Flyfire - MIT's SENSEable City Lab

In the OMG - brilliant! category, check out MIT's SENSEable City Lab's Firefly project, developed in partnership with ARES Lab. Using swarms of LED-outfitted, self-organizing mini-helicopters, Firefly can create an interactive display in any environment that can function in 3D - wow:

"Flyfire, a project initiated by the SENSEable City Laboratory in collaboration with ARES Lab (Aerospace Robotics and Embedded Systems Laboratory) aims to transform any ordinary space into a highly immersive and interactive display environment.

In its first implementation, the Flyfire project sets out to explore the capabilities of this display system by using a large number of self-organizing micro helicopters. Each helicopter contains small LEDs and acts as a smart pixel. Through precisely controlled movements, the helicopters perform elaborate and synchronized motions and form an elastic display surface for any desired scenario.

With the self-stabilizing and precise controlling technology from the ARES Lab, the motion of the pixels is adaptable in real time. The Flyfire canvas can transform itself from one shape to another or morph a two-dimensional photographic image into an articulated shape. The pixels are physically engaged in transitioning images from one state to another, which allows the Flyfire canvas to demonstrate a spatially animated viewing experience.

Flyfire serves as an initial step to explore and imagine the possibilities of this free-form display: a swarm of pixels in a space.

For more information, please contact:
senseable-fly@mit.edu

Press Release:
MIT researchers develop new display system with flying pixels - Feb 19, 2010"

Skype Outside

Skype goes mobile with 5 artists in 5 locations: Tokyokamen -Masked Messenger in Tokyo, Kelli Ryan - landscape artist in Silverton, Australia, Phil Hansen - avant garde artist in Minneapolis, Gonzalo - Street Performer in Barcelona, Paul Sivell - tree carver in Anatalya, Turkey.

Ok - so now I've left a message with Kelli who will be realizing my message in some form in the Australian outback. From the info given, the videos currently being archived of the messages going mobile & the voice messages will potentially be used in an upcoming film. cool

Mothership Launches - Mothership

Mothership Launches

Pitch Engine posted this article on the 17th - The West of the Moon Trailer above is gorgeous! www.mothership.net archives other recent videos.

–New Creative Studio Represents Global Talent, Leverages Resources and Expertise of Digital Domain–

–Taps Digital Media Pioneer Alejandro Lopez as Executive Creative Director–

02.17.2010 – Venice, CA–A new creative studio, Mothership, has launched in Los Angeles to create original transmedia content for advertising agencies and brands. A sister company to Digital Domain, Mothership represents top global creative talent and develops the content, strategies and campaigns that take ideas and brand experiences from concept through completion, across multiple media platforms.

Mothership has curated an international creative roster of directors, designers and artists; a handpicked group with roots in hybrid filmmaking approaches that blend live-action, animation, CG, motion graphics and other techniques to create new visual realities. The company launches with talent including Robert Hales, Dael Oates, David Rosenbaum, Sil Van Der Woerd, Brent Bonacorso, Pierre Michel, Matthew Santoro, and Happycamper, and represents Nathan Love on the U.S. west coast.

Transsexual film-maker Kimberly Reed wows America with Prodigal Sons |

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Giving a buzz to a filmmaker I know who's extraordinary story documented in Prodigal Sons is gathering high praise - a must-see doc & I hope it comes to my town soon. Having left home a star quarterback for her high school football team, her film documents her return home for her high school reunion after her gender reassignment, which would be an emotional rollercoaster on its own. The film however also documents her adoptive brother's discovery that he is the grandson of Orson Welles & Rita Hayworth - can't wait to see it

15 Stunning Augmented Reality Apps for iPhone - AR apps, augmented reality, augmented reality apps, augmented reality iphone apps, bionic eye, car locator, fairy trails, free augmented reality apps, iPhone 3.1, iPhone 3GS, iphone AR, iphone ar apps, layar

augmented-reality-apps

A number of new augmented reality applications for the Apple iPhone have launched in the Apple App Store over the past few days, thanks to the new firmware release (v3.1) which supports the augmented reality technology on iPhone 3GS phones. 3.1 firmware gives developers the ability to lay data over the camera viewer, and these apps can take full advantage of this new capability.

Below is a list of super cool Augmented reality apps for iPhone. Some of them are already available in the App store and some will be available in coming days.

10 Stuuning Augmented Reality iPhone Apps

1. Layar 2.0

layar-iphone-app

Layar is a tool to browse the world. It enables exploration, more informed decisions, serendipity and fun. While looking through the phone%u2019s camera lens, a user can see houses for sale popular bars and shops, touristic information of the area, play a live game, etc. Layar is crafted to act as a browser that allows for these different apps to be used, rather than being single purpose.

2. Bionic Eye

bionic-eye-iphone-app

Bionic Eye makes use of the iPhone%u2019s camera to bring alive the area you are in like never before. It helps you find your nearest fast-food chain, coffee shop or underground stop, all with 360-degree functionality. Currently it works all over US, UK, France and Tokyo.

3. Robotvision

robotvision-iphone-app

Robotvision uses the power of Bing%u2019s local search feature to show you nearby attractions in your vicinity, including ATMs, art galleries, bars and pubs, coffee shops, gas stations, gyms, hospitals, hotels and motels, movie theaters, restaurants, rest stops, schools and tourist attractions. Robotvision also shows you Twitter updates from people in your area, based on geotagging information embedded in the tweets; and Flickr photos of nearby attractions.

