Powerfully Simple - IdeaPaint

I ran across this product and had to include it in the inspirational blog somewhere. This is such a great example of a well executed simple idea. Inspired product + well designed execution = success!

Link to website

Unique MCPC business concept - Writing on the wall

I love new business concepts that are structured with the intent for customization and personalization. When created from the ground up, these well designed "toolkits" are the future of business.

Here is a great example of a well executed simple concept making a mark in the world of Mass Customization and Personalization (MCPC).

Link to Wonderful Graffiti

With new funding by Caterpillar, robots are closer to building our homes

via 2modern.com
If Behrokh Koshnevis has his way we may soon see the first house entirely constructed by robots. Koshnevis, a professor of engineering at the University of Southern California is revolutionizing the process of CAD/CAM technology, which 'prints' out a computer model as 3-D object using layers of plastic. Kohsnevis' Contour Crafting automated system uses a giant computer-guided nozzle to lay down layers of concrete, while the machine's robotic trowels give the walls shape.

Now Caterpillar, the world's biggest maker of construction equipment, has announced it will fund research of Koshnevis' robotic building machines through a grant to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The goal is to build a complete house in just a single day. This not just a way to crank out cheap suburban tract homes-thought that's clearly on the minds of executives at Caterpillar. Koshnevis makes the case that this technology could provide affordable housing for millions in poverty or for those who find themselves victims of a natural disaster.

The idea of a robotic building machine sounds like a nightmare for architects, but the invention of any new technology has always been met with trepidation, not to mention howls of derision. Painters swore photography meant the end of painting. Instead, artists started using cameras in unorthodox ways and painters felt free to push the medium far beyond the need to be representational. There is no doubt architects will find ways to creatively engage the robot builders of the future. The fate of human construction workers may not be so bright.

link to video of actual machine

link to Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies (CRAFT)

Sketch Furniture by FRONT

Not sure how comfortable this would be, but conceptually an awesome concept in designing straight from the fluid imagination.

excerpt from Front's website:

Is it possible to let a first sketch become an object, to design directly onto space?

The four FRONT members have developed a method to materialise free hand sketches. They make it possible by using a unique method where two advanced techniques are combined.
Pen strokes made in the air are recorded with Motion Capture and become 3D digital files; these are then materialised through Rapid Prototyping into real pieces of furniture.

Textured graphics can be captured in a flash

Colin Barras via newscientist - 12:30 27 August 2008

The virtual worlds in computer games provide a realistic backdrop to the action. But step too close and the effect is lost – you'll see that textures and patterns are usually displayed on flat surfaces that look dull and artificial.
A simpler way to add depth to textured surfaces could change that.
The new technique can reconstruct the depth of a surface simply by taking two photos of it – one with a flash and one without (see video, right). Merely analysing the resulting shading patterns can capture the surface's 3D texture.
Until now making realistic textures required the use of bulky and expensive laser scanners, says Mashhuda Glencross at the University of Manchester, UK. And the process is really time-consuming, she adds.

Link to article
Link to Advanced Interfaces Group

Link to PDF Research Paper

Rising Demand for 3D in Theatres

(story copied from Engadget.com)
Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP) -- representing AMC, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas -- has worked out a deal to finance the installation of thousands of digital movie screens starting next year in the U.S. with the help of Lion's Gate, Paramount, Fox, Universal and Disney. Not participating, at least for now, are Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures, with the latter expected to announce a separate deal soon involving the installation of Sony 4K SXRD projectors around the world. Key to the deal? "Virtual print" fees, meant to help defray the expect $70,000 cost to switch to 3D-ready digital projection setups, as the studios will kick in the $800 - $1000 they would have spent on old school movie prints to finance the changeover. In the future they save by distributing only digital prints, not to mention having somewhere to show the dozen 3D flicks expected to debut next year. Both sides are betting the $1 billion package will help pull us away from the HDTVs and back into a movie theater, but until they work out a payoff with that one guy who won't stop talking, we're not sure how likely that is.

Read - Wall Street Journal
Read - Reuters
Read - Variety
Link to article in Engadget

Salvador Dabot -The Portraitist Robot

The Portraitist Robot recognizes human faces in its surroundings and extracts relevant characteristics from them. By using its uncanny artistic talent, it then draws portraits of the participants from the captured images by converting them into vector art and by using inverse kinematics to control the robot's arm.




You can find previous videos of the Portraitist Robot v1.0 here. Among the new features, the Portraitist Robot v2.0 has been patched with moustache and beret add-ons.

TouchTable & TerrainTable

Article by Gordon Petrie

At the last two ESRI International User Conferences held in San Diego, much attention has been focused both by attendees and by the media on TouchTable technology and products. These have been developed by Applied Minds Inc. (AMI), a small and innovative high-technology company from California. In collaboration with AMI, Northrop Grumman, one of the giants of the American defence and aerospace industries, has also developed the TerrainTable, a three dimensional table display system that makes use of the TouchTable technology.

Link to PDF of Terrain Table

TouchTable

TouchTable systems allow you to see and manage large amounts of data in a manner conducive to discussion and decision making. The TouchTable’s unique design and interface can benefit a wide variety of applications, ranging from asset management and acquisitions to repair and response.

