prosthetic knowledge
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dePENd
A system designed to draw straight lines and perfect circles freehand - video embedded below:
Via DigInfo:
This table helps you to draw precise freehand circles and lines. It is under development by a group in the Yasuaki Kakehi Lab at Keio University.
By using a computer to control the XY position of a magnet under the surface of the table, it implements, on paper, drawing methods utilized in computer graphics.
“I’ll place an ordinary ballpoint pen on the table. Now, I can semi-automatically draw a precise circle, or a straight line, or an illustration prepared in advance. In other words, while I draw with the pen, this system lets me switch to accurate rendering like in computer graphics, such as drawing a precise circle, by assisting me with the pen.”
When drawing, you can use a regular ballpoint pen with a metal tip, or a digital pen. If you use a ballpoint pen, the position where you start drawing has to correspond with the origin on the XY grid, but if you use a digital pen, the system recognizes its location and you can start drawing from any position.
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Sand Plotter (Part 2)
Found via Hack-A-Day, a project similar to the previous post that draws patterns on a surface covered with sand, using a metallic ball controlled with a magnet by computer:
[Nick] is working on a prototype of a coffee table sand plotter that draws patterns in sand a lot like a zen rock garden.
[Nick]‘s zen rock garden uses a magnet to draw a ball bearing across the sand in interesting patterns. The build uses 3D printed gears and laser cut parts to rotate the table around and move the magnet along a radius of the circle. During the first test of the prototype, the ball bearing jerked around but this problem was solved by adding a piece of foam under the sand. Power is supplied through a slip ring in the base, and the table is controlled through Bluetooth.
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Sand Plotter (Part 1): Zen Table
Two posts on technology that uses a layer of sand, a ball-bearing, and computer-controlled magnets to draw images in the sand.
Firstly, the Zen Table, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter:
Imagine a Japanese Zen Garden built into a beautifully-crafted, glass-topped table. The body of the table encapsulates electronics and robotics, that sculpt geometric patterns and images into a field of microscopic silicone beads beneath a glass top. The effect is mesmerizing and magical; it is truly Zen-like to watch ever-changing patterns and images appear in the sand.
Here is short promo where you will see it in action:
You can find out more about the project on Kickstarter here
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Loop Drawing Machine by Jessie Houlding (via Adafruit Industries)
Kinectic drawing machine uses magnets and iron fillings to make marks on paper
The Loop Drawing Machine is a kinetic sculpture that uses magnets and iron filings to draw on paper. The friction of the iron on the paper both makes marks on the paper and pulls the paper through the machine; drawing a loop on a loop of paper. A chamber and auto-feed replenishes the iron as the magnets revolve past the feeder. Eventually the paper becomes a completely darkened by the overlapping marks.
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Inception-esque Magnetic Spinning Top available from ThinkGeek
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Impossible motion: magnet-like slopes
The best optical illusion you are going to see this week:
Winner of the Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest 2010
http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelat…
Koukichi Sugihara
Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences, Japan
In this video, wooden balls roll up the slopes just as if they are pulled by a magnet. The behavior of the balls seems impossible, because it is against the gravity. The video is not a computer graphic, but a real scene. What is actually happening is that the orientations of the slopes are perceived oppositely, and hence the descending motion is misinterpreted as ascending motion. This illusion is remarkable in that it is generated by a three-dimensional solid object and physical motion, instead of a two-dimensional picture.
