some perspective

this is a re-hash, i know, but you can’t teach a florentine new tricks…perspective! as alberti’s story goes, brunelleschi stood in front of santa maria del fiore in florence with an easel and a mirror through which he could see the baptistry, and copied the mirrored image onto the canvas. by flattening the image in a mirror, he was able to produce an objective representation of the octagonal building, creating a believable simulation of reality in the process and closing the book on the middle ages for good. for a description of his demo and why it changed the world as we know it, go here>

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passive touch


one problem with designing for RFID is communicating the invisible – how do you know where to hold your tag, how long, when it’s read… an interesting study by timo arnall classifies the icon language that has evolved to do just that, with a neat collage combining solutions for rfid, mobile and wireless communication.

via gotomobile

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rail art


ever since the fab five painted an entire redbird subway train in the late 70s, anyone who manages to paint an entire train deserves respect: http://www.lost.art.br/124_wholetrain.htm via wooster collective

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petting coop

this little vest allows a chicken to be petted remotely by an operator touching a rubber replica – good concept, but the big idea is allowing allergic people to interact with pets – but they are working on a suit to allow people to hug remotely, not bad…
from wired news

Posted in human2.0, livingbreathing, surveillance | Comments closed

nice gait


these resources have been amassed by lorelei pepi my animation prof and they are a rich source for learning about motion:

an early attempt to observe motion through chronophotography by Jules-Etienne Marey

biomotionlab offers a simple demo showing how we walk differently based on size, sex, mood and nervousness – useful for motion capture and animation and just plain interesting.

Posted in animation, perception, visualization | Comments closed

heavy blankets


therapro makes sensory therapy products, including the very effective heavy blanket – it makes me fall asleep instantly – and this cooperative blanket, all targeted at soothing social anxieties by stimulating the touch sense.

Posted in human2.0, materials, perception, possessed products | Comments closed

robot rites

sure i love my roomba, but iRobots are also liberating us from chores like going to mars, bombing other countries, finding bin laden and maybe even going to church.

from we-make-money-not-art.com

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foof chair

this thing is awesome – i have one in camouflage – instead of polystyrene pellets, it’s filled with shredded foam and it comes in fur and a whole bunch of other finishes. great for use as a stunt mat, temporary bed or romantic couch

http://www.poofchairs.com/poof-chairs/XXL.htm

target also sells them>

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