The alarm clock I need to get up in the morning:
Tocky from Nanda Home:
Another awesome little creation from MIT Media Lab alums...I came across it while looking at the Object-Based Media Research Group Website.
Showing posts with label MIT media lab. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MIT media lab. Show all posts
Friday, September 2, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
So I was poking around the Fluid Interfaces group at the MIT Media Lab again (Grad school prospects are something I´ve decided to start thinking seriously about considering I will have to apply sometime in the next 2-3 years) and I watched a video for one of their projects Sixth Sense. It is a device that helps us interact with the digital and real world at the same time. I must say it is really cool - inexpensive (the guy says he wants to make the hardware open-source and that you can build your own for $300), environmentally-friendly, and with endless possibilities. The coolest function is the fact that he can just frame something with his fingers and the device will take a picture. Nuts! The possibilities of the mobility for digital photography and film with that sort of technology would be pretty incredible. Fluid Filmmaking! (sort of)
So check it out if you have some time!
So check it out if you have some time!
Monday, February 21, 2011
I was (once again) surfing the MIT Media Lab's page (I really really want to go there for grad school in a few years) and was looking into the projects being explored in the Fluid Interfaces group (when applying to the Media Lab you need to list 3 groups you would like to work with and so far my top picks are Camera Culture, Fluid Interfaces, and Opera of the Future) and I was amazed with the stuff being developed there. The project that interested me the most is called Sensei and it is an application designed to aid children with language learning. It runs on a cell phone (it is being tested on a Samsung Galaxy using Android software) and operates by pointing the phone's camera at an object and it will recognize the object and tell you the word for that object in any language you want (I gather that it both displays it and also pronounces it). What's amazing is that they're working on having future versions of the project be not only able to recognize objects but also detect whether or not you are pronouncing it right when you practice it. I think this is brilliant and would do wonders for the field of language learning in general (not just applied for children) - I would love to have something like this on my iPhone.
Speaking of the iPhone, I'm really happy that I got it because I'm getting so much use out of it. I keep applications that are helping me practice my Chinese and learn basic Japanese, Dutch, and Korean. Best part? Most of those apps are free - for the basic pack! I also have some really great Chinese dictionaries installed (one with 20,000 characters and another with 40,000), one of which allows me to create study flashcards, can magnify the characters to see them better, AND also has an animation mode that will show you the proper stroke order for the character.
Other great apps for the iPhone? I have an excellent Currency Converter (OANDA Corp), Measurement Unit Converter (ConvertBot), Instrument Tuner (tun-d - can help tune over 20 instruments), NYC Subway Map (CityTransit), Expense Tracker (Mint), Lightmeter (LightMeter), Fitness Trainer (Nike Training Center for Women), and Cocktail Recipe library (Mixologist). I'm also a huge fan of the Panascout Lite app from Panavision that is designed to help define the cinematic composition of a frame prior to filming and the American Airlines app (because I'm a frequent flier on American Airlines) that helps me keep track of all of my airplane connections and segments, I can check-in through it, and it even acts as a digital boarding pass for some airports! The camera is also really nice (5 megapixels with a LED flash). The camera is so good and versatile that in fact, a well-established Korean filmmaker shot an entire 30-minute film with it and it is said that the film's image quality "can play with the best of them". Currently experimenting with building a steadicam and tripod mount to see if I can do some quality ultra-low budget filmmaking on it.
Speaking of the iPhone, I'm really happy that I got it because I'm getting so much use out of it. I keep applications that are helping me practice my Chinese and learn basic Japanese, Dutch, and Korean. Best part? Most of those apps are free - for the basic pack! I also have some really great Chinese dictionaries installed (one with 20,000 characters and another with 40,000), one of which allows me to create study flashcards, can magnify the characters to see them better, AND also has an animation mode that will show you the proper stroke order for the character.
Other great apps for the iPhone? I have an excellent Currency Converter (OANDA Corp), Measurement Unit Converter (ConvertBot), Instrument Tuner (tun-d - can help tune over 20 instruments), NYC Subway Map (CityTransit), Expense Tracker (Mint), Lightmeter (LightMeter), Fitness Trainer (Nike Training Center for Women), and Cocktail Recipe library (Mixologist). I'm also a huge fan of the Panascout Lite app from Panavision that is designed to help define the cinematic composition of a frame prior to filming and the American Airlines app (because I'm a frequent flier on American Airlines) that helps me keep track of all of my airplane connections and segments, I can check-in through it, and it even acts as a digital boarding pass for some airports! The camera is also really nice (5 megapixels with a LED flash). The camera is so good and versatile that in fact, a well-established Korean filmmaker shot an entire 30-minute film with it and it is said that the film's image quality "can play with the best of them". Currently experimenting with building a steadicam and tripod mount to see if I can do some quality ultra-low budget filmmaking on it.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
So I was looking at the MIT Media Lab website (yet again) to read up on what´s going on at the Camera Culture research group (because if I want to apply in the near future, I figure I should know and understand all the details about what is being done there) and I came across a few press releases about what is being developed at the lab and thought that I´d post the links here because they´re actually pretty cool stuff:
(1) Albeit (as the article points out) somewhat useless considering the widespread accessibility to weather forecasts in a computer or pda or iphone or whatever, a toothbrush that tells you what the weather is going to be like today is sort of creative and awesome (especially since it will tell you what the weather is by dispensing different flavors of toothpaste. i.e. if you get mint, it will be colder than yesterday).
(29) Holographic displays! If I go to the Media Lab, I would probably want to be working on this sort of technology. Maybe helping to develop holographic film cameras? That experience would be pretty amazing! Anyways, the Star Wars geek in me wholeheartedly approves trying to reproduce Princess Leia´s hologram (in R2D2) as a demonstration for the currently available technology.
(1) Albeit (as the article points out) somewhat useless considering the widespread accessibility to weather forecasts in a computer or pda or iphone or whatever, a toothbrush that tells you what the weather is going to be like today is sort of creative and awesome (especially since it will tell you what the weather is by dispensing different flavors of toothpaste. i.e. if you get mint, it will be colder than yesterday).
(29) Holographic displays! If I go to the Media Lab, I would probably want to be working on this sort of technology. Maybe helping to develop holographic film cameras? That experience would be pretty amazing! Anyways, the Star Wars geek in me wholeheartedly approves trying to reproduce Princess Leia´s hologram (in R2D2) as a demonstration for the currently available technology.
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