Sunday, August 30, 2009
Yelp has an Augmented Reality iPhone App for the iPhone 3Gs, "The Monocle" !
Thanks to Dan Saffer for the link from the Read Write Web!
Here is my partial "reblog":
"Social review service Yelp has snuck the first Augmented Reality (AR) iPhone app specifically for the US into the iTunes App Store. The undisclosed new feature allows iPhone 3Gs owners to shake their phones three times to turn on a view called "the Monocle." This view uses the phone's GPS and compass to display markers for restaurants, bars and other nearby businesses on top of the camera's view...Blogger Robert Scoble discovered the hidden feature and posted about it on FriendFeed today. "
Video (in French, but easy to understand by the demonstration)
"Both GPS and a compass are used to determine location and direction being pointed at."
Screen Shots:
I want an iPhone. Verizon, can you hear me now?!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Artefact's Blog: Contextual Interventions for Sustainable User Experiences
I recently came across a thoughtful blog post about contextual design and user experience, written by "Dave" at Artefact. In his post, Dave discusses the variety of monitors, interfaces, and devices that have recently been developed to help people monitor and save the energy that they use:
Contextual Interventions for Sustainable User Experiences
"There is a great opportunity to make contextual interventions during people’s behaviors. The intervention might be a change in affordances or simply information. It’s like a nudge but the key is to design influences that are tightly coupled with specific user behavior, making a feedback loop that takes advantage of the way we naturally learn. Thus, it isn’t helping analyze your utility bill, it’s suggesting that you turn off the faucet while you’re not using it."
I especially liked Dave's example of the Disappearing Pattern Tiles. If you stay in the shower too long, the pattern disappears. For people who daydream too much in the shower, this clue might really help them conserve water, in an unobtrusive way.
Disappearing Pattern Tiles
This might work for certain types of people, but some of us might do better with a timer that turns the water from hot to cold after so long. A wake-up call while you take your morning shower! I guess this wouldn't be considered contextual, but it might change long-shower taking behaviors among some of us pretty quickly!
The people who make up the Artefact group are 'big advocates of surface computing and natural user interfaces". Artifact is a research and design studio in Seattle, WA, that designs user-focused software and technology product and services. The Artefact blog posts are informative.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
My First 100% Synthy Photosynth!
This morning I uploaded 17 pictures taken from the balcony of a cruise ship one morning when we docked in Ireland. I was expecting emerald green, but this is what I woke up to on that gray, drab day.
If you can't see the images below, you will need to go to the Microsoft Photosynth website at http://photosynth.net to get the required tools.
The pictures are fairly high-res, which makes it better for viewers to explore.
If you go to the Photosynth website, view this Photosynth in the Direct3D viewer, in full-screen. It is easy to navigate with a touch screen- I used my HP TouchSmart PC and was impressed with the fluid interaction, considering that this is a web-based application.
Haven't yet heard about Photosynth? Here is a description from the Photosynth website:
"Photosynth creates an amazing new experience with nothing more than a bunch of photos. Creating a synth allows you to share the places and things you love using the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the mind-blowing detail of the real world."
Friday, August 14, 2009
Dancing and Interacting with the World: Break dancing and skateboarding performance artist with crutches
Here is the description on the YouTube CharityFocus channel:
"Like one in 1200 children, Bill Shannnon has a bilateral hip deformity -- his hips aren't round, and putting pressure on them creates swelling. Since the age of five, he's been using crutches, and by now, he considers them be an extension of his body. Instead of feeling handicapped, Shannon has elevated walking on crutches to an art form! In this video, watch Bill take it to the street, dance, skate and more -- all to challenge images of disability through performance art."
Here is Bill Shannon in the Visa "flow" ad, posted in Dance-Tech.NET
Dance Tech.NET: Interdisciplinary Explorations on the Performance of Motion
Thanks, Neema Moraveji, for the link!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Play Foursquare?! Interactive Local + Social Media Coming to a City Near You.
