Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
Are These Dancing Figures The Future Of Digital Fabrication?
"Architect Marc Fornes, who has experimented with creating code-generated physical structures in the past, is scaling down for his next exhibit and building human-sized sculptures instead of buildings.Fornes hand-writes code, using Python, to find algorithms to create the thinnest and strongest structures possible. The results are like laser-cut 3-D puzzles–but instead of matching images, they match forms and curvatures. His goal is to design new façades that economize materials and logistics.via Co.Design
Pinterest-style site integrates social sharing, digital identification and online shopping
"The idea behind the site is that people can tell their stories through the things they own. Aimed at sharing between close friends and relatives, myStorey provides a pinboard for users to upload images of products, which they can tag with rich information – from the people in the photo and the location it was taken, to what clothes they’re wearing and where they got them from. The tags act as a kind of passive referral system for brands and outlets, while users benefit through recommendations from people they trust." via Springwise
Laser-Powered Rifle Decides When To Shoot & Records The Action
"The TrackingPoint rifle uses lasers and computers to fire an accurate shot, only when the weapon has been pointed in the right place. Developed by a Texas-based startup gun company, the rifle has a built-in laser range finder, a computer system, and a wi-fi transmitter so the user can stream the live action to an iPad. PR reports that the rifle’s scope features a color graphics display and the shooter locks a laser on their chosen target by pushing a small button near the trigger. After pulling the trigger, the gun decides when to shoot." via PSFK
This 3D Picture Was Created Without a Camera
"A projector shines hundreds of random computer-generated, black-and-white patterns on an object, while four single-pixel detectors record the amount of light reflected back. Patterns that happen to match the shape of the object reflect more light than those that don’t. The computer weights each black-and-white pattern according to the intensity recorded by the detectors and overlays the results, so that a picture of the object gradually emerges." via Gizmodo
Gmail to allow money to be sent as an attachment
"Pretty soon, U.S. Gmail users 18 and older (sorry, kiddies) will see a dollar sign icon among their Gmail attachment options. Click on the icon, select a dollar amount, and send it along. The recipient doesn’t have to have a Gmail address to take your money, but they’ll presumably need to have a Google Wallet account (or at least sign up for one to claim their money). […] Google does also take a small cut from credit card payments – 2.9 percent per transaction, to be exact (with a minimum of $0.30). If you’re paying from your bank account or directly from your Google Wallet balance, then you’re off the hook. Receiving payments is free." via Gizmag
The paper is the circuit: Scientists create graphite-based paper circuitry
"Using an ordinary inkjet printer loaded with a cartridge of an iron nitrate catalyst, the team at Germany’s Max Planck Institute prints their target designs onto ordinary paper. When the paper is heated to 800°C (1,472°F) in an oxygen-free environment (which is presumably why the paper doesn’t burn), the catalyst changes the composition of the paper’s cellulose fibers into pure conductive graphite, while the unprinted paper remains unchanged." via Gizmag
Space Monkey aims to put the cloud in your home
"Space Monkey, unlike other cloud services, actually puts a piece of hardware in the home of the user. The physical device allows the company to offer 1TB of cloud storage for US$10 a month, which is substantially cheaper than other storage solutions. […] The other benefit of having a physical device is the speed. According to the creators of the Space Monkey, its offering is up to 60 times faster than any other cloud storage service on the market. Of course, this extra speed comes from being on the same local network as the device itself. If a user is out and about, Space Monkey promises speeds similar to that of traditional cloud storage services. When data is uploaded through Space Monkey, it is encrypted and spread out to different drives on the network. This is done to protect the data in the event of a disaster, such as a fire." via Gizmag
aspekt modular SLR camera system
"separate modules house a series of different components including a 24 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor – which can be rotated from landscape to portrait without having to operate the device in an uncomfortable position – computing processor, battery with ergonomic grip and high quality OLED monitor in the viewfinder. the ‘aspekt’ also includes thunderbolt extensions for connectivity, alongside slots for conventional memory cards, a hard drive or flash memory. " via DesignBoom
Multisensory Restaurant Incorporates Live Projection, Music & Tailored Scents
"The restaurant is set up with 56 speakers, a wind turbine, and visual and smell projectors–all designed to make the guests really feel and experience the twenty course menu that the restaurant offers. For example, a meal of fish and chips comes with music by the Beatles in the background and a projection of the British flag." via PSFK
A $1 Display That Lets You See With Your Tongue
"A vinyl strip houses a grid of inkjet-printed copper pads, controlled by an Arduino processor. These pads conduct a tiny bit of current onto your tongue on command, and the magic happens as your nervous system adapts to distinguish these hyper-localized impulses, actually learning a new sense through your tongue. One possibility Dublon suggests is the ability to feel with your own electronic whiskers–yes, just like a cat–while another gives humans with their own magnetic bearings (essentially a compass on the tongue, not so dissimilar from what’s found in other animal species). " via Co.Design
Shoppi
"When consumers placed a jar of Hellmann’s mayonnaise in their cart, the tablet detected where they were in the store through NFC tags located on each aisle. For example, if they walked past the vegetable section, a video of a summer salad with mayonnaise began to play on the screen, while those next to the fish were recommended a fish, onion and mayonnaise bake. If they liked the recipe they could interact with the display to find the location of the necessary ingredients in store, or share the meal idea with friends over social networks. Some 45,000 customers were involved in the campaign and – according to Hellmann’s – sales rose by almost 70 percent. The video below shows the Recipe Cart in action:" via Springwise
‘Invisible biometrics’ detect user identity by how they use the device
"Hoping to provide an altogether more discrete way to protect digital assets, the BioCatch system monitors the minute details of users’ keystrokes, mouse clicks and touchscreen swipes to create a profile of their individual interaction methods. Once enough information is logged, the software can then be activated when the user is filling in online forms – such as credit card details – and can determine with accuracy whether or not the individual interacting is indeed the owner. Previous studies, such as one carried out by New York’s Pace University, have already shown that keystroke authentication is a possibility due to the vast differences in the way people type, making it much more difficult for criminals to impersonate others online. BioCatch is currently offering CyberCatch – designed for desktop computers – and MobiCatch – for mobile devices." via Springwise
Brent Brookler Shows Off Flowboard’s iPad Presentation Builder
"He chose a template, imported media, and was able to directly manipulate that media using the touchscreen. Then he showed us a finished presentation (it was kind of a like cooking show, where you skip all the boring stuff in the middle). The presentations look great on the iPad and, by allowing users to zoom in on specific images or topics, Flowboard enables the creation of presentations that “go deeper.” The easiest way to understand what Flowboard is doing is to think of it as presentation-building software for tablets, but Brookler said he’s not trying to compete with PowerPoint." via TechCrunch
