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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Collection Of Television Tuning Tables
Livejournal page by trepang featuring a collection of television tuning tables from around the world from different times - oddly mesmerizing from a design perspective.
Full set here (in Russian) - English Google Translate Link Here
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London Data
Two pieces from the Digital Urban blog which caught my eye, a projection of London data on a London-shaped table, and a dashboard website managing various feeds.
Created in the shape of Greater London, the table had various visualisations projected onto its surface; from live aircraft positions, live traffic and bike hire usage to movies of public transport over 24 hours.
You can see how it was put together step-by-step at Big Data Toolkit here
Here at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, we have just made live our latest in a series of services examining live data feeds - CityDashBoard. The system pulls in data from a variety feeds, developing our view that the next trend in OpenData is towards a live view of the city and live data feeds.
With the cities of Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester and Newcastle included, it is London with the largets amount of live feeds at the moment. As Duncan Geere noted in the write up of CityDashboard in Wired - the dashboard for the city pulls in TfL data, RSS feeds from BBC London news, geographical information from OpenStreetMap, weather data from Google, trends from Twitter, traffic cameras and water levels along the Thames. It also includes data from UCL’s radiation detector.
You can visit CityDashboard live at http://www.citydashboard.org/
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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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Rising Table
Intricate yet minimal approach to table design, using only one flat piece of wood and cut latticework. By Robert Van Embricqs:
The Rising Table ignores the cliched notion that a table is little more than a flat surface that is held up by four separate legs. The result is a surprising mixture of fluid design that blends the multifaceted tabletop with the latticework of wooden beams that function as the center of the construct. From there, the table sprouts four wooden beams that hold up the entire construct.
Not only does this design approach rid itself of every single predictable feature when one imagines a table, it also emphasizes that the Rising Table is indeed made from a single piece of wood.More information and images can be found at Robert Van Embricqs’ website here
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Magic Carp-pet. Rug. (2010) by John Leung
Via Make Magazine:
Extremely clever trick from designer John Leung, who’s put a coffee table with an optical grill on top of a rug patterned with a few “hashed” frames of a simple, looping animation. The net result? As you move around the room, the patterns on the rug, viewed through the table, appear to move.
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IKEA table hacked together with LED Display by tobiscorner.floery.net
More on the blog here
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(via fuckyeahkrnfood)
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The G-1 Glass top pool table - By Nottage Design
The most advanced pool table in the world, the G-1 features a glass and resin playing structure and striking modern design.
The patented transparent playing surface replaces the traditional felt but allows the balls to roll at the same speed.
Bumpers, pockets and playing area are built to international standards, so you can play your game the same, with more style.
The minimalist modern frame features integrated ball return allowing pocketed balls to be seen through the transparent top.