TouchTable Systems provide you with a powerful way for accessing, sharing and managing data by allowing you to:

• Visualize project data to quickly view and understand complex information.
• Use the TouchTable as an analysis tool to examine and document data, and save for future reference.
• Incorporate real-time data feeds to aid in time sensitive situations.
• Synchronize projects over a network to quickly and clearly discuss and distribute displayed data.
• Use search and annotation functions to aid in asset management.
• Quickly gather and analyze information from remote locations.
• Visually assess current and historical data to pinpoint and understand trends.

Link to Touchtable's website

Real-Time Landscape Model Interaction Using a Tangible Geospatial Modeling Environment

Emerging technologies that combine the flexibility of digital landscape representation with easy-to-interpret 3D physical models open new possibilities for user interaction with geospatial data. A prototype tangible geo-spatial modeling environment allows users to interact with landscape analysis and simulations using a tangible physical model.
Link to PDF

XenoVision gives new meaning to visualizing the battlefield

Copied from FCW.com, article by Patrick Marshall, Published on September 13, 2004




It reminded me of the scene in "Star Wars" in which the 3-D holographic monster chess pieces fight it out. I was looking at a 3-D map, complete with hills and streams, that demonstrated troop movements. It was, in fact, displaying the Civil War battle of Antietam.

The 3-foot by 4-foot map was produced by the XenoVision Mark III from Xenotran Corp. The basic design of XenoVision is simple, like one of those toy pads filled with pins that you can push in with your fingers to make shapes. In this case, XenoVision received an elevation file from the computer that controlled it and raised and lowered the hundreds of pins in the table, creating the terrain of the map. The pins have an elevation range of 6 inches.

Next, the image of the terrain is projected on the fabric that covers the pins. The projector is an LCD unit with XGA 1,024 x 768 resolution. Other data, such as labels or routes, also can be projected onto the map. The device supports JPEG, GIF, MPEG2 and SWF image formats and GRIDASCII elevation data.

The software controlling XenoVision can create a topographic map in less than two minutes. It takes about 30 seconds to erase an existing map.

XenoVision was developed under contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with military uses in mind. Xenotran is also marketing the XenoVision Mark III for use in advertising, disaster planning, resource planning and real estate. For pricing information, go to www.xenotran.com

Link to article
Patent Info
A good article on future of 3D surface forming

Overview of 3D Interfaces for the Web

The following article by Greg Peczkowicz is a great overview of the variety of methods for creating 3D interfaces for the web, using Adobe Flash technology

"Three dimensional interfaces have been around for many years, but have only started to catch on in the mainstream recently. With the development of programmatic tools such as Papervision 3D, developers and engineers are able to use three dimensions for aesthetic purposes. However aesthetic purposes for using 3D are only the stepping stone to encourage users into using fully interactive 3D enabled interfaces and environments"

"Recently there have been many impressive web sites created with Papervision 3D. Some of these sites are not only used for 3D aesthetic purposes but also used as interactive pieces. One such site is: Absolut’s, “In An Absolut World” http://www.absolut.com/iaaw/. This site features interactive 3D cubes that may be stacked on top of each other to form different shapes. They may be grabbed with the mouse and thrown around on screen. They may be rotated and spun in different directions, where the speed changes depending on the speed at which the users’ mouse moves. It is a impressive site to play with, however it does have its pitfalls. One of its pitfalls is the camera movement and viewpoint. When looking around the site the camera follows the movements of the mouse which makes the user experience less enjoyable. It feels and seems somewhat awkward and annoying when you want to look at the cubes at a certain angle but you simply can’t, the camera moves and changes the view."

"However, a 3D web interface which has excellent camera control is, “The Eco Zoo” http://ecodazoo.com/. The user may control the camera by grabbing inside the viewport and moving the mouse in any direction which in turn allows the camera great flexibility in its movements. Not only does this site have excellent camera control but the interface is very robust, it incorporates both 2D and 3D navigation formats. The main navigation is a cardboard 3D tree with characters making their home on or in it which may be interacted with or they may be selected via a 2D menu at the top of the screen. The interface was created very intuitively and makes navigation to the characters’ specific pop-up books very simple. “The Eco Zoo” is not only an excellent example of a 3D web interface, but is also educational and it handles some current problems with these types of interfaces very effectively."

"Current problems with 3D interfaces deter users away from them for the following reasons: They don’t really use the third dimension in a way that is useful or convenient, computer resources demand is high, and displaying large amounts of data may become overwhelming. These may seem like significant problems with 3D interfaces but they may be worked out solved effectively. One site which has worked out a way to display large amounts of information in an intuitive 3D web interface is MSNBC’s “Spectra visual newsreader” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24207533/. “Spectra” has been able to effectively meld a 2D web interface with a 3D web interface to make it much more useful, entertaining and aesthetically pleasing experience to the user."