1Watch: You, The Spectator, Terrify Tiny Crowds Of People
"To get the effect she was after, Santiago developed a narrative with five different “responses” that the mini crowds could have towards the giant spectator and filmed these at a studio in Berlin. These include hanging out when no one’s around, moving into a “fear area” when someone comes close, starting to run, hiding from a new “attack,” and escaping in groups." via Co.Design
Compare Today With Every Day That Came Before
"It starts with a simple yellow block that represents today. Then, with each click of the mouse, today is contextualized in a wider and wider scope. Today is placed on a timeline of this month, then this year, this century, this eon, the history of the Earth, the history of life, and the history of the universe" via Co.Design
Intricate, Ultra-Accurate Blueprints of Botanical Life
"Murayama has dissected and modeled dozens of specimens, from the unfurling splendor of Asiatic dayflower to the Poppy-like simplicity of Yellow Cosmos. After drafting the innards of each plant (beginning at a microscopic level), he uses the rendering software 3ds Max to model each piece. Then, he finishes off each drawing by adding architectural call-outs to the details. These images look faked—but they’re actually remarkable thorough scientific illustrations." via Gizmodo
Travel Site Recommends Flights Based On How Pleasant They Will Be
"The site has a team of experts that pulls data from around the web – compiling their own database which knows the plane layouts of various airlines, travel times and amenities on-board. Routehappy is the first site to put all of this data in one place, making it easier to search based on comfort factors, not just schedule and price. All of this data has allowed the company to create a “happiness factor” when searching for flights, ranging from 1-10. Turning the numerous data points they’ve collected into an easily understandable way to choose the most comfortable flight." via PSFK
How Half a Second of High Frequency Stock Trading Looks Like – information aesthetics
"In the movie, one can observe how High Frequency Traders (HFT) jam thousands of quotes at the millisecond level, and how every exchange must process every quote from the others for proper trade through price protection. This complex web of technology must run flawlessly every millisecond of the trading day, or arbitrage (HFT profit) opportunities will appear. However, it is easy for HFTs to cause delays in one or more of the connections between each exchange. Yet if any of the connections are not running perfectly, High Frequency Traders tend to profit from the price discrepancies that result." via infosthetics
Camera Tells The Visually Impaired Where To Focus
"The app uses facial recognition and voice accessibility to help the user focus the camera.The phone tells the user how many faces are detected and in focus. The app does away with the shutter button to make it easy for the visually impaired. The user simply has to swipe upwards to take a photo. The app also triggers an audio recording function when it is turned on. The phone records audio for thirty seconds to help the users remember what was going on at that specific moment." via PSFK
Basic Phone Lets Parents Keep In Touch With Their Toddlers
"1stfone weighs just 40g and is delivered pre-programmed and ready‐to‐use straight out of the box. It is easy to operate as kids just press a name button to make a voice call. The phone is designed to keep children safer from bullying and enable them to make or receive a call when they need to. It can hold up to twelve numbers and is available in different colors and styles. Parents decide who the phone can call, providing them with peace of mind and a first phone for their child." via PSFK
An App That Turns Digital Reading Into A Social Activity
"If Dotdotdot has one killer function, it’s the highlighter. Not a new tool, to be sure. But having a single, familiar interaction to ground the app’s entire experience comes in handy. Your highlights, and their attached comments, can be pooled with those made by your friends, which together form a beautiful, chapter-esque view of a document. You can even turn the highlights into inspirational, pullquote-style pages to share (all the citations are automatic) on Facebook or Twitter. The brilliance is that all of this indexing and sharing happens through the same channel–a simple highlight." via Co.Design
Personal Prediction Apps Google Now, Grokr, and Osito
"A new type of mobile app is departing from a long-standing practice in computing. Typically, computers have just dumbly waited for their human operators to ask for help. But now applications based on machine learning software can speak up with timely information even without being directly asked for it. They might automatically pull up a boarding pass for your flight just as you arrive at the airport, or tell you that current traffic conditions require you to leave for your next meeting within 10 minutes." via MIT Technology Review
Algoraves: dancing to algorithms
"Alex sez, "Algoraves are parties where people come together to dance to algorithms. It generally involves some live coding but any producers making music "wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive conditionals’ are welcome. Generally some aspect of the algorithmic processes are visible, but the focus is actually on the audience, and having serious fun." via Boing Boing
Greenhouse :: OMEagination
"Gesture based 3D visualization of brain structures and activity. Created in collaboration with University of California San Francisco and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as part of the OME Precision Medicine Summit using Oblong Greenhouse SDK, FSLView, and a consumer depth sensor." via Vimeo
A multi-functional tablet built for backcountry survival
"The Earl is an Android 4.1-based tablet that uses a 6-inch LG e-ink display. While the black-and-white display won’t be so great for watching videos or picking out paint colors for your next car, it is designed to provide superior visibility in the outdoors. With its "lunar mode," the Earl maintains visibility at night and works as a lantern. The e-ink display also uses energy frugally, allowing for up to 20 hours of battery life. The designers thought of the weekend backpacker with that battery life, but the built-in solar panel on the backside can keep it running on longer trips." via Gizmag
Watching Your Brain Freak Out on a Scanner Calms You Down
"In a quirky new experiment, researchers at Yale University found that simply showing people what their anxious brains look like was enough to help those subjects lessen their anxiety. The participants in the study even learned how to control activity in a certain brain region after just two sessions of watching real-time brain imaging feedback." via Gizmodo
Sticky spy UAV turns things upside down with ability to land on walls and ceilings
"The landing mechanism makes use of the same dry adhesive used on the gecko-inspired Stickybot, combined with aligned tendons to allow the quadcopter to stick to most surfaces and remain in place. Once it hits a flat spot at any angle, the adhesives are deployed and the tendons tightened, creating enough surface friction to form a strong grip. The landing impact also compresses several springs and locks them down, so they can be triggered later to launch the aircraft away. As a bonus, this process doesn’t deplete any extra power, since the quadcopter’s own kinetic energy is used to both activate and release the landing mechanism." via Gizmag
ESA satellite to map and quantify biomass in world’s forests
