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Tricycle water calligraphy

Sep 222011

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Water calligraphy is a poetic activity that you can observe in many Chinese parks: Artists use a large brush to write Chinese characters using water instead of ink. Minutes after the characters are written, they disappear.

Media Artist Nicholas Hanna built a tricycle that writes Chinese characters on the ground as it moves.

His tricycle is part of an exhibition for Beijing Design Week: You can see it at the Northern Electric Relay Factory in Dashilanr, south of Qianmen gate. The exhibition opens 6pm on Saturday September 24, 2011, and runs until October 3.

The video below was shot ands edited by Jonah Kesssel. You can also watch it on Vimeo and on Tudou.

Source: Danwei

SoftEther's sensor-laden QUMA robot demonstrates poses, intimidates your acting coach (video)

Japan, Tech No Responses »

Jul 242011

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A solution in search of a problem, or a solution to a problem that you were too proud to cop to? SoftEther has just revealed what might be the final blow to Barbie’s distinguished career: the sensor-splashed QUMA. So far as we can tell, the human-shaped puppet contains a myriad sensors to pick up precise bends and flexes, and then pipes that information to a screen. Aside from showing your team of ballerinas exactly how their routine should look, we’re guessing that the real future here is in far more sophisticated tasks — things like artificial intelligence, major motion pictures and scientific research. As the saying goes, a video’s worth a zillion words, so have a peek for yourself just after the break.

Continue reading SoftEther’s sensor-laden QUMA robot demonstrates poses, intimidates your acting coach (video)

SoftEther’s sensor-laden QUMA robot demonstrates poses, intimidates your acting coach (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Coolest-Gadgets | source SoftEther (Translated) | Email this | Comments

Source: Engadget

Melbourne Metal Collective

Australia, Fashion, Nature No Responses »

Jul 052011

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Australian jewelry designers band together to creatively promote their works

More than an online boutique, Melbourne Metal Collective is an artist-run retail concept for Australia’s up-and-coming jewelry designs with a strong focus on the community of craftspeople who make them. MMC hosts exhibitions, pop-up shops and more to highlight the fresh roster of bright minds currently making up their site, which includes Estelle Deve, Hamish Munro, Henson, Polly van der Glas and Young Hunting.

Alchemy—MMC's first exhibition and pop-up store—reflects the consortium's sophisticated earthy vibe, recalling the ancient Greek practice of melding metals. For the opening, the Collective commissioned a short film by South African director Michael Matthews, highlighting pieces and adding to the collective’s overall creative atmosphere.

Working primarily with raw materials (at times including hair and teeth), together MMC designers evoke a strong sense of mysticism and urban simplicity. Each offers their own style, but through a seemingly shared interest in the past, the collective creates beautiful pieces that transcend time.

Select works from each of the designers are available from the MMC shop, where you can also find out more about what the Melbourne-based collective is up to next on their blog.

Source: Cool Hunting

Tokyo researchers hijack your hand, help you play the koto (video)

Science, Tech, Tokyo No Responses »

Jun 262011

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Researchers over in the land of the robot-obsessed have found a new, non-invasive way to control your hand while your brain recoils in horror. Reassuringly named the PossessedHand, this belt of electro-stimulation wraps its pad of twenty-eight electrodes around your forearm triggering a range of sixteen bewitched joint actions. Project leader Emi Tamaki claims it feels more like a light massage than say, a full-on Freejack. However, one test subject confessed, “[It was] like my body was hacked” — so that’s comforting. This joint production between the University of Tokyo’s Rekimoto Lab and Sony Computer Science Laboratories was first tested as a musical training aide, but could someday help stroke victims regain mobility. For now, the stimulation isn’t strong enough to turn you into an automated Steve Vai (or secret assassin), but it definitely lends new meaning to ‘hands-off.’ Check the video after the break for a demonstration and some unsettling narration.

Continue reading Tokyo researchers hijack your hand, help you play the koto (video)

Tokyo researchers hijack your hand, help you play the koto (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink DVICE | source Rekimoto Lab | Email this | Comments

Source: Engadget

Chinese Boss and Secretary Ride Horses to Work

China No Responses »

Jun 102011

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A wealthy Chinese business owner commutes to work with his secretary on horseback.

From QQ:

Shanxi boss and female secretary riding horses to work becomes famous on the internet

Recently, a set of photos and video called “Boss and female secretary ride to work on horses” has become famous on the internet. The man in yellow in the photos is the boss of a private company in Xianyang, and the woman next to him is his secretary. Old He [the boss] has many nearly cars that cost nearly 1 million [RMB] each at home, but being unable to put up with the traffic of going to and from work every day, Old He decided he would switch to riding a horse to commute to and from work, and apart from special situations has over the past two years done so regardless of the weather.

A wealthy Shanxi boss rides a horse to work with his female secretary.