4. Fairy Trails

fairy-trails-iphone-app

Fairy Trails from Freeverse, a game that invites users to activate a %u201Cfairy detector%u201D by shaking their iPhone. The game then presents them with various fairies, fireflies and butterflies that are superimposed on their phone%u2019s video screen, and that they must then tap in order to collect them in jars.

5. cAR Locator

car-locator-iphone-app

cAR Locator is an iPhone 3GS app that shows you in the camera viewfinder where your car is located and how far away. Just press %u201CSave Location%u201D when you get out of your car, then point your iPhone camera in any direction and you%u2019ll be reminded where your car is.

6. TAT Augmented ID

tat-augmented-id

TAT Augmented ID utilizes the clever Flickr face recognition tech from the guys at Polar Rose to recognize a face and surround them with their social networking profiles from sites like Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm.

7. Wikitude

wikitude-iphone-app

Wikitude is a cool augmented iPhone application that helps you explore your surroundings effectively on your phone. Point of Interests (POIs) are displayed on your screen, and you can find what you are looking for on your phone like never before. It%u2019s free too.

8. Cyclopedia

cyclopedia-iphone-app

Cyclopedia shows you information about nearby landmarks and historic locations in your iPhone%u2019s viewfinder. Point your iPhone%u2019s camera at the Statue of Liberty, for example, and it will overlay the Wikipedia entry for that landmark. Cyclopedia relies on the 65,000 entries on Wikipedia that are geotagged.

9. Worksnug

worksnug-iphone-app

Worksnug uses the iPhone 3GS compass, camera and GPS to give you information about the best public places to park your laptop and work. The forthcoming app will overlay information about venues such as coffee houses, including a score based on availability of Wi-Fi, power sockets and even the quality of the coffee.

10. SREngine

SREngine is designed to recognize objects, such as the front of a house, shop or something on the street. The application can then offer you different actions depending on the type of object. For example, point the iPhone at a shop and it will tell you what it sells and give you its phone number. It is still in prototype stage though.

11. buUuk

buuuk-iphone-app

buUuk is a free augmented reality app and if you are planning to go to Australia, New Zealand, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, or maybe Dubai, buUuk is the app you need. Uses your GPS to find locations all around you.

12. Nearest Tube

nearest-tube-iphone-app

Nearest Tube is a UK only iPhone app that shows you train/tube stations in the vicinity. On loading the app, you will see the Tube lines displayed in their respective colours and holding the phone up will show you the distance to the station and what lines they serve.

13. Cheap Gas

cheap-gas-iphone-app

The Cheap Gas iPhone app is a gas station locator for your iPhone 3GS with an Augmented Reality View that shows you icons of nearby gas stations and prices in the direction where you%u2019ve pointed your iPhone%u2019s camera.

14. AR Compass

ar-compass-app

AR Compass is a great app for travel, camping, and outdoor activities. Now this is what one could call a truly modern compass.

15. FirePower

firepower-iphone-app

FirePower is a very interesting augmented reality game for iPhone that lets you shoot at cars on your phone. Great for stress relief.

Although these augmented reality iPhone apps leave some things to be desired, they are the first wave of a new kind of app that that is bound to dramatically change the way we find information.

Have you downloaded any augmented reality iPhone apps?

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Though this piece was originally post Oct. 21, 2009, there are AR apps I haven't played with & I'm downloading as I type....

Social Technographics: Conversationalists get onto the ladder

Media_httpblogsforres_bkxer

Very interesting excerpt of a recent report from Forrester on Social Technographics - as an update of an earlier report (2007), Josh Bernoff & Charlene Li introduce the category of 'conversationalists' to reflect the activity of those who are using tweets & status updates to converse with friends & communities. The activity level has to be at least once a week as they note, otherwise it's not much of a conversation

Augmented Reality's future possibilities...

Since posting the links yesterday to Blaise Aguera y Arcas' augmented reality demo in Google Maps & the ThinkAnApp QR code tattoo, I’ve been mulling on the kinds of interactivity these innovations make possible. The live streaming video embedded in Google Street View clearly opens up all kinds of play with telepresence and there are numerous projects experimenting with this. One recent series is Faisal Anwar’s Odd Spaces installation which is currently up in Vancouver during the Olympics and links the Vancouver site with sites in Pakistan & Bangladesh through real time video.

 

The augmented reality tattoo opens up a wild new arena of play - I started imagining spaces with large scale screens & multiple web cams that could pick up the QR codes on people’s clothes, accessories, tattoos, revealing augmented elements - maybe a re-skinning via a mask/clothes, appendages? attendant creatures like the mini dragon? & what if those augmented reality elements could interact?  

 

What if this was happening in clubs? what if these were gatherings of fans who could interact & participate in transmedia world-building extensions in entirely new ways? What if gamers could ‘play’ with each other in real time in augmented environments? Wii is half way there already. What if you could customize your QR codes to surprise your friends? And the erotic possibilities are pretty trippy as well. I leave that to your imaginations....

 

My bet is that multiple people are working on this already and while I wouldn’t get a QR code tattoo because you know it would end up being sooooo 2012, I would play with temporary ones