other side coated by a nickel-molybdenum-zinc alloy catalyst. If placed in a vessel with a barrier, the H2 and O2 could be collected separately and stored, and then later be used to power a fuel cell. Nocera envisions this type of simple, low-cost solar cell, once optimized, could be useful to power individual homes in developing regions around the world."
via MAKE
Sony creates holodeck using Playstation Move and Eyetoy
"This technique, called "projection mapping," has become more common in advertising recently, but has always been limited by the effect only being visible from a single, static point. The production team found a way around this using Sony’s Playstation Move. To create the short videos, the team connected a Steadicam to several Playstation Move controllers that were synced up with EyeToy cameras situated around the set. These devices tracked the movement of the camera to adjust the angle of the background visuals on the fly, giving the scenes a more realistic handheld look. The rest of the action is filled in by creative props and some on-screen manipulation by extras."
via Gizmag
Computed tomography used to recreate a Stradivarius violin
"CT scanning offers a unique method of noninvasively imaging a historical object," said Dr. Sirr. "Combined with computer-aided machinery, it also offers us the opportunity to create a reproduction with a high degree of accuracy." This is achieved by measuring not only size and shape, but also wood density and the fluctuations of thickness and volume. This means the technique can be used to identify precious instruments and even establish their unique repair history on the basis of evidence such as cracks and worm holes. Such information may be extremely valuable since Stradivari’s violins tend to cost a fortune."
via Gizmag
Algorithm will identify retouched images and rate their closeness to reality
"Digital forensics professionals at Dartmouth are developing software that will be able not only to identify modified images (this is old hat at this point) but also to rank the level of retouching applied."
via ExtremeTech
Senseg demonstrates new technology that creates textures on flat screens
"The tech is made possible using an electrostatic-field-based system that allows different parts of the screen to produce varying degrees of friction. So, while you’re touching a flat screen, it feels like you’re touching something textured instead. Your traditional screen is turned into what Senseg is calling a "Feel Screen," allowing you to feel textures, contours and edges of things that are displayed in front of you. Feel Screens don’t rely on moving parts in the screen itself, and could be integrated into devices we use today such as smartphones, tablets, and televisions."
via Gizmag
E-Ink on Your Wrist
"Phosphor has been making e-ink watches for a few years now. This is its first world traveler watch that is waterproof to 100 feet and doesn’t look like something Robocop would get at his retirement party."
via NYTimes.com
US Theaters Start Reserving ‘Tweet Seats’ For Twitter Users
"More and more theater venues across America are offering ‘tweet seats’ for people to live-tweet during performances. The new sections, usually located in the back row to avoid disrupting other patrons, are available at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Carolina Ballet in Raleigh, and Ohio’s Dayton Opera, amongst others. The tweet seats allow Twitter users to comment on the show and share their reactions with followers, offering them a way of interacting during the performance."
via @PSFK
Roboden electrical cable stretches like human skin
"Researchers from Japanese company Asahi Kasei Fibers have developed what is claimed to be the world’s first elastic electric cable. Inspired by the extensibility of human skin, the Roboden cable has been initially designed as a wiring solution for humanoid robots and wearable electronics. The stretchy cable could also find its way into personal electronics in the form of power cords or USB data cables."
via Gizmag
CityMaps Shows Where Businesses Are, Block by Block
"Ms. Lovatt said that when she had a retail space to lease, she used CityMaps to determine what retail uses already existed in the neighborhood, so she could find the best potential tenants. She said she also used the maps to reach out to nearby retailers to see if they were interested in moving to a new space or had any expansion plans. Ms. Lovatt said that before she found CityMaps a few months ago, she kept lists of retailers for each neighborhood in Excel spreadsheets that she went to great lengths to create and update. "
via NYTimes.com
Social game rewards users for performing and photographing real-world tasks
"Users of Onefeat begin by signing up via Facebook, Twitter or their email account. They then browse the site for a “mission,” or challenge. Thousands are currently listed — “ride a roller coaster,” “visit your grandma” or “find the best Happy Birthday cake,” for example — or users can create their own. Either way, to win the points assigned to the challenge, they perform the task in question and take a photo to prove it — a free iPhone app is available to facilitate that. Once the photo is uploaded, users earn points and trophies based upon the number of users who like their photo, allowing them eventually to progress on to the next level of the game."
via Springwise
DataSift To Offer Access To Historical Tweets
"DataSift’s Historical service will give developers, social media monitoring companies, marketers, and brands access to 60 days of tweets for the Alpha, which can be analyzed and filtered beyond simple keyword search. When the service is launched more broadly later next year, it will go back as far as two years. DataSift allows for all sorts of data analysis because it pours all the tweets into a structured database. So you can give it queries like: “Give me all the tweets that mention TechCrunch from people who do not follow @techcrunch” or “All females in the UK who mention fashion.”"