Foursquare is a locative-mobile system/game/social media game/activity that is starting to grow in popularity in a number of urban settings, such as NYC. It hasn't arrived in Charlotte, so I can only share what I've gleaned about it from the Foursquare website and a few reviews:
"We're all about helping you find new ways to explore the city. We'll help you meet up with your friends and let you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people."
"It's foursquare! Think: 50% friend-finder, 30% social cityguide, 20% nightlife game. We wanted to build something that not only helps you keep up with your friends, but exposes you to new things in and challenges you to explore cities in different ways. There's a lot of experimenting here, so bear with us as we try to figure it all out (and thanks!)"
"We have an iPhone app, a mobile-web site (Blackberry! Treo!) and an SMS shortcode (50500) that you can text check-ins to. For more info, look here." (For more information, visit the Foursquare NYC website.)
RELATED:
Foursquare: Check In, Tweet....Money on Beer (Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable, 8/7/2009)
"Foursquare is poised to be a prime player in the location-based social networking space."
Forsquare: Why it May Be the Next Twitter (Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable, 7/25/2009)
"The Game: To those of you not playing, it may sound like a joke, but don’t knock it till you try it. You earn points for every check-in — unless of course you check-in at the same locale all the time. You’re rewarded with more points for being adventuresome (exploring different parts of the city), for hitting up multiple spots in one night, and eventually for the tips other people try and the to-dos you complete."
Screen-shot from Jennifer Van Grove's Foursquare App:
Building an Army of Hyper-Local, Mobile-Connected Advocates: Or, Why Marketers Should Pay Attention to Foursquare (Allison Mooney, Ad Age Digital, 8/5/09)
"Co-founder Dennis Crowley puts it this way: "I think Foursquare found some kind of sweet spot between the intersection of social utility (Hey, I know where my friends are), sharing/oversharing (I log everywhere I go/everything I do) and gaming/rewards (every check-in gives you a little piece of candy)."
Foursquare is designed with these game dynamics in mind, and it's the absurd appeal of its reward that makes the service so "sticky.""
Naveen Selvadurai (Foursquare Co-Founder)Cities: Amsterdam, Atlanta,Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, NYC, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Franscisco, Seattle, Washington D.C.
(Also posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.)
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Revisiting Urban Screens: 555 Kubik Facade Projection Video; info about media facades...
555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.
Take a look at the Urban Screen video channel on Vimeo!
About Urban Screens.com (Germany):
"On one hand urbanscreen is a group of free media artists and architects, dealing with research and development of experimental media installations with the aim to stage urban areas. On the other hand urbanscreen acts as a professional agency which translates the creative potential of this current art form onto the dialogue between commerce and art.
"We are interested in getting in touch with anyone working in the field of experimental motion graphics and new media art to establish interesting cooperations as well as getting new inspiration. Please contact us with any question or idea."
For more background information about this concept, read my previous related to Urban Screens.
Additional information about the Urban Screen movement can also be found on the Urban Screens.org website:
"URBAN SCREENS investigates how the currently commercial use of outdoor screens and related infrastructure for digital moving images in urban space can be broadened with cultural content. We address cultural fields as digital media culture, urbanism, architecture and art. We want to network and sensitise all engaged parties for the possibilities of using the digital infrastructure for contributing to a lively urban society, binding the screens more to the communal context of the space and therefore creating local identity and engagement. The integration of the current information technologies support the development of a new integrated digital layer of the city in a complex merge of material and immaterial space that redefine the function of this growing infrastructure of digital moving images."
Here is the International Urban Screens Association (IUSA) spin on Urban Screens:
"Urban Screens are dynamic digital displays and visual interfaces located within urban public spaces. They include LED screens and signs, plasma screens, information terminals and projection surfaces as well as intelligent architectural surfaces and media facades."
