Here are a couple of videos from a Swiss lab where they are developing quadrocopters that can play tennis and build structures.

By developing amazing software that allows the flying robots to work automatically, they are performing tasks that may one day mean difficult and dangerous jobs can be done quicker and safer.

Not only does this show how the construction industry may be changed in the future, it will be interesting to see how these types of machines could one day help in an emergency rescue situation.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is a video of one sculpture Ray has created with remote control eyes.. a very cool idea to add more realism to the work.
It might be a bit unnerving having these eyes follow you around after a few beers at a party!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some more of Rays pumpkin sculptures.

Carved pumpkin by Ray Villafane

By Ray Villafane

See lots more on Villafane Studios – Ray’s sculpture website.

The Oblong Industries G-Speak Spacial Operating Environment

If you ever watched the film Minority Report and thought “That computer is cool.. I can’t wait for those to be real”, well you might not be waiting too much longer.

Oblong Industries created the G-Speak SOE platform (SOE means Spatial Operating Environment), an early version of which was actually seen in the movie being used by Tom Cruise. It looks like brilliant technology, however, it does need some space and I’m sure it wouldn’t come cheap. It’s quite exciting that this could be how computing is done in the future, it seems it could be especially useful for structural planning and engineering.

Here’s a great video from the Oblong website showing the system in use, with gloves moving graphics and 2 person interaction:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m so looking forward to the days when computers are more of an active experience.. I know its dependant on space, but in the age of the Nintendo Wii and Xbox Kinect, it kind of feels like the isolated, sentient life of someone working on a computer should perhaps be a thing of the past.. why shouldn’t work be more tactile, active and enjoyable?

Here’s a clip from Minority Report too.. Just to compare, although I’m pretty sure some extra CGI may have enhanced the film footage.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Quantum World by Symphony of Science (Melody Sheep)

This video features clips from many leading figures in physics, seen on TV and in the media, inc. Stephen Hawking, Prof. Brian Cox speaking at TED, Doc. Michio Kaku, actor Morgan Freeman presenting Discovery Channel’s Through The Worm Hole, and other auto tuned clips from science programmes seen on BBC4 and Discovery Science.

This song by Melody Sheep may not blaze up the music charts, but its definitely a unique, clever, stylish and educational video & (I think) a well produced track. Its good to hear and see something like this in music, especially when heard on national radio!

Does this make watching BBC4 and Discovery all the time a tiny bit cooler?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ode to Quantum Mechanics by Casual Entropy

This just made me laugh, its a rapid journey through the history and some of the stranger observations made within the field of Quantum Theory.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Richard Dawkins first introduced these Biomorphs in his book The Blind Watchmaker as a way to show how evolution has resulted in the existence of complex organisms. The software applet that shows this can be found here and allows the user to choose the steps of the evolving Biomorph from a selection of options, the chosen Biomorph then becomes the parent of further options for the next generation of offspring.

Evolve Your Own Organisms

Most of these offspring options offer only a tiny change from the parent organism, while a few offer greater alternative forms.

These options mimic the slight variations of living things, allowing us to see how natural selection can result in amazing changes in the evolution of creatures over a number of generations. Big changes can often be seen to occur through just 10-12 generations / clicks of the mouse.

What is a Meme?

Richard Dawkins is also known for coining the term “Meme”. The term is loosely based on the word Gene and first mentioned in another of his books, The Selfish Gene. A Meme is an idea, a fad or an interest that seems to spread through popular culture and communication networks in much the same way as genes pass on information through generations.

The word “meme” is more commonly used now than it was in the early years following the original publishing of Dawkins’ book in 1976. Now that the internet, the web and social networks allow the transmission and spread of ideas & thoughts more rapidly, there have been a number of internet memes that have caught on quickly. Creating a meme, or a mass public interest (buzz) around something can be very profitable for a brand or product manufacturer.. or even a film studio or a musician… or a damn Crazy Frog!

The science of genes, evolution and the spread of information, both on the web and in the world, can be seen as similar systems. Understanding the natural world can even lead to better marketing ideas… I’m sure it already has and we’ve probably often helped the subjects of those ideas to spread… ever heard of something “going viral”?

Biomorphs Video

Shows the steps this particular Biomorph takes in its evolution.
(this video often seems to take a moment to begin)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Biomorphs Interative Applet – Richard Dawkins
Another Biomorph program

I believe there are some other similar programs around.. maybe if you know of any, please post a comment and I’ll add a link here.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been released from prison after nearly 3 months detension

The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei was released from prison earlier this week after 3 months of captivity. The Chinese media has reported that he confessed to tax evasion and was suffering from a chronic illness.

It is also reported that Ai repeatedly told authorities he was prepared to pay for any outstanding tax payments immediately, despite the fact that those close to the artist claim the allegations have been fabricated as an excuse to hold him.

The treatment that the 54 year old artist has endured over the past year, including his studio being demolished in January, has led to concern about the Chinese government’s actions. As Weiwei is currently released on bail, there remains the possibility that he could be detained again or placed under house arrest in attempts to prevent him from criticising the regime.

Reporters have tried to get statements from Ai, however he has said that he is unable to talk about his detention or release as this has been forbidden. He has mentioned he had to cut his own hair and spoke that “it’s good to be home”.

