MIT’s 3D Installation Pwns Roger Rabbit

You have to watch the video to appreciate what they’ve developed at MIT.  Using an interactive display to create virtual artifacts in virtual space, tagged to a specific location in the real world.  Then, moving the display around, allows you to view the virtual object from all sides.  Certainly something to watch.

The blueBook

Using a traditional book and covering the print with a conductive ink, the text becomes hyperlinks which, via a processor embedded in the book cover, signals a response on a nearby computer.   Given the constant arguments between traditional books and portable e-reader technologies, there will need to be a discussion of what is best for educational environments, especially for younger students who may benefit from the more traditional format (my opinion on helping children focus, not based on any research I am aware of).  Part of my development was a consistent diet of fantasy novels, often written at a much higher reading level than I was comfortable with (I was introduced to Tolkien in the 3rd grade), which would be read with a dictionary next to me.  As I encountered words I did not understand, I would look it up, work the meaning into the context, and continue.  This might be an excellent method for just in time training for anyone of any age.

I do believe the Kindle and its competitors will be the grown-up tool of choice for accessing and hyperlinking text.  But, I’m not sold that children under the age of 13 need to be using digital solutions, though there is a certain benefit.  We’ll need to track this option to see the eventual implementation.

Make Beautiful Brain Music

Artist Luciana Haill uses medical electroencephalogram, or EEG, monitors embedded in a Bluetooth-enabled sweatband to record the activity of her frontal lobes, then beams the data to a computer that plays it back as song.

Wired has a great article on Luciana Haill and a few other artists who are experimenting with creating music through neural interface. I have two thoughts on this theory. First, it creates a great test bed for furthering this form of interface, which will open the door for physically limited people interested in musical artistry. While that is very positive, my second, more jaded thought, is how this type of interface will eventually allow yet another subdivision of our focus as people attempt to control their music while attending to work.

Maybe a bit farfetched, but I have no doubt of the human animal’s ability to test the limits of our ability to screw up our lives.