"Urban Screens transform the capacity of public spaces to serve as a platform for user-generated civic and cultural expression, community building, multiculturalism and public engagement in issues related to social, cultural and environmental sustainability."
"Through networking, content sharing and joint broadcasting, they constitute a rapidly expanding and still largely experimental global multimedia infrastructure for commercial and cultural exchange"
"The IUSA aims to inform and support the ‘worldwide Urban Screens movement’: the expanding use of dynamic digital displays in public spaces; their considerate and sustainable integration in the urban landscape; and the ability for screen communities to collaborate in the digital space to share content, experience, ideas, innovations and emerging possibilities." -IUSA
RELATED:
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Singularity University? What about a Singularity Community College, with a mobile/distance learning option?
After I posted David Orban's presentation about the Internet of Things and Spime Design, which was part of the 2009 Singularity University, I took a deeper look at the Singularity University website. There are 3-day and 10-day programs geared for executives, and a 9-week Graduate Studies Program.
The Singularity University, held at the NASA Ames Research Center, "aims to assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies and apply, focus and guide these tools to address humanity’s grand challenges."
The tuition for the 9-week program of study at the Singularity University is $25,000.00. It is not an inclusive environment, from what I can tell from the description of the ideal Singularity University student:
1. "We are looking for students who are creative, intelligent, and driven-for-excellence from around the world."
2. "Experts in one of the 10 track areas, and have a passion to learn about other tracks."
3. "They are proven leaders and entrepreneurs. We are looking for the next generation of CEPs, University Deans/Presidents and Government leaders."
4. "We are looking for internationalists: people who are bilingual or multilingual with a strong command of English (the language used to teach SU courses) and people who have traveled widely.
5. "They are interested in understanding and addressing the world's grand challenges."
The following tracks offered by the Singularity University include the following:
- Futures Studies & Forecasting
- Policy, Law & Ethics
- Finance & Entrepreneurship
- Networks & Computing Systems
- Biotechnology & Bioinformatics
- Nanotechnology
- Medicine, Neuroscience & Human Enhancement
- AI & Robotics
- Energy & Ecological Systems
- Space & Physical Sciences
What the world REALLY needs is a Singularity Community College, with the same faculty as the University version. The community college version would also provide a ubiquitous learning option for those of us too busy to attend courses in person.
Nine weeks, $250.00 a student. Transformation? Priceless.
For your convenience, below is some information about the movers and shakers affiliated with the Singularity University . The information is from the Singularity University website.
Faculty & Advisors
- Amara D. Angelica, Academic Model/Curriculum Lead, Singularity University
- Andrew Hessel, Open source biology, Founding Dir, Pink Army Cooperative
- Aubrey de Grey, Chair & Chief Science Officer of the Methuselah Foundation
- Ben Goertzel, Founder, Novamente LLC; Dir of Research, Singularity Inst
- Bob Metcalfe, General Partner, Polaris Venture Partners
- Bruce Damer, Founder CEO, DigitalSpace; Dir The Contact Consortium
- Burton Lee, Faculty, European Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Stanford
- Charles Du, Technology Catalyst, Singularity University
- Chris Boshuizen, Project/Events Planning Lead, Singularity University
- Chris DiBona, Open Source Program Manager, Google Inc.
- Christine Peterson, Vice President, Foresight Institute
- Christopher deCharms, Founder, Omneuron, Inc.
- Christopher Stott, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ManSat LLC
- Claire Tomkins, Project Manager: Gigaton Throwdown
- Dan Barry, President, Denbar Robotics, former NASA astronaut
- Dan Kammen, Co-director, Berkeley Institute of the Environment
- Dan Whaley, Founder and CEO, Climos
- Daniel Ford, Senior Mathematician, Google Inc.
