So motion sensors as input devices have taken computing by storm, for the Nintendo Wii, to the Apple iPhone. This company has developed a highly accurate motion sensor that demonstrates the possibilities for the near future of this kind of interaction. The presentation was made at Nvision08. More videos and info are available from Sixense.
Agent Provocateur, has completely revamped their website. It is not the most difficult thing to draw attention to, when you have the opportunity to legitimately show your product on scantily clad young models, but gent Provocateur do it with class and attitude in every area. They are leaders when it comes to innovating with video online, and are no newbies to video on their site. This time however they have the luxury of the web catching up with their ideas. The new x-rated style site delivers an emersive video experience. The erotic and dark theme has a combined look and feel of vintage horror and cult erotic movies - See end of this post for video. Sexy full screen action which also features an equally kitsch soundtrack.
The interactive video invites visitors to create their own path through the erotic story, and eventually decide the fate of the stories ‘Young Virgin’ protagonist. The main print campaign image also contains a hidden secret mystery to be solved. After a well made and evocative brand building experience there is a stylish online store to capitalise on all the visitors the site will have provoked.
The leading luxury lingerie brand is clearly investing heavily in online, and the site reflects and increased focus on the web, aimed at capitalising on the huge success of online sales through their site.
This campaign image contains a hidden message. Solve it to win the competition.
Apple today presented a revised line of iPods in a special press event in San Francisco. The iPod shuffle and classic iPod received only minor changes, while the iPod touch received a minor design upgrade making it thinner and with a curved iPhone like back.
The biggest changes announced were to the iPod Nano line that is the thinnest iPod Apple have ever made. It returns to a similar, vertical design of the earlier 2nd generation Nano, returning to a screen format that would allow it to share some applications available to the iPhone and iPod touch, with particular focus on games, in order to increase potential sales on the already successful Apps store. The Nano does not benefit from a touch screen, but does have a newly added accelerometer, to add more fun navigation of songs and albums. Simply shake the iPod and it will produce a different shuffle of songs.
All of the iPods are cheaper than their predecessors, and with larger capaicity storage, with Apple hoping to captitalise on the sale of content to the devices from the iTunes store. It was the store that also got an upgrade with support for High Definition TV shows, a new way of displaying albums, and a neat functionality that enables iTunes to build automatic playlists of similar music. The software can analyze the songs in your library and recommend other similar songs in your library or even recommend new songs from the iTunes store. This 'Genius' playlist is described like having the worlds best DJ in your iPod. In fact the iPod touch and Nano's actually come with the functionality built into them.
Always looking for more ways to increase the sale of songs, this new function is sure to prove fun and useful for users, as well as helping generate more sales. Though Apple still seem to be missing out on many other social media ideas that could really take iTunes to the next level.
Nicholas Negrponte unveiled the design of the next laptop computer that will be the future sub $100 computer designed to bring affordable computers to developing countries. With it's first computer, the project did not quite achieve its goal of developing a computer that could be produced for under $100, but they have at least made significant progress. As part of the process they designed a laptop computer that completely rethought the engineering of the typical laptop, and produced a computer that is far more energy efficient, robust and usable in more difficult lighting conditions. The innovation that they brought will no doubt impact not only on the children it is intended for, but will surely have implications on the laptop industry as a whole.
Based on the learnings made so far, the One Lap Top Per Child project have decided to take a different approach for their next computer. This time they are not 'improving' an existing product, they are inventing a completely new one. The device is half the size of the original, and consists of two flat panel screens. Looking like a digital book, the device can be used in a variety of ways; Held vertically like a book; Placed flat like a tablet; Or like a traditional laptop, where the lower touch sensitive screen can be used as a keyboard. The device will naturally benefit from advances in new technology and the inevitable lowering of production costs, so that the device will be able to be produced for $75 (or at least closer to the original psychologically important price point of $100).
Also to note is the repeat of the chance to get your hands on the original computer, by buying two and having the second donated to a child in a developing country. This is due to launch in August. I am not going to let that opportunity pass by, as this computer is not only cheap and useful, and would make a great computer for my son, but it will surely go down in computer history.
Interestingly, being a not for profit programme, they have taken the 'un Applelike' approach of revealing the design, two years ahead of production, with the aim that people actively adopt the thinking of their device. Therefor, the project and the public as a whole will benefit for development in this type of devise, ensuring a further reaching improvement than if they had been secretive. This is pretty revolutionary thinking, but I have another theory...As we all wait for Apple to launch their latest version of the iPhone, there are also rumors that they will also be introducing a new portable web device. I would not be surprised to find out that their devise is not dissimilar to this one. Maybe OLPC wanted to trump Apple?
I just got back from Milan where together with Nanika we have completed the installation of an interactive window. The first phase of the installation is currently running, and comprises of two interactive sequences. Passers by can see their images ripple out infront of them across the two large screens that fill the window. The screens show the past second or so of time as series of frames captured by a hidden camera. The result is hypnotic. By approaching the camera and moving about in front of it you can create wonderful rippling patterns that oscolate down the screen. The window echoes the life of the facing square as it is affected by the herding tourists and locals. We will be updating the installation with new interactive experiences over the coming month. Check out the video below.