"The €400-million (approx. US$526 million) Biomass mission is scheduled to launch in 2020 and will produce the first accurate maps of tropical, temperate and boreal forest biomass using a 70-centimetre wavelength radar sensor to probe both the height of forests and how much wood they contain at a scale of 200 meters. These maps will provide a greater understanding of the role forests play in Earth’s carbon cycle and in climate change. Most current biomass estimates rely on ground-based measurements, which are scarce in many areas, such as the tropics." via Gizmag
Your Voice Is Your Password with Barclay’s Phone Verification System
"It captures biometric data from a short, 30-second conversation between the customer and the call center employee, matches the voiceprint to the one on file (typically with 95 percent accuracy) and grants the verified user access to their account. If the voiceprint doesn’t match, the caller can fall back on the traditional knowledge-based verification techniques of listing random facts about oneself. So far, it’s been a hit with 84 percent of customers trying the service. " via Gizmodo
Students Design An AR Device To One-Up Google Glass
"Eidos differs from Google Glass in one fundamental way: The device lets users tune into specific perceptions, be they sounds or images, and scale their magnitude to the exclusion of rival stimuli. In visual terms, Bouckley and his co-designers–Millie Clive-Smith, Mi Eun Kim, and Yuta Sugawara–compare the Eidos effect to "long exposure photography [mapped onto] live experience." Per the video demo, the result could resemble anything from Matrix bullet-time to the diving "strobe vision" from the 2012 Olympics. The audio equivalent would be a soundboard, where individuals sounds, or channels, could be dialed up or down and possibly even muted to focus on the desired track–or in the Eidos’s case, speech." via Co.Design
Animated graphic of meteorites seen impacting Earth
"Carlo Zapponi created Bolides, a fantastic animated visualization of meteorites that have been seen hitting the Earth. The data source is the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society’s Meteorite Bulletin. "The word bolide comes from Greek βολίς bolis, which means missile. Astronomers tend to use bolide to identify an exceptionally bright fireball, particularly one that explodes."" via Boing Boing
Mobile electronic dog’s nose helps security professionals detect illegal chemicals
"the device is a handheld sensor whose design was based on the way a dog’s nose actually works, replacing the fine hairs with a net of nanofibers to catch molecules in the air. The system is then capable of determining the structure of the molecules and deciding if they match those found in drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines. It can also separate out the presence of explosives from common interferences such as gasoline and cigarette smoke. The device features a smartphone-sized display that delivers detailed information for users. Vaporsens could be useful to a wide range of security professionals, including law enforcement, military, border security, and public safety officials." via Springwise
iPhone Keychain Lets Users Open Multiple Doors
"The Kevo looks like any other lock, with the addition of a glowing blue ring that surrounds it. The lock itself is linked to your iPhone using an app which relies on Bluetooth and location services. Once you’re within range of the lock, it will identify your phone – even if it’s still in your bad or pocket – and let you enter your house just by tapping the lock. After you’re inside, Kevo will deactivate the lock so that you won’t have an unexpected visitors without your knowledge." via PSFK
This Portable Sound Camera Shows You Where It’s Loud
"the four pound ‘camera’ uses 30 sensitive microphones arranged in a spiral pattern to provide visual feedback on sound intensities. Think of it as a thermal camera that’s more concerned with decibels than degrees. And so its use isn’t limited to a laboratory setting where it’s tethered to equipment and displays via heavy cables, the SeeSv-S205 is designed to be highly portable, wireless, and ergonomic to hold. So it can be easily used to troubleshoot a noisy engine, listen for infestation problems in your walls, or just prove once and for all that your annoying friend needs to use their inside voice." via Gizmodo
Google Visualizes Massive Changes To The Face Of The Earth With New Timelapse Project
"The result is a series of interactive time lapse images that progress year-by-year, showing exactly how things have changed in key areas like the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest, booming metropolitan areas like Las Vegas and Dubai, and the progress of large bodies of water like the Aral Sea. It’s stunning to watch the Amazon rainforest virtually disappear, or see the building creep across the desert in Vegas, or watch the Columbia Glacier vanish entirely." via TechCrunch
First Quantum-Enhanced Images of a Living Cell
"Today, Michael Taylor at the University of Queensland in Australia and a few pals reveal a new way to create optical images of cells that dramatically increases their resolution beyond the conventional diffraction limit. Their trick relies on a peculiar quantum phenomenon called “squeezed light” which has allowed them to resolve spatial structures inside a living cells at a resolution of 10 nanometres; that’s a 14 per cent finer resolution than is possible with conventional techniques." via MIT Technology Review
iPads connect new moms with babies in intensive care
"If the parent has had a Caesarian section or difficulties during childbirth that mean they aren’t able to walk around, having a new baby located elsewhere in the hospital can be a hard time, especially if they’re being kept in intensive care. The center has introduced an iPad-based program whereby a device is immediately delivered to moms whose newborn has been admitted to intensive care. An iPad is set up next to the baby and – through a secure internet connection – parents can see their child and interact with doctors present, asking questions and getting updates. Rachel Little, who was one of the first patients to test the service, said: “Even though I couldn’t hold her, she stopped crying when she heard me talk to her.”" via Springwise
Quantum key air to ground transmission could be future of cryptography
"For the first time, quantum cryptographers have successfully transmitted a quantum key from a fast-moving object – a Dornier 228 turboprop. The experiment involved sending a secure message from the aircraft to a ground station via laser beam, and can be considered a significant step toward the creation of a network of “unbreakable” satellite data transmissions." via Gizmag
Tiny robots in the eye may save patients’ sight
"To turn the robots into oxygen sensors, the scientists coated them with nanospheres made of a dye created at Spain’s University of Granada. That dye fluoresces when exposed to a pulse of a specific wavelength of light – the faster that fluorescence subsequently fades, the higher the amount of oxygen in the dye’s immediate surroundings. The dye-covered microrobots have already been successfully tested in water samples with varying oxygen levels. For their use in the eye, the idea is that they would first be injected into the vitreous fluid, and then steered toward the surface of the retina. A pulse of light would then be applied, with the duration of the robots’ resulting fluorescence being observed microscopically through the pupil." via Gizmag
Documentary Holography
"What I find so consistently interesting in their work, though, is that, over the past few years, they’ve been expanding the representational range of the laser scanner, using it to document highly ephemeral, even ethereal, spatial events. Whether scanning mist and humidity or traveling north to the Arctic to shoot lasers at pressure ridges and melting ice floes, their work is almost a kind of documentary holography: not a film, not a photograph, not a 3D model, but also not simply a point-cloud, their work operates almost narratively as they capture objects or places in the process of becoming something else, blurred by passing fog or pulled apart by unseen ocean currents. You could write a screenplay for scanners." via BLDGBLOG
YouTube Trends Map Shows What Is Going Viral Across The U.S.
