Transmaterial » digital

Media Cubes

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:00:40 +0000

Media Cubes invite tangible interaction to control media. Unlike conventional remote devices, this system consists of two cubes made out of wood. The system can track the orientation and rotation of the objects in order to relay particular commands. The user controls a particular function by orienting its symbol up, then rotating the cube to adjust the function—such as changing the volume level or scrolling through a song list.

The technology inside the cube is fairly simple. Gyroscopic and accelerometer sensors detect movement with a high level of accuracy. The signal is then sent via radio technology the same way a wireless mouse works. The cubes are charged with contactless induction technology, and there is no need for a power input. In this way, the Media Cubes demonstrate the unexpected integration of technological controls with a more intuitive, tactile interface.

Contact: Mattias Andersson, Johanneshov, Sweden.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Laser-Sintered Textiles

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:00:51 +0000

Laser-Sintered Textiles, based on a concept by designer Jiri Evenhuis, have opened a new frontier of possibilities for the production of future textiles. Instead of creating textiles by the meter, then cutting and sewing them together into final products, Laser-Sintered Textiles could one day make needle and thread obsolete.

After several years of research in software, materials, and surface quality, Freedom of Creation (FOC) launched its first commercial products for the public in 2005. Since there were no machines made specifically for manufacturing interlocking textile patterns by layers, FOC employed rapidmanufacturing techniques such as laser sintering for their manufacture. FOC’s textile products don’t require any assembly and products may be made inside their own packaging.

Contact: Feedom of Creation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Feather Circuit Boards

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:00:47 +0000

Richard Wool has recently developed a circuit board made from soybeans and chicken feathers. A professor of chemical engineering who directs the Affordable Composites from Renewable Sources (ACRES) program at the University of Delaware, Dr. Wool seeks creative, locally-available substitutes for petroleum-based resources.

“With the demise of the oil business in about 25 years and the ever increasing utilization of electronic materials, it makes excellent green engineering sense to pursue new materials that are derived from renewable resources,” Wool said. “The biobased materials are derived from renewable plant and animal feedstock, which use carbon dioxide from the air and help minimize global warming, as compared to petroleum feedstock.”

A novel bio-based composite material developed from soybean oils and keratin feather fibers (KF), Feather Circuit Boards are suitable for electronic as well as automotive and aeronautical applications. Keratin fibers are a hollow, light, and tough material and are compatible with several soybean (S) resins, such as acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO). Not only is the material lighter than that of conventional circuit boards, but electrons also move at twice the speed through the feather-based printed version as well. Moreover, these materials are both bountiful in Delaware.

Contact: Center for Composite Materials, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Monocoque

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:00:21 +0000

Monocoque stands for a construction technique that supports structural load using an object’s external skin. Contradictory to the traditional design of building skins that distinguishes between internal structural frameworks and non-bearing skin elements, this approach promotes the heterogeneity of material properties.

Monocoque’s structural skin is generated using a Voronoi pattern, the density of which corresponds to simulated loading conditions. The distribution of shear-stress lines and surface pressure is embodied in the allocation and relative thickness of the vein-like elements built into the skin. The prototype model was 3-D printed using OBJET’s Polyjet matrix technology which allows for the assignment of structural properties to multiple 3-D printed substances. This innovative technology provides for the ability to print parts and assemblies made of multiple materials within a single build, as well as to create composite materials that present preset combinations of mechanical properties.

Contact: MIT Media Laboratory / Material Ecology, Boston, MA, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Cartesian Wax

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:29 +0000

Cartesian Wax is a continuous tiling system that structurally varies across its surface area to accommodate a range of physical conditions of light transmission, heat flux, and structural support. The surface is thicker where it is structurally required to support itself, and modulates its transparency according to the light conditions of its hosting environment.

Architect and digital fabrication researcher Neri Oxman assembled twenty tiles as a continuum composed of multiple resin types—rigid and/or flexible. She designed each tile as a structural composite representing the local performance criteria as manifested in the mixtures of liquid resin.

