Architectradure

When atoms become bits!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:37:23 PST

Directly from Japan, look at the Tuttuki Bako Virtual Finger Game! 100% real and fantastically crazy by simply sticking your finger in the hole and a digital representation appears on the screen. Then you can use your virtual finger to play all kinds of cool mini games... from swinging a panda to having a karate fight with a tiny little man. It's so odd yet so wonderful.

You can find it at ThinkGeek

Monitor your dog's activities remotely!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:39:13 PST

SNIF Tag is the revolutionary dog tag that lets you monitor your dog's activities remotely. It even includes social networking. Woaaaa! I want one for my cat! "Monitor your dog's activity while you're away. Keep in touch with his friends and yours. Share helpful information and pet tips online. And get connected to your community. It's hi-tech, it's hi-style, easy to use, and completely customizable."

So how does it works? Well they use the uberbadge technology developed at the MIT Media Lab, basically when a dog meets with a dog who has a tag and is a friend, it blinks! Also you can know the owner's dog and find out their owner online...

Thank you Nan Wei!

A video

Cup communicator

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:35:44 PST

Cup communicator by Duncan Wilson. Tug the cord to activate, squeeze to talk and hold to the mouth and ear.

The design of the Cup Communicator is focused on the gesture of use and the relationship between the users and object. I aim to explore the potential of the product as a medium for interaction and reassess the way we use technology.

The form and function of the Cup Communicator refer to the ‘two-cans and string' children's toy and the physical factors involved with that device. This typology and its associations remind us of the magic and playfulness of our first communication devices.

Sculpt-a-Light (using duct tape)

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:20:23 PDT

After self-powered LEDs, what if rolling the tape piece completed the circuit and lighted it up? Keywon did it!

Startup advice from a startup master

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:02:29 PDT

Rick Borovoy has started a series of video posts on how to start a company. He presents the very early stages "where you're trying to put together an idea with a technology that can implement it with a group of people who will use it, another group of people who can an build it, and a third group of people will fund it". Rick Borovoy co-founded a startup in 2002 based on his Media Lab Ph.D. work on technology for face-to-face community building. On top of that, he has gotten many social technology-oriented projects off the ground, and has thought a lot about the process.

The Pony Diving video

His next video is about you needing partners and not employees... but it is the next step!

What a visionary anime!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:04:41 PDT

I've just finished the awesomness Denno Coil anime, only 26 episodes, an epic end. Everyone out there working on HCI should give it a try, it's not just about wearing VR glasses and having a secret child's world, it is about fusion between anime culture, with a tiny revolution: girls use their brain quite inventively, and a vision of a digital world merging physical, microscopic illegals that needs special encodes, kids collecting metabugs to gain more credit, with a digital police that can also be hacked. O well, I had fun watching these!!

A "trailer" with a soundtrack I never heard before!

An illuminating paper book ...

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:37:32 PDT

Absolutely gorgeous! A pop-up book that explores the integration of paper, electronics, mechanics, and computation by Jie Qi, Leah Buechley and TungShen Chew

Electronic Popables is an interactive pop-up book that sparkles, sings, and moves. The book integrates traditional pop-up mechanisms with thin, flexible, paper-based electronics; the result is an artifact that looks and functions much like an ordinary pop-up book, but has added elements of dynamic interactivity.

Enter the Barbie world

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:08:13 PDT

Barbie Cafe

After the Barbie Cafe in Shanghai, China by architect Hayes Slade designs the first ever Barbie Flagship for Mattel. The 35,000 square foot store holds the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Barbie dolls and licensed Barbie products, as well as a range of services and activities for Barbie fans and their families.

Mattel wanted a store where “Barbie is hero”; expressing Barbie as a global lifestyle brand by building on the brand’s historical link to fashion. Barbie Shanghai is the first fully realized expression of this broader vision. Mattel worked with BIG, the branding and design division of Ogilvy & Mather, to develop creative concept, identify project location, explore featured activities and identify creative partners.

The central feature is a three-story spiral staircase enclosed by eight hundred Barbie dolls. The staircase and the dolls are the core of the store; everything literally revolves around Barbie.

The staircase links the three retail floors:

The women’s floor (women’s fashion, couture, cosmetics and accessories).

The doll floor (dolls, designer doll gallery, doll accessories, books). The Barbie Design Center, where girls design their own Barbie is on this floor. This activity was planned by Chute Gerdeman Retail and designed by Slade Architecture.

The girls floor (girls fashion, shoes and accessories). The Barbie Fashion Stage, planned and designed by Chute Gerdeman Retail, where girls take part in a real runway show, is also on this floor.

