MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researchers have developed SprayableTech, an installation that lets users create room-sized interactive surfaces with sensors as well as displays. It uses airbrushing of functional inks, to enable various displays, like interactive sofas with embedded sensors to control your television, and sensors for adjusting lighting and temperature through your walls. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: Sangheum Park
The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer may increase hair smoothness by 75%, shine by up to 132%, and decrease frizz and flyaways by up to 61%, but it just doesn’t look as cool as this shark fin-inspired creation by Sangheum Park. The shark fin is the actual hair dryer, while the wireless charging pad resembles the waves you’d see in the ocean. Read more for additional pictures.
Programmer and UX designer at Unity Greg Madison knows that many are stuck at home under quarantine, but for those with an Oculus Quest virtual reality headset, your living space can become a game. Introducing the ‘Gamefied Real Estate’ project, which is essentially a custom-built room in Unity that was then synchronized with the actual living environment.
Gracie was just a newborn puppy when her previous owners threw her away because she was missing her front legs as a result of a birth defect. Eventually, she was adopted by the Turley family – a family who runs their own shelter of their own – and the biggest concern was about her mobility. Growing puppies aren’t eligible for a wheelchair fitting, so Dylan, a 12-year-old volunteer, came up with a brilliant idea. He decided to use LEGO, which can easily be readjusted with flexibility as Gracie continued to grow.
Photo credit: Simon Weckert
Google Maps has evolved over the years to include many new tools, like traffic reports, Simon Weckert shows that these are easy to spoof, and he does so by using a basic wagon lugging 99 smartphones. This simple “hack” enabled him to create virtual traffic jams throughout Berlin. Yes, he even stopped by Google Berlin during his journey, and many times drivers were rerouted due to the red color coding of traffic. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: Peta Pixel
Photographer Noah Kalina captured a self portrait every day for the past 20 year, starting on January 11, 2000. This project began long before the concept of a “selfie” became popular, which meant he had to use cameras with flippable viewfinders so he could see himself before snapping each photo. To date, he’s missed just 27 out of 7,305 days, along with a handful of images from August 2003 that were lost in a hard drive crash.
Technically speaking, AC power plugs and sockets connect electric equipment to the alternating current (AC) power supply in buildings and other structures. As many already know from their travels, electrical plugs and sockets vary in voltage as well as current rating, shape, size, and connector type. This person decided to install a fake outlet that conceals a tiny apartment. Read more for a short video tour and additional information.
Photo credit: Atsushi Adachi
Japanese artist Atsushi Adachi didn’t want to throw out his old newspaper clippings, so he turns them into amazing sculptures, battleships included. He’s been intrigued with battleships, combat planes and other military gear since childhood, when he used to visit Self-Defense Force and American Armed Forces bases. Afterwards, he attempted to make 3D models of what he saw. Read more for a video and additional information.
Inspired by Dutch artist Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest kinetic sculptures, California-based creative studio CARV created what might be the world’s fist and only walking bicycle. At first glance, it appears to be a movie prop or sculpture, but step closer, and you’ll see the team swapped the bicycle’s rear wheel for a metal exoskeleton consisting of four legs controlled by the pedals. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: WorldWideAuctioneers
For those who aren’t familiar with American LaFrance (ALF), it was basically an American vehicle manufacturer which focused primarily on the production of fire engines, fire aerials, and emergency vehicles (ambulance, rescue, etc.). Gary Wales happened to come by a 1916 American LaFrance fire truck and decided to transform it into a retro Batmobile of sorts. Read more for another picture and additional information.