Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is the first producer of free electronic books (ebooks). Project Gutenberg reached the following milestones as per dates:

1 eBook in 1971
10 eBooks in 1991
100 eBooks in 1994
1,000 eBooks in 1997
10,000 eBooks in 2003
100,000 eBooks in 2006


Don't miss the science-fiction bookshelf!


Illustration from Ullr Uprising by H. Beam Piper

When design meets science fiction

Mariko MORI, Oneness, 2003, Technogel(Registered Trademark), cast aluminium, electric system, 135 x 75,6 x 37,4 cm. Courtesy: the artist and Deitch Projects. Photo: Jens Ziehe

An exhibition at the Mudam Luxembourg the 25 May to 24 September 2007. More on E-flux

TOMORROW NOW - when design meets science fiction is the first exhibition devoted to the relationship between design and science fiction. Homage to Luxembourg-born Hugo Gernsback, the inventor of the term "science fiction", it explores the links created between the two disciplines from the beginning of the 20th century until today.

Curated by Alexandra Midal and Björn Dahlström, the exhibition presents the territory covered by both disciplines and the richness of their combination through works created by designers, architects, artists, science fiction authors and film directors on the subject of science fiction. More than 800 pieces by more than 100 artists have been brought together and are the subject of a thematic circuit that develops through the different galleries of the museum. The show design, by Mathieu Lehanneur, is in keeping with the exhibition in that it modifies our perceptions with monumental mobile cubes at the entrance to rooms that decide whether to allow the visitor to enter or not, a mountain of unidentified material which seems to pour towards the visitor and inflatable flying objects in a geostationary state...

Twins in tree

One of my favorite picture of all time, Twins in Tree Snedens Landing, New York by Rodney Smith

Stone age trepanation Kit

Trepanation Kit, late stone age.

I love this web site of ancient inventions! This one is especially intriguing:

Trepanation is a method of brain surgery whose origins can be traced to the Late Stone Age. Some remote societies still practice it today, and in some tribal cultures of East Africa it has survived as an integral part of traditional medicine. Doctors employed this invasive procedure to relieve distress caused by a variety of disturbances, including skull fractures, parasites, pressure, hydrocephaly, incurable headaches, and even evil spirits. Intricate and refined instruments aided prehistoric surgeons in the different methods of penetrating the skull, and sometimes in actually removing tissue from the brain. --Trepanation Kit, Worldwide, 2000 BCE by Dierdre Crane

Musicovery

Toujours plus haut toujours plus fort! Music discovery systems can lack graphic visualization, Musicovery does not!

Video, time, sound and tangible interface

When a DJ table does the impossible! Discovered on Amsterdamn. Short film created by Double Edge Films.

Motion and identity

A few little dots moving make a figure look male or female, heavy or light, relaxed or nervous, happy or sad. A fun tool to play with by Bio Motion Lab.

Another famous tool that I love, sodaconstructor, a Java applet that animates two dimensional models made out of masses and springs. In this one, emotion and anthropomorphism take place at the spring level.

A while back, Le ciel est bleu designed very successful moving creatures depending on gravity points.


In the robotic sphere, Guy Hoffman's lamp is designed as a collaborative desk assistant and this by following your intentions around your desk. Even if the lamp is non-anthropomorphic per se, its motion certainly gives it an anthropomorphic credibility that serves the function of a desk assistant. Video of its first steps!

Dice video

A Nikle Injuries by Fujiya & Miyagi

Mobile toys for children with PDD

Characteristics of mobile robotic toys for children with pervasive developmental disorders, 2003, Michaud, F. Duquette, A. Nadeau, I. IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics.
Paper.

Abstract Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) refers to a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and communication. Symptoms may include communication problems such as using and understanding language; difficulty relating to people, objects, and events; unusual play with toys and other objects; difficulty with changes in routine or familiar surroundings, and repetitive body movements or behavior patterns. Autism is the most characteristic and best studied PDD. We are investigating the use of mobile robotic toys that can move in the environment and interact in various manners (vocal messages, music, visual cues, movement, etc.) with children with autism. The hypothesis is that mobile robots can serve as an appropriate pedagogical tool to help children with PDD develop social skills because they are more predictable and less intimidating. The objective is to see how such devices can be used to capture the child's attention and contribute to helping him or her develop social skills. This paper outlines the design considerations for such robots, and presents experimental protocols that are being developed to study the impacts of using these robots on the development of the child.

The paper reveals characteristics associated with children with autism and how a robotic toy should be designed considering these specifics. As a conclusion the authors state: "Engineers need to combine their expertise with scientists in the field of autism, in order to get interesting insights that will help guide the design of innovative new robots. The application describes in this paper is only one example of such rich source of multidisciplinary research. Our hope is that mobile robotic toys can become efficient therapeutic tools that will help children with autism develop early on the necessary skills they need to compensate for and cope with their disability."

Display

Sanggil Kim, display, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art #3, 2007.

Exhibition FLASH CUBE, July 5 - September 30, 2007, at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, 747-18, Hanam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea 140-893. Via E-flux

The exhibition Flash Cube will chart a series of such spatial research strategies implicating a diversity of artistic points of departure such as fluid inner space, open urban space and installative space. The various photographic strategies will be mutually confronted in a transformative way in the exhibition's methodology of mounting (floorplan) - underscored by Rem Koolhaas’ unique non-perspectivist display system of Leeum's exhibition space - so that both spatial reflection and spatial experience can occur in dynamic and invigorating ways.