Spaxels, Aerial Robot Swarm Light Painting

An Ars Electronica's art group, Futurelab is experimenting with lighted forms, formations and geometric patterns in airspace kind of like crop circles in the sky with a drone swarm of programmed robot quadcopters in full operational flights.

Rufus Cuff, Wearable tethering smartphone accomplice

Earlier today Google released it's much anticipated Android Wear, an operating system for smart-watches and almost immediately announcements emerged from an assortment of technology companies, with a number of new 'wrist-wear' devices. 

Most of these devices are called smart-watches and are at most 'in-between' devices, that function in accompaniment with a smart-phone. Similarly the Rufus Cuff has emerged as a real life Star-Trekesque 'wrist communicator'

The Rufus is a wrist communicator that can pair either with an iphone or Android smartphone, The cuff has an exceptionally large screen although the band that attaches to your wrist appears to have a fairly normal looking size band!

Wake up call on the worlds changing climate

Back in 2008, I wrote here, in this blog that:

"While most Governments of the world are attempting to address the dramatic increase of noxious gases into our breathable atmosphere the worlds climate continues incessantly to deteriorate."

Nothing much has changed since from the collective efforts of world governments,  except that we now know that earth's average temperature, has, due to increased CO2 in the atmosphere warmed up one degree Centigrade  in last 100 years.

One degree C may not seem much on the face of it but if it actually rose to four degrees all of the equatorial regions of the world would become uninhabitable.

It's predicted by climate scientists that if the world were to continue to put out the same CO2 levels, then by the end of the century the world's average temperature will rise another 3 degrees above our existing average temperature.

Nietzsche's Writing Ball, an historical re-formed invention

Typing as we know it, has for sometime relied upon using qwerty keyboards, but unremarkably perhaps, the worlds first typewriter was hemispherical.

The worlds first commercially sold typewriter ever made was engineered by a Danish inventor, Rasmus Malling-Hansen in 1870, known as the Hansen writing ball.

As can be seen in the image here this writing ball was not a qwerty keyboard that apparently arrived a mere 4 years later from Sholes & Glidden otherwise known as the Remington typewriter.

As we know the qwerty keyboard typewriter has been and still is our main technical interface for writing and publishing. Thus when the Remington emerged onto the stage for writers the western world over, the Malling-Hansen's invention was almost completely forgotten. 

Mirror City Time Lapse, an abstracted video of US cities

The major cities of the world are bustling cosmopolitans of people amongst huge architecture of buildings, infrastructure and plazas outlined by multitudinous  transport networks. 

Michael Shainblum, Filmer and photographer has for the last five years been collecting images of five major cities in the USA  with a view to "emulate these urban landscapes in a way that nobody has even seen before."

Shainblum has done this by collating a visual re-presenting of some significant American cities: Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

He has set out to "showcase something unique and artistic, which takes Time lapse photography into a more abstract direction".

iSketchnote: Nifty pen gadget records notes and sketches

Although the digital age is well and truly absorbed into our lives and community, there are many many writers and journalists remain using a a pad of paper and a pen or pencil. 

Simultaneously there are some pen pushers who have adopted either a digital pen or other such device to record and digitise their notes, scribblings and or doodles. These devices are by no means the most harmonious of devices between analogue and digital that justifiably satisfy all writers particularly those that use Apple products like the ipad and or Mac  computer. 

Thus an erstwhile team of developers have created an ipad cover enabling Apple centric writers and doodlers alike to digitally record their jottings. While the iSketchnote is being produced as a cover for an ipad, it can also be used with either a PC or Mac via USB.

Open airspace ballet with tractors

On a wide open dusty plain near a waterway is a choreographed group of dancers and tractors performing a contemporary style in an open airspace environment to the accompaniment of some unknown music.

The music track itself is of a rather poor quality mainly near the beginning of the edited  video, but might be because of the position of the video camera, nevertheless the performance is entertainingly original, and massively popular in the region wherever that may be?

Click through to watch the video.

Throwable camera takes awesome in-the-air images

A bit larger than a cricket ball and smaller than a baseball, the Squito, a throwable panoramic video camera provides users to capture stabilised full "360° spherical panoramic video and high-resolution images over the course of its airborne trajectory."

Although the inventor, Steve Hollinger, says his device is packed with sensors, one is given to speculate that there is in all likelihood,  accelerators and gyroscopic sensors housed in this device merely because it knows which orientation it's in when spinning and or drifting thru the air. Simultaneously as it's flying through the air, the device at any given time is reorienting and stitching individual frames into panorama's, not only but also on the fly, captured footages are being sent wirelessly to a smartphone.

