Design posts

A true gentleman – a man who respects the finer things – realizes the value of slowing it down. Taking time out. Maybe have the manservant fix a beverage. Maybe take the Segway out to the patio. Maybe type an email. Maybe type it slowly. For this gentleman, designer Erik Campbell has developed a keyboard. What Campbell has designed is a jellyfish new take on the concept of the ‘chorded’ keyboard – chorded referring to music. Like you strum guitar strings in concert with each other, so too do you press the five buttons on Campbell’s keyboard to produce different characters. Frankly, I found 150…

iPhones? Wii’s? Bet you think those are pretty fancy, right? Well, when it comes to sheer wow factor, those technologies have little on Skinput, which lets you control things by simply pressing different parts of your skin. Your skin! The system, which was developed by researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft, turns the human body into an interface. But rather than using electrical impulses, which is how the iPhone and other touch screens work, it actually measures the movement of sound made by tapping different parts of the arm or hand. But in addition to measuring acoustic waves, the…

If you’re not familiar with the telltale sound of a didgeridoo, Australia’s famous aboriginal instrument, think ‘being run over by a musical train’. If the thought of being run over by a musical train appeals to you, read on. 24-year-old Kyle Evans is a didgeridoo enthusiast. Apparently, such a thing exists. He is also an electronic music enthusiast. These two musical styles would appear as apples and oranges to most, but not to Kyle. After an experiment  with a Big Gulp and a USB adapter failed, Evans went on to develop his now-Bluetooth-based model, which plays notes strikingly similar…

For all the talk of a reading revolution and Amazon, Sony and now Apple are creating, all of this new technology doesn’t actually change reading very much. There’s some text on a blank background and – well, that’s about it. But a new concept developed by Swedish firm Tobii Technology promises to change all that by turning the tables on the reader – in this case, the book reads you. By using a combination of web programming languages and a tracking camera, what Tobii Technology call Text 2.0 actually tracks your eye movements to see what you are reading. Focus on a word for a while with a screwed-up face…

Now that we finally have confirmation a new Nintendo DS is on the way – with 3D no less! – we’re also free to wonder what the new device might look like. And as mind-blowingly successful as Nintendo products have been, they’ve never exactly exuded sexiness. Well, designer Mario Troise has a solution for old Ninty with this drop-dead gorgeous rendering of a possible DS that makes the line between the handheld’s eponymous dual screens invisible. Sure, it’s got a decidedly ‘Macbook feel’ to it – but is that really a bad thing? As sleek as the concept is, it also contains some great ideas, like a 3D projecting…

Spike Jonze has teamed up with Absolut Vodka to present ‘I’m Here’, a touching short film about robots in love. The best part? The film is available free to watch online. Potential viewers have to be quick, though, as ‘seating’ for each screening of the film is limited. Viewers can log in with their Facebook accounts for a really unique experience. I’m not going to spoil anything, though – just check out the trailer and go watch it. It’s a beautiful film. As if robots couldn’t be any more rad today. [Via Laughing Squid]…

I’m an avid gamer. When I say ‘avid’, I mean it in all possible terms. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve held records, I’ve humped a television set in celebration. The list of things I’ve never done in gaming is very short; one of the things on that list is ‘enjoy a virtual world’. Start-up Micazook (which boasts the silliest goddam most whimsical name I’ve ever heard) wants to change my mind. Let’s face it – virtual worlds are boring, and anyone who’s ever played Second Life (still the …’leader’) can agree. Even investors these days are wary to drop money on ideas for…

Y’know how in a room with multiple lights, you never, NEVER hit the switch you need on the first try? Like there’s a karmic force taunting you about it? Happens to me every time I go to the bathroom. Designers Heo Jaesik and Lim Hojoont have decided to remove chance as a factor by designing a touch screen alternative to your conventional light switch. …

Not to come off as a robotics nut, but I’m not letting this one get away and sleeping comfortably tonight. I’m just not. This is amazing, much to my own chagrin. This robot knows how to draw. And I don’t mean it’s a glorified printer – it actually knows how to draw. Patrick Tesset and Frederic Fol have been developing the Aikon Project over the last six years, the aim of which is to give a robot the soul of an artist – complete with style, interpretation, and aesthetic judgment. The more Aikon II draws, the more it learns, and the more it can artistically extrapolate.
 And the more it can eventually…

Meet Hanako. Hanako is a collaboration between three Japanese universities and robotics company Tmsuk. And, quite frankly, Hanako is creepy as all hell. A new dental patient robot, I guess this is actually a good idea – I certainly don’t mind the thought of dentists practicing thoroughly on a robot before coming at me with drills and knives. …