"Are teens in the South watching the same videos as middle-aged folks in New England? Now with the YouTube Trends Map (youtube.com/trendsmap), you can see today’s most popular videos in major markets across the U.S. You can also see what’s popular with women or men, as well as by different age groups." via PSFK
New app listens to your melodies, then writes them out in notation
"The most compelling thing about ScoreCleaner Notes is its simplicity. Users can play a melody into their smartphone’s microphone and moments later its key, tempo, time signature and the musical notation itself will pop up on the screen. Ask just about any musician and they’ll tell you that this is a tool that they would most definitely welcome. The app’s simplicity is combined with a high level of accessibility, giving it the potential for use in a wide range of environments, from bedrooms and studios to classrooms. Users don’t need to know how to play an instrument to use the app, and don’t even need to know how to read or write music, but can simply hum or sing the melody into the microphone." via Gizmag
Infographic: 19 Emotions For Which English Has No Words
"At the core of Lin’s graphic is Parrot’s Emotion Classification, which contains a seemingly nuanced look at over 100 emotions (in English). Not only does Parrot’s list include words like “cheerfulness,” but it also maps their more specific permutations, like “bliss” or “gladness.” So, you know, it seems pretty good–that is, until you read the foreign alternatives that Lin has highlighted in red bubbles. How about the word “Gezelligheid,” which is Dutch for “comfort and coziness of being at home, with friends, with loved ones or general togetherness”? Or maybe you’ll like “hygge,” which is Danish for a similar idea but specific to events of food and drink." via Co.Design
With ‘Snap Your Stay,’ HotelTonight Launches A More Visual (And Less Review-y) Take On Hotel Reviews
"The new feature is called Snap Your Stay, and it asks HotelTonight users to take six different photos during their stay — one each of the bed, bathroom, view, lobby and exterior, plus a “cool find” of their choice. You can adjust the lighting in a photo, and there are new filters. The photos can be shared on Facebook or Twitter, and they’ll also show up on a hotel’s profile page in the app, sorted by things like the type of image (so that you don’t end up with six pictures in a row of beds) and whether other users liked the photo. And the app will also start featuring a page with recent popular photos." via TechCrunch
Tourist suggestions crowdsourced from social media trends in real time
"Most tourist guides – even digital ones offering personalized suggestions based on user profiles – are static, in that the recommendations are based on historic customer reviews or one-time opinions from tastemakers. In reality, however, a restaurant might be the place to be one week and out of favor the next. Suggestme keeps on top of changing opinions by parsing information from millions of social media mentions across multiple platforms to determine the best places to highlight at the moment its customers are browsing the site. Currently covering Amsterdam, Berlin, London, New York and Barcelona, visitors can also search venues based on keywords such as ‘romantic’ and ‘live music’ to find the places they’re in the mood for. Users can save the locations they’ve discovered and compile them into their own customized guide, ready to share with friends." via Springwise
Casetop "laptop" uses your smartphone as its brains
"There’s an 11.1-inch glass-covered LED LCD display that supports 720p video playback (though Full HD and IPS are on the wish list), below which is a full-size (78 key) island-style keyboard similar to an Apple Bluetooth keyboard that’s set in one piece of injection-molded polycarbonate. The smartphone, which connects to the keyboard via Bluetooth, is held in place out front by a sliding support called the frontbar." via Gizmag
instabeat: the google glass of swimming goggles
"designed in collaboration with tribudesign, ‘instabeat’ – a heads-up display monitor that mounts on the straps of any swimming goggles – reads the heart rate from the temporal artery without a chest belt, and displays it in real-time on the lens through a color code indicating the heart rate zone. the device also tracks calories burned, lap times and breathing frequency – with all data available once the device is synced to the computer. ‘instabeat’ is currently raising funds for manufacturing on indiegogo." via DesignBoom
Staples becomes first major US retailer to sell 3D printers
"This could be part of a concerted push from Staples to bring 3D printing to more consumers. The company also has plans to launch a 3D printing service that uses paper as material. It’s hard to say at this point if the general public will take notice or not, but this news does at least indicate just how much 3D printers as a whole have begun creeping into the mainstream. Staples already has the Cube available for purchase through its online store for US$1299.99, along with various accessories and printing cartridges. The company plans to stock a limited number in its brick-and-mortar stores from June." via Gizmag
What is Personal Data and How Much Personal Data Exists?
