"The Light Drop is supposed to make people think about how we are
dealing with our natural resources, in this particular case, the water,
which is the main source of energy for every living organism in this
fantastic world. Water is energy indeed."
This wall-mounted lighting element illuminates the custom-molded polycarbonate bulb with an embedded, dimmable LED in the faucet, which is intuitively controlled by the tap -- the more you twist, the more light you get -- which also serve to illustrate to contextualize energy use (though at a greatly reduced rate, compared to an incandescent version of the same design).This design by Rafael Morgan, from Brazil-based International Design Studios, won the Third Prize in the Bright LED International Design Competition, by Design Boom and Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Korea, which was founded in 1995 in memory of spirits of civil uprising of the 1980 repression of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. Almost 3,500 designers from 92 different countries have participated in the design competition. The Light Drop currently being sold and produced by Wever & Ducre
Amit Zoran of MIT Media Lab envisions an acoustic guitar with parts that could be customized and updated with open-source downloads and printed on a home 3-D printer. (3- D printers arepoised for home consumer production and should be available in the near future).
Zoran explains " ..the reAcoustic eGuitar enables guitar players to customize their own sound by assembling different sound cells instead of a single large sound box. Each string will have it’s own bridge, each bridge will be connected to a different cell. changing the cell size, material or structure will allow sound design innovations, re-designing acoustic musical instrument according to the abilities and characteristics of rapid prototype materials. open source and shared files environment can lead to a reality in which a player can download or design his own sound cells and add them (as a patch) to his instrument".
Multi-piped horn: Playing with
design possibilities using 3D printing
Zoran is also known for printing a working flute and recording the results as it was played as a test for acoustical quality. The resulting video is a good demonstration of the possibilities for 3D printing in the evolution of music. He has also designed alternative concept instruments using 3D printing technology.
Philip's Design, a Dutch-based global design firm specializing in healthcare, lighting and consumer products, creates "probes" as part of a dedicated research program into far-future lifestyle trends, that may evolve to have a significant effect on business and society. The "Bubelle" dress featured in the video,created by self-styled "body architect" Lucy McRae, was designed to be an emotion sensing garment and is the result of one of those probes. The dress is illuminated by patterns that are changed dependent on contact with the skin, and "Fission" a body suit that reacts to being blown on by lighting tiny LEDs. ( Philip's is currently also garnering attention from the press for its fantasy future-world Robotskin £13.5ad campaign featuring a sensual futuristic femme-bot shaving her master)
Katy Perry in a LED fabric dress at the Met Museum of Art
From incorporating LEDs into existing traditional fabric designs, or creating designs in woven luminescent LED fabric; light-up fashion is rapidly going mainstream. Designer and innovator, Hussein Chalayan, already known for his morphing dresses, is experimenting in video dresses that have moving scenes, such as swimming fish, traveling across the the fabric. There are also forays into clothing with lights that respond to music and other sounds, as well as self-adhesive post-mastectomy breast forms with moving patterned lights that respond to touch.
Black light tattoo now, sub-dermal LEDs soon
Black light tattoos are currently available and LEDs are slated to be available for implantation under the skin for personal body art that will glow in normal darkened conditions shortly. Color-changing tattoos that respond to changes in blood sugar to provide an easy visual measurement for diabetics have been spectacularly successful in animal trials and are expected to be released to market in two years, pending human trials. It seems very likely that this technology will find cross-over into personal body art, which could be mixed with luminescent ink for an even wider range of expression.
Jason Russell, Filmaker behind Invisible Children and Kony 2011
When I got home yesterday my two of my children met me at the door and urgently led me by the hand to our PC, insisting "You have to see this. It's important." What followed was the half hour Invisible Children / Kony 2012 campaign video. The movie tellingly opens with the statement "Right now there are more people on Facebook that there were on the planet two hundred years ago" and goes on to lay out a social medial campaign to capture Joseph Kony, a Ugandan rebel leader who has maintained power by kidnapping children to use as soldiers for twenty three years, by the December 31st 2012. This was not the first I had heard of Koby, and he is not the only strongman to have used children as troops, but this was something utterly new in approach and assumptions. Within minutes, I recognized that well-meaning goals aside, I might be watching a brand new, potentially historical social phenomena, with a class-leveling populist ideology. One can't help but draw parallels with the tides socialism or communism at the turn of the century; ironically (considering the largely democratic, relatively high wealth base) perhaps born of a similar frustration in the seeming inability of the common man without connections or influence to create political movement, coupled with a pervasive perception of current politics as being cynical, corrupt and ineffective process.
