More on Theo Jansen

I recently posted on Theo Jansen for his giant kinetic sculptures, always elegant, massive and impressive with their ability to be eco friendly at the same time than resembling apocalyptic robots. Yesterday, Laura Galloway, from the TED conference, offered me to exhibit the 8 min video Theo Jansen's talk at the TED conference. The video is a must see.




Theo Jansen
From TED2007

Talk summary
Dutch artist Theo Jansen demonstrates his amazingly lifelike kinetic sculptures, built from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His "Strandbeests" (Beach Creatures) are built to move and even survive on their own.

Bio
Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been working for 16 years to create sculptures that move on their own in eerily lifelike ways. Each generation of his "Strandbeests" is subject to the forces of evolution, with successful forms moving forward into new designs. Jansen's vision and long-term commitment to his wooden menagerie is as fascinating to observe as the beasts themselves. His newest creatures walk without assistance on the beaches of Holland, powered by wind, captured by gossamer wings that flap and pump air into old lemonade bottles that in turn power the creatures' many plastic spindly legs. The walking sculptures look alive as they move, each leg articulating in such a way that the body is steady and level. They even incorporate primitive logic gates that are used to reverse the machine's direction if it senses dangerous water or loose sand where it might get stuck.

Laser printing on bread

Might be a little expensive, but would not that be cool to have a giant CNC machine print your most awesome pictures on toast every morning? Found on ComputerWorld.

Operation for adults!

Operation, game by Hasbro

Today, I met with TMG alumni Paul Yarin. One of his latest project, the interactive sensing module for laparoscopic trainer, developed with Wendy Plesniak reminded me of the funniest childhood game Operation created by Hasbro. The child practices coordination skills by removing the patients symptoms with the tweezers.



The sophisticated and impressive Interactive sensing module for laparoscopic trainer is a self-contained simulator for structured testing and training of skills used in laparoscopic surgery. Digital video and electronic sensors capture user performance and is approved to be used by medical centers to train and test critical laparoscopic skills. This is such a clever implementation. The advantages of physical objects as tools and the power of computer simulation are combined at their best.



"This interactive laparoscopic training simulator combines the best of physical and virtual simulation into a plug 'n' play solution. It combines validated physical reality exercises, computerized assessment, and validated McGill Metrics. Electronic sensors and digital video capture user performance with a PC interface."


An example of practice task

Real Laparoscopic Simulation's web site

Cooling down or heating up the body

At MIT, Tangible Media Research Group, we created Cool Me Down, a flexible fabric wrap with electronic heat pumps and metallic sinks that generates a cooling sensation. we originally designed the system for the treatment of schizophrenia within a care-giving facility. Conducting case studies at a local hospital, we discovered that this technology could be used to accompany usual treatment for other mental conditions.


Throughout the research I explored ways of heat synchronization with the body instead of triggering artificial heat independently from the body. I recently found a fascinating product CoreControl developed by researchers Dennis Grahn and H. Craig Heller.

Problem: "Overheating is a serious concern when exercising in hot environments, wearing insulative clothing, or during high intensity activity. CoreControl can be used to effectively remove heat from the body in a variety of settings."

Solution: "CoreControl TM powered by RTX cools you quickly and safely from the inside out. With patented, cutting-edge technology, it rapidly cools your body core first, unlike ice packs, vests, and misting fans, which cool you from the outside in. CoreControl enables you to consistently perform at your peak."


CoreControl diagram by Nigel Holmes, from Just Cool It's article in Stanford Magazine.

CoreControl's web site

Blow and light!

Wind to light: when the wind blows, the turbines produce light. Sweet!

The hand free controller by nintendo

In 1989, Nintendo invents the hand free controller. A player controls the video game without the use of the hands, by using his/her neck muscles. Found on nesplayer. Exploration of physical limitations in game design is interesting, especially when in 2006 Nintendo invents the hand necessity controller, the popular Nintendo Wii.

Bit or byte?

Russian dolls revisited for the new era by Matryoshkus.
Here

Mirror, mirror, tell me if I received an sms ...

A nice ambient way to check sms.

The +336+, designed by Robert Stadler of the French design group Radi Designers, is a mirror that is able to receive SMS messages sent from a mobile phone. The messages appear as luminous text, running on the mirrors’ surface when one gets close to the mirror. This clever piece of design is not affordable for most of us: this limited edition (of 20) costs $10,000! If this price tag is not a problem, you can purchase the mirror at Generate - Via The Style Files.

Brush and rince!

I stumbled upon this very fun project, a toothbrush that can redirect water from a faucet to your lips for easy rinsing.

A nice place to hang out

Falling Garden, San Staë church on the Canale Grande, 50th Biennial of Venice, 2003

A nice place to hang out ... in 2003!

The Doge (Mocenigo) needed a church so as to be able to have a monumental tomb built for himself, the church (San Staë) needed a saint so as to be able to be built, the saint (San Eustachio) needed a miracle so as to be pronounced a saint, the miracle needed a stag in order to be seen, and we built the garden for the reindeer.
The visitors lie on the bed above the doge’s gravestone, and the garden thinks for them.

More info