Contact: Material Ecology, Boston, MA, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

ARTHUR

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:19:51 +0000

Augmented Round Table for ArcHitecture and URban Planning (ARTHUR) is a collaboration environment based on Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Developed by Dr. Wolfgang Broll at the Fraunhofer Institute, ARTHUR augments the exchange of information possible at a conventional conference table with virtual models of houses, cityscapes, or specific architectural components and details. Appropriate 3D objects are projected into the space above the table and viewed through stereoscopic head-mounted semitransparent displays. Geometrically registered to their environment, the objects behave similar to real objects and allow the users to examine them from any location. In contrast to real objects, the virtual objects can easily be modified using intuitive manipulation techniques, such as voice commands, tangible objects on the table, gestures, and gazebased interaction. In this way, different planning alternatives and proposed modifications become visible immediately, accelerating the overall planning and reviewing process.

ARTHUR can support architects throughout an entire project, from early sketches, to design and review meetings, through to presentations of the final results to clients. The ARTHUR system has already successfully been integrated with the Microstation CAD system (integration with other environments upon request).

Contact: Fraunhofer IT, Sankt Augustin, Germany.
Find more information in Transmaterial 2.

Recursive Pattern Process

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:00:06 +0000

Materials produced in modular units based on traditional industrial practices are inevitably confined to predictable, repeating patterns. A common example is the carpet tile, in which repeating patterns emerge despite the frequent desire for an evolving, nonrepetitive effect. StudioStampa is dedicated to changing common perceptions about patterns. The company’s design concept is based on creating an evolving, nonperiodic pattern that is in a constant state of permutation, thereby eliminating pattern predictability.

Using nature as their model, StudioStampa generates surface patterns that closely emulate the beauty of constant, ordered change occurring in the physical world. Their recursive patterns are generated by custom-developed software tools, and these patterns are utilized to manipulate a variety of materials for use in interior and exterior applications.

Contact: StudiosStampa Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada.
Find more information in Transmaterial 2.

InterWall

Blaine Brownell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:21 +0000

Teams need team computers: until now, working with a personal computer has only been possible for individuals. With the InterWall, it is possible to use a digital environment for teamwork, presentations, and conferences. Presentations and graphics in any required file format are projected onto the InterWall, which is a holographic glass surface. In this way, the product only becomes a display surface when it is in use; otherwise it is completely transparent. The mobile frame also allows flexible and fast application in different situations: as an electronic white board, a flip chart, a pin board, or a presentation and interaction surface for trade fairs and reception areas.

The InterWall is designed to increase work effectiveness within a given space. It allows the elimination of media and process discontinuity between individual work and teamwork, as well as the networking of work groups at different locations, which can lead to considerable time and cost savings.

Contact: Foresee, Bad Münder, Germany.
Find more information in Transmaterial.

Sensacell

Blaine Brownell — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:19 +0000

The Sensacell system transforms architectural surfaces into dynamic interactive experiences. Sensacell capacitive proximity sensors detect people and objects on the other side of barriers up to 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) thick, creating a three-dimensional, multitouch sensing zone above the surface. Additionally, the integrated full-color LED lighting array creates stunning interactive graphics, video, and ambient illumination. The plug-and-play system is based on 6 inch (15.2 centimeter) square modules that can be embedded into surfaces of any size or shape, allowing total design flexibility.

Sensacell arrays can be interfaced with other systems to control sound, light, video, HVAC, and alarm systems via RS232, MIDI, DMX, and TCP-IP. The Sensacell Sensa Tools software allows for the rapid development of customized programs to control various building systems or trigger particular environmental effects.

Contact: Sensacell Inc., Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 2.

ERCO Virtual Luminaires

Blaine Brownell — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:00:40 +0000

ERCO virtual luminaires are digital fixtures that accurately predict how their real counterparts will behave. Architecture begins in the mind. The progress from concept to reality takes time and can require considerable persuasion. In this regard, implementing architectural design is largely a matter of communication. As spatial perception is entirely visual, computer generated visualizations have rapidly gained a permanent place in the process of architectural design. Just as in real architecture, virtual architecture only comes to life with light.

Therefore, every ERCO luminaire has a virtual “twin” in the form of digital luminaire data, which can be downloaded from the web site and inserted directly into lighting simulation and visualization software to enable physically accurate studies, visualizations, and analyses with photographic-quality.

Contact: ERCO, Lüdenscheid, Germany.
Find more information in Transmaterial.