Welcome to

Originally from BLDGBLOG on December 13, 2009, 4:15pm

Originally from BLDGBLOG on December 13, 2009, 4:15pm

kkleiner writes “Organovo and strategic partner Invetech hope in 2010 to release a commercial version of their 3D organ printer capable of producing very basic tissues like blood vessels. While it is still limited to simple tissue structures (full organs are a long ways off), Organovo plans to deliver the printers to various research institutions interested in organ and tissue production. Working with these institutions, Organovo hopes to one day progress to creating a system that can print organs as easily as other 3D printers print plastic figurines.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Originally by ScuttleMonkey from Slashdot on December 4, 2009, 3:13pm

Originally from BLDGBLOG on December 4, 2009, 4:26pm

Where better in the world to introduce elegant moving screens than a country that made narrative on flat surfaces come alive, from painted screens to manga?

Magician, visualist, and technologist Marco Tempest sends this brilliant video documentation of the work he’s been doing with what he calls “Magic Projection.” The technique is simple – and extraordinarily effective. Infrared tracking points in the screen, coupled with extremely efficient vision analysis software on the computer, produce a perfectly-scaled image. Beyond that, everything is Marco’s own ingenuity. (One reason I think we all have a lot to learn from Marco is that his sense of how to do things as a magician is different from how a lot of us with arts backgrounds approach developing our techniques.)

This is, of course, markedly different from manual projection mapping, which requires that you scale your image by hand to whatever surface you’re using.

The tools are all free and open source. Our friend Zach Lieberman, a fantastically-skilled coder and originator of OpenFrameworks, worked to develop the project with OF, Intel’s free vision library OpenCV, free hardware platform Arduino, and Sony PS 3 Eye drivers MacCam. (OpenFrameworks, for those of you just joining us, is the Processing-inspired, artist-friendly C++ coding platform.)

Description from Marco:

Here is my “Magic Projection” system out on the streets in Tokyo. “Magic Projection” is my new Augmented Reality Projection Tracking system created for use in my magic stage performances. Have a look and let me know what you think.

The system works by tracking embedded infrared LED tracking markers in lightweight screens with a modified PS3 EyeToy camera and then fits projected video images onto moving screens at 120 fps.

In addition it features a virtual spotlight to light the performer while holding the screen without spilling light onto the projection surface, real-time 2D particle physics, an electronic whiteboard and a 3D function that rotates 3D objects in real time in relationship to the screen angle relative to the projector.

And yes, I was a bit lazy and didn’t link to Johnny Lee’s work, which inspired this (and is credited accordingly):

Foldable Displays (tracked with the Wiimote)

The Wiimote also works effectively; Marco is instead using the PS3 Eye, which will also work as a camera feed if that’s important. Lee’s creation plays with the idea of folding, but as you can see, the idea is familiar. (Thanks, John Holdun!)

Originally by Peter Kirn from Create Digital Motion on December 3, 2009, 8:31am

“>Modul8 2.6 feature: Sound Analysis from modul8 on Vimeo.

As visualism evolves, part of making tools smarter is making them more musical. So what better way to show off the new 2.6 update to Modul8 than to show visuals popping away to butt-bopping beats by David Last. (I’m entirely addicted to David Last’s grooves – it was an utter delight having him play Create Digital Music’s fifth anniversary the other night at Love Veranda.)

It’s worth watching the video through to its conclusion. Yes, you’ve seen this sort of sound-responsive visual before. But note how important it is to be precise about adjusting to a particular frequency – because our eyes are as attuned to rhythm as our ears, getting the details right makes a big difference, something true in any tool.

I covered the new features in 2.6 when it was in beta, but here’s a quick review of the highlights:

• Blend Modes
• Wacom tablet support
• DMX support (and Midi2DMX if you want to control lighting with your MIDI controller)
• Shareable MIDI/keyboard mappings
• Quickly turn still image folders into slide shows. (Yep, the client suddenly wants their logos and stills – yesterday.)

I also love the look of their supported DMX adapter. Plug USB in the other end, get 1-in, 1-out (on one port) DMX control – all for US$151.

Modul8 I think deserves special credit for its no-nonsense, straightforward UI, and this update closes the gap with some of its competitors on features. Some of my favorite live work of this year – Adam Guzman + Julia Tsao’s ongoing collaboration for Nosaj Thing – fit perfectly with the tool.

The rivalry between the current generation of visualist tools – including GrandVJ, VDMX, and Resolume Avenue – just gets tighter each day. That’s good news for us.

Entec DMX USB Pro

Originally by Peter Kirn from Create Digital Motion on December 4, 2009, 12:36pm

Mobile gaming mastermind ZodTTD has updated his mame4iPhone app to use BTStack, allowing the use of a Wii remote as a controller. I could see using this with the iPhone app video out hack as a low-cost casual gaming console. It would be pretty cool to go from playing a mobile game directly to playing the same game on a large screen with a controller. It’s no Xbox, but give it a few years.

Read more | Permalink | Comments |

Read more articles in iPhone |

Digg this!

Originally from MAKE Magazine: hacks on December 3, 2009, 6:00am

From airplane wing desks to shopping trolley chairs.

Reestore take everyday waste objects and upcycle them into quirky yet functional pieces of furniture and accessories. All products are created with as many eco design principles as possible, reclaimed trolleys, reject barrows, space saving hanging chairs, stools with recycling capabilities. Avoiding traditional eco materials in favor of contemporary finishes, fabrics and above all style. Managing Director Max McMurdo is keen to stress that environmental consideration need not compromise the aesthetics and desirability of reestore’s products.
Deborah, (pictured above) is an aluminum airplane wing supported by stainless steel legs topped with toughened glass.
Dimensions (mm): w2000 d900 h800 Weight: 150kg (yes heavy)

Annie the shopping trolley chair is perhaps the most iconic of ditch fillers. trolleys are generally scrapped due to unaligned wheels or exposed wire. Once transformed by reestore they become beautiful yet functional
upright chairs.


Their range also includes Max the bath tub chaise, Theo the car gearbox table and Silvana the Washing Machine Drum Illuminated Table.

Reestore founder Max McMurdo is also flying around the U.K. preaching the eco design gospel. Activity days, single hour lessons and workshops to show adults and children alike how to make the most from their junk.

Originally by Duann from Ponoko – Blog on November 30, 2009, 4:07pm

Originally from Peak Energy on December 4, 2009, 4:26pm