Video
And when you’re done with that…
by sam on Aug.28, 2010, under Robotics, Sensors, Video, hardware, software
…make me some pancakes. Rosie the robot’s great-great-great-great-great-grandmother shows off her laundry folding skills. Something to note: the video says 50x which means this 2 minute video took one hour 40 min to film.
Robot Lifeguard
by sam on Jul.12, 2010, under Good Idea, Robotics, Sensors, Video, hardware
Finally, I no longer have to feel inferior to those swarthy human lifeguards. EMILY, or EMergency Integrated Lifesaving lanYard (why do people love acronyms so much, especially when they have to go to such linguistic lengths to have it come out as the desired word; apparently we can just pick letters at random to get the desired effect [LOVE or Leave grandma in the nursing hOme two states oVer and wait for her to diE] but I digress) EMILY uses sonar to track a drowning person, jets over to them at 28 mph, and then either takes them to shore or waits for the puny human lifeguard to get there. (continue reading…)
BiDi
by Paul on May.23, 2010, under HCI, Interfaces, Video
From the MIT Media Lab is BiDi, short for “bidirectional”. This display can “see” what happens in front of it. For more information see: New Scientist Article, Details.
In the Lumino post, we saw how object placed on a Microsoft Surface project patterns of dark and light that can be used for 3D interaction with the computer. According to Microsoft, the Microsoft Surface “uses cameras and image recognition in the infrared spectrum to recognize different types of objects such as fingers, tagged items and shapes”.
BiDi, then, is an enhancement of that concept and extends the interaction depth to 50 cm.
Now, add multi-colored gloves …
Lumino
by sam on May.23, 2010, under Good Idea, Interfaces, Sensors, Video, hardware, visualization
Lumino is an concept for interacting with touch screen computer in 3D. With a system of glass-fiber-filled objects, Lumino is able to discern the particular block, or stack of blocks and modify the output accordingly. So it not only knows what’s sitting on it surface, it knows what’s sitting on top of that. Check it out.
Tie-Dyed Gestures
by Paul on May.22, 2010, under Good Idea, Interfaces, Video
OK, it just looks that way. Still, an interesting and inexpensive implementation using a webcam as input device. For more information please see: web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/gesture-computing-0520.html
Gestural Interface Gloves
that name again is Mr. Plow
by sam on Mar.07, 2010, under Arts and Crafts, Robotics, Video
Or Roboplow rather. This is awesome. I’m always looking for new ways to get snow off my driveway. I like the remote control, but something autonomous would be cool too.
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
by sam on Mar.02, 2010, under Interfaces, Video, hardware, software
I’ve seen technology like this before. They were demoing it at a simulated medical disaster event almost 10 years ago, but this looks more user friendly, and I’m sure the accuracy of all the component parts is much better than it was: speech recognition, translation, and text-to-voice. One ability that’s always appealed to me is languages. I’m glad the technology is catching up to my lack of ability. Step two, read my thoughts, or at least the electrical signals being sent to my vocal chords and do the translation in actual real time. Step three, rule the world. Step four, tacos.
Wii Controlled Percussion
by sam on Feb.23, 2010, under Arts and Crafts, Interfaces, Robotics, Sensors, Video, hardware, software
The Wiimote controlling drum machines, by which I mean, machines that play the drums. A quick read of his website tells me that he’s using Arduinos to control the machines, plus some custom stuff. Pretty nice.
Bloom Box?
by sam on Feb.22, 2010, under Alternative Energy, Video, hardware
So this looks all well and fine, but it’s hardly the ‘holy grail’ of alternative energy. For one thing, it requires fuel and oxygen. To me the holy grail is a black box that reaps dark energy or gravitons or neutrinos from thin air and spits out 120V. Or Fettuccine Alfredo. Anyway, if it’s all that it says it is, it beats coal and the mountain rape that goes with it.
MIT Media Lab Does It Again: Sixth Sense
by Paul on Jan.31, 2010, under Good Idea, HCI, Interfaces, Video
No, it doesn’t see dead people (not yet). It’s a wearable gestural interface.
NeatTools Media
by sam on Jan.31, 2010, under How to, Sensors, Video, software, visualization
NeatTools (an open-source project I work on) is finally (thanks to me) getting some documentation and media, out there on the web. It’s early days yet, but there is a new wiki and a YouTube Channel both with growing amounts of information. Here’s the first video to get you started:
Project Natal for XBOX 360
by sam on Jun.02, 2009, under Good Idea, Interfaces, Sensors, Video, hardware, software
Here’s the official propaganda from Microsoft, and it clearly say that this is only the “project vision” and that the actual functionality will most likely vary. Some of the things seem silly without some kind of a prop in your hands. I agree that things like hand to hand combat would be much more natural with no controller, but things that have always had a physical element, like driving a car, just become ridiculous without something in your hands. It certainly warrants keeping an eye on. More than just gaming, as one element in a “smart” house, this could be very cool.