- Daniel Kraft, Instructor, Cancer/Stem Cell Biology Institute, Stanford University
- Daniel Reda, Co-Founder, CureTogether
- Dave Blakely, Director of Technology Strategy, IDEO
- David Haussler, Professor, Biomolecular Engineering, UC Santa Cruz
- David Orban, Founder & Chief Evangelist at WideTag, Inc. (OpenSpime)
- David S. Rose, CEO Angelsoft, Managing Principal, Rose Tech Ventures
- David Tosh, Co-Founder of Elgg
- Dharmendra Modha, Manager, Cognitive Computing, IBM Almaden
- Donald James, Project Manager, International Space University
- Gary Martin, Director, New Ventures & Communications, NASA Ames
- George Smoot, University of California, Berkeley; 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Henrik Bennetsen, Assoc Dir, Stanford Humanities Lab, Stanford University
- Howard Bloom, Author, The Lucifer Principle, and Global Brain
- J Storrs Hall, Pres, Foresight Inst; Author, Beyond AI & Nanofuture
- James Canton, CEO and Chairman of the Institute for Global Futures
- James Tracy, Educational Consultant, Singularity University
- Jason Lohn, Senior Research Scientist, Carnegie Mellon University
- Jeffrey Hoffman, MIT Professor of Aerospace Engineering, former NASA Astronaut
- Jerome C. Glenn, Director, The Millennium Project
- Jim Dator, Prof & Dir of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies
- Jim Karkanias, Senior Director, Applied Research and Technology, Microsoft
- John Smart, Founder & President, Acceleration Studies Foundation
- Kathryn Myronuk, Library and Knowledge Resources, Singularity University
- Keith Kleiner, Associate Founder, Singularity University
- Kevin Epstein, Executive in Residence, Mohr Davidow Ventures
- Lanny Ebenstein, Professor, UC Santa Barbara
- Larry Smarr, Dir, CA Inst for Telecommunications & Information Tech
- Lauren Fletcher, Engineer, Astrobiology, NASA Ames Research Center
- Martin Greenberger, Professor, UCLA Anderson School of Management
- Mary Hodder, Founder of Dabble
- Matt Mullenweg, Founder, WordPress and Automattic
- Matt Rutherford, Media Producer, Singularity University
- Michel Gelobter, Founder, Cooler Inc; former Pres, Redefining Progress
- Michael Potter, Director, Paradigm Ventures
- Michael Simpson, President, International Space University
- Mike Linksvayer, Vice President of Creative Commons
- Natasha Vita-More, PhD cand, U of Plymouth; Vis Scholar, 21st Century Medicine
- Neil Jacobstein, CEO, Teknowledge; Media X Prog, Stanford Univ
- Patrick Lin, Director, The Nanoethics Group
- Paul Saffo, Visiting Scholar in the Stanford Media X research network
- Pete Worden, Director, NASA Ames Research Center
- Peter Diamandis, Founder, X PRIZE Foundation
- Peter Norvig, Director of Research, Google Inc.
- Raj Reddy, Prof of Computer Science & Robotics, Carnegie Mellon Univ
- Ralph Merkle, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Molecular Manufacturing
- Ray Kurzweil, Founder, Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.
- Robert. A. Freitas, Jr, Sr Research Fellow, Inst for Molecular Manufacturing
- Robert Goldberg, Managing Director, Crossroads Ventures
- Robert Richards, Founder, Odyssey Moon Limited
- Robert Taylor, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC
- Rohit Khare, Former Director of CommerceNet Labs; Founder, Ångströ Inc.
- Salim Ismail, Executive Director, Singularity University
- Sarah Black, Kurzweil Liaison, Singularity University
- Sebastian Thrun, Prof of Computer Science and Dir, AI Laboratory at Stanford
- Sonia Arrison, Senior Fellow, Pacific Research Institute
- Stephanie Langhoff, Chief Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
- Stuart Kim, Professor, Developmental Biology, Stanford University
- Sunil Paul, Founding Partner at Spring Ventures
- Susan Fonseca-Klein, VP of Operations, Singularity University
- Tara Lemmey is the CEO of LENS Ventures
- Terry Grossman, Founder and Medical Director of Grossman Wellness Center
- Timothy Ferriss, Author, The 4-Hour Workweek
- Tom Byers, Prof, Stanford Univ; Stanford Technology Ventures Program
- Troy Byrd, Education/Business Development, Singularity University
- Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google Inc.
