Blinking Chairs

By leo | Published: September 10, 2009

Ryota Kuwakubo’s Nicodama is a project that – to put it simply – puts blinky eyes on inanimate objects as a means of giving them personality. From the placard at the Ars Electronica Center:

“Nicodama” combines findings from the field of behavioral biology (ethology) with technology and Japanese philosophy. The “Nicodamas” communicate with each other via infrared interface and blink at random intervals.
In Japanese culture, one proceeds under the assumption that everything – whether it is animate or inanimate – has a soul. The upshot of this conception is care and increased respect in dealing with the environment.
“Nicodama” enables us to get a completely new, emotional view of our environment and the obejcts that surround us. It expands the objectifying, quantitatively measuring, and strategic worldview of our day and age.

Posted in animation, furniture, interaction, product design, surveillance | Comments closed

3D-Printed Clock

By leo | Published: September 8, 2009

At the Ars Electronica / MIT Media Lab exhibit in Linz, Peter Schmitt presented his work on mechanical systems made by rapid prototyping machines – so-called 3-D printers. He makes the interesting argument that by producing these intricate mechanical devices using a single process, manufacturers could forgo the need for low-cost assembly and instead manufacture in socially favorable parts of the world, where the production could also be ‘greener.’ The video is below:

NOTE: This video was removed based on Peter’s request

Posted in 3d, environment, fabrication, materials, product design, supply chain | Comments closed

Electronic Pop-up Book

By leo | Published: September 6, 2009

One of my favorite pieces at this year’s Ars Electronica / MIT Media Lab exhibit is an electronic pop-up book made by Leah Buechley’s student Jie Qi of the High-Low Tech research group. She has layered the traditional materials with copper films, conductive ink and lights and speakers to add a digital dimension to the already interactive book. The entire thing is powered by a Lilypad arduino, underscoring the potential of ubiquitous electronics to transform even the most simple and universal materials.

Posted in 2d, 3d, fabrication, interaction, materials, open objects, soft/glowing, tangible | Comments closed

Corrugated Cardboard Cubby

By leo | Published: August 28, 2009


I saw this beautifully crafted electronic parts drawer cubby at Distance Lab the other day – a great example of upcycling old cardboard packaging into a very useful piece of furniture that feels and works much better than the cheap plastic alternative.

Posted in 2d, 3d, fabrication, furniture, materials, upcycling | Comments closed

techniques for soft electronics

By leo | Published: August 26, 2009

howtogetwhatyouwant

How to get what you want is a rich resource for anyone working in wearable technology – whether you’re looking to to knit your own stretch sensor, solder conductive fabric or crochet a pressure sensor, you can find detailed instructions on this site. It’s the most expansive repository of techniques for prototyping the electronics of the future, when hard and impersonal objectss will (hopefully) be replaced by soft, crafted artifacts. The site is a product of Distance Lab researchers Hannah Perner-Wilson and Mika Satomi.

Posted in fabrication, fashion, free & open, futurecraft, materials, open objects, soft/glowing | Comments closed

automatic garden

By leo | Published: July 16, 2009

gardencarousel3

gardencarousel2

There are a number of plant–growing appliances out there meant to sit on your countertop and look nice next to your iPod – but not the Omega Garden Carousel. This industrial hydroponic behemoth packs 1,500 sf of farming into 150sf of floor space with cylindrical stainless steel cages that take turns soaking in a nutrient bath. The plants don’t experience gravity as they are constantly rotating, making optimal use of the light spread by powerful fluorescent light bulbs. If my ceilings were twenty feet high I would snap one right up.

Posted in fabrication, food, lighting, livingbreathing | Comments closed

ticketing cops

By leo | Published: June 30, 2009

At this year’s Future of News and Civic Media conference I learned about The Open Planning Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to civic empowerment through public space and transporation reform. They have produced a number of interesting web-based projects to catalyze change in the urban landscape, including ‘Uncivil Servants,’ a website for citizens to report parking abuses by public servants. The project seeks to prompt structural changes in the way parking violations are handled in New York City through a combination of research, education and advocacy. Starting with a survey of city drivers using government-issued permits to park illegally (pdf of the report is available here), they built a site where you can learn about the validity of these permits, blog about violations (above) and map them (below). The project aims to reduce the number of permits issued and hold accountable those that abuse them to make the streets safer for everyone.

uncivilservants2

Posted in blogogracy, conviviality, free & open, maps, traceability | Comments closed

paper windows

By leo | Published: June 18, 2009

This is an old idea, but it remains relevant because of its elegance in treating the windows desktop as a physical space with paper windows: you can fold back the corners of any sheet to move items between various layers. It is a navigation technique called ‘Fold ‘n’ Drop;’ I saw Pierre Dragicevic present it at UIST 2004.

Posted in 2d, 3d, animation, interaction, visualization | Comments closed