Category: technology

December 4, 2012

The best 3D printed object to date

We have been talking about 3D printing for a while now and have written a few posts on it already here, here and here.

People are printing all kinds of objects at the moment, skin, organs, prostetics, parts for engines etc. etc., but I found the best 3D printed object – a 3D printed transforming robot

3D printed Robot that transforms like an Autobot

A company called Brave Robotics created this remote-controlled car that can transform into a walking robot, and features a Wi-Fi camera, headlights, and the ability to shoot little darts from its arms.

You can check it out below in the video.

The company has done quite a few things in the past and to get to this final product they also have a nice history video for you

@maniac13

September 25, 2012

Google Hangout – Face Arcade

Respect to Kiwi agency Resn for creating some pretty funny hack experiments using the Google Hangout technology. Check out their mind-boggling trailer for the ‘Face Arcade’.

You can enter the Face Arcade here to join the fun.

And remember: you only need a face to play! If you enjoyed it, please show the guys some vote love on FWA.

September 17, 2012

Never Ever have greasy hands again

Starting off the Tuesday with the best invention since sliced bread. OK, maybe not, but it is still pretty cool.

Introducing the Popinator, a popcorn distribution machine that is voice activated. Simply say Pop and it will shoot a single popped corn in your direction and you can “easily” catch it with your mouth.

A binaural microphone array on the machine’s front listens for a clear “pop” voice command, determines where the command came from and shoots.

See it in action in the video below

There is no word on if this machine will ever see the day of light for all of us to acquire, but this is what the creating company (Popcorn, Indiana) had to say:

“All we have to say is: it is a work in progress right now. We certainly hope that one day it will become a commercial project, but as of now there is no shipping date and no price tag. It is purely a fun internal project we are toying with here at Popcorn Indiana. Based on the very positive responses we are getting online, we think this is well worth looking into as a commercial product.”

I really hope it does and I will install one in the office next to my desk.

@maniac13

August 16, 2012

NFC is not just mobile payment

NFC or Near Field Communication is the big buzz word at the moment and everybody is talking about it. The truth is that the technology is nothing new and it has been around for a long time. Nokia had an NFC enabled phone in 2007, it was called the Nokia 6131.

Google has made the term mainstream with their announcement of Google Wallet and most people think of NFC as a way to pay with their mobile device. But that is not all.

At Razorfish globally we have been exploring NFC for a long time. Just look at the examples that we released in the past: The NFC gumball machine, BrandTable or Razorfish Digital Wallet.

We actually have a wall of NFC to showcase all kinds of uses for the technology right in our office.

So what else can you do with NFC apart from using it for payments?

There are already plenty of examples out there.

Below you can find 6 examples on how NFC can be used right now.

1. Use your NFC enabled phone as the key to your hotel room

For the recent Olympics in London a Holiday Inn Hotel gave their VIP customers a Samsung Galaxy S3 as part of their 40 VIP rooms. The guests were able to check in and out of the hotel, as well as change the AC, control the TV, and unlock their rooms with the phone.

Using NFC in your phone as a key to open doors has been used in the Enterprise world as well. The phones were used to enable physical access systems in buildings and track employee time-clock check-ins and attendance, access staff parking areas or cafeterias and pay for services.

NFC tags could be placed inside meeting or conference rooms, and attendees could tap their compatible devices to silence them or to turn on Wi-Fi, for example.

2. Use it as your travel pass

Continue reading →

August 14, 2012

How to make Mickey Mouse interactive

Easy – you use infrared controlled Mickey Mouse ears.

The ears communicate with IR controllers and can react to certain parts of Disneyland. According to the video(s) below they have only scratched the surface and the ears will be able to interact with each other as well (they kind of do already as you can sync their lights with each other if you get them close enough).

The main attraction is the World of Colour experience where the ears are grouped into zones so the technicians can use all the “participants” to incorporate the ears into the show, think sweeping changes of colour running through the crowd.

Check out the 2 videos below

Now I just have to find the time and money to go to Disneyland myself

@maniac13

August 10, 2012

3D printing in your home

A 3D printer melds thin layers together from plastic thread, which are spooled from a reel to form sold plastic objects into any shape you specify.

What is exciting is the drop in price of these printers, making it more accessible to the home user. An example of this is the new UP mini 3D available for pre-order from 3D Printing Systems for $995+GST.

