Vampire Power Awareness from iGo

Growing Up - Infographic

Dot. The world's smallest stop-motion animation character shot on a Nokia N8

Professor Fletcher's invention of the CellScope, which is a Nokia device with a microscope attachment, was the inspiration for a teeny-tiny film created by Sumo Science at Aardman. It stars a 9mm girl called Dot as she struggles through a microscopic world. All the minuscule detail was shot using CellScope technology and a Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics.

from China

Launched in May 2010, the Umeox is a solar powered, waterproof, shockproof and dustproof mobile phone. http://www.umeox.com/productshow.php?productID=84

from South Africa

Great Guide is a GPS triggered audio tour that hooks up to car radios and broadcasts stories and facts when driving past points of interest. The system is booked through the website and collected with a hire car, it costs ZAR 99 per day. http://www.greatguide.co.za/dnn/Home.aspx

Uninvited DIY exhibition at MoMA NYC

http://site.layar.com/company/blog/uninvited-diy-exhibition-at-moma-nyc/

The future of smartphone

The new frontiers of touch.

Nokia N8 1, N900 has developed a prototype that lets you feel the consistency and texture of what appears on the screen.

The basic principle is the electrovibration: passing the finger on an insulating layer of a metal surface at alternating voltage, you can "trick" the receptors of the skin to simulate a tactile experience. The researchers placed two thin layers on the screen: a transparent conductor (indium-tin oxide) and an insulator (hafnium dioxide). When the handler is activated at certain frequencies, the finger is drawn to the screen by forces of varying intensity, which gives precisely the sensation of touching different textures. So far the feedback has not yet multitouch (the prototype can generate only one frequency at a time), but similar technologies are being studied in various laboratories.Toshiba, for example, has teamed up with Senseg 2, Finnish startup that focuses on the development of electrostatic display.

The bionic ear

the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has just launched the Cell-All 5. The aim is to provide the cell with a suite of sensors that detect the presence of molecules in the air toxic chemical. The beneficiaries, according to Stephen Dennis, director of the initiative, will be both individual users that the entire community. The device is in fact designed to do two different types of "sneezing" in case of threats to personal health (such as a gas leak), the phone will make a "ECCI" as a message, ring tone or vibration, so to warn the individual concerned; in the event of potentially catastrophic events (terrorist attacks on the basis of nerve gas or highly toxic organic substances) all mobile phones will begin to send signals to the public emergency relief, so as to speed up operations to tackle and reduce the risk of false alarms.The project team already four major manufacturers of mobile phones: Qualcomm, Apple, LG and Samsung.

Like a second skin.

A flexible smartphone to wear like an electronics skin. The project is a collaboration between Nokia Research Center and 4 University of Cambridge, and is called Stretchable Electronic Skin. Using evaporated gold as a conductor, the researchers created a kind of electronic touch patch that can be pulled, bent and expanded to take various forms. Applications - explains Tapani Ryhänen, head of the trial - are potentially very large: in the future, mobile devices can be worn around the arm or a finger, and become part of our wardrobe. "

phone watch concept

more info @ http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/11548/johan-loekito-samsung-proxima.html

I Was Lovin It

The spot was created by the "Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, an American nonprofit.

D-Town: African American Farmers, Food Security and Detroit

“D-Town farmers’ reject the government’s efforts to control food because of its ineptitude and its lack of care about the Black community...........D-Town activists challenge the White privilege embedded in the food security movement...........Urban farming is only part of a much larger mission to create structures that end relationships of dependency.” by Monica M. White, Ph.D. Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Wayne State University

more at http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/d-town-african-american-farmers-food-security-and-detroit

Healthy Food In Detroit

With no major grocery chain store in Detroit, many depend on suppliers like Peaches and Greens, one of three involved in a Michigan pilot program to deliver healthy food.