Whatever the underlying factors, my children were watching it for the third time that day- an hour and a half of teenage time set aside for this one activity. This was followed was over an hour of impassioned planning; an action plan of outreach through social networks, traditional letter writing to elected officials, personal fundraising, and mobilizing their schools for further outreach and fundraising; an effort made easier by the fact that my younger child's English and history teacher had agreed to show and use the video as a starting point for a discussion the following day. A movie had not only mobilized my children, to move beyond rhetoric to actual action, but had also filtered up to the school administration (and thus broad acceptance) in a matter of days. This was viral on a whole new level: Focused, goal-oriented, geo-political and massively effective in delivering its message. The Invisible Children / Kony 2012 campaign had gone viral internationally and was creating a brand new power dynamic.
The Kony 2012 / Invisible Children Film
Whatever your opinions of the criticism or details of the Kony 2012 campaign- the most appropriate use of donated funds, how urgent the current threat is, etc; perhaps the most significant society-changing aspect is that it represents the first successful foray into the micro-focused use of social media and technology to address a single global issue. This clearly represents an entirely new power dynamic in the area of geopolitics; one that until recently was not technologically possible, and one that will no doubt attempt to be replicated and improved upon in the near future.
There is little argument that the conditions leading to the restlessness that sparked the Arab Spring, and the movement's ability to topple long-held power structures could not have taken place without the fluid real- time communication and inherent openness of easily available current technology. The US presidential race is similarly tech-centered now, with online fundraising, accessibility and image control no longer optional for political contenders; which inherently already creates a crowdsourced, social social network-influenced result. Influencing the choice of one the leaders of the free world isn't inconsiderable in terms of geopolitical power in itself, but Kony 2012 is destined to be a game-changer in the way things are done worldwide for the following reasons:
The focus here is is on a relatively obscure issue taking place on the other side of the globe. Normally, political action beyond words and sympathetic head shaking is motivated by a limited number of factors that decide if there a national interest in getting involved, which is determined broadly (and perhaps appropriately, taking into account that our influence and resources are limited and might be more effective when focused on key areas) by considering the following three questions:
First, and most urgently, is there a direct threat to our national security, or does stabilizing or aligning with this area have strategic importance? Secondly, is there an reasonably immediate economic threat or economic interest for us in the region? Thirdly, the "soft" category; that is, are there pressures from our allies, expectations on a humanitarian basis, inside grass roots voter pressure or changing social morays that make it appropriate to act?
Of the third, "soft category", factors; citizen and social pressure is the one that historically takes the longest time to filter up to the point where it is creates movement. The anti Vietnam war protest, women's rights, integration and voting rights are all good examples of movements that took years or decades of grass roots organizing and protest to create the change they envisioned; as are a range of international humanitarian missions that needed to reach a critical level of awareness before action was taken.
An idea with a timetable, complete with deadline
Now, in literally days, over five million people have been mobilized into awareness and action, primarily through using a shot a short film and social networking as catalysts to create awareness of a problem across the world. The filmmaker, Jason Russell, was quite unapologetic in the use of a significant portion of the contributions to the Invisible Children campaign being used to make and distribute to film. In this case, the message is the product, and he calls the awareness campaign "an experiment to create change'.
However sincere or experimental, this is also a sophisticated, carefully planned, savvy, segment-focused and detailed campaign. It is no coincidence that it's being released in a campaign year and touted as being beyond party politics, while still having an awareness of the benefit of manipulating the sensitivity of politicians to media trends in election years for maximum benefit. It's just this sort of fine balancing between idealism and cynicism that Russell does with such finesse. There's a remarkable openness with the film audience about the necessity of manipulating the media and politicians (and should they consider it, the viewers themselves) in a way that requires admirable marketing sophistication and a certain cynical acceptance of how things work; but somehow it never sullies the image of impassioned idealist; rather it creates a picture of a dreamer cleverly considering and taking every possible advantage in the David and Goliath battle against existing apathy and lack of political will. One is asked to join in to become a willing pawn in the overall media campaign, with no attempt to disguise that fact, in order to achieve a greater good.
