Camera For The Blind, Not As Ridiculous As It Sounds

This news does seem a bit crazy when you hear about it, but once you read the details it actually sounds neat.

The Touch Sight camera, designed by Chueh Lee at Samsung, is a camera that takes pictures for the blind. The back of the camera has a flexible Braille display that will reproduce the picture in 3D, allowing the blind photographer to touch the photo. The camera also takes 3 seconds of the surrounding area’s sound and stores it with each photo so that their will be an auditory reference for managing the photos.

Users will be able to upload their photos to other Touch Sight owners who will be able to download the photos to their camera. The camera isn’t on the market yet but it will be interesting to see if it does make it to stores in the near future.

Damien Hirst “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” Auction

An artist of great extravagance , Damien Hirst’s memorable works through his illustrious career have included a $100 million diamond encrusted skull and formaldehyde preserved sharks. With the changing art landscape, Damien Hirst attempts to strike a balance between his involvement with galleries and the sale of art via auctions with 223 pieces of art produced between 2007 and 2008 and valued at £65 million (approximately $121 million USD) set for the auction block on September 15th and 16th via Sotheby’s London. Based on previous experiences, Hirst had this to say regarding the auction route, “After the success of the Pharmacy auction, I always felt I would like to do another auction. It’s a very democratic way to sell art and it feels like a natural evolution for contemporary art. Although there is risk involved, I embrace the challenge of selling my work in this way. I never want to stop working with my galleries. This is different. The world’s changing, ultimately I need to see where this road leads.” Among the pieces, four of them will be sold to benefit the following charities, The Demelza, Hospice Care for Children, Survival International, Strummerville and Kids Company, with each hoping to rake in between £400,000-600,000 each (approximately $750K USD – $1.1 million USD). The whole list of art can be seen over at Sothebys.com.

Bearbrick Andy Warhol and Hysteric Glamour

Japanese brand, Hysteric Glamour, is collaborating with Medicom Toy to produce the Bearbrick Andy Warhol for their concept store in Isetan Shinjuku in Japan. The design is fairly straightforward and is inspired by the Dollar Sign Painting by Warhol. It will be available this year from September 10th to the 26th, with the 50% Bearbrick given to purchasing customers while the 400% is sold separately.

Juxtapoz and Reas – August 2008

Todd James aka Reas, Legendary NYC graffiti writer and designer of the characters for Crank Yankers, hooks up with Art & Culture Magazine Juxtapoz to contribute striking cover art for their August issue. The cover is designed with James’ trademark whimsical style and use of pastel colors. The inside is filled with other heavyweights including graffiti photographer Jon Naar shooting the pictures, and an extensive interview with Reas by Devin Flynn. The interview delves into Reas’ upcoming work as well as his new gallery opening at Lazarides Gallery in London this August. This issue also contains Kat Von D interviewing Shawn Barber, Mister Cartoon speaking with BMX legend Bob Haro and more.

Philippe Starck’s School of Design

One of the most famous and talented designer of our times, Philippe Starck, will be coming out with a new TV show on BBC Two called “Philippe Starck’s School of Design.” The show strives to find the next design all-star among a pool of 10 aspiring designers with a vision for the next “must have” products of the 21st Century. The 10 lucky people will get to work alongside Starck and his team in Paris for a period of several months, and the ultimate winner will join his team for an extended 6 months. No formal design training necessary, so if you think you got the necessary talent, this will be the chance of a lifetime.

 

Logitech Unveils New V550 Nano Notebook Mouse

Every time I travel with my notebook computer, I always take a notebook mouse with me so I don’t have to rely on the track pad built-in. For the most part my mouse of choice typically comes from Logitech when it comes to notebooks. I have reviewed several great notebook mice from Logitech over the years. Today Logitech announced its latest notebook mouse called the V550 Nano cordless laser mouse.

The mouse has familiar Logitech features, like the tiny nano receiver that protrudes just 8 mm from the side of your notebook allowing you leave it installed at all times. The new mouse also features Logitech’s freewheeling scroll wheel that makes navigating long webpages or documents a breeze.

Logitech says the mouse is good for up to 18 months on a single battery and the Nano turns itself off automatically when docked or not used for a period. The mouse uses 2.4 GHz wireless technology and comes in two colors — including gray with silver accents and silver with blue accents. The new feature of this mouse is what Logitech calls a Clip-and-Go Dock that allows the mouse to be docked on the outside of your notebook when not in use. The V550 nano will be available in late August for a suggested retail price of $59.99.

Logitech

Ultra Motor Announces A2B Electric Bike

Whether you live in a big city and simply don’t have the space or inclination to own a car, or you’re simply looking for alternative transportation that doesn’t pollute the environment — walking or biking are probably high on your list of ways to get around. However, there’s always going to be some point when you don’t feel like walking and you don’t feel like pedaling a bike around. For these times, you need something like the new A2B Electric Bike by Ultra Motor.

I’ll say right off the bat that the bike is odd looking to my eyes. It uses mountain bike style suspension and upright riding position with an oversized seat for comfort. A small tray that sticks out from behind the bike, under the seat, and can be used for stowing computers or other items that are small. The bike has pedals that can be used if it runs out of battery power or to increase the cruise speed, but the pedals are not needed for normal operation.

 

The bike can travel for 20 miles on a single charge of its lithium-ion batteries at speeds of up to 20 mph. The battery is swappable on the go, allowing you to double the distance the bike can travel. To charge the bike you simply plug it into an AC outlet it in your home. This could be an ideal method of transport for people who are members of the green brigade. Pricing for the bike is unknown, but it will be available nationwide in September through authorized dealers.

Ultra Motor

Polaroid Is Making A Comeback With A Digital Version Of The Old Classic

I loved the old Polaroid cameras. A picture that would appear and develop in a minute in your hands instead of 7 days later at a photo lab seemed like an absolute miracle of technology back when I was a kid. Of course the emergence of cheap yet high-quality digital cameras destroyed Polaroid and forced them to stop selling the instant film cameras back in February of this year.

Now Polaroid has announced that they will be bringing back instant film, and this time it will add the instant printing magic to digital cameras. The pictures will be 4×3 rectangle size, which is the size most associated with the old Polaroid cameras.

It will still be a rough market for Polaroid to compete in, even with millions of nostalgic fans. It’s already pretty easy to print out pictures from almost anywhere; most grocery stores, pharmacies and Wal-Marts have instant print kiosks for pennies per print. Still, it’s nice to see Polaroid trying, even if they are years behind the times.

Invisibility Cloak Is Closer To Becoming A Reality

Now when I say closer, I mean that scientists have actually made something appear invisible, it just happens to be nano sized(one billionth of a metre). It’s still a step in the right direction, the direction of absolutely awesome invisibility suits and laser guns and women in tight, form fitting clothes. Well, 2 out of 3 at least.

Researchers at the University of California in Berkeley have created a material that bends visible light around nano-sized 3-dimensional objects, rendering them invisible. The material is artificially made and has properties smaller than the wavelength of light which allows for the unique effect.

An interesting point is how one professor chose to explain cloaking bigger objects like people.

In order to have the ‘Harry Potter’ effect, you just need to find the right materials for the visible wavelengths,” says Prof Hess, “and it’s absolutely thrilling to see we’re on the right track.

Via: BBC News

” The Rising Tide ” – Director Robert Adanto’s Film on China’s Contemporary Arts

The Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents American filmmaker Robert Adanto’s directorial debut, The Rising Tide at 7:30 pm on Thursday, August 21, 2008 in the ROM’s Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre. The Rising Tide (2008 ) explores China’s transformation through the work and words of several of the country’s leading young artists, photographers and filmmakers. The director will be in attendance to introduce his film and take questions from the audience.