CBSNewsOnline September 03, 2009

Food Among the Ruins

Image by Jonathan LaRocca

Current Access to Quality Food in Detroit

" .........In the city of Detroit, the most accessible food-related establishments are party stores, dollar stores, fast-food restaurants and gas stations. Although most neighborhoods may have a grocery store within a “reasonable” distance, the quality and selection of food items is exceedingly lacking. Most city stores have a very limited variety of unprocessed (fresh) vegetables and fruits. Most foods are canned, boxed, frozen and/or highly processed. Highly processed foods are nutrient-poor, with excessive salt, sugar, and harmful fats. These stores also lack food alternatives for persons with the chronic conditions, such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, who require low-salt, sugar-free, healthy carbohydrates and healthy fats. These and other chronic health conditions exist and are growing at alarming rates in the African-American community."

more at http://www.detroitfoodpolicycouncil.net/Page_2.html

DPS teachers spend their summer mapping dangers

@ http://detroitdataguru.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/dps-teachers-spend-their-summer-mapping-dangers/

Detroit Hard to Count areas

Data Driven Detroit and the Community Research Institute at Grand Valley State University have teamed up to help community outreach efforts for the 2010 Census. Using data from the 2000 Census, Hard to Count areas were calculated for census tracts across the state.

Welcome to the second year at MFA Design!

interactive musical project- arduino ant farm

vermont based artist adam franchino created this interactive musical project that changes based on
activity inside an ant farm. the project utilizes infrared sensors that act as gates for the ants inside the
farm. the sound of the device alters based on how many ants pass through the gate and at what pace.
an arduino program provides the computer power to create the soundtrack. the gates are all magnetized
so that they can be moved around the ant farm.

multi-touch display - atractable

Viral marketing for Samsung Camcorder

Check out the YouTube viral marketing video for the Samsung H205 Camcorder. The business cards have the name of the camcorder on it, but the tricks the man does with the cards is really amazing.

table-touch screen

Restaurant Inamo, London, UK. From the touchscreen system on the surface of the tables you browse the menu, you can read information on individual ingredients, you see pictures of the dishes to scale, you order directly into the kitchen. The interactive system is housed in futuristic projectors placed on each table.You can change the "virtual" tablecloth with different colors and graphics, playing board games with friends and watch the chefs in the kitchen through a webcam placed in the kitchen.

Toe Mouse

The Toe Mouse is especially designed for those who have upper limbs disability and cannot use their hands to move the mouse. This ergonomically designed gadget uses our natural ability to grip between the toes, for manipulating the Mouse. You need to slip it on, between the big toe and second, just as you would wear your flipflops. The sensor below the big toe acts as the left click button and the one below the second toe is the right click.Designer: Liu Yi

Edible bling

Finally, we can eat our bling! The Deli Garage made edible spray paint for anything you'd like to eat ... or tag.

From Lost at E Minor:

"If you’ve ever had fantasies of tagging your neighborhood or local subway but haven’t had the nerve, then Esslack Food Spray may be just your thing. Thanks to the very clever German team, The Deli Garage, you can now stain your tomato, pretzels, and whatever other food screams out to be covered in gold (and isn’t the list endless?) Using these fresh spray cans full of edible silver and gold paint, food goes from ordinary to bling in seconds.

The Deli Garage — which helps local manufacturers turn quality delicacies into specially designed products — paired with creative agency Korefe to dream up the illustrative packaging for Esslack. Though busy, the vibe is as fresh as the concept of edible food spray itself. Now tag that."

Gatorade Overhauls Brand Architecture With G Series Line

Gatorade took a huge step in the revitalization of its brand this week by revealing a new structure for its mainstream product line called the “G Series”: three functionally complementary types of drinks to meet the various relevant need states of consumers, and an alliance with GNC for the launch of “G-Series Pro” products with a similar structure for serious athletes

A Twinkle in the Eye, Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens

A new generation of contact lenses built with very small circuits and LEDs promises bionic eyesight.

Photos: University of Washington
Second Sight: In recent trials, rabbits wore lenses containing metal circuit structures for 20 minutes at a time with no adverse effects.

Public Displays of Augmented Reality

hungry hungry eat head is an interactive public art installation created by hudson-powell, joel gethin lewis and karsten schmidt and produced by bren o'callaghan. the project was installed on a large screen in edinburgh, scotland last fall as part of the AND festival. viewers were given large placards with QR codes printed on them and video-tracking technology was used to create augmented reality animations on their head. the video feed was broadcast live on the screen, creating a mirror effect with 3-D animations superimposed on the reflection. the user’s heads were replaced with various creatures ranging from frogs and other animals to monsters and alien creatures. unlike many AR projects that require each user to have the latest technology, this piece centralized the hardware allowing almost anyone to enjoy the concept.