Extensive and detailed analysis of what made it such a success is sure to follow; but arguably the biggest factors were the genuine, personal informal tone of the video, which would resonate and feel familiar to the intended audience of younger viewers that are cynical and media savvy enough to sense hype, but are also looking for leadership and an ability to have some ability to influence things in a world that is feeling larger and more connected but still has problems that are frustratingly complex and intractable. This results in the dichotomy of simultaneously having a sense of being both aware of the world in a way that was unthinkable to previous generations, and still often being helpless to change the very things they might become aware of. In addition, the levels of atrocity (which some children haven't been exposed to in such detail previously) and the fact that it was committed against children just like them, coupled with an uncomplicatedly evil Koby (who seemingly has no muddying idealogical or political goals other than staying in power) make this the "perfect storm" for a strong uncomplicated emotional response.
Kony depicted with Bin Laden, Hitler on downloadable poster
This second part, the helplessness to feel one can have a real effect, was neatly addressed by a clear and user-friendly packaged way to effectively participate, including a clear short timetable including a specific date for a dramatic all stops out media friendly event, and a "protest kit" available for those who donate to the cause (these had already long been exhausted by the time my children logged on but, again, there was sufficient forethought to make a downloadable kit available), and highly specific conveniently linked things that could make a difference and why. I couldn't help but think how well put together it all was from a customer experience point of view.
Slacktivists? Backlash to movement
"Why it will work" was the last aspect that made the film so powerful as a motivator. From explaining why celebrities were involved and that they were drawn from a range of demographics, to specifically why contacting politicians is likely to create movement (with the added reinforcement in that it has already altered the Obama administration's stance) ; to why there's a specific timetable and what the reaction is likely to be following the night of solidarity; throughout there was a sense of bringing the viewer in on the marketing plan. The assumption was that the viewer was aware of the power of the media and information, and so could be in on manipulating it for a goal that was firmly established early on as being the moral and decent thing to do. The obvious morality of the situation is underscored with the use of a Gavin, producer's Jason Russell's son, who naturally doesn't understand why we don't "get the bad guy", which also may link into a younger generation that wants to be idealistic but feels unempowered. They can both still relate to the boy's innocence and emotion, but unlike him, also be given an clearly defined path to flex their new power and independence as young adults or teens to act. Naturally there is also an internet backlash by the same demographic against the "slacktivists" "...Because anyone who thinks changing their Facebook avatar will fix anything deserves a lampooning"targeted at the perceived audience of this campaign
Between the heady feel of being empowered to change the world, having the opportunity able to act altruistically and idealistically, joining a hip and socially relevant movement (wrist bracelets are naturally available), there's little doubt that "viral" was inevitable. My children have already mobilized their friends and are setting up fundraising events. They feel empowered, relevant and virtuous. I wonder if they will someday grow cynical or overwhelmed as attempts to copy the success of this early foray into focused social media politics results in a barrage of potentially equally deserving causes competing to capture their attention and engage them; and if they will become discouraged or numb to the seemingly unending variety of ways that people can be made to suffer unfairly throughout the world. If this is a success (perhaps partly due the newness of the form), at least they may be able to tell themselves they were once a small part of capturing a super-villain, before the world got so complex.
Crowdsourcing, or mass human computation, is a new discipline and has already had three annual conferences, and an industry rapidly forming around the commercial and fundraising applications. Meanwhile, Luis von Ahn the man who brought you those annoying distorted web security words, or CAPTCHAs, and then found a way to make the ten seconds you spend typing them be the labor source for digitizing millions of books, has now found a way to use free labor to rapidly and accurately translate the entire web. Yes, that's right - the entire web- for free by offering potentially millions of people a free and effective way to become multi-lingual, and most amazingly it actually makes good solid sense as a business model!
He is natural, funny, and a totally innovative and revolutionary thinker.