For WoW insiders only: We don't date n00bs we pwn them!!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:55:02 PDT

A video that is hilarious, for World of Warcraft insiders only!!!

PUYO-CON: the soft controller!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:50:56 PDT

This new controller technology goes far beyond traditional button-type devices. It enables input based on direct touch, force, and shape transformation. Because the soft material is "crash-worthy", the controller can even be thrown.

Human beings use many different types of sensory information to perform a broad range of activities. But most conventional game controllers limit sensory input to a small, fixed portion of the sensorial spectrum. Players can press or release buttons or move the controller in space, but the controller must always be held in the user's hand. With PUYO-CON, sensory input is far more flexible because players can control activities by applying force to soft material, grasping the controller, and transorming its shape.

The goal of this project is to enhance entertainment experiences for millions of game players around the world.

K-12 Embodied and Mediated Learning

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:45:33 PDT

SMALLab @ Arizona State University - 2009 from aisling kelliher on Vimeo.

What can you make with your USB key?

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:38:32 PDT

USB is used as a synonym for a universal connection, so designers envisioned rings to know if people are suited to each other, if they are really compatible, or to know how long it will last! Synchronizing via USB, transforming the shape of the device can lead to a multitude of concepts. Customized USB devices have gone beyond imagination, such as the USB pregnancy test that combines both your digital data to your bio data, a very sexy trend, however it was only an April fool… People also flirt with the idea of a USB key which size changes depending on the data it contains. Pretty neat! Will it ever blow up when it reaches its limits? How to represent the type of data it contains? Does it complain when it is out of data? However all these neat design sketches are exclusively at the level of concepts.

It is still possible to customize your device in any ways you want. There is a company that offers Personalized jump drive: to create your USB sketches in any color or material you can think of: if you want a USB carrot, it is probably possible. Apparently the company accepts any request. You never have enough USB keys in your bag and imagine if you could possess the USB key of your dreams! I am not sure how they offer to harvest the USB power pin to power up an external device, but they might, after all there is a USB key that exists exclusively to recharge alcaline batteries!

A USB fire extinguisher for Kidde Aerospace and Defense.

Technical objects make music

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:30:35 PDT

Yuri Suzuki and Naoki Kawamoto want to contribute to the design of daily domestic noises. alarms, mobile phones, a doorbell; They reexplore their sounds. The musical kettle is a part of series 're-design soundscape'. As the kettle boils it whistles your favorite tunes.

I particularly love the way the kettle is outfitted, but I also love the idea of reinventing the sound of objects!

The IT Crowd

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:33:25 PDT

The IT crowd is a splendid British TV show for the geek in each of us. I watched it on Netflix and can't wait for season 3! It is written by Graham Linehan and produced by Ash Atalla for Channel 4. The series has won BAFTA and International Emmy awards.

Also, according to Wikipedia: "The show tries to add a large number of references to geek culture, mostly in set dressing and props. Dialogue (both technical and cultural) is usually authentic and any technobabble used often contains in-jokes for viewers knowledgeable in such subjects."

Time is money friend :D

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Play-it-by-eye! Collect movies and improvise perspectives with tangible video objects

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:49:25 PDT

My journal paper Play-it-by-eye! Collect movies and improvise perspectives with tangible video objects is now published at Cambridge University Press!

The paper in .pdf ->here<-

We present an alternative video-making framework for children with tools that integrate video capture with movie production. We propose different forms of interaction with physical artifacts to capture storytelling. Play interactions as input to video editing systems assuage the interface complexities of film construction in commercial software. We aim to motivate young users in telling their stories, extracting meaning from their experiences by capturing supporting video to accompany their stories, and driving reflection on the outcomes of their movies. We report on our design process over the course of four research projects that span from a graphical user interface to a physical instantiation of video. We interface the digital and physical realms using tangible metaphors for digital data, providing a spontaneous and collaborative approach to video composition. We evaluate our systems during observations with 4- to 14-year-old users and analyze their different approaches to capturing, collecting, editing, and performing visual and sound clips.

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure
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Petite visite en France ...

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:17:39 PDT

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Multitouch for gaming

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sun, 03 May 2009 14:06:05 PDT

In the vein of table top interfaces with multitouch and gesture tracking, the trailer for the new game R.U.S.E. by Ubisoft is quite effective!

