Logan Olson

Next weekend, there's a two-day circuitbending workshop at the machine project.

I know most of you feel like you have enough on your plate, but the idea of opening up vintage computers and toying with the insides for 6 hours is pretty rad.

More info here:
http://machineproject.com/2008/10/01/intermed-circuitbend/

From pinktentacle.com:

For drowsy train commuters afraid of sleeping past their stop, inventor and manga artist Pyocotan has developed “Noriko-san,” a sleep mask with an electronic scrolling display that communicates the wearer’s destination to fellow passengers.

Nobody woke him up when he reached his destination. How much of that can be attributed to the rather intimidating, wire-packed mask?

We may have bluetooth headsets, but the acceptance of head-mounted anything might plateau the moment it starts concealing our actual face.

The User Interface Software and Technology Symposium is taking place this week. Amongst the tech introduced, is Microsoft's "SideSight":

SideSight removes "touch" from the device and makes it a function of the paper, tabletop, or even the air that's next to the device. What does this mean? According to Microsoft, it opens up the possibility for "touch" functions to be built into tiny devices that don't actually need a touchscreen.

While there seems to be some limitations to the tech, this could be an interesting alternative to the traditional touch screen. The idea of interacting with off-screen space opens up some interesting possibilities that isn't possible with traditional interfaces where you must see your selection/manipulation tool.

[via Gearlog]

A few days ago, Microsoft was granted a patent they applied for in 2004:

The patent involves real-time (or batch) analysis of an audio stream that can recognize inappropriate language based on phonemes, and then overwrite objectionable words with bleeps, other noises, or silence.

The first application to come to mind is censoring bawdy voice chat on XBLA, but the article also discusses the potential of the technology extending into more traditional media. Censoring live television and even personal phone calls are possibilities.

How widespread will this technology become? How will it affect online communities? Will it actually be used to filter more personal correspondence such as phonecalls (or Skype)?

Microsoft gets patent for real-time f-bomb bleeping

I haven't seen very many IMD projects that incorporate live-action theater (or stunts), so in one of my final reBlog posts this week, I thought it'd be interesting to travel 20 years back in time and visit the Adventures of Conan stunt show at Universal Studios Hollywood.

The behind-the-scenes video above discusses the use of cutting-edge tech in the creation of the show, including a giant robotic dragon and pyrotechnics triggered by high-powered lasers (!).

It'd be great to apply the skills and innovation of the IMD students to some theatrical production design. These interactions could range from dynamic modification of the space to actually affecting the narrative. User-controlled lasers, anyone?

I've seen a lot of augmented reality pieces utilizing video, but no video can compare to the fidelity of a reflection. This piece combines a mirror with a touch screen interface to create a sense of immersion one step beyond the run-of-the-mill EyeToy. They spitball a few ideas on how to use this interface, but it'd be great to get hold of this for a week or two and see what we could do with it.

Interactive Mirror