We take a look at some of the latest artistic and technological advances that happened this week in the area of light.
1. Vivid Festival
From May 22 to June 8, the city of Sydney, Australia, became home to the Vivid Festival, where light, music and innovation were celebrated. Numerous light installations - such as this one on the Sydney Opera House - and grand-scale projections turned the city into the world's largest outdoor art gallery.
2. Projection of Buddha
In Afghanistan, a Chinese couple, Zhang Xinyu and Liang Hong, used advanced projection technology to resurrect the sacred statue of a Buddha that was bombed and smashed to the ground by the Taliban in 2001.
3. World's Thinnest Lightbulb
For the first time, scientists have created a visible light source using graphene, a layer of carbon just one atom thin. In a press release, Columbia University mechanical engineer James Hone said, the new type of light was so thin and small it could fit onto a computer chip and lead to new advances in thin, flexible, and transparent displays as well as optical communications.
4. Light Origami
Among the many art installations at the city-wide Vivid Festival in Sydney was Light Origami, designed by Masakazu Shirane. The domed structure contained 320 mirrored panels that created a room-sized kaleidoscope for anyone who stepped inside.
5. Transparent OLED Screen
This week at Retail Asia Expo 2015 in Hong Kong, Samsung unveiled the first commercial version of its Mirror and Transparent OLEDs. Samsung paired the screen with Intel's RealSense technology, which uses front- and rear-facing cameras to capture facial movements and track hand gestures. The set-up could be used as a virtual fitting room, allowing customers to try on clothes without having to get undressed.
6. Connected Bikini
In France, Marie Spinali has created a bikini embedded with a UV sensor and an app that pairs with the sensor. Swimsuit wearers can program the app to their tanning preference and ask the sensor to alert them when they've been in the sunlight too long.
7. Oculus Rift
On June 11, Brendan Iribe, CEO of Oculus VR, introduced the much-anticipated virtual reality headset, which still won't be available for sale until 2016. Iribe seemed to be generating buzz about the headset's capabilities. Here's a list: The headset will stream Xbox One games; it will be bundled with an Xbox One controller; and Oculus Touch prototype controllers will let gamers interact with content using natural hand gestures
8. Inflatable Tent for the Moon
If any trips to the Moon are in our Nation's future, we might want a way for astronauts to explore beyond the limited, day-trip range of base. To that end, MIT engineers Samuel Schreiner and Timothy Setterfield and their team have come up with a lightweight, inflatable tent that would allow astronauts to overnight hours away from a lunar capsule. The tent sleeps two, has a reflective shield to protect against radiation, a life-support system complete with oxygen, water and food, and among other features, a solar array to recharge the rover's batteries.
9. One Tank
Houston-based Neste, a producer of biodiesel, is sponsoring a road trip. Starting on June 21, a team of motorsport enthusiasts will drive a custom-built Superlite Coupe from Florida to California on just one tank of gasoline. The car, powered a modified Volkswagen 1.9-litre TDI diesel engine, will travel more than 2,400 miles through eight states before completing its journey. Read more about it here.
10. Smart Palm
Date Palm trees may be a common site in Dubai, but this one is smart. D-Idea Media is installing these trees around the city, where they'll provide Wi-Fi, directions, seating and shade, in addition to serving as charging stations.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please adhere to proper blog etiquette when posting your comments. This blog owner will exercise his absolution discretion in allowing or rejecting any comments that are deemed seditious, defamatory, libelous, racist, vulgar, insulting, and other remarks that exhibit similar characteristics. If you insist on using anonymous comments, please write your name or other IDs at the end of your message.