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Archive: News from the Future
October 3, 2008
A critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFID - The Internet of Things by Rob van Kranenburg (free PDF)
More RFID info & brainfood for you today, "The Internet of Things" by Rob van Kranenburg - A critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFID (free PDF) via Beyond the Beyond...
Rob van Kranenburg, The Internet of Things. A critique of ambient technology and the all-seeing network of RFID. Report prepared by Rob van Kranenburg for the Institute of Network Cultures with contributions by Sean Dodson.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Oct 3, 2008 11:30 AM
News from the Future, Wireless |
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September 30, 2008
RFID peripherals
RFID peripheral round up @ Touch... via Beyond the Beyond. Pictured above, RFID wine bottle from ThingM (WineM).
Plug and play RFID-reading USB peripherals are all the rage, as indicated by a stream of recent product announcements. These readers plug into a PC and make various things happen when they are touched with an RFID tag.RFID readers are small and cheap, encapsulating them in packaging and offering a standard USB interface makes for a versatile product. What we need to see now is some applications and platforms that make these products useful and desirable.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 30, 2008 09:00 AM
Electronics, News from the Future |
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September 29, 2008
Ponoko's new Photomake service
Ponoco has a new service where you can hand-draw something, upload a photo of the drawing, and get a "real life product" of your drawing back (in various materials you can select).
Photomake [via Boing Boing]
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Sep 29, 2008 12:00 PM
How it's made, News from the Future |
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September 26, 2008
Shipping containers could be 'dream' homes for thousands
I know 2 people who live in shipping containers and they seem to really like it... "Shipping containers could be 'dream' homes for thousands"
It was a side trip through a destitute, ramshackle neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, that detoured Brian McCarthy from building houses in Albuquerque to an idea to offer the very poor a chance to own a home. His answer lies in a humble steel shipping container 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8½ feet tall.McCarthy, 30, and three partners, Pablo Nava, 22; Kyle Annen, 23; and Mackenzie Bishop, 22, have made a prototype out of a standard shipping container that hauls goods worldwide -- a 320-square-foot home with a kitchen, bath with toilet, sleeping areas, windows and a bright blue door. The exterior is painted with a white epoxy coating that has light-reflecting properties to prevent the sun's heat from penetrating.
Each small house includes hookups for air conditioning, ventilation, electrical and water systems, and the units ideally could be set up in small communities to make accessing utilities more efficient.
The idea began to take shape several years ago, when McCarthy went to the Mexican border city on a field trip as part of an executive MBA program. He found himself impressed by the sophistication and rapid growth of industry in Juarez but shocked when the bus cut through a poor neighborhood on the way out of the city.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 26, 2008 12:00 AM
News from the Future |
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September 25, 2008
Happy anniversary dear, here's a 3D mouse brain I printed
Mollie got a great anniversary present! via Fabbaloo.
Adam came home with my anniversary gift. Now, some people might get a necklace or a pair of earrings for an anniversary, but not me. I got a 3D mouse brain. I am so psyched. He designed it based on sections and pictures he found online, made a CAD drawing, and printed it on his office's 3D printer. Everybody in my lab is totally jealous. Baymate R said, "You have really found your true match." You betcha.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 25, 2008 05:00 PM
News from the Future |
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September 11, 2008
NYC's 911 & 311 system upgraded to accept photos, video
I saw Mayor Bloomberg of NYC speak a few days before our NYC Maker Faire event and he outlined a new service which allows anyone to upload photos and video to their 911 and 311 services (311 is for things like potholes, trash, city stuff). I was pretty excited about this new leap in government services more so since it was described as a "DIY" way of solving problems in a city while providing accountability. And now there are a couple articles about it finally being "live" but unfortunately none of them say how to actually use the service. So I called up 311 and asked how it works... If you spot a pothole, trash on the street you call up, make a service request and if they require more information they will ask you for an email address, from there you could give your phone # as an email address and when they email you - send the photo and/or video. It's not exactly what I imagined but it's a good first step - one day you'll be able to take a photo that is geotagged, send it off to a city phone # and eventually something will get done - I like the idea of citizens being able to do this and cities having a "paper trail" so to speak...
This isn't the only example of gov/company to customer, in Maryland some power customers will get a text message on their power usage and be able to remotely control their home's temperature to save money and energy.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 11, 2008 08:00 AM
Cellphones, News from the Future |
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September 10, 2008
Better organic semiconductors for printable electronics
Better organic semiconductors for printable electronics... I know for a fact this is interesting for at least 3 specific people who read MAKE, this is for them but I suspect others will dig it too :)
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 10, 2008 08:00 AM
News from the Future |
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September 1, 2008
Shape-shifting programmable matter
Intel teases shape-shifting programmable matter via Fabbaloo.
