This week Scot Frank showed me his pre-alpha of Citizen Water, a cohesive effort to monitor water quality around the world in order to empower community advocacy and direct development efforts. The effort is two-pronged: Scot’s team has been on the ground in numerous locations to help locals test their own water quality using low-cost […]
Author Archives: leo
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 […]
Posted in customization, fabrication, lighting, materials, product design, tangible
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steampunk servo
Fabricator extraordinaire Peter Schmitt designed this plywood servo from laser-cut plywood. The elaborate mechanism includes the circuitry to drive a motor to precise angles so it does double-duty as an object that teaches about physical fabrication and electronics. Instructions for the plywood servo can be found at the website of the Medialab class ‘Techniques for […]
Posted in 2d, 3d, fabrication, open objects
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animal alphabet
Last time I visited Japan I came upon a fascinating book by Shiho Ishikawa called Alphapet – an alphabet made of animals that you cut and fold from the pages of the book. The richly illustrated pages are scored to provide for elaborate folds. The web site is rich with videos and instructions for folding; […]
Posted in 2d, 3d, children, fabrication
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rate my landman
The Extract project is an internet-based advocacy effort for land-owners being targeted by the oil and gas industries. Unaware of their rights, their land’s value or the health risks of drilling near residential areas, many residents of mineral-rich states unwittingly sacrifice the mineral rights to their property resulting in the propagation of thousands of wells […]
Posted in blogogracy, environment, traceability
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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 […]
Posted in animation, augmented reality, interaction, materials, visualization
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Machine Shoe
Ten Bhomer‘s ‘Rotational Moulded Shoe’ is an anti-craft exploration that seeks to replace the manual process of shoe-making with a machine. A plastic shank is placed inside a mold with rubber resin, and as the mold is continuously rotated the rubber hardens into a shell akin to the way rubber duckies are made. While seemingly […]
Posted in fabrication, fashion, materials, product design, soft/glowing
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one painting show
I visited the Louvre DNP Museum Lab again this year to see their interactive installations developed around ‘The Slippers’ by the 17th Century Dutch painter Samuel van Hoogstraten. As in past exhibits, the show – which takes roughly one hour to see – focuses entirely on one piece of art on loan from the Louvre. […]
Posted in art, augmented reality, exhibit design, interaction, visualization
Tagged interaction
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