via TechCrunch
Nanowires enable faster, low-power 10nm 3D transistors
"The end result, as with all discoveries of this ilk, is computer chips that require less power and produce less heat. This in turn allows for smaller batteries and lighter computers. The most notable advantage of the Harvard and Purdue nanowire transistor, though — and unlike many other similar discoveries — is that it can be built using conventional chip fabrication processes. In other words, we might actually see nanowire transistors within a few years."
via ExtremeTech
Digital face-swapping heading for low-budget film-making
"Computer scientist Kevin Dale has created a digital "face transplant" system, that reportedly works with a single camera, simple lighting, and a regular desktop computer. The process begins with footage of a supplying "source" actor, and a receiving "target" actor – both of which can be talking. The software proceeds to create 3D models of both of their faces, then subtly alters the pose and speech of the target actor to match those of the source. Needless to say, it works best if both actors are in the same pose, in the same lighting, and saying the same thing."
via Gizmag
Crushing the Cost of Predicting the Future
"Large and diverse sets of data have become abundant as more information is posted on the Internet, from stock prices and news pages to sensor readings. Now the cost of analyzing and visualizing that data is dropping fast, too, with implications for all kinds of decision-making. A company called Recorded Future looks at 100,000 Web pages an hour, scanning across 50,000 sources that include everything from Securities and Exchange Commission filings to Twitter comments. The idea is to look for statements about the future, like notice of an annual meeting or predictions about when a product might be released, look at past developments and then create a “temporal index” that suggests trends. "
via NYTimes.com
Sony Ericsson’s Vscreens Moves Your Mobile Content To The Big Screen
"Once you’ve downloaded the Vscreens app from the Android Market (which works on any Android device running 2.1 later, not just SE handsets), point your browser at vscreens.com and scan that QR code. Your device and the website will forge a connection, and allow you to quickly throw photos up onto a bigger screen. Scrolling back and forth between photos was fairly smooth, and to my surprise, pinch-to-zoom worked nicely as well."
via TechCrunch
CloudFTP Wi-Fi Enables Just About Anything
"The CloudFTP is a USB-powered gadget that provides a Wi-Fi connection for devices that don’t include them. Plug in any USB device—cameras, flash drives, card readers, etc—and the CloudFTP will establish a connection with your existing network and wirelessly transfer files from the device."
via Gizmodo
An Ultrathin Brain Implant Monitors Seizures
"A new, ultrathin, ultraflexible implant loaded with sensors can record the electrical storm that erupts in the brain during a seizure with nearly 50-fold greater resolution than was previously possible. The level of detail could revolutionize epilepsy treatment by allowing for less invasive procedures to detect and treat seizures. It could also lead to a deeper understanding of brain function and result in brain-computer interfaces with unprecedented capacity. For epilepsy patients who don’t respond to medication, neurologists will often try to map where in the brain the seizure originated so that region can be surgically removed."
Technology Review
Designs from the world’s top fashion schools put to vote and made to-order
"Users can express their interest in designs exhibited in the “Concept” area of the website, and when enough interest has been registered, the designs will become available for purchase as limited editions. Users are not committed to buy when they register interest, but will be notified when MUUSE are taking orders. Once an order has been placed, the fabrics are then sourced and the garments made by tailors in Copenhagen on a made to-order basis. Customers can then view the progress of their order, which takes between six and ten weeks to make. On the site users can also view garments already available for purchase, with options to browse by designer, fashion school or collection. MUUSE currently ship to Europe and the USA."
via Springwise
EMI Presses Play On Digital Innovation; Opens Its Catalog To App Developers
"The new partnership is part of the record label’s OpenEMI initiative, which is focused on digital innovation and improving music licensing processes for new digital apps in a way that is flexible and adaptive for developers. Basically, it’s focusing on letting developers bring their products directly to market, without the requisite hoop-jumping. Man, this kind of stuff should be the norm for music labels, but just the fact that a major record label has created an initiative like this is enough to make me want to stand up and cheer. As part of the new initiative, Echo Nest and EMI have created a sandbox that offers developers creative briefs and a chance to play around in EMI’s bullpen of about 12,000 songs. Only 2K of these are from the general catalog, but precleared content will be offered from artists like Gorillaz, Pet Shop Boys, Professor Green, and several more"
via TechCrunch
Volkswagen’s eT! concept reinvents the delivery vehicle with semi-autonomous capabilities
"A thinktank headed by Volkswagen Group Research has re-conceptualized the delivery vehicle and come up with a thought-provoking commercial EV concept vehicle named the eT! The eT! drives semi-autonomously on voice commands such as "follow me" and "come to me" and the driver can also steer from the passenger side using a joystick."
