i shot this video of dan stiehl presenting his ‘huggable’ robotic companion teddy bear at the aarp conference in boston two weeks ago. this project is another attempt at making companion robots that elicit positive emotional response, what makes this one unique is its execution. the bear looks and sounds like a real creature, even […]
Author Archives: leo
cuddlebot
Posted in evil robots, fabrication, livingbreathing, soft/glowing, surveillance
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collaborative creation
i found peter b. meyer’s episodes of collective invention inspiring because he shows that in cases where technology has no clear application, sharing ideas is more valuable than keeping them secret. he bases this conclusion on some pretty weighty case studies: the invention of desktop computers, the spread of the bessemer steel process, and the […]
Posted in blogogracy, conviviality, futurecraft, marketing, open objects, product design
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shared limbs
although few attempts at ‘open design‘ have endured, openprosthetics.org seems to be working. it is a forum for sharing prosthetic designs, and it is motivated in large part by amputees and their families who are seeking better, cheaper, and more functional alternatives to traditional prosthetics. take a look at the prosthetic fishing rod (above) for […]
Posted in blogogracy, conviviality, futurecraft, livingbreathing, open objects, product design
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by a long sea and a long land carriage
the supply chain of a laptop computer Were we to examine, in the same manner, all the different parts of his dress and household furniture, the coarse linen shirt which he wears next his skin, the shoes which cover his feet, the bed which he lies on, and all the different parts which compose it, […]
Posted in conviviality, possessed products, product design, visualization
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skinnybot
i saw cory kidd’s new version of ‘autom’ the robotic weight loss coach at the AARP conference in Boston last week. he is starting the first sociable robot company, intuitiveautomata based on this (his PhD project). from the website: The future is here! Intuitive Automata Inc. is bringing about the robot revolution by creating robots […]
Posted in evil robots, livingbreathing, marketing, product design
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shake a wrist
master cyber-seamtress leah buechley showed her ‘bracelets‘ at the siggraph 2007 unravel fashion show. amazingly she can make circuits completely soft, such as this supple LED-studded bracelet with an accelerometer that propagates lights beams when shaken. from the catalog: Woven bracelets—created on traditional bead looms out of beads, conductive thread and surface mount LEDs—function as […]
Posted in fabrication, futurecraft, product design, soft/glowing, visualization
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polypopolis
i was at the AARP conference in boston last week – i’m not sure why – and i came across this radical experiment in inflatable architecture: the super colon. i have to say it was effective – i couldn’t even go in. i’ll have to trust doctors to do that for me.
Posted in architecture, livingbreathing, soft/glowing
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public display of affection
i taped barabara layne’s ‘jacket antics‘ at the siggraph 2007 unravel fashion show – a set of jackets woven with LED marquees on their backs. the displays are an extension of the woven fabric, with the added ability to connect two people holding hands into a single display. from the catalog: Jacket Antics feature unique […]
Posted in fabrication, futurecraft, materials, product design, soft/glowing
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