Click through to view a well made demonstration video.

Bone conducting Spatial audio sound tracks via vibrating windows

Bone conduction occurs when sound is channelled to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. World famous Classical music composer Beethoven went completely deaf in his later life and relied on creating his compositions, by dismantling his piano, laying out on the floor then leaning the side of his face on the floor. This was possibly the first documentary evidence of someone listening to sound by bone conduction.

These days bone conduction techniques are becoming more commonplace with advances in signalling technology giving rise to  headphones, and hearing aids, among which there are specialized communication products such as a bone conduction speaker that is used by scuba divers. More recently is the Google Glass device for the relay of information to the user through a microphone that sits beside the user's ear.

But BBDO Germany is taking this technology a step further with highly specialized device attached to the windows of public transport that silently transmits high-frequency oscillations that your brain converts into sound.

Casetop: A cradle display case for your mobile phone

The world of computer users are swiftly moving to mobile phones and tablets since they are packed with powerful processors and healthy amounts of system memory and storage.  A significant drawback or limitation they have is when users want to use them for lots of writing and feel confined by the cramped keyboards or get fed up with one or two finger typing. Similarly, but with some exceptions, many mobile phones lack much in the way of adequate screen real estate.

John Andrus realised he had a solution to these issues by inventing a go-between gadget, he calls a Casetop, which is a netbook-like LCD display panel, keyboard and battery pack combination that uses your smart mobile device for it's computing power.

Casetop is universally compatible with most mobile phones and tablets that have Bluetooth and a video out option, except for windows phones since they don't have a video out port on their devices.

Check the video out after the jump.

Chasing the storm - empowering time-lapse film

Just as a thunderstorm can take a day to build, so to can it take less than an hour before it unleashes a plethoric tirade of havoc, some, more dramatic than most others!

The fluidity of natures meteorological architecture often fills us with a sense awe and wonder when conjuring weather gathers within our sight path. None more so entertainingly present in Nathan Kaso's empowering short time-lapse film "Chasing the storm", shot around the Plenty Valley and Yarra Valley in Melbourne's outer east, (Australia).

Wide open landscape panning, squeeze sped and slowed, altered time lapse sequences elegantly married to Lzn02's delightful 'Fleur De Lune' sound track, and unfortunately all too short!

In case your interested Nathan Kaso captured his raw video footages with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm f/4L, 24-105mm f/4L camera then processing in Lightroom and lAfter Effects softwares.

Wondrous 'Superplexus Circles' 3D structure puzzle game

From simply learning to ride a bicycle through to driving a car or flying an aircraft, mind body coordination is without saying a specific demand and fact of modern life for most people.

Some of us choose to develop and advance their mind/body motion skills in order to fly military aircraft or steer ships through the gulf and one way some enjoy achieving this, is by playing complex physical structure games, not unlike Superplexus.

'Superplexus Circles' is both a physical 3D rotational spheroidal structure and mentally and physically demanding game that happens between hand and eye motion dynamics. Achieved by a solo player precisely coordinating his or her body/mind dexterity and concentration to keep a wooden ball rolling to its conclusive point in the game.

Requiring superb concentration of mind and body or a harmonious fluidity of motion enabling one to navigate a ball through immensely complex network of chicanes, multiplayer hairpin turns, spirals, staircases and even a vortex. This feat can best be accomplished by being totally aware and in control of where the Gimbal is in relation to the Gimbal lock as the skilled craftsman explains in this following video demonstration.

According to the  maker the completion of the game takes an hour if your able to avoid the ball from falling. This unknown and understated skilled craftsman refers to having had a lot of fun making it from birch, aircraft plywood, acrylic, Jatoba, and stainless steel, as a  commission to a private collector.

Read more about these titillating and entertaining puzzle games here, and discover why people with Asperger syndrome are highly competent with this type of game.

Ethereal Media Art Installation; the event of a thread

Currently on at the armory park Wade Thompson Drill Hall is a larger than life media art textile installation by the distinguished cross media artist Ann Hamilton. 

Its deeply reminiscent of Christo's hanging curtain in appearance and sentiment with some significant differences. Ann's work is a multi-sensory experience for viewers to the work, as it brings together readings, sound, and live events 

"within a field of swings that together invite visitors to connect to the action of each other and the work itself, illuminating the experience of the singular and collective body. At the end of each day, a vocalist on the drill hall’s balcony serenades the pigeons as they are released to flight. Each day’s song is cut with a record lathe, and the resulting recording is played back the next day."