Old He says that the neighborhood he lives in is about 7-8km away from work and it normally takes 20 minutes to drive, whereas riding a horse can also get him to work in 20+ minutes but is more environmentally friendly and low-carbon.

In Shanxi, China, a passerby riding a motor scooter is surprised by a man riding a horse on the public road.

Old He says what he enjoys the most are the surprised looks of passersby when he is horseback riding.

Old He is a wealthy business owner in Shanxi, China who rides a horse to work everyday to avoid traffic.

The name of the horse he is currently riding is “Wu Zhui”, which he purchased for over 80,000 yuan, and pays Keeping a horse costs 50-60 thousand yuan each year, and he places the horse in a stable after arriving at the factory plant. Over the past two plus years, he has often rode his horse to work, and has gotten used to the feeling of riding a horse to go out, becoming uncomfortable all over if he does not ride a horse at least once a day.

A wealthy Chinese businessman and his secretary riding horses to work.

As for the question of whether or not horses can go on public roads, Old He says that he has already inquired about relevant regulations and discovered that so far there are no relevant rules and regulations restricting horses going on public roads, and as a result him riding his horse to commute to work is not illegal.

A rich Chinese boss riding horseback to work with his secretary.

Regarding this question, this reporter made an inquiry at the Xi’an Municipal Public Security Bureau Traffic Enforcement Beilin Division Deputy Chief Fei Tao, and Fei Tao said that in the “Road and Traffic Safety Regulations of the People’s Republic of China”, Article 73 has regulations pertaining to animal-powered vehicles but does not have any regulations pertaining specifically to horseback riding.

A news report:

In the above video, the boss Old He says he rather enjoys the looks he gets, which are a mix of envy, surprise, and disbelief. He also says a horse is cheaper than a car, that a very good horse can be purchased for about 20,000 RMB, with 4000-5000 RMB per year being enough for upkeep costs. Old He lists five additional advantages: No traffic, no traffic lights, no need to get gas, no annual inspection, and no traffic tickets.

Comments from QQ:

腾讯湛江市网友狮子:

Good…I support this… This is a real baoma [Chinese name for BMW but literally means "precious horse"]… The Machine Age will soon end… [it is] too polluting of the environment…

腾讯乌鲁木齐市网友假若明天来临:

Riding every day, this is simply about showing off. If it is traffic, then ride a bicycle! No exhaust or feces, and what more, I’m willing to bed that in the city, it’s much faster than a horse.

腾讯绍兴市网友冷雨:

The female secretary and the boss on the road, always together.

腾讯泸州市网友纠结:

Always saying this or that has become famous, if its that easy to become famous then tomorrow I’m going to go to work on stilts! Fuck!

腾讯上海市网友寻找→￥￥￥:

And the horse shit, who sweeps that up? Is it still environmentally friendly?

腾讯网友 LED=巴鲁斯=何:

[I] support riding horses, it’s environmentally friendly. Wasting your own time driving is one thing, but the key is that you’re also wasting other people’s time, and it pollutes the air!!

腾讯网友镜猪猪【:

Yet another publicity stunt! So stupid!

腾讯网友乱林独舞蝶:

Who is that girl? There must be someone who recognizes her, is she really his secretary? Why doesn’t the boss buy a horse for his wife, but buys one for her?

上海市超超:

I don’t have any cars in my house, but I do have some pigs, so can I ride my pigs to work?

腾讯网友墨↗″子笨:

Fuck! Now just riding a horse can make you famous, and environmentally friendly? Why not just walk, wouldn’t that be even more environmentally friendly!? First this boss, then that boss, all people with money and nothing better to do than to find things to whittle away their time. I really don’t know what people are thinking these days if even this can make someone famous! I bet us insignificant city residents can ride Superman and not become famous!

腾讯网友紫色爱情蝶:

[He] spent over 80 thousand yuan to buy it and must spend 50-60 thousand yuan each year to keep it. Us poor people can’t afford to ride horses.

腾讯网友 Μ□δουσ:

Riding a horse to work, boss, how about donating your luxury cars to Project Hope since you don’t use them anyway.

腾讯网友紫色爱情蝶:

Look at those rich people, cars are no longer worth showing off! Private planes are no longer worth showing off! What’s fashionable now is horseback riding, and bringing your secretary along with you!

Need a secretary? Personals @ chinaSMACK.

“Chinese Boss and Secretary Ride Horses to Work”
Originally posted on chinaSMACK – Hot internet stories, pictures, & videos in China

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Source: chinaSMACK

Life-size Angry Birds comes with giant slingshot, more realistic explosive death (video)

Australia, Software, Video Games No Responses »

Jun 022011

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Angry Birds was designed to be played on a device that fits in your pocket, so playing the game projected on a wall doesn’t exactly feel natural. Throw a life-size slingshot into the mix, though, and things really get zany. The slingshot was on hand at the University of Queensland (Australia) last night, and had apparently been “months in the making.” Details are scant, so we’re not sure exactly how the slingshot communicates with the game, but however it works, it appears able to do its thing fairly well — with only a brief delay after release. This slingshot appearance may be a one-time deal, so if you want to try flicking the bird on the big screen, Angry Birds for Chrome (and a mouse) may be your best option for now.

