pCubee! It's that thing you want!

By using head-tracking hardware/software UBC's Human Communications Technologies Lab has produced a very unique invention that's receiving alot of attention from consumer whores everywhere. The device, known as pCubee is a slightly larger than first-sized cube and has the ability to render what is observed as a 3Dimensional object. Five sides of the device are recessed LCD modules and as the the pCubee is rotated or tilted (or both) the images on the screens are shifted in a way so that the observer perceives dimensionality. This is done by having software track both the position of the cube and the observers head. The software then corrects for perspective; the whole assembly uses a technique known as motion parallax in which the position of the observer has an effect on the location of objects relative to one another. It is unexpectedly convincing.

This technique for producing 3D seems much more 'feesable' than the reemergence of stereoscopy as seen in films such as Avatar. It also does away with those pesky polarized glasses used in the next generation of 3D TVs from companies like Sony and Panasonic (review). What the video omits is the position tracking headgear. I have high hopes this can be resolved by using a network of low resolution cameras and eye-tracking software.

-via wired

Cyborg Anthropology

A very interesting keynote from last years Gnomedex Conference featuring Amber Case - a name similar to mine in that we both feel strongly towards a certain Mann; Steve Mann. Aside from the UofT feedback loop, Case illuminated some evidence in social trends. She compares tools like knives to the invention of the computer, but clarifies a distinction between our physical tools (bones, knives and spacesuits) to our mental tools (internet, social networking). In a related interview for Technoccult, there is elaboration on how exactly she focuses her observations and the methods of induction used to make - what appear to me - sound conclusions. From this track record she has established a career as a tech consultant and has a pretty remarkable CV which makes me a little jealous and a lot inspired. Actually, as an undeclaredian I've taken some interesting lessons from the advice she gives at the end of the article.

I feel like I've got a burlap sack and I'm just stuffing it full of inspiration. Full of names and places. Of ideas.

Maybe this is sparked by Lena Dunham winning SXSW Best Trailer Award for her biopic shot on a DSLR or maybe it's all the Phillip Blooms out there egging me on, but I really want to capture this movement. I want to put all these burlap sack people together in the same documentary and reach out. An army of aware cyborgs.

"It's all changing. It's changing radically."

A very interesting interview with Peter Molyneux about the future of his videogame company. Where AI will lead developers is something that particularly resonated with me - what happens when characters feel empathy with you? This is brand new.

Vehicular AR from GM

Interesting video from the HumanMachineInterface labs at GM.
Coming straight out of Detroit.

Interesting MS Surface Demo

Here is an interesting demo of how Surface-powered displays in public areas can interact with your own personal devices.
The best thing about this is there really is no more hardware to develop or infastructure to implement. This is here. Right now. The only thing slowing this down is the past and all the netbooks lacking tablet functionality that were sold in the past 8 months.

ORGANic Evolution III

This past Saturday I decided that staying cooped up in my studio apartment for months was enough.
A unique video on the Toronto Star website regarding Dr. Steve Mann and his recently invented Andantephone was the primary reason I wandered out into the rain to the St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church - to see what weird and wonderful creations my long time ubergeek hero has bestowed upon an unsuspecting public. 


To my delight, I was in store for much, much more than simply a century-old pipe organ controlled from a system of midi-enabled floor tiles. The evening centered around encouraging new and creative approaches to the idea of music and how we experience it, and a surprisingly large number of performers came out to demonstrate exactly what technological evolution meant to their respective art forms. One could make the argument the evening was just as much for them and their collaboration as it was for the audience - a unique twist indeed. 


The evening began with Canadian native Brenda MacIntyre, who  introduced the audience to the concept of channeling music through spiritual means. Although she was focused - during her song several patrons entered and shuffled to their pews in a manner most obtrusive. The organizers of the event no doubt anticipated this, as it did appear to be one of the less relevant performances of the night. 


Following Brenda was Heiki Sillaste, a young musician with a long list of accomplishments who performed an electronic piece - the first of the evening to take advantage of the pipe organ. Sadly, his performance was severely lacking in the 'electronic department' which would later be explained my our emcee as a technical folly. Regardless, the champion stood his ground and finished. 