In the final keynote of the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) Thursday, Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer, shed some light on work around programmable matter, as he teased the audience with what Intel believes would apply as technology in the next four decades.The idea of programmable matter, he explained, revolves around tiny glass spheres with processing power and photovoltaic for generating electricity to run the tiny circuitry. These particles called catoms would move relative to one another via electrostatic.
The concept of programmable matter can be thought of as "the ultimate form of digital printing", Rattner told ZDNet Asia Wednesday in an interview. "You literally could make an object of any imaginable shape, or design an object of any imaginable shape, and simply 'hit the print command' and the matter would take that shape.
"[The late] Arthur C. Clarke (famed British author and inventor) had this wonderful quote: 'Any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic.' And that's what programmable matter is--it's a technology so advanced it might as well be magic," he said.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 1, 2008 11:10 AM
News from the Future |
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August 29, 2008
The Future of Money
RCA: The Future of Money @ Core77 via Beyond the Beyond.
Students in the Design Interactions Department at the Royal College of Art were challenged to explore the future of money when it disappears as a physical currency...
Cash is dissapearing more and more and we are moving towards a cashless society where hard cash only exists on the blackmarket or to buy illegal services and goods. In third world countries ATM cash-machines are rarely available and people usually do not have bank-accounts. With mobile phone becoming ubiquitous, they are becoming more and more the wallet, however without any designed experience. Paying with Credit Cards or RFID cards is a very engineered and raw-data driven transaction, the experience and the process of buying a coffee or a car is basically the same. Very human interactions, gestures and rituals got totally lost or neglected through the introduction of e-money transactions.What's interesting about many of these is you could build them now, mostly with Arduinos! If I had time I think I'd make the inflatable piggy bank, you'd just have a little air get pumped in each time someone swipes their credit card.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 29, 2008 12:00 PM
Arts, News from the Future |
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August 27, 2008
Kinetic charger
CleanTechnica points us to M2E's kinetically-powered portable charger due to be released next summer.
The kinetic energy system uses the Faraday Principle, which states that the movement of a conductor through a magnetic field produces voltage in the conductor proportional to the speed of movement. In this case, the conductor is a wire coil. The system uses a magnet that moves against the coil every time the charger moves, generating a charge that is captured in a capacitor. A logic circuit takes the charge to the built-in Li-Ion cell, where it is stored until use.
They say 6 hours of motion will provide 30-60 minutes of power. I can't see jogging that long, but I bet we'll see things like this in the future hooked to construction equipment, dog collars, soccer-playing kids . . .
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Aug 27, 2008 07:00 AM
Electronics, Gadgets, News from the Future |
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August 25, 2008
Satellites track Mexico kidnap victims?
I'm trying to figure out what's up with this story... People are getting kidnapped - got that part, so they're getting RFID chips implanted... which helps how? Snippet from the article...
The chips cost $4,000 plus an annual fee of $2,200....Xega, based in the central Mexican city of Quererato, designed global positioning systems to track stolen vehicles until a company owner was kidnapped in broad daylight in 2001. Frustrated by his powerlessness to call for help, the company adapted the technology to track stolen people.
Most people get the chips injected into their arms between the skin and muscle where they cannot be seen. Customers who fear they are being kidnapped press a panic button on an external device to alert Xega which then calls the police.
"Before, they only kidnapped key, well-known economically successful people like industrialists and landowners. Now they are kidnapping people from the middle class," said Sergio Galvan, Xega's commercial director.
...Xega sees kidnapping as a growth industry and is planning to expand its services next year to Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.
How does a RFID chip help at all? If you're going to get kidnapped you need some other device that you have with, once your kidnapped then what? Do kidnappers allow you to keep this other device? Are their RFID readers all over the place in Mexico for a system like to to work.
Anyone know or have some guesses?
More:
- RFID and Text-To-Speech Modules Video Podcast.
- Interview with RFID implanter.
- RFID aesthetics article.
- @ DEFCON RFID World record attempt...
