transforms

‘Seeing Eye People’ For Text-Obsessed NYC Pedestrians via...

Wed, 01 May 2013 11:50:33 -0400

‘Seeing Eye People’ For Text-Obsessed NYC Pedestrians via DesignTAXI

Bionic App via NewScientist: The powered thumb is controlled by...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:03:54 -0400

Bionic App

The powered thumb is controlled by signals from the user’s arm muscles or - in a first for upper limb prostheses - via a smartphone app: a tap of the screen and the hand automatically arranges itself into a preset grip. The thumb can move into 24 different positions and new, extra-sensitive fingertip electrodes also give improved dexterity.

“Powered thumb rotation, combined with the mobile app and quick access to all these new grips, gives me natural hand function that I never imagined would be possible,” says Bertolt Meyer, who wears one of the new hands.

The app makes it easy to configure presets by group, such as “work”, which includes positions ready for typing, handling documents or using a mouse. The app also includes diagnostic tools and training modes for new users.

[read more] [touch bionics] [Image: Murdoch Ferguson/Ferguson Imaging]

via futurescope, wildcat2030

Microsoft Puts Free Portable WiFi In Forbes Magazine Print...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:31:29 -0400

Microsoft Puts Free Portable WiFi In Forbes Magazine Print Issues - DesignTAXI.com, via iamdanw

Faerie Stories for the 21st Century, superflux, Anab Jain....

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:13:36 -0400

Faerie Stories for the 21st Century, superflux, Anab Jain. Presentation slides and notes.

Bio-light, light fixture that runs on bacteria....

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:59:13 -0400

Bio-light, light fixture that runs on bacteria. via natureoflight, cmeinke

Electronic Tattoos Will Control Machines Via The Mind via...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:02:26 -0400

Electronic Tattoos Will Control Machines Via The Mind

via cyberneticsarenow, wildcat2030

Matterform crowdfunds a simple, well-designed 3D scanner that...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 05:26:25 -0400

Matterform crowdfunds a simple, well-designed 3D scanner that could arrive this summer

MakerBot has been the trailblazer when it comes to bringing 3D printing to the masses, but another company may beat it to the punch before it can do the same for 3D scanners. Matterform is looking to produce a simple, low-profile 3D scanner, and it’s launched an Indiegogo campaign in support of the effort. The Photon 3D scanner appears to be about the size of a simple printer when shut, and then unfolds to reveal a scanning surface when being used.

via thisistheverge

Computers Made Out of DNA, Slime and Other Strange...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:30:13 -0400

Computers Made Out of DNA, Slime and Other Strange Stuff Evolution’s Design Most designs for molecular computers are based on human notions of what a computer should be. Yet as researchers applied mathematician Hajo Broersma of the Netherlands’ University of Twente wrote of their work, “the simplest living systems have a complexity and sophistication that dwarfs manmade technology” — and they weren’t even designed to be that way. Evolution generated them. In the NASCENCE project, short for “NAnoSCale Engineering for Novel Computation using Evolution,” Broersma and colleagues plant to exploit evolution’s ability to use combinations of molecules and their emergent properties in unexpected, incredibly powerful ways. They hope to develop a system that interfaces a digital computer with nano-scale particle networks, then use the computer to set algorithmic goals towards which evolution will guide the particles. “We want to develop alternative approaches for situations or problems that are challenging or impossible to solve with conventional methods and models of computation,” they write. One imagines computer chips with geometries typically seen in molecular structures, such as the E. coli ribosome and RNA seen here; success, predict Broersma’s team, could lay “the foundations of the next industrial revolution.” (via Computers Made Out of DNA, Slime and Other Strange Stuff | Wired Science | Wired.com)

via wildcat2030

Researchers at MIT plan to 3D print a pavilion by imitating the...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:06:56 -0400

Researchers at MIT plan to 3D print a pavilion by imitating the way a silkworm builds its cocoon.

The research team, headed by architect and Mediated Matter Groupfounder Neri Oxman, attached tiny magnets to the heads of silkworms to discover how they “print” their pupal casings around themselves.

“We’ve managed to motion-track the silkworm’s movement as it is building its cocoon,” said Oxman. “Our aim was to translate the motion-capture data into a 3D printer connected to a robotic arm in order to study the biological structure in larger scales.”

The pavilion is part of a research project to explore ways of overcoming the existing limitations of additive manufacturing at architectural scales and follows recent proposals for a house made of 3D printed concrete sections and a dwelling made of prefabricated plastic elements.

Top image: colour scanning electron microscope image of the exterior surface of a silk moth cocoon. Image by Dr. James C. Weaver, Wyss Institute, Harvard University

via nitrogenpink

Electronic Sensors Printed Directly on the Skin New electronic...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:18:18 -0400

Electronic Sensors Printed Directly on the Skin

New electronic tattoos could help monitor health during normal daily activities.

