“Biological inspiration or biomimetics can help people think outside the box of human engineering. Dr. Tim Finnigan, CEO of BioPower Systems, has taken bio-inspiration literally in his pitch to create the bioWAVEâ„¢ and the bioSTREAMâ„¢. Both systems try to take advantage of the biophysical properties marine animals and plants have adopted for living in near shore wave and high flow environments. BioPower Systems is using their seed money to build prototype models in an effort to get these ideas to market within two to three years. The BioPower Systems website does a beautiful job of presenting the technology. For a review of how this might stack up in the quickly growing ocean power sector, keep reading.”via treehugger via WorldchangingÂ
Each recipient receives $100,000 to make their one world-changing wish come true along with the help of the amazing power of the TED community filled with shakers and movers in positions to make HUGE changes. They also receive a pretty sweet floating sculpture by artist Tom Shannon.(I’ll post a pic after the jump of it)
Watch the video above for the TED 2007 announcement, otherwise, you can view all the TED videos here. Bonos speech for the first ever TED prize was a good one…watch it here, or after the jump.
I made a quick visit to Pittsburgh recently and found it to be a little hidden jewel bound for a boom in growth, a nice variety of food (though maybe not in the sushi department), tons of sports fans(tons!), big hills, many bars, a few great museums, and an eclectic crowd of students though they seemed to stay on the campus side of the city. The cost of living is low, and many developments seemed to be popping up. I originally thought the industrial town would be smoggy, but not much smog was to be seen. The locals were friendly, though I have this weird feeling if you did not watch football (Steelers) they would give you a grin.
The town is filled with fleets of commercial businesses in the health care, financial, and retail departments, and a spoof of tech companies crawling in. My journey was short, but a nice glimpse of a town I’d never known about besides the many movies that take place there. One local I spoke to said there were 3 things to do in Pittsburgh: Eat, Drink, and watch Sports. I have my own thoughts but I’ll just post up a few pics after the jump…
I’ve always wanted to sketch in 3D with a pen that dispensed ink that solidified into wires upon contact with air, but that dream is yet to come true, but for now, lighting tricks will work. I’ve seen this lighting trick many times in the past, but I’ve never seen people use that data and transform it into a physical object until now. Pretty cool, even though the end results seem more like blobjects or objects made from cans of shaving cream. Watch the video above, or go to the YouTube of it here.
Pop!Tech 2006 was an amazing brain safari filled with big ideas, great conversations, and a gathering of curious open minded people from all disciplines and places. I’d usually post tons of pics and detailed descriptions, but other guru bloggers have done this timing favor, a very detailed textual blog by Ethan Zukerman, or a more visual dose by core77. Hopefully they’ll post all of the webcast lecture online much like TEDtalks soon. Pictured above is Rodrigo and Gabriela rockin out the house!!!
Read those blogs for the full details, and hit up Flickr for some images, otherwise, I’m going to post my experience outside of all the great lectures after the jump with a bunch of pics: (more…)
How freaking awesome are these! SmarinDesigns Living Stone collection lets ya dive into these ultra-cool soft pillows, making ya feel like your a kid again or zapped by that laser in “Honey, I shrunk the Kids” movie! Very much like MoloDesigns Felt Rocks, these larger pebble like sibling comes in various sizes, colors, and textures to bring that kid out in you again even in your fancy living room space giving it a fun playful vibe to get inspired by.
Here’s a nice set of concepts turning simple everyday objects into other everyday useful products with those things that you were about to throw away. A few more after the jump.
World Initiatives, Huge Ideas, Global Problems, Collective Solutions, a life changing book no matter what field your in!
A must buy and read book I picked up at PopTech this past weekend filled with an immense amount of inspiring, resourceful, and mind-blowing chapters of information on green sustainability in all aspects with write ups from over 60 authors and a collection of provoking and inspirational images. As Alex Steffen from WorldChanging quotes:
“The debate [over climate change] is over: You’re either on board, or you’re just wrong.â€
Go buy this book(book tour), spread the knowledge, and become part of this global transformation. More here.
I’m zippin off to the PopTech Conference in Camden Maine for an amazing idea gathering. I’ve heard it’s very comparable to GEL or TED and based on the line-up of speakers, I can see why. If you think your missing out…not at all because all the freakin speakers will be webcast LIVE here!!!
Here’s a partial list of speakers that I’m familiar with though the unknowns are the ones that usually captivate me:
– Chris Anderson: Long Tail, Editor and Chief of Wired Magazine.
– Stewart Brand: Long Now Foundation and Global Business Network.
– Blaine Brownell: Architect, sustainable building advisor, and materials researcher.
– Homaro Cantu: Chef, Scientist, Artist.
– Richard Dawkins: The world’s most influential thinker on evolutionary biology
– Brian Eno: musical legend, innovator, visual artist, and pop icon.
– Juan Enriquez: Futurist, author of As the Future Catches You
and The Untied States of America.
– Ze Frank: This dudes amazzzingly funny.
– Kevin Kelly: Technology Visionary. Has a great blog as well.
– Bruce Streling: Futurist, science fiction author, jounalist and critic.
– Craig Venter: Dedicated to human genomic research.
– Will Wright: Creative force behind the groundbreaking Sims franchises and Spore!!.
Sushi Pillows!!! Yuuuuummm!!!(I’m drooling) As much as I LOVE sushi, I’d go crazy if I had a few of these in my room and probably munch on them in my sleep, otherwise, I love the details in these oh so oishii pillows. I wished they had sashimi pillows and soy sauce blankets with green wasabi sheets to bunch up into balls! Maybe textured dark green sheets to roll yourself into a sleeping seaweed body roll! Look out for sushi costumes for the upcoming halloween! more pics after the jump…
“The Aimulet LA is a batteryless, light-activated handheld audio communication device with an outer shell made from molded bamboo, designed by the Information Technology Research Institute at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The device itself is designed to be held to your ear, like a cell phone. When you stand over special LED emitters in the ground, Aimulet LA receives the light signals via an array of spherical micro solar cells (called Sphelar by manufacturer Kyosemi) set into the bottom of the handset. It translates the signals into audio messages that are transmitted through a tiny speaker in the device.”
I had the chance to to tinker with these during my visit to Chicago thanks to the Inventables office. It’s not that loud, but more like a soft whisper coming from a thin piece of bamboo, though from what I remember, I was beamed over beats from some rock band, which made this bamboo card rather mysterious. I love the idea of powerless speakers, but am not sure how advanced this can get, though I’m sure it’ll become a cheap disposable element in interactive environments down the road.
