The ever growing television

A friend's FaceBook post about Samsung's massive 219 inch MicroLED TV got me wondering if there was data about the average size of the TV by year. A quick Google search provided me with the following.

From Tribeca: Movie Industry Must Bring The Theater "Home"

Aeromobil Flying Car

The Aeromobil 2.5 is the latest attempt at the car/plane hybrid. Created by Stefan Klein, a designer from Slovakia, the Areomobile has a major advantage over other flying cars such as the Terrafugia. That being it looks so freaking cool. With this prototype demonstrating it's potential with the short flight shown in the video below, Klein hopes to find investors willing to help make his dream a reality.

 


http://www.aeromobil.com/

Box

Created by Bot & Dolly, Box is a truly astonishing combination of projection mapping, robotics and artistic vision. Certainly the next stage in the use of projection mapping.

Meta Space Glasses

Now these are augmented-reality glasses to get excited about! Meta has taken a different direction than Google, and it is one which I think may be for the better. Google is attempting to create glasses that will become a part of our everyday lives but in doing so, they have had to sacrifice a great deal of functionality. Meta on the other hand seems to be putting functionality first, even if it means creating a device which is bulky and aesthetically unappealing.

Cyber Roach

Strange as it may seem, Scientists at North Carolina State University have invented remote-controlled cockroaches which they envision may one day be used to locate survivors in search and rescue missions.

A transmitter/receiver is attached to the back of a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach and connected to it's antennae. When the scientist want the roach to turn, they send a small electrical signal which tricks it into believing it is has come across a wall (e.g. wall on the left, so turn right). The little cyber roaches are then controlled via Microsoft's Kinect gaming technology. A route is plotted and the Kinect steers and monitors their movement.

Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

According to this report in Current Biology (Vol 23 No 11), use of noninvasive brain stimulation resulted in subjects ability to learn new arithmetic operations two to five times faster than a control group. The experimental group also had considerably better retention when tested against the control group six months later.

Of course these aren't the first researchers to experiment with lite electrical brain stimulation. Here is an interesting clip from the video series 'Through the Wormhole' where Dr Allan Snyder uses brain stimulation to boost creativity in order to improve problem solving.


You don't have to be a futurist to envision the possibility of children in a future classroom putting on a 'thinking cap' before beginning their daily studies. Perhaps it would look something like products which are currently on the market being sold to researchers such as the Starstim by Neuroelectrics.

So what would be the implications of a future with brain enhancing technology at our disposal? Well you'll be happy to know that smart people are already debating the issue and if you're interested you can read this nice University of Oxford article to get up to speed.

90 year old grandmother experiences virtual reality

I really want to bring back the phrase "Holy Mackerel!"

Laser "Forest"

Looks fun!

Forest from Marshmallow Laser Feast on Vimeo.

Marshmallow Laser Feast

IllumiRoom: Microsoft Research

Microsoft has taken some interesting steps forward in the area of game immersion. Using the Kinect and a projector, IllumiRoom creates a wide area viewing experience incorporating both the TV and the wall behind it. 3D mapping technology allows the system to deal with the particular curves and angles of your room. It's an interesting concept perhaps bringing us closer to the holodeck envisioned in Star Trek.



http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/illumiroom/

Phantom Quadcopter Captures Stable Aerial Footage

 

Slick stabilization rig for the Phantom quadcopter allows for relatively inexpensive aerial video. I could see this being used extensively by amateur and independent film makers.

Google Shoe

I got a kick out of the experimental Google Shoe (pun intended). I find it to be both a ridiculous idea and yet strangely amusing at the same time.



I loved one commentators idea of "The Mayor Bloomberg Shoe: "Walk away from the soda fat ass!" "You had two sodas??! Start running that porky ass!" "You better not be thinking about walking into that McDonalds pig face!" "Is that a salt shaker in your hand??? It better not be!" "I feel like you are crushing me. . .how much does your big ass weigh?!? LOL""

I, Robot...in a Rock and Roll Band

With the video of the Compressorhead's Ace of Spades making it's way through the blogosphere I thought I would put together a collection of some other cool videos of robots playing videos.


Compressorhead


University of Pennsylvania


The Hubos


Toyota


Toyota

The Trons


Bonus Compressorhead

Now you see it, now you don't: Tablet Popup Keypad

A friend posted this cool video showcasing new keypad enhancing technology by Tactus Technology.  Small bubbles seem to popup over the touchscreen when the keyboard is engaged.  When the keyboard is closed, the bubbles disappear returning the tablet to normal.  A very clever solutions for people that have difficulties typing on touchscreens.

Where light meets architecture: Lighter on London

Shot in 2010 by Dentsu as a commercial for Green Tomato Cars; an eco friendly taxi service.  The laser murals where created using technology developed by a company called Sensaa 


Lighter On London :: Laser Murals from greentomatocars on Vimeo.

Where light meets architecture: night lights

A 2010 joint effort by YesYesNo, The Church, Inside Out Productions and Electric Canvas to turn the Auckland Ferry Building in New Zealand into a interactive light show.


night lights from zach lieberman on Vimeo.

Read more at YesYesNo

Where light meets architecture: Perspective Lyrique

I have been fascinated by the new and imaginative ways many artist are embracing and using technology.  This is especially true in the creative marriage of light and architecture.  So in appreciation of these marvelous installations I will post one of my top picks each day for the next week or so.



PERSPECTIVE LYRIQUE from 1024 on Vimeo.

Play catch with a robot

Kind of reminiscent of these ping pong playing robots.

Gustav Hoegen's Animatronics

The unbelievable animatronics of Gustav Hoegen.  The music is pretty annoying so you might want to watch it with the volume off.

Philips hue Lighting System

The Philips hue is a lighting system which provides control of the brightness and color of your lighting through an iPad or iPhone.  With hue you can create various mood lighting themes, control & monitor lights remotely through your smart phone or tablet, set timers to help with routines (for example, lights turn red when you are about to be late for work), or have the lights gradually brighten as you wake up in the morning.

For $200 you get three bulbs and a controller. Additional bulbs will cost about $60.

 

High tech warfare: Boeing tests CHAMP missile

Militaries, like the rest of the world, have become ever more reliant upon computerized systems to carryout their goals.  It is no wonder then that there has been increased research into methods which could disrupt or destroy such systems.  Recently, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) successfully tested such a weapon named CHAMP (Counter-electronics High-powered Advanced Missile Project).

CHAMP is essentially a missile which, when fired over a target, can shoot bursts of microwaves which incapacitate or damage electronic systems.  It has a narrow targeting system which allows it to effect electronics within one building while leaving systems in nearby buildings unaffected.

Here is a video discussing the technology and demonstrating it's use.