Taking advantage of recent advances in flexible electronics, researchers have devised a way to “print” devices directly onto the skin so people can wear them for an extended period while performing normal daily activities. Such systems could be used to track health and monitor healing near the skin’s surface, as in the case of surgical wounds.

So-called “epidermal electronics” were demonstrated previously in research from the lab of John Rogers, a materials scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the devices consist of ultrathin electrodes, electronics, sensors, and wireless power and communication systems. In theory, they could attach to the skin and record and transmit electrophysiological measurements for medical purposes. These early versions of the technology, which were designed to be applied to a thin, soft elastomer backing, were “fine for an office environment,” says Rogers, “but if you wanted to go swimming or take a shower they weren’t able to hold up.” Now, Rogers and his coworkers have figured out how to print the electronics right on the skin, making the device more durable and rugged. via wildcat2030 (via Wearable Electronic Sensors Can Now Be Printed Directly on the Skin | MIT Technology Review)

PULSE INDEX by RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER ll Art Installation...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:50:50 -0500

PULSE INDEX by RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER ll Art Installation in Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia

“Pulse Index” is an interactive installation that records participants’ fingerprints at the same time as it detects their heart rates. The piece displays data for the last 765 and over participants in a stepped display that creates a horizon line of skin. To participate, people introduce their finger into a custom-made sensor equipped with a 220x digital microscope and a heart rate sensor; their fingerprint immediately appears on the largest cell of the display, pulsating to their heart beat. As more people try the piece one’s own recording travels upwards until it disappears altogether —a kind of memento mori using fingerprints, the most commonly used biometric image for identification.” —> Stolen from republicx by @LBRN

responsivesarchitectures: Title: 4D Printing: Multi-Material...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:53:53 -0500

responsivesarchitectures:

Title: 4D Printing: Multi-Material Shape Change

Category: #self-adapting #programmable material

Author: Skylar Tibbits, The Self-Assembly Lab, MIT

Year: 2013

Url: http://www.sjet.us/MIT_4D%20PRINTING.html

Description : a new process is being developed, coined 4D Printing, which demonstrates a radical shift in rapid-prototyping. 4D Printing entails multi-material prints provided by the Connex Technology with the added capability of embedded transformation from one shape to another, directly off the print-bed. This revolutionary technique offers a streamlined path from idea to reality with full functionality built directly into the materials

Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki transforms rolls of duct tape...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:42:34 -0500

Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki transforms rolls of duct tape into complicated topographical maps and stray threads into tiny, astonishingly intricate sculptures. Carnival rides that might just be big enough for a flea emerge from sheets and towels while itty-bitty electrical towers rise up out of toothbrush bristles.

Visit Colossal to view more of Takahiro Iwasaki’s awesome artwork.

via archiemcphee

99¢ Futures (by Extrapolation Factory), via chriswoebken

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:25:46 -0500

99¢ Futures (by Extrapolation Factory), via chriswoebken

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg collects and analyzes DNA samples...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:02:17 -0500

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg collects and analyzes DNA samples to create 3D portraits In “Stranger Visions”.

via The Creators Project

Braun Lectron Box, Flickriver: Photos tagged with lectron

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 04:58:45 -0500

Braun Lectron Box, Flickriver: Photos tagged with lectron

Audionaut helmet by Mike Kim, “As a polarizing artifact...

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:55:07 -0400

Audionaut helmet

by Mike Kim, “As a polarizing artifact and marketing tool, the helmet is intended to represent the virtues of hi-fi audio and generate discussion among both enthusiasts and those in younger generations. Kim, an Art Center student in his final term, is also an industrial design intern at Google Inc.” [link]

via surrogateself, planetaryfolklore, lemanoosh

Mine Kafon By Massoud Hassani. Hassani, who grew up in...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 07:12:30 -0400

Mine Kafon

By Massoud Hassani. Hassani, who grew up in Afganistan, has figured out a way to detonate the mines in his town so local people can use the land safely. He has designed a GPS integrated Mine Kafon Ball that rolls over mines and detonates them. The ball will not explode when the mine goes off, it will continue to roll to the next mine to release the detonation. The ball is constructed of three parts, the spherical core, 70 bamboo legs that stick out from it, and black round surfaces for the feet. Click the link for more info and a video.

Lucy and Jorge Orta “Her sculptural work investigates the...

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:07:14 -0400

Lucy and Jorge Orta “Her sculptural work investigates the boundaries between the body and architecture, exploring their common social factors, such as communication and identity. Lucy uses the media of sculpture, public intervention, video, and photography to realize her work. Her most emblematic artworks include Refuge Wear and Body Architecture (1992–98), portable, lightweight, and autonomous structures representing issues of survival.” via triangulationblog

"If you are in school today the technologies you will use as an adult tomorrow have not been invented..."

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 20:51:24 -0400

“If you are in school today the technologies you will use as an adult tomorrow have not been invented yet. Therefore, the life skill you need most is not the mastery of specific technologies, but mastery of the technium as a whole - how technology in general works.”

- Kevin Kelly (via inthenoosphere)