Dr. Maria Karam, a PhD from Ryerson's Psychology department introduced the Emoti-Chair which was present in a trio the entire evening. The unexpected element of this presentation was that my Psych 308 professor, Dr. Frank Russo, had key involvement with the project. I was happy to experience this novel approach to human/machine interfaced pioneered by someone whom I have a personal connection. However, this did not bias my experience of what was essentially a frequency-tuned vibrating chair. I have no doubt the researched gleaned from the experiment is more valuable than the tool itself, but as far as a revolutionary method for helping the hearing impaired - like my step-mum - it seemed to fall short.


Notable electronic artist Stephane Vera took the stage after this short presentation and played an electronic piece using a grand piano, a midi keyboard and a laptop. The piece was composed to take full advantage of the Emoti-Chair and its narrow frequency band. Regardless of how it felt, it sounded quite amazing. So much so it prompted a search on iTunes for Vera and the subsequent purchase of one of his singles. 

Leif Bloomquist was another electronic specific artist who focuses on cyberpunk-industrialism and electro-ambient. He performed a piece from his newest album which I sorely regret not purchasing after the concert. 
Regardless, I am now a fan of his current album on Facebook and have my fingers crossed he will make his next show public. I highly recommend checking out this engineer-turned-musician.  


Finally, Dr. Mann and Ryan Janzen spoke briefly on the andantephone and what its possible uses are.

Here you can see the whimsical instrument being used by Dr. Mann during the intermission. It appears this would also be useful in preventing vertigo. 

Glogger Video

Ryan came out and performed a unique piece on the andantephone after intermission and it was pretty well received. I enjoyed much of it, though hoping along these tiles seemed to take a rather alarming amount of balance. 


The second half of the performance drifted from the technological evolution realm of the show and focused on the existence of Solfeggio tones which are somewhat unique in their frequency responses. 
Vera performed once more with these tones in mind, followed by a rather complicated audio/video performance my an artist who goes by the Latvian moniker Dzintars Skrapjuvilis. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, but this was arguably the least focused showcase of the evening.


The evening trailed off after this and the show ran a complete hour and a half longer than anticipated. This was mostly due to technical issues as a few bands in the second half realized most unfortunately. For example when Fearful Symmetry performed and lacked the volume they expected the lead guitarist finished by dropping the rather lustrous instrument to the ground. 


My conclusive remark is that I'm happy I was able to experience the show and see what Toronto has been working on. Before last night I had not expected such an event, but I am pleased I was able to experience it. 

Google's New Dog, New Trick

When Google releases something from the lab into the wild, it's usually a whole new breed...

Capatalizing on information in the information age has always been the Googliath's game plan.
In the past year, a new contender has entered the ring named Kid Wolfram (Read: Wolfram Alpha).

The job of Wolfram's invention has always been to quantify data in a way that streamlines the way it's presented to the user.

The website is working pretty well so far, but I don't typically count on it for web search results - more or less it's a tool to reinforce theories I have about social trends.

Enter the new Google tool: The Public Data Explorer.
This new system takes information and superimposes them on maps or graphs. The tool then creates a short animation that shows these trends changing over time.
The tool also lets you embed your research in a more interesting way.

Behold, US Unemployment from 1990 to December 2009.


And this...

Augmented Sculpture

 Lichtfront

Skinput

Interesting experiment and proof of concept for human-computer interface via the acoustic signals coming from simply tapping ones arm.

Missile Defense Shield or "That Thing I've Seen Pictures of all my Life in PopSci"

Hey, this is a pretty cool image.
I hear all these rumors in the blogosphere about Obama and the missile defense shield. Like, it's not feesable, that we can't have it. That the current budget can't afford it.
Well, if you think that wacky program was off the rails for good I've got a picture for you!

This is a infrared imaging photo posted on Engadget, possibly my most frequented techblog.
The blob on the left is a air-based missile being dominated by the blob on the right, a project spanning multiple decades, Boeing's Missile Destroying 747.

Wicked stuff here

Anyone can be a Film Maker

Might this be the start of something new where film buffs pay good money to watch something created by the (real life) Gorillaz. I doubt it. One day, we could take advantage of them for financial gain.