Hungry Hungry Eat Head from Bren O'Callaghan on Vimeo.

Furniture

designer m.l. pawinee santisiri from Singapore

mirrors, stools, are made with recycled newspaper

built to resist

Quinze & milan have teamed up with bag manufacturer eastpak to create a furniture collection.
Both pieces will be produced in exclusively numbered limited series and will be presented during Milan design week 2010.

Classical music vs. football

What happens when your girlfriend or boss asks you to go to a classical concert on the same day as the Real Madrid vs. AC Milan match?

Heineken wanted to find out and drew an amazing number of visitors to their Website. Watch the video here. Does this kind of viral marketing blend well with the Heineken brand?

Marriott Hotels Planning

Marriott International has just announced plans to double its presence in Europe by 2015, increasing its portfolio from 40,000 rooms to 80,000 rooms. Of the Marriott chain's eighteen brands, seven are currently represented in Europe. The expansion in Europe includes some 30 projects. Additional European expansion will include two new Marriott brands: Edition, a boutique-lifestyle collaboration between Ian Schrager and Marriott, and the Autograph Collection, comprised of independent hotels and resorts that represent luxury properties with distinctive personalities. Marriott intends for the Autograph Collection to compete with Europe's independent, smaller upscale hotels.

Reused Product Sales Help eBay Go Green

Environmental experts agree that reusing products does have benefits. Not entirely altruistic, eBay has suffered from shrinking market share and a push for ecologically minded shoppers is a strategic move. Items qualified as green by eBay might be pre-owned or recylced in some manner. In the ad campaign: “Choosing a previously owned espresso machine saves 90% of the CO2 needed to produce a new one. So you get the jolt you need without compromising mankind."
http://www.ebaygreenteam.com/

Postcarden

box office

The 12 unit office complex located in providence rhode island is made using repurposed shipping containers that have been stacked on top of one another. the building was designed by joe haskett of distill studio and built by stack design build.
the building up-cycled 160 tons of steel that would have been otherwise wasted. in addition to finding a use for all 32 shipping containers, the building is 25-30% more energy efficient than the building code requires. the unit was assembled in an astounding 4 days using the pre-cut containers that were transported to the site on trucks. the building is the first commercial structure made using repurposed shipping containers and is set to be complete this spring.
http://distillstudio.com
http://www.stackdb.com

Planet of the Apps

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1379597365&play=1
Inside the applications explosion, somethings to take into consideration!

LIFE - fluid, invisible, inaudible ...

LIFE - influid, invisible, inaudible ... :: ryuichi sakamoto + shiro takatani from bacteriasleep on Vimeo.

installation - ryuichi sakamoto + shiro takatani (2007)

Social Networking Goes Beyond The Grave

This first iteration of Swedish startup MyWebwill.com gives users the ability to edit their online profiles after they are gone: deleting accounts, editing status, removing blogs, and even emailing last messages to family and friends. Social media experts anticipate a new digital phenomenon: More and more people will use online sites to dispatch messages to one’s "personal village"… even from beyond the grave.
OMG!

Obscura Day in Detroit: March 20

Discover the offbeat treasures of Detroit, or any city around the globe, March 20 on Obscura Day. Sponsored by Atlas Obscura, a source for rare urban findings, the highlights for Detroit include the Heidelberg Project, the underground salt mines and Edison's last breath at the Henry Ford Museum.

New Campaign Has Subaru Going To The Dogs

More than 77 million dogs are owned by people in over 45 million households in the US. That's a statistic advertisers like Subaru have noticed. In fact, half of Subaru drivers own a pet.

moleskine

moleskine has released a series of unique MSK templates for all moleskine users to download and insert into their notebooks. through MSK, users can also transfer digital content such as contacts, events or original associations of images and text for further personalization of their sketchbooks. the MSK wizard can help create a personalized template for any area of interest
including local art exhibits, social events, or theater productions. meanwhile the events page allows you to upload the events you will be attending and the contacts page lets you upload your contacts from outlook, plaxo or a mobile phone. in doing this, moleskine hopes to make their sketchbooks even more personalized and functional for individual needs.