- MAKE VIDEO PODCAST - Getting "Chipped"
RFID for Makers - Subscribers—read this article now in your digital edition!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 25, 2008 11:00 AM
GPS, News from the Future |
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August 5, 2008
Lensless micro-microscope on a chip
Fig. 1 (a) Architecture of the optofluidic microscope (OFM); set of three arrows: illumination; single arrow: flow direction. (b) Photograph of the OFM prototype compared with a U.S. quarter. The actual nanoaperture array is 600 µm long. (c) The top view of the OFM; denotes the isolated aperture; denotes the corresponding aperture, as explained in the text. (d) Photograph of the orientation of the aperture array with respect to the channel. (e) Experimental scheme for the OFM prototype. (f) Transmission time traces from aperture and associated with the transition of a C. elegans.
DC artist, programmer, and Dorkbot DC co-overlord Alberto Gaitán tells MAKE:
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently published research inspired by eye floaters in "Lensless high-resolution on-chip optofluidic microscopes for Caenorhabditis elegans and cell imaging" by CalTech's Xiquan Cui, Lap Man Lee, et al. And as if cheap (~$10), portable, on-chip, lensless, hi-res microscopy for developing countries' infectious disease management wasn't promising enough, it also holds promise for backyard microscopists and mobile-device-mounted passive sensorwebs for biohazard detection. No telling what cool hacks await if it becomes available through Digikey!
Lensless high-resolution on-chip optofluidic microscopes for Caenorhabditis elegans and cell imaging
New Micro-Microscope Is Portable And Cheap [NPR piece on the technology]
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 5, 2008 02:00 PM
Imaging, News from the Future, Science |
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2008 Buckminster Fuller Challenge winners
The Buckminster Fuller Institute has an annual Buckminster Fuller Challenge, a $100,000 prize for "comprehensive solutions that radically advance human well-being and ecosystem health." The 2008 prize was awarded in June, in NYC. Check out their Challenge webpage for a list of submissions and winners. The 2009 Challenge will begin this fall.
Welcome to the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Idea Index [Thanks, Ron!]
More:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 5, 2008 12:00 PM
Announcements, Events, News from the Future |
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July 8, 2008
Cell phones as diagnostic tools in areas without ultrasound & X-Ray machines
Cell phones as diagnostic tools in areas without ultrasound & X-Ray machines via Book of Joe.
A professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and his colleagues have developed a cheaper way to perform medical imaging using a cellular phone.Boris Rubinsky's team has developed a portable medical scanner that can be plugged into a cellular phone, which transmits raw ultrasound or X-ray scanning data to a remote computer processor. The computer then converts the data to images and relays these back for viewing on the cell phone screen.
More:
Engineers harness cell phone technology for use in medical imaging & video.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 8, 2008 10:00 AM
Cellphones, News from the Future |
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July 3, 2008
VUW students create 3D printers
Nice round up of VUW student work - creating 3D printers @ Ponoko via Beyond the beyond.
Last week the 3rd year Industrial Design students at Victoria University presented the prototypes of the 3D printers they had designed. The challenge was to design and make a “green” 3D printer in 4 weeks with a limited budget. The students innovative thinking looked at ways to make use of waste material and repurpose it into new objects. ‘Stack’ used the waste paper from generated by a bank and a ’steampunk’ sewing machine to create layered forms based on an interpretation of the banks statistical data.More:
Kiosk - Sci-Fi tale of 3D printing, fabbing and more.
What a 3D Printer can't do...
Fabaroni: a homemade 3D printer.
The Evil Mad Scientist 3D Printer Project.
Make - Volume 14 - Three-Dimensional Printing Methods...
Sci-Fi objects and more made with a Spectrum Z510 3D printer ...
3D Printer made from a Glue Gun and Meccanno.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 3, 2008 09:00 AM
News from the Future |
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July 2, 2008
GPS dog tracking collar
Garmin now has a GPS to keep track of your (hunting) dog... Interactive demo here.
Garmin introduces a completely redesigned GPS dog tracking collar for use with the Astro GPS Dog Tracking System. The new collar is more rugged and its antennas are positioned differently for optimal tracking."The new DC 30 collar is designed to stand up to the torturous abuse of hunting dogs. Whether it's hounds crashing through thick and swampy woods, or bird dogs bounding through dense CRP fields, the DC 30 is made to take the beating that working dogs dish out daily," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales. "And the new configuration also makes mounting the collar a cinch -- while improving reception."
The DC 30 collar's main housing is weighted to sit below the dog's neck, while a small, low-profile GPS antenna is integrated into the collar strap and positioned on top of the dog's neck, providing a clear view of satellites with minimal rotation. The transmitter antenna originates from the lower housing, and has been redesigned for more flexibility and ruggedness. No counterbalance or harness is needed. The weight for the transmitter plus antenna is 4.1 ounces, and the entire DC 30 weighs just 8.7 ounces.
