Impossible Photography

I listened to a Ted Talk by Erik Johansson, at this link.  He discusses his desire to create photo-realistic images using photoshop.  He seems to be a modern incarnation of M.C. Echer, an artist famous for perspective drawings that were not possible in a three dimensional world.  

One thing he said struck me quite profoundly - his comment that he felt traditional photography was limited.  It is all about the setup.  For a photograph, you have to set up the right lighting conditions, the right scene, and have the right film in the right camera.  And so the photography process ended when you snapped the picture and created an indelible image.  With Photoshop, he was able to extend the creative process beyond taking the picture.  Technology allowed him to modify photography, allowing him freedoms previously reserved for painting and drawing.  

Overcoming a limitation is a great way to come up with innovative processes and products.  For instance, Google Docs allows collaborative editing of google-formatted presentations, documents, and spreadsheets.  They worked to overcome the barriers to collaborative editing by taking advantage of cloud computing and storage technology. 

If I look at another traditional media - sculpting - what can we come up with from there?  The ability to digitize and recreate sculptures at different locations?  A tracking glove or other device that allows you to sculpt in 3D using analog tools?  How about an installation where you combine the two and have a single piece of art that can be modified by others, where you can highlight its evolution over time?  

My first inclination is to put photography in its own category, because it has such a clear delineation between setup and post-processing.  I'm going to continue looking for other places where people move the immovable, or could if they wanted. 

Ballbot

Well, here is something very interesting that I figured I'd share - Ballbot!  This gentleman came on a Ted and chose to discuss his new robot.  The interesting thing about it is how it moves.  It has a single ball under it, rather than a set of wheels.  To control itself, it has three wheels that turn to move the ball underneath it.  The control wheels are in turn driven by a control box, that compares the robot's upright posture with its current equilibrium.  With all of that, it stands upright without seeming to do anything (aside from the 100+ adjustments per second).  It also has some interesting modes that allow it to act as a bit of a toy.

Off the top of my head, I want to get three of those with bumpers on them and use them for juggling.  There are a lot more uses, though, than that.  Mobile serving trays?  Chairs that run up to you when you're ready to sit down?  Drives for equipment in a warehouse?  You could change the ball to be more grippy and durable, and have an outdoor version.  Single-wheel high-speed vehicles?  Positioning is important.  It could be a geeky new toy, or a badge of honor for the super-rich, or the next big elderly conveyance.  It could end up representing the decadence and decline of the American way of life, if its image isn't actively managed.  :(

What I'm trying to say is that the dancing robot routine at the end is cute, but definitely not all that can be done with it - especially if it has some programming already built in.  I can't wait to see one that can take rough surfaces.  That one looked like it couldn't function effectively off of a smooth surface like a wood or concrete floor.  Also, maybe there is some way to make it generate its own electricity from solar, so it can be used as a pack robot outside?  Possibilities are quite numerous.

Happiness Advantage

Train your brain to be more positive, and you receive a host of benefits.  Hm...  The benefits of a positively oriented brain are familiar to me.  I wonder if following the five suggestions they have would make me even happier.  Follow these suggestions for 21 days to improve your happiness doesn't sound so hard.

3 Gratitude - Writing three things each day that you are grateful for makes your brain begin scanning the world for positive rather than negative things.  

Journaling - If you write about a positive experience, it allows your brain to relive it.  

Exercise - Teaches your brain that your behavior matters

Meditation - Allows your brain to get over the cultural ADHD created by our multitasking culture

Random Acts of Kindness - Write 1 email every day praising or thanking one person in your social support network.  

Let's see... I'd say that if you do each of these things every day, we'd be talking about 40-60 mins/day.  I'm going to give it a shot and try it out!  :)

3D Printers

3D printing is super awesome!  It allows you to repeatedly deposit layers of material, eventually creating a full three dimensaional object.  They run off CAD designs, and can create an enormous number of different objects.  Additionally, it can also create those objects using a crazy big number of different materials.  Reading today, I found out that there are 3D printers that can work with many different types of metals, plastics, food (such as frosting), and even human tissue (printered bladders are real).  You can hear about a printed human kidney here.

I've been thinking of the application possibilities for this type of technology.  The most blatant is to replace traditional manufacturing, specifically fabricating a part out of a single material.  That would likely be with single-material printers, but could become more robust with multi-material heads based on the sophistication of the system.  You could also sell items to people over the internet that are able to be printed on a 3D printer.  This one is more problematic until the technology become pervasive in the consumer home.  That said, you can certainly use it for artwork and small through-the-internet sales of artsy or specialty products.

I'm very excited about this technology, and am thinking about investing in a 3D printer of my own.  To do so, I'd need to overcome a couple barriers - the biggest one is that I don't know how to design 3D objects in CAD software.  Not impossible, but something I'd have to learn.

Technology of Storytelling

I happened across this TedTalk, discussing the technological evolution of story telling mediums, beginning with the book, movies, twitter, etc.  Originally, we had the oral tradition of passing down stories.  Then it began to incorporate the visual, when we began creating pictographs in caves.  Next came the written word, in the form of the first writing systems.  And since then the main innovations have been adapting the medium (light, sound, paper) to better convey the story.

I've read about the basic structure of a story - the characters, plot, and settings.  I love storytelling because it allows you to use a medium, either new or old, to tell a story that is completely unique.  One of the dangers today is that your work will be derivative.  This is especially important when you consider the speed at which information moves through the collective consciousness.  But everyone adds something to any idea they touch.  That said, I tend to shy away from telling stories because they can be so heavily influenced by the world around you, which is toady filled with other people's information.  But down the road...  :)

This fits into the technological evolution of just about everything in our society.  Social networking, manufacturing, and even FOOD, all are moving from traditional methods to more modern techniques.  I would like to suggest that, once again, our society is changing in a fundamental way, and its impact will not be fully understood for many, many years.

Biomutualism

One fascinating topic I've recently learned about is Biomutualism.  It's defined as "an association between biology and another discipline."  It boils down to using biology to make breakthroughs or gain insights into other fields of study.  Then returning to biology with a new question to be answered through field study.  I was introduced to this concept through a talk on geckos' feet and tails here.

They make several associations between geckos and other areas of disciplines.  First, the gecko feet have nano-sized hairs on their feet which allow them to grip surfaces using intermolecular forces, rather than traditional means like claws or adhesives.  Then the engineers figured out that you need a tail for climbing.  Then the biologists figured out an active tail was used for stabalization and movement in mid air, possibly during falls.  Then back to the engineers to develop active tail technology. 

Biology is a fantastic place to find inspiration and mutual benefits such the example above.  Life has existed for millions of years and the diversity of animals and plants ensures that some have come to use principles we have not even thought of yet.

It is also a good model for how I like to imagine my interaction with the world around me.  Taking information from multiple sources, using it in ways that may be unique to me, then offering ideas, designs or other intellectual property to others so they can do the same.