A CPJ Example (and fruit-flies on Titan)

Is this why you should do a CPJ? The link is a nice interview too. the bulk of the 7 years of the project was the flies sitting in their environment slowly getting used to new conditions. I kept the flies for a year under a Titan analog orange light before testing for adaptation. modelled… Continue reading A CPJ Example (and fruit-flies on Titan)

Yet Another “Printing Buildings”

Every 6 months, someone announces a way to 3D print buildings. Printing the walls is not a solution: they always leave out the utilities. This one is interesting for the undulations. the undulating wall design requires 15% more concrete. but "more efficient at resisting overturning moments" and "reduced the potential for shrinkage cracking near the… Continue reading Yet Another “Printing Buildings”

How do you know the car is paying attention?

Add (animated) googly eyes (via core77) "It's second-nature to glance at the driver of the approaching vehicle before stepping into the road," says Pete Bennett "appearing to 'look' directly at them - signalling to road users that it has identified them, and intends to take avoiding action." Use the natural ways we interact with other… Continue reading How do you know the car is paying attention?

exhibition of algorithmic art

At Boston Cyberarts, an exhibition of algorithmic art till October 28. We often describe the Boston Cyberarts Gallery as an exhibition space for those who regard code as their creative medium. ... all of the artists in this exhibition have developed creative systems for processing information that are simultaneously illuminating and emotive. Should I bother… Continue reading exhibition of algorithmic art

Aka 10KHz, Humans as single pixel cameras

There are single-pixel cameras, that trade time (a series of patterns are projected, and the reflected brightness recorded) for pixels (it's just brightness: single pixel). We can see the original object if the brightness/pattern is played back ... fast enough. Cf. ~16Hz rate of motion pictures ("flicker fusion"). Picture of Einstein in the pdf. Why… Continue reading Aka 10KHz, Humans as single pixel cameras

3D Print Almost Graphene

Seems to be "cured" graphene oxide, but a technique for 3D Printing To create these complex structures, Hensleigh started with graphene oxide, a precursor to graphene, crosslinking the sheets to form a porous hydrogel. Breaking the graphene oxide hydrogel with ultrasound and adding light-sensitive acrylate polymers, Hensleigh could use projection micro-stereolithography

Artificial Mangrove

Math, modeling, water tanks, to figure out how mangrove roots work to resist storms. Via eurekalert.org. mangrove root systems even have the ability to dissipate tidal energy through unique hydrological flows and divert the energy of water ... robust network of roots that can withstand extreme environmental conditions. modeled the complex mangrove roots as a… Continue reading Artificial Mangrove

Self-folding tiny origami robots

Watch the frenetic behavior. “It’s called a one-degree-of-freedom structure, in which you just need to turn one crank and the whole thing moves in the way that you want,” Demaine explains. “It lets you transfer just one degree of freedom into a whole complicated motion, all through the mechanics of the structure.” This is an… Continue reading Self-folding tiny origami robots

particles + water + pressure

Liquification of bulk cargo can sink ships: granular materials loaded directly into a ship’s hold – can suddenly turn from a solid state into a liquid state... Solid bulk cargoes are typically “two-phase” materials as they contain water between the solid particles. As everyone knows, liquification happens during earthquakes A lot is known about the… Continue reading particles + water + pressure