Drop Clock
Kaze To Desktop
I was reading recently in Creative Review about one of the internets most inspiring artist and designers, Yugo Nakamura who other than his own personal visual creations also founded one of the most interesting 'social media' sites, FFFFound. The site allows registered users to bookmark images they find around the internet and share them with the rest of the community. This is one of those painful sites that is so full of amazing content that you can't leave.
The only down side is that it is currently invite only, and I don't have an invite. If anyone has a spare FFFFound invite, please would you be so good as to invite me (rich(dot)holley(at)gmail(dot)com).
Some of Yugo's other latest works come in the form of screensavers. One, 'Kaze To Desktop' which blows your windows and open documents across your screen, and another, 'DropClock" which acts as a clock, where slow motion footage of numerals drop into water.
Visit FFFFound for visual inspiration, and SCR for more digital art projects.
This guys 'home' experiment using a Wii remote to create a 3D 'desktop' interface has to be seen. By fixing the receiver to his head and using the Wii remote as a motion sensor his computer program is able to locate the position and angle of vision of the user, and then dynamically adust the content on the screen. As the user changes their angle of vision, objects on the screen move accordingly. This is something we will no doubt see very soon in games, and maybe interface design. The effect is so amazing, yet so easy to achieve. See more amazing projects from Johnny Chung Lee at his website.
This flexible surface is computer controlled, so that it is in effect a 3D screen, capable of projecting three dimensional effects along it's length.
Paul Notzold's artworks allow an audience to SMS and interact with large speech bubbles projected onto a flat surface, like the facade of a building. The bubbles are positioned near windows and doors to encourage an audience to create the conversations happening inside. The public audience receives a flyer with a cell number and simple instructions. A participant sends a text message to the provided phone number and it is then displayed inside the speech bubble. Multiple bubbles may be used and the audience can direct their input to a specific bubble.
Not always an urban and outdoor experience, the concept has translated into the more traditional enviroment of the gallery with 'One Of You Will Betray Me', an image of the last supper that allows the audience to create the dialogue of the famous scene.
More
As read on Include Digital Digest
This is a fun new experimental service which lets you search and explore a selection of Flickr images by drawing a rough sketch.
It will not recognise what you are drawing - say a corporate logo or a face for example, which would be a very interesting way of searching (although if you are searching for a chair, whiy not just type in the word chair) - but rather examines the colours and composition, delivering you results that are similar to your sketch. Draw a big red circle and you will get cherries and strawberries. Draw a yellow rectangle under a blue one, and you'll get images of the sea.
This is a great way of searching for images that you want to match certain colour ways or moods. Possibly one day it could be a way of searching for that elusive image in your collection that was not tagged in a searchable way.
What ever it's practical applications, it is a fun tool to play with. Have a play here.
Thanks to Peter for the link.
UPDATE:
This is another nice search tool for Flckr - where you can search by predominant colour of the image. View Here.
SensAble Technologies have a line of haptic devices (image 1) that make it possible for users to touch and manipulate virtual objects.
The term "haptic" comes from the Greek word ''haptikos,'' meaning ''able to touch or grasp," and haptic devices provide tactile information to their users in the form of force-feedback.
They are popular devices in surgery simulation. Inhibative costs have meant that more commercial examples of this type of interface tool are not so prevelant, but they are starting to arise in gaming technologies such as stearing wheels with realistic feedback.
Wired recently wrote an article about how these devices are popular among toy designers where the device is used to create a digital clay for virtual sculpting (image 2 -Digital rendering created by Brett Klisch and Michael Luk using Phantom Omni and FreeForm: Courtesy of Xomer Studios).
Read more here.
Not a new idea, but really well done and very fun and beautiful. Created for a Hello Kitty exhibition in Hong Kong, this installation tracks user movements in front of a projected screen and renders an alternative cartoon head onto the head of the person being filmed in real time. The installation was created using ARToolKit Augmented Reality software.
See the video on their site.
Audi's new R8 sports car is due to be launched in the early part of 2007 in Europe. Their site designed to introduce the new car pushes the envelope in emersive web design, featuring vast amounts of integrated interactive video. It is not much more than a very slick brouchure, but it certainly does a great job of presenting the car, making it desireable and is in a class of it's own, when it comes to generating video for the web.
Take a lookhere
(You may need to launch the site from one of the links presented in the page, depending on if you use a pop up blocker.
Random International digital interactive installations - the clock wall paper is very cool.
Char Davis created Osmosis in 1996. An interactive 3D VR experience that the user interacted with depending on the pace of their respiration. A stunning piece of art and ground breaking interface design that has stuck in my mind since I saw a documentary about it soon after its creation. People actually cried having experienced Osmosis.
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