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure

A floating chandelier

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:28:22 PDT

Wireless transfer power has been explored by artists and engineers, but designers Dana Gordon and Jean Baptiste Labrune brought it a step further! In their induction powered lamp, the closer the lamp gets to the induction the brighter the lamp becomes. So naturally, as you work, sleep, read near such a flexible lamp, you can just bring it closer or not to you to receive more or less light intensity. Tesla would be proud!

Video

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure

The mythical green card

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:40:31 PDT

Awesome! I have been randomly selected for the Diversity Immigrant Visa program for 2010 to receive the mythical Green card! Yes!!! It is the second time that I applied to the lottery so I am pretty thrilled!!

The omelette of shame!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:00:35 PDT

It is so good, this guy is so fun! Journalist Casey reports on MMO news including our WoW pod!! Watch the MMO report on g4tv

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure

Villa Arpel reconstructed!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:12:54 PDT

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure
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Therapeutic massages via facebook!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:00:24 PDT

Put your online friends in your pocket and ... in your jacket! Based on our online communication style with social networks such as facebook and the research on remote physical communication, you can now be anonymously/friends-only massaged. Brainchild of Keywon Chung, Carnaven Chiu, Xiao Xiao, Peggy Pei-Yu Chi and Hiroshi Ishii, Stress OutSourced (SOS) is a peer-to-peer network that allows anonymous users to send each other therapeutic massages to relieve stress. By applying the emerging concept of crowdsourcing to haptic therapy, SOS brings physical and affective dimensions to our already networked lifestyle while preserving the privacy of its members. SOS is an exploration and illustration of a new field of haptic social networking.

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure

A kitchenette for neo-nomads

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:18:59 PDT

Tonight I will attend Yasmine Abbas' talk about her neo-nomadic research, this at the Graduate Schoold of Design for the Critical Digital conference. Today I also discovered this work, that I think Yasmine would particularly love, the DoubleSpace Kitchenette designed by Jeffrey Warren!

The DoubleSpace kitchenette caters to those with a taste for unique, compact living. People living in crowded cities such as New York can appreciate the value of flexible, efficiently used living space. This roomy easy chair converts easily into a countertop with two electric burners.

I personally love compact and modular structures where one can transform a furniture into another one. Not only it is convenient for someone who lives in a crowded city, but it also allows you to move your belongings in a more "compact" way, question that Yasmine investigated throughout her ethnographic research on neo-nomads. It also invites for a more playful relationship to your interior!

Do it yourself tangible systems!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:33:40 PDT

This is MIT Media Lab's open house and we show our latest demos, ideas, research. Adam Kumpf impressed all of us with the Trackmate initiative, an open source system he designed to create an inexpensive, do-it-yourself tangible tracking system.

For over 20 years researchers have been looking at ways to go beyond the mouse and keyboard to interact with computers. One of the most promising areas has been tangible user interfaces; physical objects directly coupled with digital information. These new interfaces have typically required expensive technologies and complex installation procedures, limiting them to the context of specialized research labs and museums.

Trackmate is an open source initiative to create an inexpensive, do-it-yourself tangible tracking system. The Trackmate Tracker allows any computer to recognize tagged objects and their corresponding position, rotation, and color information when placed on a surface. Trackmate sends all object data via LusidOSC (a protocol layer for unique spatial input devices), allowing any LusidOSC-based application to work with the system.

Adam designed a special barcode system that allows the object to be detected when rotated. It is pretty neat as it allows not only to distinguish between objects (280 trillion unique IDs are possible), but to be able to identify their rotation.

This opens a world of application and my next project will make use of this brilliant technology. The project is open source and its components can be downloaded here.

Video

Trackmate :: 5 ways to get started from adam kumpf on Vimeo.

Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure

April fool from Kodak!

noreply@blogger.com (cati) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:48:51 PDT

Thank you Jonah!

Architectradure

When atoms become bits!

Monitor your dog's activities remotely!

Cup communicator

Sculpt-a-Light (using duct tape)

Startup advice from a startup master

What a visionary anime!

An illuminating paper book ...

Enter the Barbie world

For WoW insiders only: We don't﻿ date n00bs we pwn them!!

PUYO-CON: the soft controller!

K-12 Embodied and Mediated Learning

What can you make with your USB key?

Technical objects make music

The IT Crowd

Play-it-by-eye! Collect movies and improvise perspectives with tangible video objects

Petite visite en France ...

Multitouch for gaming

A floating chandelier

The mythical green card

The omelette of shame!

Villa Arpel reconstructed!

Therapeutic massages via facebook!

A kitchenette for neo-nomads

Do it yourself tangible systems!

April fool from Kodak!

For WoW insiders only: We don't date n00bs we pwn them!!