My inspiration

I'm 21. I'm not rich, people haven't started paying me for my taste of crazy yet.
I imagine it will be a while before they do, but I need to at least define what my crazy is.

My crazy is my experience with the human condition. Murder and betrayal. The love hasn't been experienced in a dose which matches in intensity. So, I'm 21. I am what I am.

My crazy could bear to see certain things happen that most people couldn't. I understand revenge, but I don't condone it. Revenge consumes the soul, and it has consumed me. I work to be free of my vengeful thoughts, but they're constant. I can only learn to accept them, as I must accept my mothers murder.

I don't understand many things. I can't find the bright side very easily.
I understand growth. I understand evolution and the cold, calculated process it uses.

The man who brought murder into my life wasn't the world we're taught in public school. It wasn't the world all these freshmen I'm supposed to be friends with live in.

It was the real world. And the real world is not built on love and generosity. These are tiny pockets scattered around the globe that sometimes get together to do great things.

The things accomplished in history by love are absolutely minute compared to what fear, and greed can accomplish. These solitary forces have more effect on the world.
I might be wrong, but so far this model stands up. I feel like I'm the only one who understands this model, and that scares me. I see 99% of the world as people who could never reconcile with this idea, 0.9% as crazy misfits who don't contribute and 0.1% are the movers and shakers.

I want nothing more than to use this rationale, this model I believe in to help me in the future, but so far... I worry I'm wrong.

I'm not saying I want to live a life of greed and fear. And being aware of these on the scale I've witnessed isn't easy. The line is very hard to see.

I see a populated galaxy in my life time.
I understand the relentless nature of evolution. Evolution is passion, and you're a fool if you think that passion won't kill you where you stand.

This is how I understand technological growth. This is what my gift is. This is all I have to offer and today I pledge to stop worrying it isn't enough and realize it's more gift than any human born before me.

Idea for a Plot (Two)

A method for finding intelligent life.
I hope no one else has come up with this, and if so, I hope I'm rich comes when the time comes I use this in a story.

A planet is reached by robots. These robots are controlled by a sect of humanity which has gone into deep technological acceptance. I expect this may be 2-5% of the population by 2080 or so, these will be the people who exist in both virtual worlds, but also the physical.

The body these people accept is the body of an entire, planet sized workhorse. This is the plan.
1) mine the planet with a PERMANENT system of mines.
2) construct probes capable of travel with some form of machine sentience to report on.
As these are launched the mines go deeper and eventually 100% of the planets matter is systematically reformed into full size civilization finders.

3) meanwhile on the planet construct and maintain massive sub atomic experiments using colliders much larger than what we have now. We could imagine it as a method of developing faster than light travel.

This means it could be likely the last of the planets finder probes as you might call them would be traveling possible to further into the center of the galaxy.

I suppose it would also not be a bad idea to engineer some physical form once this post human civilization finds others.
Human form might not be a terrible choice.

What if there are other forces in this galaxy.

Roboballet (circa 2020's)

This combined with the hand motion in an earlier robot posted here equals robots in theatre. To within on tenth millimeter tolerances.

Granted MIT has performed a robotic opera, the speed and precision available now makes me believe in more elaborate robotic performers.

digital drugs. Or boosting. That would be a nice thing to gain popularity. All of the benefits, with all of the control.

Ground Floor List

This is a rough draft of things I want to look out for.
A new addition to the list is... (Drum Role, please)

A licensed documentary that is produced by an INTERNATIONAL LICENSING ORGANIZATION on space travel and its origins.

An balanced perspective on both space travel from Russia, Canada, the US, China, and others. A documentary which is not produced by Disney or Discovery Channel.
By the time we live in a world where this can be made space travel will be mostly private anyway and about 1000 times less expensive. But that also means the demand for such a project would also be high what with all the recognition the technology gets. Space Elevator capable shipping between the super powers... in minutes.

If there is a person with aligned goals, I expect I'll put the effort into finding them when I'm around 40 or so.

I love the whole world...

and all its craziness...