Before the Internet, coordinating more than 100,000 people, let alone paying them, was essentially impossible. But now with the Internet, I’ve just shown you a project where we’ve gotten 750 million people to help us digitize human knowledge.” (Luis von Ahn
"After re-purposing CAPTCHA so each human-typed response helps digitize books, Luis von Ahn wondered how else to use small contributions by many on the Internet for greater good. At TEDxCMU, he shares how his ambitious new project, Duolingo, will help millions learn a new language while translating the Web quickly and accurately -- all for free"
Twenty-nine year old dutch designer, Iris van Herpen blurs the line between tech, fashion and art with her innovative designs. Van Herpens web site states "...She creates a new direction of couture that combines fine handwork techniques with futuristic digital technology", and, "She mixes craftsmanship- using old and forgotten techniques- with innovation and materials inspired on the world to come."
Designers are exploring printing as a new resource both for fabrics and more architectural elements.
Below: Participants are invited to create a drawing that is woven into a collective tribute to Johnny Cash, set to his song "Ain't No Grave." The project was inspired by the song's central lyric, "ain't no grave gonna hold my body down," and represents Cash's continued existence, even after his death, through his music and his fans. The work continues to grow and evolve as more people participate. A collaboration with director Chris Milk.
Above: Flight patterns: A visualization based on US air traffic control data
As the speculation and rumors increase about the upcoming iPhone release, likely to be mid October, concept video "wish lists" are such as this one are appearing. Apple watchers say that recent patents may point to a virtual keyboard or other features that involve projection for either this or future iPhone releases, and that dual core processing and a more fully interactive verbally-cued assistant is a strong possibility, but that the borderless face is far far less likely. In the more distant future, iPhone technology is likely to be embedded into a wearable contact lens that will act as a sort of cyber phone/ PC removable implant, using cloud data storage.
The unicycle goes high tech, with gyro-stabizers to make it easy to balance and learn to use. Solowheel comes with a training strap to allow you to keep the solowheel from falling and getting scratched should you step off abruptly, but within a half hour you should be able to to ditch the strap and roll with confidence. Lean forward to go up to ten miles an hour, or lean back to stop. One of the advantages of the single wheel design is that at 26 lbs, and with a carrying handle and foot pads that flip up for storage, it easily becomes quite portable and easy to store or carry onto alternate forms of transportation. It uses a standard bike tire, that a consumer could theoretically change themselves if need be. A two hour electric charge will allow for 15-20 miles of travel. Green, compact, portable and not using gas, Solowheel has a lot going for it as a peoplemover.
Solowheel was released worldwide in October with a price tag of $1800. This seemingly puts it at the high end of the recreational price range, but it may still have some applications as an alternate secondary non-recreational transportation for some. It's one of a new generation of personal transportation devices that, like bicycles, may have dual applications as both recreational sports and practical transportation usage.
One of the more exotic offerings is a the GEN H-4; a personal one man ultra-light helicopter (also the record holder for the world's smallest) that is easy to fly and doesn't require a pilots license in the United States.
As the Director of the BioCouture project, Suzanne Lee, a Senior Reseach Fellow at University of the Arts London, seeks to meld design and cutting edge bio and nano-technologies. The project explores the use of lab grown microbial-cellulose as a source of fabric in clothing production. The cellulose is produced by millions of bacteria grown in bathtubs of sweet green tea. She is partnering with Dr. David Hepworth, Co-Director of the award-winning Scottish biotech start-up, Cellucomp, Ltd.; which pioneers the development of products from new high tech sustainable composites. The results are warmly organic in the way that leather or exotic skins can be, and yet have a distinctly unique aesthetic.
California State Senator Alex Padilla arrived at a
press conference at the State capitol today in a Google
Inc.-modified Toyota Prius that drives itself. Said Padilla, "
"It was smooth. It probably drove better than we would have driven."
CA Senator Alex Padilla
"It never gets distracted,
it never gets drunk. It's a much better driver than I am," added Anthony
Levandowski, Google product manager, said as he stood by the test
vehicle.
Padilla wants the state to be ready and is a believer."Autonomous vehicles have
the potential to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and improve
safety on our roads and highways," Padilla said.
The form of transportation was selected to underscore the announcement of new legislation by Senator Padilla, written with Google's input.
The legislation directs the California Highway Patrol to develop guidelines for the safe future operation of autonomous vehicles within the state. Nevada has already passed autonomous vehicle legislation, that would allow registration road testing of self-driving vehicles within the state, and lawmakers in Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida, and Hawaii have introduced similar legislation. Although most states don't specifically prohibit or permit autonomous vehicles, this very silence can fail to create the sort of regulatory structure and certainty that can encourage companies to have a clearer path forward to proceed with new innovations.