"What modern data science is finding is that nearly any type of data can be used, much like a fingerprint, to identify the person who created it: your choice of movies on Netflix, the location signals emitted by your cell phone, even your pattern of walking as recorded by a surveillance camera. In effect, the more data there is, the less any of it can be said to be private. We are coming to the point that if the commercial incentives to mine the data are in place, anonymity of any kind may be “algorithmically impossible,” says Princeton University computer scientist Arvind Narayanan." via MIT Technology Review
MIT Media Lab Fluid Interfaces Group’s ‘Smarter Objects’ Interface Design
"With the F.I.G’s "Smarter Objects" system, you pick up a tablet, look at the objects on your desk "through" your tablet, as if through a window, and the tablet’s screen shows you virtual overlays on the very real objects on your desk. You can then alter the functionality of these wi-fi enabled "smarter objects" on the screen, then go back to manipulating them in the real world." via MICore77
Adobe Debuts “Project Mighty” Smart Stylus For Tablets And “Napoleon,” A Digital Ruler And Guide
"Mighty is a pressure-sensitive digital pen that works with tablets and stores a wide variety of settings and preferences in the cloud. […] It can pull in stored Kuler color palette themes from Creative Cloud, for instance, as well as brush settings and a cloud clipboard that stores assets you’ve created previously for use in new drawings. Moving from tablet to tablet preserves the settings associated with your pen, which makes it possible to take everything from tablet to tablet." via TechCrunch
How Big Data Is Rewriting Hollywood Scripts
"For as much as $20,000 per script, Mr. Bruzzese and a team of analysts compare the story structure and genre of a draft script with those of released movies, looking for clues to box-office success. His company, Worldwide Motion Picture Group, also digs into an extensive database of focus group results for similar films and surveys 1,500 potential moviegoers. What do you like? What should be changed? ‘Demons in horror movies can target people or be summoned,’ Mr. Bruzzese said in a gravelly voice, by way of example. ‘If it’s a targeting demon, you are likely to have much higher opening-weekend sales than if it’s summoned. So get rid of that Ouija Board scene.’" via Co.Design
Designers Rejoice, Froont Wants To Keep Developers Out Of The Responsive Web Design Process
"It’s primarily WYSIWYG, employing a palette of tools and lots of drag ‘n’ drop, making it easy to add text, import graphics and tinker with typography and layout. Obviously, the aim here is to create a responsive design and in this respect Froont has some nice touches, such as a sliding ruler at the top of the page that adjusts the targeted screen size on the fly, instantly updating how your design changes as it responds. You’re also able to set “break points” to denote when the layout of your content shouldn’t simply reflow as the target device’s screen size differs but should change altogether." via TechCrunch
The World’s First Entirely 3D-Printed Gun Fires Its First Shot
"The Liberator is a fairly wonky-looking pistol, constructed entirely out of plastic — the only metal working component is the firing pin, which is a repurposed nail. It appears to fire .22 rimfire rounds, which are very small but still quite lethal when fired into a squishy human being." via Gizmodo
Flying drone will air-drop beer to music festival attendees
"From August 8-10, when Oppikoppi is in full swing, festival-goers in the District 9 campsite will be able to order a beer through an iOS app and have it dropped at their location. Once it’s released, the beer can deploys an attached parachute and floats gently to the ground for pickup." via
Gizmag
Immersive Solar Explorer
"Waving your hand near the large moving sun reveals intricate moving structures on and above the solar surface. The base image is of the sun at 80,000 degrees, and when you hold your hand near the sun, the 1,000,000 degree image is revealed, both images moving in sync. […] The imagery is from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov), which updates with a new still image every 15 minutes in a variety of wavelengths. The installation displays a moving animation of the data from the previous five days, up to the last 15 minute image." via NoirFlux
Caltech Researchers Create a Microchip Capable of “Healing” after Damage and Optimizing Its Performance
"Caltech researchers have demonstrated a complex integrated circuit that survives substantial damage by reconfiguring the way it processes information. The chip does not physically repair flaws; it uses a second processor to come up with new ways to perform a task in spite of the damage. The chip can also be programmed to prioritize energy savings or speed. Ali Hajimiri, the Caltech professor of electrical engineering who led the work, says chips that tune their own performance on the fly could also perform better under ordinary circumstances." via MIT Technology Review
In Australia, fractional ownership encouraged through social networks
"Members of the site first list the item they are looking to part-own, with images, information and the number of people they would like to share it with. Users can then easily share the listing on social networks to enlist their friends – or friends of friends – to take part in the scheme. Interested parties pledge to pay their share of the item’s cost and the money is transferred only when the target number of people is reached. Once the item is purchased, users can schedule when they want to use it through the micro social network on the OwnMutually platform." via Springwise
A Solar-Powered Hand-Cranked Digital Camera Laughs At Your Limited Battery Life
"As its namesake implies, what really sets the Sun & Cloud digital camera apart from its competition is the inclusion of a solar panel on top, and a retractable generator crank on the side. So with a lot of sunlight and/or elbow grease, you can perpetually keep its battery charged. Besides a microSD memory card slot and 15 built-in digital filters, the camera unfortunately mostly disappoints with its limited photo resolution and basic 640×480 video capabilities. So while the Sun & Cloud can in theory run forever, will you really want it to?" via Gizmodo
New Chrome Experiment Turns Any Desktop Website Into A 3D Game You Control With Your Phone
"The site, as explained above, allows you to transform any website into a 3D maze. It actually tilts the website on its side, and then you use your phone like a game controller to roll a shiny, silver ball through what used to be the website’s graphics. Of course, I tried it with TechCrunch. It works. To get started, you have to login to the Chrome.com/maze site using Chrome on both your desktop and phone (iOS or Android), then sync your browser tabs. Alternately, you can also manually type in the link or scan a QR code to sync your two browsing sessions. I’m not going to lie – the sync process was not flawless. Sometimes it disconnected me for no apparent reason, and sometimes the game played, but the smartphone-turned-controller didn’t seem to work." via TechCrunch
Couch Player Brings Awesome, Gesture-Based Playlist Creation to the iPad
"Its main focus is easy playlist creation, done through the dragging and dropping of songs, artists, and albums through intuitive swipe gestures. You can even create multiple playlists and view your currently playing stuff in a cover flow-like view. And, like any good music player, it uses the music you’ve already synced through iTunes, so you don’t have to do anything different on your computer." via LifeHacker
NYC subway replacing station maps with touch screen kiosks