So it's official: I WANT THE ROBOT DEVILS HANDS. And here they are captured on film for the first time.

Discreet

If I had myself an extra 12 000 dollars I would easily go and get a pair of Bluetooth inner ear implants from the company behind investing in this little number.

But I'm trying to ask myself how this will alter peoples perception of me.
I suppose it won't be until we have an implantable processor - one, which is not at all noticeable by others that it will catch on.

However, the shoe on the other foot if someone like me - a transhumanist with money to blow, he would have an incredible advantage. Considering the price of bandwidth, this person could use the technology to be in constant communication with someone miles away.

Wired recently ruled, with gusto, that the bluetooth ear-job was out. Perhaps this is the replacement.

In anycase, if I can live my life like everyone else and receive auditory information in an additional layer. Well that's really advantageous. And people would be somewhat offended by this gross misuse of the technology.

And so the transhumanist has few options. If he wants to give the cause attention he can upgrade himself whether with cochlear implants or whatnot. But that will make people aware of the gradient. This makes it a social disservice, and the idea may be rejected.

Therefore only strict proponents to the idea will take the pioneering plunge as it were. But, it remains a question. Am I evil for being a pioneering transhumanist? Does seeking this kind of god-like advantage tell people more about myself than I can realize? It all depends on my philosophies, I suppose.

If I embrace it as a change everyone should experience.
As opposed to feeling that I am 'better' than others for having it.
Feeling the nirvana of experiencing something mainstream in the future.
Being able to know the trends to predict.

I wonder... if the inventor of the microwave felt that twinge the first time he cooked something on 'high'. Maybe, maybe not. But I know that twinge is felt by the engineer working at Philips in an OLED lab.

Remixing MJ is a big thing in the future...

So, MJ has died.
Honestly, I'm sad. This is how I feel. I like his music to the extent someone born in 1988 can enjoy pop from that era and earlier.

His personal life became such a destructive force in the time that I was paying attention.

This stigmatized all of what I listened to, usually because of the current mantra "all great artists in popular culture must reinvent their ideas to remain known"

Or something like that.

Because of this I had always anticipated a profound comeback in his career.
The growth of electronic music in his lifetime really made me think he was aware of the tools and would learn to make new sounds and express new meanings through his music. It always seemed likely to happen.

Now that he's gone, I think we will all learn to respect his work from the eyes of a young, hard-working man.

This brings me to my major point. MJ will be remixed. All artists will take from his work in some capacity or another.
The studio's understand the value of this kind of collaboration.

So, hold on, because MJ's musical talent has just become the new big thing.

The Second iPhone 3Gs in Canada

Ok. So. Friday June 19th the new iPhone went on sale here in Canada.
The Rogers location that was selling the unit was in the RBC tower, on Bay Street, in the Downtown Toronto financial district.

The Rogers location had a promotional opening time at 7:00 AM.
Here is a run through the events between last night and this morning.

6:00PM June 18th: Rogers flagship location at Yonge and Dundas Square informs me there is not yet a lineup, however several customer inquiries are flooding the lines.

6:01PM: Call the Bay Street location. They 'will be opening at 7:00 AM June 19th'. This makes them the earliest location open in Canada.

5:50AM June 19th: Make my way to the Subway Station.
5:55AM: Waiting on Subway Platform.

6:00AM: Subway trains start running east into the city.
6:20AM: Off Subway, making way through the underground Concourse that runs between King Station and Union Station and all the Bank towers.

6:30AM: Arrive on the scene. Indoors location makes the lineup kind of tricky. I am the third customer. We argue with the security guard about lining up infront of the store location.

6:31-6:59AM: Six more people line up, and wait for the doors to open. As civilized Canadians, we arrange ourselves by the order of arrival.

7:01AM: Doors open, there are 3 Rogers reps staffed today. I am immediately setting up my contract. 25.99 for the cheapest voice, 30.00 for the 6gb data plan.
$62.95 a month including access fee and 911.

7:19AM: Signing on the dotted line.
7:20AM: Paying the bill, walking out the door.

7:25AM: Walking above-ground, in the business part of the city with the fancy new iPhone. The Second 3rd Gen iPhone sold in Canada.