As a result of participating in the prototyping weekend conducted during UPSingapore, I was able to massage and mangle a number of datasets, graciously made available by private and public organisations. One of the datasets that I managed to sink my teeth into was the collection of geocoded cab data collected over a 24 hour period on the 15 of May 2012 for 15,694 cabs.
From the data, I was hoping to observe the behavioural patterns of cabs in Singapore.
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“Producing and selling a product that is well-designed or badly designed costs exactly the same amount of money,” says Bertazzoni, the fifth generation of his family to run the company. “Style is part of the products we manufacture.”
This is from an awesome article on high end ovens from Northern Italy. Inspiration can come from anywhere!
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Can Medical Games in 3D Improve Your Health?
We don’t know for sure, but they’re really fun and definitely informative. 3D medical imaging company ION Medical Designs has created three interactive games intended to showcase their graphics capabilities and medical know-how. At the time of writing, we could only get the one to work: Sepsis, the premise of which is to learn about a medical condition and play the role of a macrophage, engulfing invading bacteria and protecting the patient’s blood pressure level. It’s super fun and in terms of difficultly, about on par with a few other favorite time-waster games like TextTwist, except playing this game actually teaches you about your immune system. Rad!
So Flipping Cool: AR Sandboxes with Virtual Water Simulation
The UC Davis W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in the Earth Sciences built this incredible demonstration of interactive AR topography with funding from the National Science Foundation. The demonstration uses Microsoft Kinect as well as water flow simulations based on the Saint-Venant set of shallow water equations.
These AR sandboxes will be set up as hands-on exhibits in science museums including the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC).
(Source: idav.ucdavis.edu)
"Companies that build digital products and services are engaging in a new level of competition; it’s no longer good enough to deliver a usable product. Our designs must reach an aspirational vision that elevates the experience beyond mere usability."
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http://www.cooper.com/journal/2012/05/elevating_the_brand_and_visual.html
Levitation: Baby Steps
An exciting new project from MIT Media Lab holds the promise of being able to control and levitate the objects around you, opening new doorways for digital and physical interactions with your environment.
Says creator Jinha Lee, ”ZeroN is a physical and digital interaction element that floats and moves in space by computer-controlled magnetic levitation.” Interaction options include physical playback of gestures, physical manipulation of 3D trajectories, camera recording along 3D paths and lighting viewpoints. While these interactions are occurring inside a lab today, let’s hope it won’t remain that way forever. Watch the video to learn more about the technology behind this amazing process.
What am I most excited about? The fact that the day when I can say, “Accio ZeroN!” only seems to be getting closer.
‘Welcome to the Anthropocene’ Earth Animation
This 3-minute video is simply stunning, you won’t be able to take your eyes off it. I highly recommend watching it in full-screen mode. The visual execution is superb, and the data that unfolds contains thought-provoking insights about our impact on the planet. A question comes to mind: are we nearing an age where our technology can support a more lightweight visual impact, or will the lines criss-crossing the planet only increase as a new private space industry starts to gain its footing?
About the project:
Welcome to the Anthropocene, commissioned by the London Planet Under Pressure conference, provides a data visualization of the state of the planet. It opens at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. As the camera swoops over Earth, viewers watch the planetary impact of humanity: cities, roads, railways, pipelines, cables and shipping lanes until finally the world’s planes spin a fine web around the planet. The film is produced as part of the world’s first educational portal on the Anthropocene.
"To be human is to be a user (and maker and remaker) of technology."
16th Century Amsterdam in 3D
Amsterdam-based studio PlusOne has completed an intriguing project for the Amsterdam Museum: a series of stunning videos that bring the viewer into the physical, political and religious milieu of one of the most important port cities of the 16th century.
3D art has the unique quality of feeling extremely immersive and immediate, which is why it is a fantastic way to introduce people to a historical setting in full color!
The creative team behind the production spoke with Motionographer for an in-depth interview, be sure to check out the original post for more details, photos and videos.
