Category Archives: design

Computer-Human Interaction Conference 2012

The CHI 2012 conference is in Austin, TX this year, May 5-12. I’ll be reporting from the event, posting videos, interviews, and short write-ups of interesting projects. In the meantime, watch the video teaser below.

Posted in design, technology | Tagged austin, chi, chi 2012, computer-human interaction, conference, HCI, human-computer interaction, interactivity, multitouch, touch, touchscreen, tx | Leave a comment

How an Xlerator Hand Dryer is Made

Surprisingly hand-crafted. Outside: a buffed zinc outer unit. Inside: a motor spins a blower wheel at a rate of 20,000 revolutions per minute. See video below.

Posted in design, technology, Uncategorized, video | Tagged bathroom, design, engineering, hand dryer, hand washing, motor, xlerator | Leave a comment

A New Type of Touch Sensor

A new story of mine is up at Technology Review. It’s about a novel touch sensor that’s quite versatile—good for wires, fabrics, rubber, paper, and hard flat surfaces like walls, floors, and coffee tables. The researchers, Patrick Baudisch (Hasso-Plattner Institute) … Continue reading →

Posted in design, technology | Tagged baudisch, design, diy, HCI, tdr, Technology Review, time domain reflectometry, touch sensor, wimmer | Leave a comment

Sail Boats with Wings

In 2004, I had the privilege of visiting some Airbus aerospace engineers in Bristol, UK to see their latest project: a sail boat named Invictus. They had designed the catamaran with a rigid sail–it looked and acted like an airplane wing–to compete … Continue reading →

Posted in competitions, design, technology | Tagged aerospace engineering, boat design, boats, c-class, c-class catamarans, catamarans, Gizmodo, international c-class catamaran championships, little america's cup, rigid sails, sail boats, sailing, The Economist, wind power, winged sails | 2 Comments

Using Holography and LEDs to Make Art

A while back, I had the opportunity to visit the studio of San Francisco artist Christine Remy, who creates holographic portraits and LED sculptures. Much of her art is subtle and contemplative, however, she has two projects that I found … Continue reading →

Posted in design, lasers, technology, Uncategorized, video | Tagged art, artist, Christine Remy, holograms, holographic art, holography, LED, light, light-emitting diodes, persistence-of-vision, San Francisco | 2 Comments