Simultaneous Vows - "With This Click I Thee Wed" Online & Off (VIDEO)
Japanese robotics engineers have created a robot that can with a fair degree of accuracy replicate a dancers movements. The dancing robot demonstrates how far bi-pedal robots have come in recent years, and the accuracy with which they can move in as similar a fashion to humans. It is no small feat to develop a robot that can shift its weight from one foot to another without falling over, let alone create one that can move with a great deal of grace and fluidity. Credited with being used to 'record' and then replay traditional dances that with time may otherwise be lost to history, this could become an interesting way to document spacial information, and then have it replayed back later. It could be applied not only to dance, but also to sport, saving the curling free kick of David Beckham, or the swing of Tiger Woods. Then the robot could beocme a teacher, complete with all the best moves in the industry. Not to be too distracted by the artisitic good intentions of its developers, the Guardian points out the often darker military reasons why such robots have been developed. So perhaps even if we are really not so far away from having humanoid robots on stage, it probably isn't long before they are patrolling the streets.
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.
So only a few hours from the next announcement from Apple.
This company has gotten so good at generating anticipation and exploiting the immediacy of the web in making it's announcements. So the rumors are all about the new iMac line, which seems the most likely. I am also going to shoot that there will be an annoucement about new iPhones, a revised iPod, but most importantly a new software that would bring more community and social networking aspects to iTunes and .Mac and the iLife line.
Here's waiting til later!!! Does any other brand have such salivation before product launches???
The BBC launched it's peer to peer TV software 'iPlayer' two days ago as part of a large scale beta test. Only currently available to UK residents using the PC platform, the software allows users to download programmes broadcast on the BB over the previous seven days. These programmes are stored on the users computer and can be watched within the next 30 days. Once watched the file cancels itself, so it is not clear if a programme can we rewatched once seen. Being based in Italy, I do not think that I will be able to see the service in action yet. The programmes on offer do not include all programmes broadcast by the BBC, but only ones that the BBC has the rights for. An interesting annoucenment from the BBC also claims that the service will also be integrated within YouTube - though it is not clear exactly how this will be done.
Not the most practical or safest way to get to work, but looks like a lot of fun, and may be a good way to over come traffic jams!
Yes there is hope for dogs with weight problems and eating disorders. Entering an new realm in the world of exercise videos, Mariko Takahashi's workout should leave your pooch in perfect shape. This deliciously surreal clip is actually a short film to promote Panasonic during the 2004 Olympics, and was one of ten short movies in the Capture The Motion series . Made by Japanese designer, commercials and short film director Nagi Noda this film will freak you out. This is one of my favorite shorts, I can't imagine how Nagi came up with the concept, that comes across in such a positive way, yet on another level does seem to allude to more serious issues about our obsession with exercise and it would also not really surprise me to hear that there really were dog exercise video's on the market either!
I am really chuffed as I have been asked to join the 2007 judging panel for THE FWA (The Favorite Website Awards), which is really strong this year. This is a really great site that manages to turn up cool and innovative sites on a daily basis. It is a very useful tool for researching good design and and leading designers and agencies and has fast become one of 'THE' regular destinations for designers and online marketers. I shall be looking forward to the judging later in the year. The rest of the judges can be found THE FWA.
It has been a very busy period, with only a few recent postings, due to the amount of time I had been dedicating to the recent fashion show I had been working on. I am now back from my holiday and hope to be posting more frequently.
Just got back from Florence where I was a part of the team that put on this show. It was great fun! Enjoy!
An impressive animated video for Fujiya Miyagi, by Wade Shotter. More of his work can be seen here, at Factory Films.
Was this done by hand or generated by computer? If I had directed this, and the animator had complained at the tedious nature of manipulating each dice by hand, I would have told them to check out Google's latest addition to Google maps, and told them to think themselves lucky that they are not the individual that has to photograph every street in the world.
Check out the new amazing functionality here, and go to San Francisco to see it in action. How cool to see a real image of the exact place you are going to have to find - like this you will know that you have arrived exactly where you meant to go. Super useful!! And try clicking and dragging the image - you can pan around the image like a QTVR, and zoom in also.
Faile yesterday announced their first solo show in New York City that will take run from Thursday, June 7th to Sunday, June 10th. It will feature only works on canvas and wood. Faile also announced that they will also be releasing new prints sometime in August.
The location will be announced the evening before the show via the Faile site
Sweeney's art concentrates of the construction of complex forms through repetition of simple elements and forms. Where the structure of the form is exposed and becomes an integral part of the beauty of the form itself. Inspired by nature and architecture Sweeney's works is driven by a search for using the least amount of materials to create complex looking structures.
View his site and his Flickr gallery.
The X prize foundation, the organization behind the prize, today launched a new prize for the Automobile industry. The prize aims to award the first successful car that achieves super fuel efficiency compared to todays typical production models, with the aim of breaking our dependence on oil with the aim of reducing environmental impact and global warming. The winners will receive a multimillion dollar cash prize. The winning car will have a fuel economy of at least 100 MPG (or equivalent), and must be viable for production of a run of at least 10,000 units.
The actual set of requirements to win the prize are posted here
The requirements have gone through many revisions and have been drawn up by industry professionals, but the final criteria is open for discussion and comments from the general public - so if you have anything to add you can do so via the Auto X Prize site.
About the X Prize Foundation:
"The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational non-profit prize institute whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs in space and technology for the benefit of humanity. On October 4th, 2004, the X PRIZE Foundation captured world headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private craft to space twice in two weeks to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. Because of the dramatic nature of the achievement, the X PRIZE Foundation is now widely recognized as the leading model for fostering innovation through competition. In October 2006, the Foundation launched the $10M Archon X PRIZE for Genomics for the first team to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days."
Visit the X prize foundation site for more info.
These glass sculptures caught my eye, with their incredibly detailed and hypnotic inner landscapes. They are made by Padadino Hansen in California.
See more here.
Apple announce today that it would be making all of EMI's music catalogue available from it's iTunes store WITHOUT Digital Rights Management - meaning that the music will be able to be copied to any other music player or played on any other computer without any software controlled restrictions.
Users will be able to choose between DRM protected tracks, or the unprotected alternative. The unprotected tracks will be mastered at a higher quality than the DRM protected tracks, so will offer better quality and be usable on pretty much any digital music player, but will cost about 1/3 more (about 30 cents).
This annoucement makes all the more sense of Steve Job's recent outspoken statement regarding the future of music distribution and his desire to see DRM free music. This now seems like clever positioning prior to this very interesting announcement. EMI will certainly appear as pioneering and brave following this announcement.
I am not sure that I find the DRM of Apple that intrusive(unlike the Microsoft equivelant), although I would prefer to have DRM music naturally so that in future I could use the music on any platform. So I am not sure I would pay a premium. Good on EMI though!
Read more at Apple.
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