Sunflower Seeds, Tate Modern Turbine Hall

His wife is said to have revealed in a phone interview that plain clothes police follow him whenever they leave the house.

The artist, who is well known for his Sunflower Seeds installation at Tate Modern, is also banned from leaving China for a year, a condition which will be an annoyance to many galleries and art organisations who would be delighted to welcome him as a guest or exhibitor.

China’s Crackdown

The Chinese have detained many outspoken individuals in their attempts to prevent any kind of uprising like those seen throughout the East this year, inc. Egypt and Syria. Activists and campaigners have been arrested, placed under house arrest or simply disappeared. It is widely believed that, like Ai Weiwei, they have been detained for long periods without ever being formally charged. In addition, Chinese law would usually deal with financial crimes such as tax evasion with a fine.

Before Ai Weiwei’s arrest in April, he would regularly criticise the Chinese government. He used blogging and Twitter to voice his concerns about his home country and the widespread neglect and corruption. It has also been reported that he kept a tally of the people who have “disappeared” into state custody.

His Twitter account has had no updates / tweets since just before his arrest at the beginning of April. Some sources say that he has been banned from tweeting as another condition of his release.

Sources: UK Newspaper i (Independent), CBS News

I stumbled across this guide from Google, it explains a lot about browsers and the web. It clearly addresses all sorts of things from basics like “what is the internet?” to “the difference between old and modern browsers” and also some of the new programming technologies and features in HTML 5 and CSS.

So if anything about your online experience baffles you, or if you just want to know a bit more, like where the web page you are looking at comes from.. check out this guide, have a read or bookmark it for later reference.

Find it here.. 20 Things I Learned .com

Information Architects agency in Tokyo (and also Zurich) are experts of interface design and also make apps including a much liked iPad app for writing, iA Writer.

They are also the creators of the award winning Web Trend Maps. The latest is map number 5 and they always release them as posters to buy through their online store.

Each map shows how the web (or specific area of it) is developing, growing and how the contributors are comparing and connecting to each other. They include beautiful graphics that show the information clearly and simply, which is probably why they are often bought by some of the worlds leading web agencies & companies inc. Google, Facebook, Microsoft and even CERN.. home of The Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, considered the birth place of the Web after it was conceived by Tim Burners-Lee.

Web Trend Map 5

The latest web trends map (#5) features the 140 most influential people on Twitter.

iA Web Trend Map 5

Web Trend Map 4

Shows the most influential websites on the web in 2009 (based on the Tokyo Metro map).

iA Web Trend Map 4

Web Trend Map 3

Shows the most influential websites on the web in 2008 (based on the greater Tokyo area train map).

iA Web Trend Map 3

Maps are also available from Information Architects as downloadable PDFs for self printing and as wallpapers for desktops and devices.

Get notified when the next Web Trend Map is released here.

Google’s Plus One button is the new service from Google as a step into the social network sharing arena with Facebook’s “like” button and Twitter’s “tweet” buttons.

There are many other networking and bookmarking services offering sharing buttons, such as Linked In and Stumble Upon to name a couple. Along with Facebook and Twitter, these established services have the systems and social infrastructure to allow their members to share links with their friends and contacts.

Google Going Social

Although Google doesnt have a successful social network (any attempts in the past have pretty much failed), they are definitely planning something bigger and better & they already offer a new dimension to the search results with their Social Search.

Update 2 July 2011:
Google+, their new social network, has had a soft launch to invited people only.. it’s looking very popular after only a couple of days!

The Plus One service will allow anyone with a Google Profile to “plus 1″ a page and add it to their profile page’s +1′s tab. The search results already let you know if your contacts from other services, like Twitter, have shared a link. With the arrival of the new social services from Google, they will soon also tell you who has +1′d a result in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

Google is the dominant search engine on the web today, with so many using their search services it will soon become an added bonus to also see which of our friends have been viewing and recommending pages. It could also be included on all YouTube videos and may launch Google as the leading rival to Facebook in social sharing; Facebook is currently one of Google’s main competitors on the web.

Bing will soon be launching a similar service, integrated with Facebook “likes”, into it’s search results pages. This will show results and feature recommendation figures based upon your Facebook friends “likes”.

At the moment the Plus One button is a new and relatively experimental feature, sites such as Mashable have partnered with Google to test the service.

Using the Google+1 Button on Your Site

I have chosen to add the button to the posts here at Judderstone as I expect this service will be used by many more people in the near future. You can add the +1 button to your site or blog using a simple snippet of Javascript code.

Here is the official Google video introducing the +1 button.

Click here to view the embedded video.

External Links:

Official +1 button page on Google
Google +1 article on Wired
Google +1 article on Mashable

The rings of Saturn captured by Cassini, also features Earth in the distance.

This is a stunning photograph of Saturn taken by the Cassini space probe in 2006.

It might look like a perfect computer-generated graphic.. but this image was created by combining 165 images taken over 3 hours with the wide angle camera on Cassini as it orbited the planet. Earth can be seen here too, but due to the distance we are from Saturn it is only seen as a tiny bright dot. If you imagine a clock face; look just inside the second largest ring at about 10 o’clock.. there we are!

See more about this image on the NASA website.