- Will Wright, Creator: SimCity, Spore; Founder, Maxis (Electronic Arts)
- William Marshall, Academic Model/Curriculum Lead, Singularity University
- Yves Debat, Monterey Institute of International Studies
Here is the list of the 2009 Singularity University students:
- Alexander Bobrovnikov Bentley Turner Christian Tom Collin Bockman
- Devin Fidler Gregory Wientjes Holley Abrams Jessica Scorpio
- Jovan Rebolledo Lale Basarir Laurence Hayes Luke Hutchison
- Margo Liptsin Marianne Ryan Neil Thompson Nitesh Banta
- Pankaj Maheshwari Rex Lee Rod Furlan Ross Shott
- Sam Zaid Sarah Sclarsic Shai Machnes Shawna Pandya
- Simon Daniel Nuno Martins Tim Coleman Vijai Anma
- Yitzhack Schwartz Tasha McCauley Yonatan Adiri Zubin Wadia
- Gloria Vargas Bj Price Justyna Zander Sofya Yampolsky
- Santiago Hernandez Paul Lem
More from the Singularity University website:
"The following companies and organizations are working in partnership with Singularity University. Their contributions and credibility are critical to the growth of this institution"
Corporate
Academic
Media
More:
Founders’ Circle
"The Founders Circle is composed of those individuals and companies who provided the start-up capital to establish Singularity University. Their contributions and credibility are critical to the Founding of this institution."
Corporate Founders ($250K+)
Associate Founders ($100K+)
- Moses Znaimer, Founder, MZ Media
- Keith Kleiner, Founder, The Haymar Hedge Fund
- Barney Pell, Founder, Powerset
- Klee Irwin, Founder, Irwin Naturals
- Sonia Arrison, Senior Fellow, Pacific Research Institute
- Dan Stoicescu, Founder, Sindan
- Georges Harik, Distinguished Engineer, Google Inc.
- Reese Jones, Founder of Netopia (Motorola)
- David S. Rose, CEO Angelsoft, Managing Principal, Rose Tech Ventures
- Sabiha Rumani Malik, Founder, Ideas for Humanity
- Peter L. Bloom, Managing Director, General Atlantic LLC
- Geoffrey Shmigelsky, CEO, Appien Logic
Supporters ($5K – $100K)
- Eric Di Benedetto, Founder, Active Starts
- Chris Haley, Founder, Nested Universe
- Adarsh Deepak, Ph.D., President & CEO, Science and Technology Corp. (STC)
David Orban's Internet of Things & Spime Design presentation at the Singularity University 2009
Below is David Orban's presentation about the Internet of Things and Spime Design at the 2009 Singularity University at the NASA Ames center.
More about the Singularity University will be included in my next post.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The IBM Web or Internet of Things: "A Smarter Planet"
I've noticed that IBM is permeating the masses with the "A Smarter Planet" campaign, and is also very busy building the Internet of Things. If you are like me and DVR your televisionnprogramming, you might have missed the following commercials featuring hardworking, smart IBMers:
Smart Cities
Smarter Info Management
Smarter Energy Grid
Smarter Math
IBM YouTube Advertising Channel
Here are a couple of good articles to read about this topic:
"Imagine a world with millions, perhaps trillions, of sensors that use IBM technology - because that's what Big Blue is imagining." IBM and The Internet of Things
7/22/09 Richard MacManus, Read-Write Web
The Internet of Things. Or Web 3.0
7/22/09 Adam Christensen, A Smarter Planet Blog
David Pogue's humorous take on Google Voice
The NY Time's David Pogue's humorous look at why everyone should consider Google Voice, "One Phone Number, Online Voicemail, and Enhanced Call Features".