Continue reading Life-size Angry Birds comes with giant slingshot, more realistic explosive death (video)

Life-size Angry Birds comes with giant slingshot, more realistic explosive death (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 06:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Nowhere Else | source University of Queensland | Email this | Comments

Source: Engadget

10 gigapixel, 360-degree panorama of Wembley Stadium is world's largest for a sports venue

Sports, United Kingdom No Responses »

May 172011

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Jeffrey Martin is a busy man. Having already shot an 80 gigapixel panorama of London’s skyline and a 40 gigapixel peek inside a Czech library, he has now turned his attention to England’s hallowed Wembley Stadium. The recently rebuilt home of football served as the stage for a new 360-degree panorama, shot during the FA Cup Final this Saturday, which spans 10 gigapixels in total and has been made available online at the source link below. Recording was done using a DSLR mounted to a custom robot rig that would continually pump out imagery to an equally exclusive Fujitsu workstation equipped with 192GB of RAM and 24 processing cores. All that grunt was used to automatically stitch more than 1,000 high-res images together, earning the finished product the title of world’s largest 360-degree sports panoramic photo. Give the source a bash to tag yourself if you were at the Final or to check to see who else was there.

[Thanks, Adam]

10 gigapixel, 360-degree panorama of Wembley Stadium is world’s largest for a sports venue originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source Wembley 360 | Email this | Comments

Source: Engadget

Sharp Aquos Phone SH-12C has 3D cameras, qHD resolution, Gingerbread filling

Cellphones, Japan No Responses »

May 112011

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The HTC EVO 3D and LG Optimus 3D just got themselves a new buddy in the three-dee picture-taking arena in the shape of Sharp’s Aquos Phone SH-12C. We know, that name just rolls off the tongue. What’s remarkable about the 12C is that the dual cameras on its back go all the way up to 8 megapixels (to the EVO 3D’s 5), which will be creating quite the tasty workload for the 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 chip contained within. A qHD (540 x 960) screen resolution also keeps up with HTC’s latest, though the 4.2-inch, 3D-capable display on the Aquos offers more pixel density and less in absolute real estate. Android 2.3, replete with some evident customizations, will serve as the OS, and 720p video recording in 3D will also be available when Sharp launches the 12C in Japan on May 20th. Rest of the world? Well, we can dream about it right now.

Sharp Aquos Phone SH-12C has 3D cameras, qHD resolution, Gingerbread filling originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 05:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Impress Watch | source Sharp (JP) | Email this | Comments

Source: Engadget

Keepin' it real fake: Sony NGP with Xbox 360 livery shows up in China

China, PSP No Responses »

May 052011

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Look away now, Kaz, because it looks like this KIRF NGP is on track to beat the real deal to market. Known as the iReadyGo RG on Chinese forum CNGBA, this shameless rip-off is set to be a near-carbon copy of Sony’s upcoming console with the same 5-inch touchscreen, though it isn’t clear whether this will also be of OLED nature or of identical resolution. Other differences include the missing touchpad on the back, as well as the buttons’ color scheme that’s no doubt “inspired” by the Xbox 360 controller. The rest of the rumored specs include a 1GHz Cortex-A8 CPU, 720p camera, HDMI-out, and video playback compatibility for MP4, WMV, AVI, and many more. But what’s most interesting is that apparently we’ll be seeing some Android love here, and indeed, iReadyGo is currently recruiting six senior Android developers. No word on pricing or availability yet, but we’ll probably wait for Sony’s quad-core offering, thank you very much. Head past the break for a shot of the RG’s glossy back.

[Thanks, rrw]

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake: Sony NGP with Xbox 360 livery shows up in China

Keepin’ it real fake: Sony NGP with Xbox 360 livery shows up in China originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 02:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Obscure Handhelds | source CNGBA | Email this | Comments

Source: Engadget

First light wave quantum teleportation achieved, opens door to ultra fast data transmission

Australia, Science, Tokyo No Responses »

Apr 182011

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Mark this day, folks, because the brainiacs have finally made a breakthrough in quantum teleportation: a team of scientists from Australia and Japan have successfully transferred a complex set of quantum data in light form. You see, previously researchers had struggled with slow performance or loss of information, but with full transmission integrity achieved — as in blocks of qubits being destroyed in one place but instantaneously resurrected in another, without affecting their superpositions — we’re now one huge step closer to secure, high-speed quantum communication. Needless to say, this will also be a big boost for the development of powerful quantum computing, and combine that with a more bedroom friendly version of the above teleporter, we’ll eventually have ourselves the best LAN party ever.

First light wave quantum teleportation achieved, opens door to ultra fast data transmission originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo | source University of New South Wales | Email this | Comments

Source: Engadget

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