"The new "On The Go!" touch screens will display all sorts of useful information for commuters, including train arrival countdowns, outage notices, neighborhood maps, and special alerts if needed. When not in use, the kiosks will also act as digital billboards to generate ad revenue. The one feature that’s certain to be used by most riders though is the interactive subway map. Travelers will be able to simply select their destination and the screen will bring up step-by-step instructions with a visual display of what path they need to take. It will even factor in current service outages and give an estimated travel time along with the number of stops before they reach their destination." via gizmag
Google’s Keep Note-Taking Web And Android App Gets Its Official Public Launch
"Keep was created by Google to satisfy the need of having to take down info quickly without a pen or paper handy, software engineer Katherine Kuan explains in the official blog post. The app is simple, allowing you to either type or quickly record and transcribe voice memos and lists, as well as take and pin photos, which are synced to the web-based dashboard for easy retrieval later. The Android app has a widget to let you easily create and access notes from your home screen, and there’s also a lock screen widget for handsets with Android 4.2 or higher." via TechCrunch
HP Labs Shows off Glasses-Free 3-D for Phones and Tablets
"A new kind of three-dimensional display developed at HP Labs plays hologram-like videos without the need for any moving parts or glasses. Videos displayed on the HP system hover above the screen, and viewers can walk around them and experience an image or video from as many 200 different viewpoints—like walking around a real object. The screen is made by modifying a conventional liquid-crystal display (LCD), the same kind of display found in most phones, laptops, tablets, and televisions." via MIT Technology Review
Platform analyzes tweets to provide data in the case of emergencies
"Using Twitcident, emergency service workers can use filters to find tweets that include photos, videos or geolocation tags, as well as information about risk or reported casualties in a particular region. While users can bring up individual tweets to analyze what is going on, Twitcident also enables them to create data visualizations about the number of tweets with relevant information over time. Although the service has been created with emergency service workers in mind, the platform could be equally useful for citizens who want to take the best action to ensure their safety in the case of local trouble." via Springwise
musical swings by daily tous les jours – empathiCITY exhibition
"the public installation, produced for the quartier des spectacles in the center of montreal, canada, is composed of 21 swings, which each individually trigger a selection of different musical notes. however, when they are used together, melodies begin to emerge as a result of people’s cooperation with one another. developed by montreal collective daily tous les jours, the project explores notions of collaboration and the positive outcomes which can be a result of working together." via DesignBoom
Hitachi’s ROPITS tablet-controlled, self-driving urban vehicle
"The company says ROPTIS, which stands for Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System, would pick up a single passenger at designated stations all on its own. Entering your destination is as simple as tapping on a map displayed by an onboard tablet PC or your own mobile device. And because it only travels on sidewalks with a maximum speed of 3.7 mph (5.9 km/h), it won’t have to deal with many of the safety issues associated with self-driving road vehicles." via Gizmag
Fujitsu uses facial imaging to measure pulse
"Similar to technology developed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the pulse detector’s purpose is to automate health monitoring and to making it ubiquitous. It works by measuring the brightness of a person’s face – specifically, green light, which is absorbed by hemoglobin in the blood. Measuring the amount of green in light reflected off the face gives a measurement of hemoglobin and therefore blood flow. From this, the pulse can be measured." via Gizmag
Kidtrack biometric system keeps track of kids on school buses
"When kids board or depart a Kidtrack-equipped bus, they take one second to scan their palm across one of Fujitsu’s biometric PalmSecure readers. The urethane-sealed device is “about the size of an ice cube,” and uses infrared light to image the unique vein pattern of their palm. It then establishes their identity by cross-referencing that pattern against a secure database of pre-registered users’ patterns. The illumination of a green or red LED lets the driver and passenger know whether or not the scan worked. […] Once a boarding or departing rider’s palm has been scanned, that data is sent to a cloud-based server. Should that child go missing, authorized administrators can check the Kicktrack website to see when, where and if they did indeed catch the bus, where the bus is at the moment, along with when and where they got off." via Gizmag
University of Cambridge debuts virtual talking head capable of expressing human emotions
"The team has developed a virtual, controllable avatar that is capable of expressing a range of emotions with what the team believes to be “unprecedented realism.” It works by a user entering a line of text and selecting from a range of sliders that determine emotion. Hit the enter key and Zoe will read the message in however much of a happy, angry or sad tone you desire. To create the system, the team spent days recording the face and voice of actress Zoe Lister while she recited more than 7000 lines of text in varying emotions. This data was then used to create six basic emotions for Zoe – happiness, sadness, fear, anger, tenderness and neutrality, as well as changeable pitch, speed and depth settings. Combinations of these levels allow for a huge range of emotions, something that has not been possible in other avatars of this type." via Gizmag
Online Storefront Connects People With 3D Printers
"One possibility we’ve seen is a 3D printing vending machine, and now Makexyz is offering another solution. The online storefront connects people with 3D printers to those with design projects in need of one. You can browse a list of available 3D printers in your zip code and their price. If you find one you want to use, you can upload a file, choose your color and material, and then choose if you want it shipped to you or if you will pick it up." via PSFK
Vavuud Wind Meter For Smartphones Contains No Electronics, Delivers Accurate Ground Wind Speed Readings
"The Vavuud wind meter provides an easy way to measure wind speed exactly where you are, with a device that’s remarkably inexpensive and deceptively simple. It plugs into the headphone jack of your device, but that’s to give it a stable base; it actually uses two magnets in the rotor, which generate a magnetic field that the smartphone can pick up and process using algorithms normally used for sound processing to translate it to wind speed data." via TechCrunch
Horror Film Uses Audience’s Phones As Part Of The Plot
"The thriller follows psychology student Anna Rijnders, who is obsessed with social media and finds herself transfixed by a mysterious app, called Iris (not so subtly Siri spelled backwards) that sends her cryptic codes. Any audience with the app will receive the same codes as Anna on their phones throughout the movie, as well as other content that adds another dimension of interaction to their movie-watching experience. […] The movie works perfectly without the second screen. It’s a well paced thriller, but there are 35 moments in the movie when you can get additional information or content that will enrich the experience. For example, there could be two people in a room with a bomb ticking, only they don’t know about it. On the second screen, the audience would know how much time is remaining." via PSFK
Ustwo’s Rando Is A Random Photo-Sharing App That Deliberately Snubs Social Features