"Look, Ma, no hands!" Mahan, who is 95% blind "drives" a self-driving car
Bloomberg reports, " The bill reflects
Mountain View, California-based Google's latest push to show
policymakers that while the cars of the future aren't ready for public
use yet, it's time for laws to accommodate them."
"It is about creating the right kind of framework for the next step, should we move beyond the testing phase," Nancarrow said.
Google's autonomous cars have driven themselves
200,000 miles in California -- across the Golden Gate Bridge, along the
Pacific Coast Highway and on Hollywood Boulevard, according to the
company. They have reported one accident, which occurred while under human operation. Although Google has been working on the technology for over ten years, they don't have a projected mass production date or price range at this point.
Stephanie Choplin, a young French designer, creates "Lumintact", a new option when women lose a breast due to mastectomy, designed to celebrate a sense
of confidence and sexy femininity. Lumitact is an adhesive, tactile
breast prosthesis that integrates Phillips’ Lumalive material into its
design. Luminescent shapes continually glide softly over the form. "When the prosthetic is touched", states Choplin, "the shapes slide softly towards the zone touched like the shiver of a caress on the skin" This is designed to encourage incorporating the prosthetic into lovemaking as a natural extension of the body, as is the extended shape, which was selected as a way to guide a partner's hand to the whole body. The animations are intended to give a sense of life and movement to the prosthetic.
Scott Summit's Feminine chrome and lace design
Other designers who are exploring prosthetics that are openly techy and a personal fashion statement, include Scott Summit, with his cyber-cool prosthetic legs, customized for each client and printed using 3D printing technology Meanwhile model, athlete and amputee, Aimee Mullen, challenges society's assumptions by cheekily considering her twelve pairs of legs as fashion capable of giving her "superpowers'.
Aimee Mullins: Unabashedly sexy on the runway or wearing the running legs that made her a champion
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Whatever the underlying factors, my children were watching it for the third time that day- an hour and a half of teenage time set aside for this one activity. This was followed was over an hour of impassioned planning; an action plan of outreach through social networks, traditional letter writing to elected officials, personal fundraising, and mobilizing their schools for further outreach and fundraising; an effort made easier by the fact that my younger child's English and history teacher had agreed to show and use the video as a starting point for a discussion the following day. A movie had not only mobilized my children, to move beyond rhetoric to actual action, but had also filtered up to the school administration (and thus broad acceptance) in a matter of days. This was viral on a whole new level: Focused, goal-oriented, geo-political and massively effective in delivering its message. The Invisible Children / Kony 2012 campaign had gone viral internationally and was creating a brand new power dynamic..jpg)
Between the heady feel of being empowered to change the world, having the opportunity able to act altruistically and idealistically, joining a hip and socially relevant movement (wrist bracelets are naturally available), there's little doubt that "viral" was inevitable. My children have already mobilized their friends and are setting up fundraising events. They feel empowered, relevant and virtuous. I wonder if they will someday grow cynical or overwhelmed as attempts to copy the success of this early foray into focused social media politics results in a barrage of potentially equally deserving causes competing to capture their attention and engage them; and if they will become discouraged or numb to the seemingly unending variety of ways that people can be made to suffer unfairly throughout the world. If this is a success (perhaps partly due the newness of the form), at least they may be able to tell themselves they were once a small part of capturing a super-villain, before the world got so complex.
As the speculation and rumors increase about the upcoming iPhone release, likely to be mid October, concept video "wish lists" are such as this one are appearing. Apple watchers say that recent patents may point to a virtual keyboard or other features that involve projection for either this or future iPhone releases, and that dual core processing and a more fully interactive verbally-cued assistant is a strong possibility, but that the borderless face is far far less likely. In the more distant future, iPhone technology is likely to be embedded into a wearable contact lens that will act as a sort of cyber phone/ PC removable implant, using cloud data storage.
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Other designers who are exploring prosthetics that are openly techy and a personal fashion statement, include Scott Summit, with his cyber-cool prosthetic legs, customized for each client and printed using 3D printing technology Meanwhile model, athlete and amputee, Aimee Mullen, challenges society's assumptions by cheekily considering her twelve pairs of legs as fashion capable of giving her "superpowers'. 
