Category Archives: materials
Bike Brights
Gus writes “Have you made or do you know of something that both of us could wear that would enhance our visibility as bicyclists?” There are a number of ways for us bicyclists to stand out day or night, ranging from the ultra-geeky to the super-fashionable. Here they are in that order: 1. Make your [...]
Also posted in augmented reality, conviviality, fashion, lighting, product design, soft/glowing Leave a comment
3D-Printed Clock
At the Ars Electronica / MIT Media Lab exhibit in Linz, Peter Schmitt presented his work on mechanical systems made by rapid prototyping machines – so-called 3-D printers. He makes the interesting argument that by producing these intricate mechanical devices using a single process, manufacturers could forgo the need for low-cost assembly and instead manufacture [...]
Also posted in 3d, environment, fabrication, product design, supply chain 1 Comment
Electronic Pop-up Book
One of my favorite pieces at this year’s Ars Electronica / MIT Media Lab exhibit is an electronic pop-up book made by Leah Buechley’s student Jie Qi of the High-Low Tech research group. She has layered the traditional materials with copper films, conductive ink and lights and speakers to add a digital dimension to the [...]
Also posted in 2d, 3d, fabrication, interaction, open objects, soft/glowing, tangible Leave a comment
Corrugated Cardboard Cubby
I saw this beautifully crafted electronic parts drawer cubby at Distance Lab the other day – a great example of upcycling old cardboard packaging into a very useful piece of furniture that feels and works much better than the cheap plastic alternative.
Also posted in 2d, 3d, fabrication, furniture, upcycling Leave a comment
techniques for soft electronics
How to get what you want is a rich resource for anyone working in wearable technology – whether you’re looking to to knit your own stretch sensor,
Also posted in fabrication, fashion, free & open, futurecraft, open objects, soft/glowing Leave a comment
magnetic chips
Ayah Bdeir launched ‘Little Bits‘ last week at Eyebeam: a kit of magnet-studded circuit components that naturally snap together with the right polarity. The idea is to make prototyping of simple interaction possible for those outside the electrical engineering profession – such as this example of a product designer experimenting with lights on a mock-up [...]
Also posted in customization, fabrication, lighting, product design, tangible Leave a comment
paper 2.0
Humble paper – cheap, flexible, renewable – is becoming a medium of choice for ubiquitous computing through the popularization of augmented reality tags that can be read by cell phone and computer cameras everywhere. Above is a very elaborate simulation software running on a tangible interface – all controlled by printed paper. The videos shows [...]
Also posted in animation, augmented reality, interaction, visualization Leave a comment
Capacitors from the Congo