"The kicker is it’s entirely random photo sharing. In other words, each of your photos (‘randos’) is randomly sent to another user (you never know who gets it). In return you receive a random rando — also from a random user, with only a general location such as ‘Moscow’ for context. So totally random then. All Rando photos are framed within circles — to give a peep-hole effect, says ustwo, as well as to create a distinctive design element to distinguish the “rando brand”." via TechCrunch
Virtual interviewer offers practice and feedback for job candidates
"Jizen uses a webcam – along with a number of sensors – to detect facial expression, heart rate and breathing. The behavior of the virtual interviewer can be configured to ask easy or difficult questions, and candidates’ responses are analysed in real time, determining the interviewer’s actions. At the end of a session, the interview is played back, with a virtual avatar recreating their body language while offering information on changing heartbeat and breathing patterns. The aim is to help interviewees learn when they may be giving off signals of nervousness and discover what types of questions they become more anxious about." via Springwise
Minuum Turns To Indiegogo To Fund A New Mobile Software Keyboard For Smartphones And Beyond
"Minuum does away with the traditional three rows of letters and space bar layout of a standard QWERTY keyboard, replacing that with a single line of letters and predictive typing algorithms that help reclaim a huge percentage of usable screen real estate, while supposedly retaining precision entry capabilities. It’s designed to keep the QWERTY order mostly in place to ease the transition from standard software keyboards, but also includes powerful auto-correction algorithms to make sure you can be pretty sloppy with text entry and still get a usable result." via TechCrunch
Couch Player Is An iPad Music App That Puts The Playlist Front And Center
"In particular, Couch Player emphasizes the playlist, and reorganizes the entire experience to make that the central focus of the app. Playlist creation on Couch Player is handled via simple drag-and-drop gestures, with a browsing interface that takes better advantage of the iPad’s ample screen real estate to make it possible to simultaneously navigate your entire iTunes library (either stored locally or in the cloud via iTunes Match) while also keeping an eye on and adding to your playlists." via TechCrunch
nanoscribe: nanoscale 3D printed microstructures
"Using direct laser writing (DLW), german technology company nanoscribe have integrated the means of photonic professional laser lithography systems to create three-dimensional printed forms in nanoscale. the unique ability to structure in 3D with sub-micrometer sizes opens the door for rapid prototyping applications in areas such as 3D photonics and biomimetics, micro-fluidics and mechanical micro-structures." via Design Boom
A Speech-Recognition Program Called Scribe Could Use Human Labor to Improve the Work of Automated Services Like Siri or Dragon
"Scribe’s algorithms direct human workers to type out fragments of what they hear in a speech. By turning up the volume or slowing down the speed of slices of the audio, the program can direct different workers to unique but overlapping sections of a speech and then give them a few seconds to recover before asking them to type again. Using natural-language processing algorithms, Scribe strings together the typed-out fragments into a complete transcript, and the redundant overlaps can help it weed out errors. (This shotgun computing technique is similar to the way many DNA sequencing machines work, Bigham points out.) It can produce a transcript or caption with a delay as short as three seconds using just three to five workers." via MIT Technology Review
Pick Up and Play
"A Tangible Interface to Spotify: Creating a new music experience" via Pick Up and Play
RoboEarth Cloud Engine ready for use
"Each robot using the service has its own secure cloud-based computing environment. Using a wireless connection, the robot uploads data to that environment, where it’s processed at a rate that’s reportedly much faster than would be possible using robot-based hardware. The results are then downloaded back to the robot, which acts upon them. Additionally, the environments of different robots can be linked together, allowing them to work as a team. Plans call for each environment to also be linked to the RoboEarth knowledge repository, allowing robots to draw upon the system’s “collected wisdom” when necessary." via Gizmag
Sponge-Like Keyboard Is Mixer And Instrument In One
"The Seaboard GRAND includes “keys” that are soft and made from a sponge-like material. The company aims to “bridge the gap between acoustic and digital music” where the instrument produces different pitch, volume, and timbre depending on where the musician places his/her fingertips." via PSFK
I.R.I.S. ships combined mouse/scanner
"At the press of a button to the left side, a user can swipe the mouse in any direction across text documents, magazine articles or color photos to capture everything between the indicated guide lines. The supplied software suite seamlessly stitches together the scanned image in real time and displays it onscreen. […] The mouse is capable of digitizing documents up to A3 in size. It comes with a free three-month subscription to Evernote Premium and IRISCompressor, the latter allowing users to right-click the scanned image and convert it into a PDF file." via Gizmag
Audi’s Swarm concept reinvents the humble taillight
"Practically, this may be a terrible idea, but as a tech demo, it’s an excellent illustration of OLED, and its potential to kick holes in the divide between what we think of as display technology and what we think of as lighting technology. The concept is called Swarm, and is in essence an ultra wide aspect ratio TV placed on a car’s derrière where the taillights should be. The idea is that the swooping, fluid animations displayed will relay all sorts of useful information to other road users. What sort of information can be relayed? Braking and indicating turns are a good start, obviously. Additionally, though, Audi suggests that the car’s speed, the behavior of other traffic and even pitches and turns in the road could be relayed through various combinations of patterns and color. In effect, the car becomes a sort of benevolent autonomous sentinel." via Gizmag
‘Offline’ social network connects friends for real-world face time
"Unface.it is designed to help people beat their Facebook addiction, allowing users to add only five of their closest friends. Whenever they feel like Facebooking them, they are encouraged to use their phone to speak to them properly instead. The app also has a focus on events and includes a feature that finds relevant real-world events taking place near to them, where they can get out of the house and meet new people. This opens up opportunities for sponsors to promote their events through the app. Users can also see how well they’re doing by checking in every time they’re out and placing themselves on a global leaderboard of streaks for real-world social interactions." via Springwise
Electronic Tattoo Monitors Patient Symptoms Remotely
"The researchers have now developed a technique to print circuits directly on to human flesh with a rubber stamp, which can then be covered with a spray-on bandage to form a protective coating. The ultrathin mesh electronics operate like a standard computer circuit board – with electrodes, sensors and wireless communication systems – but are made up of a matrix of stretchy, serpentine wires that flex with the movement of the body. By removing the elastic backing, the device is now one thirtieth as thick as before, and can adapt more easily to the rough surface of the skin." via PSFK
ORIGOSafe aims to keep drivers from texting
"ORIGOSafe is one of the latest products designed to stop texting-and-driving – it won’t let your car start unless your phone is plugged into the device. As it’s doubtful (but not impossible) that many drivers would buy an ORIGOSafe to stop themselves from texting, the device is being marketed more as something that parents could use to keep their adolescent kids from doing so, or that fleet managers could use with their drivers." via Gizmag
