physical computing

WiiSpray

by Andy Polaine on April 7, 2009

in General



WiiSpray is Wiimote hack and piece of work by Martin Lihs – a student of my ex-colleagues over at the media faculty at the Bauhaus.

I like the addition of stencil usage – it takes it beyond the obvious paint program idea and you can also collaborate with other people (via the interwebs potentially). This part of the explanation is key:

“The actual hardware tool of the artist – the spraying can – remains constant in its shape and function and is a catalyst for this software supporting innovative computer interaction. The self-explanatory program requires no previous knowledge or reference of a user’s manual.”

(Via Daring Fireball, which probably means you have all seen it already. Sigh).

Baker Tweet. Another hot pun from Poke.

by Andy Polaine on April 3, 2009

in General

The good chaps and chapettes at Poke love a pun, but they love a hot bun even more. So they have created Baker Tweet, a simple way for bakers to tell the world that something is fresh out of the oven.

It’s a mix of Arduino components that hooks into a Django CMS system. The nice part about it is the simple, chunky metal dial and a single button – perfect for floury, gloved hands.

The baker can update the items on the dial via the CMS (or via iPhone, no less) and then turn the dial to update, hit the button and it pulls in the latest items, so it’s also futureproof. In a working day though, the baker just turns the dial to “Fresh Buns” and everyone who is subscribe to the bakery’s Twitter feed goes off for a bun feed.

The first one is installed in the Albion Café – follow them at @albionsoven.

Despite the puns, it’s certainly no half-baked idea and shows that Poke’s creativity shows no signs of going stale.

Digital Analog Clock

February 27, 2009

I like this digital analog clock from Alvin Aronson. Each segment slowly pushes forward or recedes back as the minute changes, which creates a analog in-between that you normally see on non-quartz clocks with a sweeping second hand. The white on white is a nice touch, adding to the blending into nothing effect. Most digital [...]

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Little Bits of Electronics

July 3, 2008

littleBits is an open source library of small electronic components that are already pre-assembled. The very clever and cool thing about them is that they snap together a bit like LEGO using magnets. This means you don’t need to solder anything, which suits me because I’ve got as much skill with a soldering iron as [...]

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