Researchers with Keio University's Okude Laboratory in Tokyo have developed an unlikely platform to showcase content from the burgeoning image website Flickr. The Flickr Umbrella, also known as Pileus (which refers both to the head of a mushroom and a cloud formation), can download and project still image and video content in real-time from Flickr or other websites using the umbrella fabric as the projection surface. Images are advanced with a simple flick of the wrist, which rotates the umbrella shaft a couple degrees. The umbrella also comes equipped with a simple camera mounted to the shaft, and a low-resolution photograph may be taken, uploaded to the Flickr website, and actively projected by the umbrella within two to three seconds. [Suggested by Steve West, Tokyo.]
Ned Kahn is an accomplished North California sculptor who deploys materials in order to celebrate and amplify natural forces. His large-scale wind installations, which have names like Wind Portal, Technorama Facade, and Fragmented Sea, utilize vast arrays panels made of aluminum, steel, and other materials to shimmer and dance in the breeze, allowing the natural environment to influence the design.
In Articulated Cloud, for example, thousands of 9-inch squares of perforated aluminum are mounted on low friction hinges so that the entire surface of the facade responds to the wind. Each moving panel is perforated with thousands of different sized holes that, when viewed from a distance, create a photographic mosaic of sand dune images. When sunlight passes through the screens, intricate shadow images of the dunes are projected onto the walls and floor of the building lobby. [via Ned Kahn; suggested by Kate Diamond, Seattle.]
In co-operation with Christoffer Dupont, student of engineering; Lene Langballe, student of architecture; and Dalton Beton, a Danish manufacturer of concrete components; the Innovation Lab project team has developed the first rear-projection screen made of concrete.
The screen consists of concrete with embedded optical fibers, arranged as pixels, capable of transmitting natural as well as artificial light. The light-admission points are on the back of the screen where the fibers are positioned. The light, or the picture, is displayed in pixels on the front. The light source can be a projector emitting pictures or film footage, or a window emitting natural daylight.
While it is possibly the heaviest projection screen known, the potential applications are interesting, such as solid walls displaying images or real-time video, integrated lighting, interactive sports backboards, or illuminated flooring. [via Innovation Lab; suggested by Shawn Gehle, Los Angeles.]
View the YouTube video
here.
Lumalive fabrics feature flexible arrays of colored light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fully integrated into the fabric - without compromising the softness or flexibility of the cloth. These light emitting textiles make it possible to create materials that can carry dynamic messages, graphics or multicolored surfaces. Fabrics like drapes, cushions or sofa coverings become active when they illuminate in order to enhance the observer’s mood and positively influence his/her behavior.
Lumalive jackets are comfortable to wear, and the Lumalive fabrics only become obvious when they light up to display vivid colored patterns, logos, short text messages or even full color animations. The electronics, batteries and LED arrays are fully integrated and invisible to the observer and wearer. The jackets feature panels of up to 200 by 200 mm², although the active sections can be scaled up to cover much larger areas such as a sofa.
“Taking the Lumalive fabrics from prototypes to integrated products has been a major challenge,” said Bas Zeper, Managing Director of Photonic Textiles, Philips Research. “The light emitting textiles have to be flexible, durable and operated by reasonably compact batteries. Fitting all that into a comfortable, lightweight garment is a considerable engineering success.” [via Philips; suggested by Jay DeVore, Seattle.]