Funny, we did a GPS dog project in March of 2005!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 2, 2008 10:00 AM
GPS, News from the Future |
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June 24, 2008
Amphibious snake-like robot "ACM-R5"
The creepy cool amphibious snake-like robot "ACM-R5" via jwz.
Sea snakes live in water, and even terrestrial snakes sometimes show swimming on water surface. In fact, the mechanism of snakes' propulsion is almost same both in water and on ground. An amphibious snake-like robot ACM-R5 takes advantage of this fact. It can operate both on ground and in water undulating its long body.The joint of ACM-R5 consists of an universal joint and bellows. It was developed on the basis of the previous model HELIX, which was designed for research of spirochete-like helical swimming. An universal joint plays a role of bones, and bellows do a role of an integument. ACM-R5 can form a smooth shape due to this joint structure, and it is important for effective locomotion. To be precise, the universal joint has one passive twist joint at the intersection point of two bending axis to prevent mechanical interference with bellows.
ACM-R5 is equipped with paddles and passive wheels around the body. To generate propulsive force by undulation, the robot need a resistance property as it glides freely in tangential direction but cannot in normal direction. Due to the paddles and passive wheels, ACM-R5 obtains that character both in water and on ground.
The control system of ACM-R5 is an advanced one. Each joint unit has CPU, battery, motors, so they can operate independently. Through communication lines each unit exchanges signals and automatically recognizes its number from the head, and how many units join the system. Thanks to this system operators can remove, add, and exchange units freely and they can operate ACM-R5 flexibly according to situations.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 24, 2008 12:00 AM
News from the Future, Robotics |
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June 18, 2008
14 3D printers
Here's a pretty good round up of 14 3D printers via Fabbaloo. Tim writes -
In the last few years Rapid Prototyping(RP) has become more automated and much cheaper. Machines suitable for offices and academic environments have appeared on the market and have been christened 3D Printers. A range of different RP technologies exist and two companies have come to dominate the market, Stratasys & ZCorp. A quality 3D printer from either of these two will cost in the order of £30,000. Each has its advantages but to me the color capabilities of the ZCorp 510 makes this easily the most desirable machine. It is the machine currently used by the majority of the top UK 3D print bureaus. Also Bristol Fine Print Research have a couple of ZCorp machines. If you had a larger budget (£100,000+) then you could look to go to the high end Rapid Prototyping machines again from Stratasys which can build to a much larger size and precision and also use a bigger variety of build mediums. There are also some cheap and cheerful approaches you could take with a budget of a few thousand pounds.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 18, 2008 07:00 AM
News from the Future, Toolbox |
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June 5, 2008
RepRap achieves replication
Good news on the fabin' front - the RepRap achieved replication via BoingBoing.
Adrian (left) and Vik (right) with a parent RepRap machine, made on a conventional rapid prototyper, and the first complete working child RepRap machine, made by the RepRap on the left. The child machine made its first successful grandchild part at 14:00 hours UTC on 29 May 2008 at Bath University in the UK, a few minutes after it was assembled.Soon there will be RepRap parties, you'll show up and one machine will make many, rinse - repeat...
Related:
Make - Volume 10 - Wealth Without Money (Page 38).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 5, 2008 12:00 PM
DIY Projects, News from the Future |
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May 29, 2008
Second Skin wearable tech show
BBtv looks at some of the wearable tech at the Second Skin fashion show, held at the San Francisco Exploratorium.
Wearable Tech fashion show: Second Skin
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
May 29, 2008 04:01 PM
Arts, Electronics, News from the Future |
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Features and more @ MAKE!
DIY Halloween contest at MAKE! In honor of the best DIY holiday ever, we're having a party -- and everyone's invited! Elaborate costumes for the whole family, gadgets that go "zzzZAP!," gross-looking foods, creepy decorations that turn your house into a forbidding castle, and spooky jack-o-lanterns guarding your front door: these are the things we look forward to all year.
DIY HALLOWEEN from the editors of MAKE and CRAFT brings you 40-plus DIY projects for the holiday that's made for makers. From the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects. Get it at the Maker Shed store!. And lastly, our Animated Ghost Kit. Grab this cool kit for Halloween. Sound activated, the ghost flashes his little red LED eyes, vibrates and makes scary sounds! Easy and fun to build. Hack it! Get it at the Maker Shed Store!
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Make a spooky spider web shooter from a hot glue gun that will spread the creeps all over your haunted house! Thanks go to Edwin Wise for the original article in Make: Halloween.To download Hot Glue Web Gun MP4...
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