"In order to make 3D interfaces more useful and convenient we first need to develop simple applications and interactive environments which are intuitive to users. Despite everything we can do today with 3D interfaces we are more than likely able to accomplish the same things with 2D interfaces. However the 3D interfaces are much more entertaining and engaging to users. Such is the case with the White Voids web site: http://www.whitevoid.com/application. White Void could have created their site in a 2D space but decided to go 3D because of the spacial and aesthetic value 3D offered. Use of a 3D interface for their site made the user experience exponentially more enjoyable. It also separated them from the norm and made them nationally recognized and known through out the design world for creating one of the best 3D web interfaces."

"However, many people are accustomed to a 2D desktop because that is what we see and use on a day to day basis. We place items on our desks and remember where they are using spatial memory. When we do this in a third dimension we also do the same thing, in both ways we are using spatial memory. Both 2D and 3D interfaces require certain amounts of persistence in that when you put something down you expect it to remain there till you get back to it. Persistence will also be required of the user; the user will need to be patient in order to develop efficient usage patterns, the interfaces themselves will need to entertain in order to maintain the user’s interest."

"3D interfaces are mainly used for entertainment purposes such as video games or for presenting data which is naturally three dimensional, (CAD, Architecture, etc.) However we are slowly creating 3D web interfaces which are not only aesthetically pleasing and intuitive but are useful 3D web interfaces. Creating a third dimension on the web maintains a user’s interest, provides entertainment value and creates an intuitive experience. When a user picks up a wrench to tighten a bolt with the mouse or interacts with 3D folders in a tree structure they are becoming more accustomed to interacting with a 3D environment. Intuitive interactive 3D environments will pave the path for 3D interfaces. The more we expose ourselves to 3D elements on the web the easier it will be to implement 3D interfaces in an intuitive, entertaining and useful application. The World Wide Web is going in the direction of 3D web interfaces and we may only hope to take steps in the right direction to ensure its success."

Greg Peczkowicz

Greg is an Interface Engineer at StudioNorth. He designs and develops highly complex and usable Web applications for all ranges of StudioNorth’s clientèle. When Greg isn’t programming ActionScript or creating smooth exponentially eased tweens you can find him snowboarding in Wisconsin or kayaking on the Des Plaines river.

Realistic special effects coming soon to home movies

11:17 21 August 2008
NewScientist.com news service Colin Barras


Digital photographers are used to tinkering with their photos at home. Now, amateur video makers can create movie special effects thanks to prototype software from Microsoft.
Their application, called Unwrap Mosaics, makes adding a moustache to a family member in a video as easy as scrawling on a digital picture. A video (right) shows it in action.
For example, drawing a tattoo on a person's arm requires editing only a single image. The programme makes the change throughout the video, making it ripple realistically with their skin.

Easy editing
A video is simply a sequence of still images that capture the movement of objects over time. But editing the appearance of objects in even a short movie is difficult because every frame shows objects differently and must be edited separately.
"We thought it would be good if you only had to draw your edit once and [the software] propagate the information from that single edit through the whole video," says Alex Rav-Acha at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.
Rav-Acha and colleagues at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, have done just that. Editing objects using their software is a one-step process.

Special effect
Unwrap Mosaics was developed by Rav-Acha, Andrew Fitzgibbon, Pushmeet Kohli and Carsten Rother. It virtually strips the skin from a selected object in a video, producing a 2D surface that can be easily edited using photo-editing software.
Rav-Acha likens that surface to a tiger-skin rug: a flat surface that once covered a 3D object. The software reverses the process after any edits are complete, wrapping the edited skin back around the 3D object. Because the edits are attached to the skin, they then move with the object throughout the movie.
The 2D skin has to capture every inch of the 3D surface for edits to match the object when it is wrapped up again. For example, an "unwrapped" face must include information from both sides of the nose so that changes to the nose remain realistic even when the head turns from side to side.
To fully unwrap an object the software tracks 5000 points spread evenly across its surface, making sure that all of those points are present in the final 2D skin.

Reverse unwrap
That means the final unwrapped skin contains more information than any individual video frame. For instance, if the video shows a person's head from the front and then turning to the left, the unwrapped skin contains a full view of the ear as well as a forward view of the eyes, nose and mouth.
The user makes their edits to the skin before the unwrapping process is reversed to send those changes throughout the final movie.
Rav-Acha and his co-workers have successfully tested their software on a range of videos. "There are professional tools that can do these kind of edits but it's an incredibly skilled procedure," says Fitzgibbon. "We believe that with this procedure anyone should be able to edit video."
Alex Rav-Acha's team presented their work at the SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles last week.

Image forming over clay

Creating a 3-D picture within a wooden picture frame is a great children's craft that promotes creativity and innovation. Make a 2-D image three-dimensional with this free arts and crafts video series.
The top layer for a 3-D picture is glued on top of the clay formations. Glue the top layer of a picture with expert tips in this free crafts video.

3-D Picture Top Layer -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Link to videos

A Wearable Motorcycle

Jake Loniak is a college junior, he's also the inventor of one of the most innovative concept vehicles we've seen in ages. Inside: the electric exoskeleton motorcycle and an exclusive video of the beast in action

Link

CNC Wire Formers

CNC radial type spring and wire former making a wire form. Demonstrating lateral and vertical slide movement. Courtesy of www.spring-makers-resource.net
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