I especially like how the video provides a look at exploring and then solving the "problem space" through various scenarios.
I got my Google Voice number today- now I need to figure out the next steps!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
News about Smart Grids and Smart Kitchens
Duke Energy has established a Smart Grid in one of the neighborhoods in Charlotte, N.C. So what exactly does a Smart Grid look like? Take a look at the following slideshow:
So what exactly is a Smart Grid? It is a system to support "smarter" ways to manage and use energy, and utilizes intelligent sensors along power lines, communication nodes on utility poles, and Smart Meters at customers' homes. Duke Power has provided customers with home management systems to provide them with "timely energy usage information".
Here's the video:
Smart Grid: Virtual Power Plant
You can have a Smart Grid Kitchen along with your Smart Grid energy service, at least sometime in the near future. The pictures below are from CNET News:
It is networked via WiMax:
It comes with a lot of "stuff", hopefully it can be tastefully hidden or decorated:
I don't see a single woman in the GE Smart Grid Kitchen pictures.
Related:
GE SmartGrid Website
GE appliances to connect to smart grid via Tendril
Martin LaMonica, CNET News, 7/8/09
"The integration will allow consumers to control their appliances from different points, such a Web browser, iPhone, or in-home display."
Cisco to Use Its Own Home Energy Gear for Duke Smart Grid Rollout
Katie Fehrenbacher, Earth2tech 6/11/09
"The networking giant unveiled a deal this week that will see it lead a $1 billion smart grid infrastructure buildout for Duke Energy and Cisco tells us that for the consumer portion, it will largely be deploying its own smart energy home hardware, which includes Linksys products and “homeplug” devices that transfer data via power lines."
Privacy Challenges Could Stall Smart Grid
Susan L. Lyon, MatteRNetwork 6/1/09
Friday, July 17, 2009
LTE vs WiMax: Trying my best to understand emerging technologies....
There have been debates about technology for a long time. I recently came across Mike Demler's blog, The World is Analog. Demler attended the IEEE Mobile WiMax Symposium and shared what he learned on his post, "IEEE Mobile WiMax Symposium, Part I". In this post, Demler points out that the concept of the "internet of things" was a reoccuring theme during the symposium, and mentioned that there are many issues related to the future growth of the mobile internet.
Demler makes some good points. Capped data plans didn't work very well during the '90's. Demler gives the example of the old AOL dial-up plans, where people paid by the minute, often running up huge bills in AOL chat rooms. 3G networks lack the capacity to keep up with the growing demand for higher-bandwidth communication. At this time, there is no certain solution, as some predict that WiMax is the wave of the future, and others feel that LTE will be here to stay.
So what is LTE?
A quick look at a Wikipedia entry on the subject doesn't do a very good job of explaining things clearly. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, but what is that, really? It you want to know more about the alphabet soup related to LTE, click on the following links: FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing), TDD (Time Division Duplex), GSM, cdmaOne, W-CDMA (UMTS), 3GPP, PU2RC, MU-MIMO, HSDPA, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, MIMO
The Wikipedia entry about LTE comes with the following warning:
This article is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view. For blatantadvertising that would require a fundamental rewrite to become encyclopedic, use {{db-spam}} to mark for speedy deletion. (April 2009)
What is WiMax?
You can find out more via Wikipedia.
 | This article contains too much jargon and may need simplification or further explanation. Please discuss this issue on the talk page, and/or remove or explain jargon terms used in the article. Editing help is available. (June 2009) |
LTE vs WiMAX: The 4G Wireless War
Afzal Bajwa, Technologizer (5/20/09)
10 Things You Need to Know About LTE
Stacey Higginbotham, GigaOM, (2/26/09)
Note:
