Notes 35157
31 August 2012
Someone at Dragon*Con dressed as a Weeping Angel. THIS IS A COSTUME.
OH MY GOD.
THIS PERSON IS MY HERO / WORST NIGHTMARE
THAT IS AMAZING. AND ALSO TERRIFYING.
(via peopledontalwayssuck)
Notes 216
12 August 2012
Sensory feedback technology could make a touchscreen feel like anything.
Disney Research (yes that’s a real thing!) have shown off their new technology which can make any surface capable of conducting electricity feel like various other textures. The ‘Revel’ system - or Reverse Electrovibration - sends a weak current through the users skin, creating an “oscillating electrostatic field” around it.
When the electrically-charged user comes into contact with any object connected to the same ground as the Revel signal, the electrical potential difference between the finger and the electrode generates an electrostatic attraction force that creates a sensation of friction between finger and object. By varying the signal properties such as frequency or amplitude, the system can manipulate different tactile experiences.
While the system relies on electrical conductivity to work, almost any other surface could in theory be converted to do so, using a layer of conductive paint with a thin layer of insulating varnish on top.
(Source: dvice.com, via 8bitfuture)
Notes 163
4 August 2012
Average US gamer is 30 years old.
Also interesting to see that there’s more gamers aged 36 or over than there are under 18 years old.
The statistics come from the Entertainment Software Association, which conducts one of the most comprehensive surveys of the US video game market. Also released figures include:
- Consumers spent $24.75 billion on video games, hardware and accessories in 2011.
- The average game player is 30 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.
- Forty-seven percent of all game players are women.
- Thirty-three percent of gamers play games on their smartphones
- 25 percent play games on their handheld device.
(Source: theesa.com, via 8bitfuture)
Notes 162232
29 July 2012
Take note certain people!
This is my favorite way to handle a tatt mistake.
(Source: 1o14)
Notes 73
23 July 2012
A mature embryo of Arabidopsis thaliana. The entire embryo is seen in logitudinal median section in this view and is surrounded by the seed coat. Cotyledon development is complete (right half of image) and the shoot and root apical meristems are differentiated into tissue layers. The image was produced by imaging the embryo through the seed coat using confocal microscopy.
Source: Arabidopsis mature embryo, Dr. John Runions, Oxford Brookes University
Notes 1558
21 July 2012
Billionaire entrepreneur offering ‘immortality’ - for a fee.
Russian media entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov has launched a research project called ‘Avatar’, which aims to allow customers to live forever, initially through brain transplants, and later by ‘downloading’ an entire human personality at the end of your life.
He has initially contacted billionaires listed in Forbes magazine to try and canvas interest - and cash - to continue the project.
The initiative is opening its San Francisco office this summer, and will be launching a social media project connecting scientists around the world.
‘The 2045 team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality,’ says Itskov’s official site.
‘Such research has the potential to free you, as well as the majority of all people on our planet, from disease, old age and even death.’
(Source: Daily Mail, via 8bitfuture)