Notable specifications:

Has an enclosed chamber to reduce warping
Double linear bearings on each axis – ensures consistent build quality
You can use any supplier of ABS roll of 1.75mm plastics
Includes the Smart UP! Software, tools and full roll of plastic to get you started

Watch the video from 3D printing Systems

Interested in what people are printing have a look here at Thingiverse.

Examples

LED icosikaipentagon disco ball

Automaton hand

PIXAR lamp

August 7, 2012

The future of tablet touch is gesturing

Have you ever been in the situation where you were cooking up a storm in the kitchen following your grandmothers 100 year recipe, your hands were covered in ingredients and you didn’t want to touch the recipe because you didn’t want to get it dirty.

Qualcomm comes to the rescue by showing off the power of their new Snapdragon processor and there practical integration of gesture and head tracking technology that hopefully soon will make it into your tablet.

The technology is not new, but as the videos below show, using the device’s front-facing camera, we will be able to control onscreen avatars, page forward and back through recipes, setup profiles and even wake their slates all with simple hand or head movements.

Check out the videos below

I for one wouldn’t mind having this little add-on on my tablet.

@maniac13

July 24, 2012

Never have a messy room ever again

Trash cans haven’t really changed much in the past, but this Japanese genius just made all the wait worth it.

He has created the Smart Trashbox, a moving can which uses a Kinect to track airborne garbage and make sure you’ll never miss ever again.

Check out the video of it in action.

A lot of work went into this project and the creator (Modder FRP) states that there is still a lot of work to be done, but right now it is pretty impressive.

@maniac13

July 24, 2012

Best use of NFC so far

NFC is the big buzz word everywhere now and most people don’t even know what it is, what it does or that they already have it in their phone.

Will the new iPhone have it? Nobody knows until it is revealed, but that shouldn’t stop us from exploring it.

And that is exactly what Razorfish in Germany did with this 2 day project, coming up with the best idea on NFC usage I have seen so far.

The idea is simple, just like you used to get your candy from a machine you can now get all kinds of digital goodies: Apps, movies, songs, ebooks, as well as other exclusive and location-based content that can be pushed to a phone. Simply enter a coin and turn the lever – then follow the animation and tap your smartphone next to the release chute.

In terms of hardware, we used a Samsung Galaxy Tab, an NFC shield, a simple reed switch and two Arduino microcontrollers – all nicely fitted into an original Gum Machine metal base.

Super awesome indeed. Nicely done Razorfish. You can read more about it here.

@maniac13

July 18, 2012

This is how you buy a car–Audi City

We have been playing around with new ways of interaction for a while and touch and Natural user interfaces always played a big role in it.

Some of the work we can done can be found on our blog here and here, on the razorfish emerging experiences blog here and there is plenty more as well.

So we are always interested when this kind of technology and innovation makes it into the real world. Yesterday the Audi City in London opened up and is showing off how you will buy your next Audi by using touch, Kinect and RDID.

Audi at the moment sells 36 different new cars and with all of the customization you can do there are something like 200 million possible iterations of those and obviously you can’t have that many cars in the show room.

So what if you could customize your new car the way you want and then see if life size drive past you on a 210 inch screen – awesome, yes!

Audi City has multiple levels, with the upstairs level having 4 of those floor to ceiling screens. Check out their vision in the video below:

2 of the screens have kinect sensors connected to them so you can interact with it with gestures, a directional sound system makes sure you are not disturbed by other potential buyers on the other screen (or vice versa) and it lets you experience the engine sound and the sounds of closing doors.

A touch screen then takes over where you can easily customize every single aspect of your new car, down to the colour of your gear stick. Spin it, turn it, zoom it – all of that is possible with high resolution imagery and the touch panel.

Paint, leather and cloth samples on RFID-enabled swatches can be grabbed from the wall and placed next to the 32in touch screen, automatically updating your vehicle with the choice you’ve made.

Once you’re happy with your choices it generates a mood board with hi-res snaps and videos of your chosen car, which can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, emailed to a friend, or stored on a USB key.

Audi plans to roll the 3M multitouch screens out to dealerships all over the world, and to create 20 Audi Cities by 2015. I for one can’t wait for the one in Australia to be opened.

@maniac13