The following documenting video gives a better understanding of the interaction of the wash of the parasol as it sweeps up and down by people moving back an forth on the suspended swings, thus triggering spectacular entertainment for all within the armory space.

"Ann Hamilton is a visual artist internationally recognized for the sensory surrounds of her large scale, multi-media installations. Responsive to the contingencies of the sites where they are made – cloth, texts spoken and written, animals, and people suspended or in motion – her installations immerse viewers in a poetic at once visceral and literary." Source

Personal manufacturing via 3D Printing

An exciting new field of personal endeavour is in the  process of opening up for everyone - the ability to produce or reproduce a huge range of consumer goods. Instead of going to the supermarket or hardware shop to buy a new plate, cup, shoes or much needed handyman tool one can now simply print with one of the many growing number of 3D printers.

The video below  by Christopher Barnatt of ExplainingTheFuture introduces us to the almost complete field of personal manufacturing with 3D printing today and in the future.



Read more about the available resources, here.

E.T. Walrus can't yet quite sing, nevertheless

some of you may have remembered the Beatles singing I am the Walrus, well E.T. Walrus has retorted with his own wide range of entertaining vocalizations in this short video.



E.T. has had the good fortune of having learned these sounds at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, WA. USA and his rather formidable daily diet of 90 pounds of fish daily, likely assisted his memory whilst sustaining his good form.

E.T. is named for his wrinkled resemblance to alien in the popular 1982 movie "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial."

Rogue planet follows it's own path

Is the latest planet discovery individually free-floating 100 light years distant within our Milky Way galaxy, which seems to be travelling with a set of young stars referred to as the AB Doradus Moving Group. It appears to be traveling in the proximity of the AB Doradus star but as far as cam be detected, not orbiting any of them, and research astronomers are yet to determine if our bad boy is part of that family.

Although researchers at ESO say its comparative proximity, and the absence of a bright star very close to it, have allowed the team to study its atmosphere in great detail. The video here reveals an artist's impression of the free-floating planet,entitled CFBDSIR J214947.2-040308.9 courtesy of space.com 

zeZebra, slick and quick P2P file sharing app

is a handy personal file sharing user friendly app, allowing you to quickly send and receive any number of files for free that is secure, unlimited in file size transfers and provides a no-fuss approach for sharing files between users.

The app allows you to adjust transfer speed and number of simultaneous transfers and if your sending many files to many people, the app has a contacts manager allowing you to more efficiently send files, thus not requiring you to add the same information all over again.

Most important thing to take note of, is that each sender and recipient needs an installed app on their computers and in order to complete any file transfer, both users need to be online at the same time. This means that your sending and or receiving files to each other which don't get sent or received anywhere else.

zeZebra works on most 32-bit and 64-bit windows, from XP onwards and OSX computers. 

In order to help you get started here is a link to an excellent introductory video from the well informed Veronica Belmont via Tekzilla at Revision3.

After downloading the app quit all browsers, then install it. Open it and set up your profile (NB no one need have Facebook to use it), the app merely needs your name and email address to access the main interface.

Gibbs Quadski Amphibious ATV quad bike

is an off road, amphibious quad bike and is apparently the first land vehicle for sale that can exceed 10mph (16kph), in water. Equipped with all-terrain tyres and four-cylinder BMW-supplied engine, the vehicle can drive up to 45mph (70kph) on land and amazingly the exact same speed in water.

Driving it directly into water, the driver depresses a button and within 5 seconds the wheels tuck up under the sides of its body, presumably for better hydro-dynamics. Similarly on approaching land,  the driver depresses a button lowering the wheels into drive away position.

According to Alan Gibbs inventor and founder of Gibbs Sports Amphibians "You just drive straight into the water, quite fast, and keep going. It's sort of magic."

Watch an earlier prototype version of the Quadski in the video after the jump.

Aquadom, Worlds Largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium

represents an engineering architectural marvel, situated in the lobby of the Radisson SAS luxury hotel in Berlin.  This extraordinary aquarium is made of acrylic glass, 51cm thick, 25m high, 12 metres in diameter holding 1 million litres of salt water with a salinity of 3.3 %. weighing in  2000 tons when filled.

Visitors rooms in the hotel face the external body of the aquarium whilst an immersive panoramic experience can be had for viewers travelling within the core's elevator.

Time Lapse Video of Moulting Tarantula

Spider owner witnessed his largest tarantula moulting last night and managed to shoot a time lapse of it shedding its old jacket.