Now here is a remarkable piece of robotics.
I wonder whether we will see a future where the street corner CCTV is replaced by something like this.
Aesthetically it is very appealing. The uses it could be put to, not so much.
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This appeals to me. It’s the sort of information revolution I’d like to see succeed. Have a listen to the talk below, it’s worth a few minutes of your time.
Navigating the Age of Democratized Media conference keynote from FreedomBox Foundation on Vimeo.
The FreedomBox Foundation is a Delaware non-profit founded in February 2011 to support and coordinate work on the FreedomBox project, which aims to to return control of digital communications to individuals and take it away from the corporations that spy on people as a way of life and the governments that use control over communications to stifle political organization and dissent. More information and updates can be found at http://freedomboxfoundation.org
A Monome is a step-sequencer contolled by an array of buttons that you can use to control any manner of software applications. The most common use is for realtime music creation/performance using the buttons to trigger samples and sequences of samples that are played back by (often free) software applications.
Whilst the Monome itself is a beautifully crafted, and expensive, piece of kit desgined and sold by the Monome company, many people create their own.
As with any musical instrument the magic comes from the artist themselves, and the best music I have heard comes from edison, whose grungy homebuilt lunchbox Monome belies the stunning performances it is used to create.
Here is one such performance.
failure of the year from edison on Vimeo.
Now there are Daft Punk helmet replica’s and then there are those created by 27 year old prop maker Harrison Krix.
This guy can turn his hand to so many different aspects of fabrication and with such an eye for perfection that I would probably prefer his replicas to the real thing.
To call his creations props, and in particular this helmet, just does not do justice to the skill, love and all round awesomeness that he pulls together and harnesses with such perfection.
I know I can’t have one. But it doesn’t stop me wanting one.
Watch this video to catch a glimpse of what is involved.
Remember the wobbly white sphere sentry that kept Patrick McGoohan a prisoner in the cult series of the same name? Well, here is a slightly more robust and capable modern version.
The Rotundus Groundbot can nip along at an impressive rate and would seem ideal for patroling large flat areas.
Maybe they could roam the strees of our towns and cities after dark as an additional security measure.
The could be mounted with paintguns loaded with indelible dye ammunition to further help identify miscreants.
Find out more about these globular automatons here.
This electronically modified didgeridoo produces a quite amazing sound that combines the natural sound of the instrument with computer audio synthesis and manipulation.
Play the video and then follow the link below to learn more.
This might not be the finest crafted of gifts, but the concept and thought behind it are wonderful.
It is a gift box that only opens at a certain location. A kind of reverse-geocache.
Read the full story behind it and details of its creation here.
Whether you know who “Free” Kevin Mitnick is, or whether you believe that his being held in prison without trial for four and a half years on wire and computer fraud charges was outrageous, you have to admit that his “Business Card” is rather neat.
Physical security is every bit as interesting, and sometimes geeky, as software security and that card and its incorporated lockpick tools, embody how easily the majority of people are fooled into thinking they are secure.
Here’s an astounding photograph of a halo of water vapour forming in a conical ring shaped cloud around an F/A-18F Super Hornet as it hits the speed of sound.
I’ve seen a few photos of this effect, but never as clearly as this one by Christopher Pasatieri shows it.
What an amazingly simple and well executed use of spareparts this illuminating model of the starship Enterprise is. Three LEDs two resistors a battery, a reed switch and some wire made into a neat little sculpture.
Hold it near a magnet and the reed switch lights op the LEDs.
Little discoveries like this really make my day.
Found here.
