Archive for the ‘Cool’ Category

3D Paintings Mimic Holograms

Painting with volume in mind, literally adds a whole new dimension to artwork. Many years ago I thought of doing this with glass film plates but never had the opportunity to try it out. Perhaps I should investigate it once again…

“...they are called “‘spatial paintings,’ which often feature distorted figures, are drawn individually using colored pencil on tinted glass. Only when these pieces are combined on their floor racks do the images create the whole hologram like effect.”

The 3D Paintings of David Spriggs and Xia Xiaowan.

See larger image Simple Holography Kit (Office Product) New From: $185.00 In Stock

Human Eye Like HDR Video System

I’ve long been a fan of the HDR image. Shooting full motion video has never seemed to be an option until now:

Anyone who regularly uses a video camera will know that the devices do not see the world the way we do. The human visual system can perceive a scene that contains both bright highlights and dark shadows, yet is able to process that information in such a way that it can simultaneously expose for both lighting extremes – up to a point, at least. Video cameras, however, have just one f-stop to work with at any one time, and so must make compromises. Now, however, researchers from the UK’s University of Warwick claim to have the solution to such problems, in the form of the world’s first full High Dynamic Range (HDR) video system.

World’s first full HDR video system sees like the human eye.

See larger image Practical HDR: A complete guide to creating High Dynamic Range images with your Digital SLR (Paperback) By (author) David Nightingale, Steve Luck List Price: $24.95 USD New From: $16.55 In Stock Used from: $19.89 In Stock

PrimoGraf Drawing Machine

Sometimes the simple things are the best:

The PrimoGraf is a hand cranked drawing machine. Using wooden gears with prime number based gears an infinite array of drawings can be made. It comes complete with 7 gears, 2 set of rods and penholders so you can create many variations. Different setups can be achieved instantly by simply picking different holes.

Made of walnut, basswood, and solid brass and hand crafted in Portland, Oregon.

[via Boing-boing]

leafpdx — PrimoGraf Drawing Machine.

‘Flutter in Pinhole’ Instant Camera

A clever concept camera that combines retro instant pictures with even more retro pinhole photography. Each camera comes pre-loaded with two sheets of Fuji Film instant film (probably Instax mini ) and easy to follow pictograms on the back. You pop open the camera, open the shutter flap to make the exposure, and then collapse the camera again. The pencil that’s included is then rubbed along the back in one direction to burst the developing paste on the film. Cut in half and you have two photos, one for you and one to send as a post card to a friend. Very clever! I now have a reason to get a pack of that film and mess around with it.

Flutter In Pinhole – Camera Concept by Yoo Geun-hyuk & Yoon Bo-jung

See larger image Fujifilm INSTAX MINI Twin Pack Instant Film (Electronics) List Price: $19.95 USD New From: $11.48 In Stock

The AVR Treasure Chest

My friend Kelly built this:

When my boys were very young, I made a treasure chest from a cheap toolbox, placed an electronic lock in it (AT90S1200) and sent them on a treasure hunt, solving clues and ultimately opening the chest to get their pirate booty, a pair of N64 games. Over the years that chest has been used on many such hunts, created by myself or the boys.
Fast forward over 10 years later and I felt it was time for a new chest, one that would run the treasure hunt itself, playing videos, sound effects, and even hand out paper clues. The typical scenario would start with the chest playing a video clue on the iTouch, which would send the treasure hunters off looking for more clues and eventually get a key. Returning to the chest they would insert the key which would signal the chest that they completed that scenario and it’s time to start the next one, which could be another video, or dispensing a paper clue or map. Once the last scenario was completed the chest would release the big spring loaded trunk latch and the treasure hunters could reap the reward of what ever was inside waiting for them.

This is a pretty amazing project and the documentation is top notch. Thanks for telling me about this Kelly! Once you have seen the chest writeup go have a look at his robots, the man is a master of ingenuity and creativity. I’m proud to say that my robots have had their tin cans kicked by his ‘bots a number of times.
Treasure Chest

Giant Insects For Science, Honest!

I’ve waited a long time for someone to run this experiment!

The giant dragonflies of ancient Earth with wingspans of up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) are generally attributed to higher oxygen atmospheric levels in the atmosphere in the past. New experiments in raising modern insects in various oxygen-enriched atmospheres have confirmed that dragonflies grow bigger with more oxygen, or hyperoxia.

I can hardly wait for more work to be done in this field. I expect that after many generations of insects being raised in a hyperoxic environment there might be some substantial differences between them and their low O2 brothers. Maybe they should try this on fruit flies due to they rapid reproductive rate. The stated goal should be a humming bird sized fruit fly within 20 years. Quite safe outside the lab due to the extra oxygen needed unless someone invents a tiny SCUBA system for them to wear… Please don’t tell DARPA about this one!
Raising giant insects to unravel ancient oxygen

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