ColdWear project developing smart jacket for workers in the Arctic
"SINTEF’s approach is to develop clothing, specifically a jacket, with built-in sensors to measure outside temperature, body temperature and activity, and send back real-time readings that supervisors can use to determine when to knock off for the day. […] The jacket also contains an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a digital compass to monitor activity – including strain caused by vibrations from using heavy machinery. “This enables us to monitor a worker’s body position and movement in great detail and we can easily see whether the person is stationary or active, as well as measuring temperature, humidity and perspiration,” said Senior Research Scientist Trine M. Seeberg." via Gizmag
15 Radical Redesigns For The TV Remote
"One student re-imagined the plastic remote as a smooth wooden groove, like the basin at the end of a Mancala board, in which the user slides a magnetic black stone to change channels and volume. Another replaced the button grid with a single thumb-sized joystick, surrounded by an array of small screens. One of Henchoz’s ECAL students succeeded in freeing the remote from its thing-ness, but not quite in the way you’d expect–his small plastic rocker, outfitted with suction cups, attaches to any device with a slick surface, turning smartphones, wine glasses, and coffee tables into remotes themselves." via Co.Design
visualize an interactive map of the internet with an app by steamclock software
"developed in collaboration between steamclock software and graphic designer jeff johnston for peer 1 hosting, the interactive app visualizes a map of the 22,000 systems that make up the internet in three-dimension – demonstrating a virtual exchange of information of the worldwide networks that are interconnected to form the web. from the search menu, users can see service providers (ISPS), internet exchange points, universities and other organizations that route traffic online through two view options – globe and network, which demonstrate the map in different perspectves." via DesignBoom
1 | From An Apple Alum, An App That Makes Design Presentations A Cinch
"In seconds, designers can generate and view their work in real-looking, real-world contexts–e.g., test the brand’s name in a couple of fresh typefaces and colors in various locations on a flyposter, a wine label, or a hanger tag. That means no photographing or trolling for flat images to Photoshop, no switching between programs and windows, and fewer physical models. The designer can guess and prototype less while imagining and experimenting more." via Co.Design
Soundrown Plays Coffee Shop Noise, White Noise, Rain, and More to Help You Focus
"When we mentioned Coffitivity a little while ago, a few of you stepped forward to mention Soundrown, which sports higher quality recordings, and more sound options, including a coffee shop, simple white noise, the sounds of a moving train, a park fountain, a gentle rainstorm, kids playing, and more. Each audio track is about a half-hour long, and while it would be nice if they looped, after a half-hour, it’s probably time to get up and take a break anyway." via LifeHacker
New Balance 3D Printed Shoes Can Run In Races
"New Balance began their research by putting Bolas into censored shoes to enable them to understand how his feet interact with the shoe alongside high-speed cameras tracking his every move in correlation with the track itself. Findings led the brand to use the correct number of spikes and situate them in the perfect position, while customising the amount and shape of the plastic cleats. The shoes were then printed using Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology that uses biomechanical data, specially created software and high-powered lasers to fuse particles together to form a 3D shape, i.e. the shoe. Bolas then tested several prototypes before he decided on the winning pair." via PSFK
Doctor ‘used silicone fingers’ to sign in for colleagues
"Thaune Nunes Ferreira, 29, was arrested on Sunday for using prosthetic fingers to fool the biometric employee attendance device used at the hospital where she works near Sao Paulo. She is accused of covering up the absence of six colleagues." via BBC News
Video inpainting software deletes people from HD video footage
"In a development sure to send conspiracy theorists into a tizzy, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics (MPII) have developed video inpainting software that can effectively delete people or objects from high-definition footage. The software analyzes each video frame and calculates what pixels should replace a moving area that has been marked for removal. In a world first, the software can compensate for multiple people overlapped by the unwanted element, even if they are walking towards (or away from) the camera." via Gizmag
First Graphene Audio Speaker Easily Outperforms Traditional Designs
"The diaphragm in any speaker is essentially a simple harmonic oscillator with an inherent mass and restoring force that determine the way it vibrates at different frequencies. Most diaphragms need to be damped to broaden the range of frequencies over which they perform. But, as Zhou and Zettl point out, “damping engineering” quickly becomes complex and expensive and produces inevitable power inefficiencies. […] That’s why graphene is the ideal candidate. “It is electrically conducting, has extremely small mass density, and can be configured to have very small effective spring constant,” say Zhou and Zettl. And, of course, it’s also very strong. These guys have created a speaker using a thin film of graphene just 30 nm thick and 5mm in diameter as the diaphragm. And they’ve compared its performance to a conventional Sennheiser MX-400 earphone with promising results." via MIT Technology Review
App uses social media to determine how crowded shops are in real-time
"Useful for busy periods, such as weekends or festive seasons, the app currently offers data for four stores in the Netherlands – Centrum, 9 Straatjes, Zuid and ArenA. By analyzing social media check-ins, photo uploads, location-based tweets and live webcam activity, the developers are able to display accurate information regarding how crowded each store is, in real-time. Users can easily see for themselves how busy the locations are with a simple bar graph detailing the average crowdedness on each day of the week, although the app also gives advice such as ‘Forget it’ if queues are likely." via Springwise
3D-Printed Cube Casts Scannable QR Codes With Its Shadows
"Carter created a cube that can cast different QR code shadows depending at which angle you view the cube. The scannable codes point to the Wikipedia articles of Kurt Gödel, M.C. Escher, and J.S. Bach respectively. Because QR codes cannot be read in mirror image, only three of the six shadows casted by the cube are readable." via PSFK
Nicholas Felton Unveils His Latest Annual Report
"As always, the report is a meticulously documented year in review of everything he’s done, presented in a series of rich infographics that push the boundaries on personal data quantification. With a glance, you’ll learn some of Felton’s most intimate details. Each day, he consumes coffee around 10:40am and booze around 8:38pm. He spends about 4x as much time with his girlfriend as his mother. And on June 20, he shot a Glock 22." via Co.Design
Facebook "Likes" Accurately Predict Hospital Mortality Rates
"A new study published in The American Journal of Medical Quality points to an unlikely solution to finding a good hospital: Facebook. After analyzing the 30-day mortality rates across 40 New York hospitals and cross-referencing their Facebook page likes, they found a strong correlation between more likes and lower mortality rates." via Co.Design