via Gizmag
GameChanger merges traditional board games with the iPad
"To start the game, the iPad needs to be placed inside the GameChanger’s cradle which connects it to the board. Players then place the appropriate game skins on the board and run a corresponding application on the iPad. Utilizing 48 pressure-sensitive fields on the board, iPad’s screen changes according to what happens during the game. There are four multi-game playing pieces that interact with the game, while everything else is displayed on the screen."
via Gizmag
Lasers Power Pentagon’s Next-Gen Artificial Limbs
"It all started in 2005, when researchers at Vanderbilt realized they could trigger a nerve using infrared light. The finding catalyzed a handful of research projects investigating the prospect of laser-powered prostheses, and Darpa last year doled out $5.6 million for the creation of the Neurophotonics Research Center, led by SMU, for the development of prosthetic devices powered by infrared lasers. A fiber-optic prosthetic for a human patient would likely be a cuff — loaded with optical cables — affixed at one end to a prosthetic, and attached at the other to the body’s severed nerves. Those are a decade off, but already, researchers say they’ve nearly climbed the project’s biggest hurdle: Developing sensors with enough sensitivity to detect — and trigger — the infinitesimally small perturbations of a single activated nerve."
via Wired.com
Smell Your Tweets: Web Device Creates Scent-Based Notifications
"With more information actively vying for our direct attention, interaction designers are beginning to think about how to passively make use of what Russell Davies calls secondary attention. Data that doesn’t rudely pull our eyes towards it, but rather shares information with us politely. Mint Digital achieves that in a very unique and simple way, one that can be fully customized as all of parts and code that make up Olly are open and accessible."
via @PSFK
Spiderbot Goes Where Spiderman Can’t, Including Nightmares
"Created by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation, this spider-like rotbot is designed for use as a forward scout for first responder teams during haz-mat crises and is equipped with a camera and sensory suite. This will allow it to transmit live video of the site as well as track down chemical or gas leak sources."
via Gizmodo
This 3D Display Uses Multiple Lenses To Boost Sense Of Depth Perception
"The way his 3D display works is actually pretty simple: it uses multiple layers and lenses to boost the sense of depth perception. Professor Kakeya explains: It forms images of objects at the front toward the front, and objects at the back toward the back. When objects at the front are in focus, those at the back are blurred, and when you’re looking at objects at the back, those in front are blurred. So a feature of this display is that it reproduces focal depth."
via TechCrunch
Cheap, ink-based printable nanocrystal solar cells become a reality
"These new dye-sensitized nanocrystal cells (DSCs) are basically slabs of ceramic titanium dioxide (titania) — the same, very cheap material that makes up the pigment in white paint (pictured below right). The organic dye, which is simply printed onto the titania, is a molecule with three distinct characteristics: It has a group of atoms that readily gains electrons, a group that loses electrons, and a light-absorbing bridge that’s similar to the chlorophyll found in plant cells. Basically, sunlight hits the dye, which then fires electrons into the titania, where electrodes pick them up to create a current."
via ExtremeTech
Game Creates Worldwide Zombie Hunt Using Augmented Reality
"Paranormal Activity: Sanctuary, is a location-based, augmented reality (AR) enabled, multi-player mobile game. Using the viewfinders of their smartphones, gamers can view paranormal activity layered over their surrounding environment and join a massive multi-player game that requires completing location-based missions and casting spells on real-world locations. Missions are generated in any real world location, asking players to complete challenges in order advance the story line, gain new spells, and earn status points. The game can be played anywhere in the world, enabling multiple players to compete and collaborate in the global battle between good and evil."
via @PSFK
3D Printed Bones Are Saving a UK Hospital Thousands in Fees
"A trainee surgeon in the UK has developed a program that will save his hospital thousands of dollars – and potentially many lives as well – by 3D printing bones. Traditionally, bone models were not made for most patients’ cases because they cost the hospital thousands of dollars and take many weeks to complete. The new 3D printed models run around $150, take just a week to complete and ship and can help surgeons prepare for complex operations before their patients are even brought into the operating room."
via Inhabitat
Readers Tap Smart Book To Pull Up Information On Mobile Devices
"Atria Publishing, a division of Simon and Schuster, has published its first “smart book” equipped with an embedded smart chip to provide readers with more information. When users tap on the book’s RFID-enabled sticker on the cover with their smartphones, the phones will automatically pull up a website with additional information about the book."
via @PSFK
The ‘Prius of bicycles’ switches gears by reading your mind
"Parlee Cycles’s new bike looks ordinary enough, but the helmet gives it away. Plastic tentacles reach down from the headgear, pressing metal sensors against the cyclist’s scalp. This snug but comfortable helmet has a secret power. It reads minds. Its array of neurotransmitters sends signals to a smart phone attached to the bicycle’s handlebars, which then connects to the gear system. With a little training, a cyclist can change gears with a thought. One kind of brain wave commands the bike to downshift; another causes it to shift up."
via CSMonitor.com
