3 Kinect Sensors + 3D Printer = Action Figure of YOURSELF

Image via PopSci

In Barcelona, blablabLAB set up an installation where visitors could stand on a small podium in any pose they wanted, and three hacked Kinect sensors would take a 360 degree video to capture that pose. Then the information was sent to a 3-D printer which would print out a tiny figure of the person, as a souvenir!

How cool is that? I would love one of these! For one, I didn't even realize there was such thing as a 3D printer, which means I must be behind in the times because apparently it's existed for a while now. And using the technology of the Kinect sensors in this way is such a great idea! I love seeing how this kind of technology is affecting things around us. In a way, this is even a form of art! Popular Science describes it as an "interactive art installation".

Here's a video showing people using it and looking at their prints:



Be Your Own Souvenir! from blablabLAB on Vimeo.


Check out articles about this on Gizmodo and PopSci.

Handheld Photoshop

Photoshop Express has been available on the iPad and iPhone for a while, but it didn't have all the features of the full program. Yesterday Adobe demoed a full version of Photoshop on the iPad. This didn't necessarily mean a ton to me at first, because I don't have an iPad. But then I started thinking about how this could develop, which is exactly what the Gizmodo article talked about. Check the full article on Gizmodo for a more in-depth explanation. Basically they are saying this is just the start of a new era in computers. These new hand-held and touch-pad computers can make it more intuitive to use certain programs, making us more productive. The way computers and programs are evolving, this really does look like the start to the future of technology. Hopefully someday in the future I'll have my own hand-held touch-pad computer to edit my photos on site, or work on the go. It's a nice thought, at least.

Here's a video of the demo that shows some new features:

Portal 2

 Ever since completing Valve's Portal and listening to GLaDOS sing "Still Alive" I've been pumped for the sequel. With the brilliant dialogue, innovative game play, and fantastic story line, how could you not? And guess what? Portal 2 is scheduled to come out next month!

An adorable new trailer was just released. View it below.






I found the video on Kotaku, and if you head over to Portal 2's offical site you can find more information, including other trailers, and even some game play footage. It seems to follow along with the first game's great dialog, game play, and story line, and adds in some bonuses such as new characters, new science-y tools, and cooperative multiplayer. This is a huge plus for me because multiplayer is my favourite way to play games!

Needless to say, this is definitely something I'm looking forward to!

My Website: Dorky Dino

Logo © Brandi Miller

I now have my own website! It can be found at dorkydino.com! What is this all about? Here's a little background information. Towards the end of our college career we are required to do a big project for The Honors College called an honors project. The student gets to choose their own project, and if it is approved, they take a semester to work on it, and will receive a final grade from a mentor. For my project I decided to start my own business! I am a graphic design major, and I wanted to do something relating to that. I decided to use the skills I've learned in college to design cute characters and have them printed on a variety of products. I will be selling these products online through my website.

Image © Brandi Miller

Getting the site up and running was a huge step for me. I designed the entire thing myself and had to learn new software to be able to create it. Please look around and check back for updates! I am working on the products and hope to have them up soon.

I was also selected to present my findings at the 2011 Scholars Symposium.

Video Games Not Linked to Violence (for once)

Image via ICGamers

I'm sure you've all heard of tons of studies and statistics about how video games are linked to violence and depression. However, most of these studies don't actually take everything into consideration. In my mind questions always arise about whether or not the correlation actually implied causation. Meaning, just because there is a correlation in the statistics, does that necessarily mean one caused the other? And even if it does, how do we know which came first, the chicken or the egg? (Or in this case the violent behavoirs or the video games?)



Comic via xkcd

Recently a study was done that actually evaluated both violent media, and personality features. The paper was titled "Personality and media influences on violence and depression in a cross-national sample of young adults: Data from Mexican Americans, English and Croatians" and was written by Christopher J. Ferguson.

Basically, the study showed that after a personality profile was taken into account there was no longer a correlation between video games and violent behaviors or depression. This was something previous studies failed to take into account.

An article about this study can be found at Kotaku, and it has some more information about it.

Cheetah-Bot: Faster Than the Fastest Human

Image via Wired

How cool is this? Funded by DARPA, Boston Dynamics is working on a robotic cheetah! It will have run faster than any human, be able to make sharp turns to "chase and evade", and stop on a dime. It will be used in military, but they haven't specified how yet, and they also plan to use it in emergency situations such as, "emergency response, firefighting, advanced agriculture and vehicular travel."

Boston Dynamics is the same company that made "Big Dog". If you haven't seen Big Dog, here's a video that will either make you go "AWESOME!" or give you nightmares (most likely both). I remember seeing it a couple years ago and freaking out, with a mixture of amazement and fright. Here's another video, showing it walking through different types of terrain, slipping on ice, and being kicked. It's impressive how it regains its balance in each situation. 

Image via Wired

Another design they're working on is Atlas, a bipedal humanoid type robot capable of walking over difficult terrain, crawling, and turning to fit into narrow spaces. It's an advancement from their earlier robot, PETMAN. Here's a video showing the PETMAN walking, and, of course, being kicked. 

I've pretty much always thought robots were awesome, and Boston Dynamic's creations are no exception. They're super cool, and I can't wait to see the new ones! But I also mentioned how creepy I find them, at the same time. I think the odd feeling I'm getting from these is caused by the Uncanny Valley, which basically says that the closer something is to looking like a real human, the more empathy a person will have for it, until a point in human likeness is reached where the response becomes a strong revulsion. (Please read more about it at the link I provided to get a better idea of this; it truly is a remarkable topic.) There are different theories about what causes this, but I think it has to do with the fact that when something looks extremely realistic, but isn't real, your mind subconsciously picks up on the minor differences, which kind of amplifies them (read in that Wiki article about "Violation of human norms" for more about what I mean). In this situation, the robots don't necessarily look very realistic, but the movement is so strangely realistic that I believe the Uncanny Valley still applies. 

Either way, yes, robots rule, and I can't wait to see videos of the Cheetah-Bot! Heck yeah!

Read the full article at Wired.

Webcomic: Failure Confetti

Webcomics are an interesting development of technology and the digital age. Comic authors used to often struggle to try and find an outlet to publish their strips. Now on the Internet, these authors can publish all on their own! The result is thousands of webcomics, most free to read, and catering to any sense of humour or set of interests.

I am the author of the webcomic, Failure Confetti. It can be found at failureconfetti.smackjeeves.com. It's hosted by a free webcomic host called Smack Jeeves, which has over 33,000 webcomics on it, and counting.

Failure Confetti is inspired by the things I see around me. I often use dialog that I actually hear people say, or thoughts that pop into my head in every day situations. I sometimes make references to video games, or poke fun at technologies.

A few other webcomics and artists inspired me in my art style and humour. I would say my biggest influences for this are xkcd (my favourite webcomic of all time), Cyanide & Happiness, and the work of Don Hertzfeldt.

The comic is updated every Wednesday. You can also become a fan on Facebook!