Search results for calm-technology

Visual of Technology behind Google's results

Technology behind Google's results

As a Google user, you're familiar with the speed and accuracy of a Google search. How exactly does Google manage to find the right results for every query as quickly as it does? …

Visual of When there's smoke, there's nature

When there's smoke, there's nature

When I was a kid, I thought that people that could make smoke circles were really cool. Now I think machines that can do that are even cooler!Â? Made by Takeshi Ishiguro

Visual of Evolution in the Bedroom

Evolution in the Bedroom

Good morning anywhere in the world! Waking up is a problem (at least for 50% of the population). That's why alarm clocks exist; machines and devices are invented to solve …

Visual of Monitoring your computer's activity like a frog pond

Monitoring your computer's activity like a frog pond

Multi-touch designer and developer Richard Monson-Haefel considers sound as an important part of our user interfaces. As an application of " Calm Technology " which revolves …

Visual of Ambient bathtub

Ambient bathtub

I am sorry I couldn't be there— I had an important meeting with my bathtub that could not be rescheduled. This bathtub with an internal multicolour LED light fitting, creating a …

Visual of Bird radio

Bird radio

Instruction for the Birds: Land on perch->trigger sound file->observe human response-->behave accordingly. Instructions for People: Listen, you'll be able to understand. The sound …

Visual of Bit.fall Aquadisplay

Bit.fall Aquadisplay

A screen of water displays images by controlling drops of water falling down. Density creates light/dark shades that create the image— Project site

Visual of Blur Building

Blur Building

The pavilion is made of filtered lake water shot as a fine mist through 13,000 fog nozzles creating an artificial cloud that measures 300 feet wide by 200 feet deep by 65 feet …

Visual of Cameleon concept car

Cameleon concept car

The GloCar uses LED lights to change body panel colours, intensity and frequency. A driver can thus choose at will to either stand out or blend in. Alongside the cosmetic value …

Visual of Crowd counter

Crowd counter

Crowd counter is a piece of software able to track moving features within a video clip. It works on the assumption that points that move together are most likely part of the same …

Visual of Datafountain: Money translated to water

Datafountain: Money translated to water

"In the morning paper, I can read the weather report as well as the stock quotes. But when I look out of my window I only get a weather update and no stock exchange info. Could …

Visual of Dataplant: Money translated to plants

Dataplant: Money translated to plants

Remember the datafountain ? Of course there are many other applications of information decoration: datawallpaper, datasounds, datafurniture and dataclimate. The picture above …

Visual of Dreamkeeper

Dreamkeeper

Skin conductivity sensors are used to deduce the emotional state of the sleeper. This information is brought to 3-D studio where a script is used to transform this into physical …

Visual of Entry 2006 closing weekend

Entry 2006 closing weekend

This weekend is the last change to visit the Entry 2006 exhibition in the coalwashe building, Zollverein. Over 300 exhibits from more than 20 countries are on display. Next nature …

Visual of Eternal Sunset

Eternal Sunset

Eternal Sunset endeavours to ensure you can enjoy the sunset live from any location, at any time. As the sunset moves westward, Eternal Sunset continuously tunes into different …

Visual of Excitement Clothing

Excitement Clothing

The body suit pictured above has LEDs that illuminate according to the wearer's state of excitement. Skin signals are measured and change light emission through biometric sensing …

Visual of Eye 2.0

Eye 2.0

Now with Google smart look. Don't worry, it is science fiction (still). Created by Sean Hamilton Alexander.

Visual of Close to skin technology

Close to skin technology

Wearable Interfaces, Smart Materials and Living Fabrics. V2_, Institute for the Unstable Media, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam-based Virtueel Platform, the expertise centre for …

Visual of GloFish

GloFish

  A tropical fish that fluoresces bright red is set to become the first genetically modified pet to go on sale in the US. Alan Blake and colleagues at Yorktown Technologies …

Visual of 3D rendered bunnies prefer calm diesels

3D rendered bunnies prefer calm diesels

Kenichi Nagahiro, Honda's chief engine designer, hated diesel engines. When asked to design Honda's first diesel he flatly refused - unless he was allowed to start completely from …

Visual of Hotspot Bloom

Hotspot Bloom

Hotspot Bloom is a wearable flower that glows and changes color to indicate the signal strength of a nearby wireless network (802.11b/g). With its mobile interface, Hotspot Bloom …

Visual of Infant Pillow - Simulates a Mother's Hand

Infant Pillow - Simulates a Mother's Hand

  If you've ever wished for a "hand" to leave behind so that your baby would feel as if you've never left the room, your prayers have been answered with the Zaky Infant …

Visual of Info Toaster

Info Toaster

Toasted bread as an information display device (originally developed in 2001 but somehow still intruiging): a toaster that parses meteorological information from the web and then …

Visual of Lifestyle pets

Lifestyle pets

ALLERCA has produced the world's first scientifically-proven hypoallergenic cats. These cats allow some of the millions of people with feline allergies to finally enjoy the love …

Visual of Instant privacy

Instant privacy

Please leave me alone, I'm writing a message.

Visual of More leg = more money

More leg = more money

The Stock market skirt Nancy Paterson made a blue taffeta & black velvet party dress that represents the real-time stock market situation by lowering or raising its hemline. …

Visual of WiFi-enabled Ambient Rabbit

WiFi-enabled Ambient Rabbit

There may even come a moment that our connection with an industrially manufactured coke bottle may be richer and more mythical that our relation with a genetically analysed and …

Visual of Need for Speed

Need for Speed

A transformation of the big flashing arrows from the computer game Need for Speed Underground 2, NFSU 2 to physical space. Although computer games generally try to imitate the …

Visual of Plant Sensors

Plant Sensors

One day you will step into the garden to look at the flowers - and the flowers will look back at you. Rich Fletcher, Nikolai Slavov, and Hiroshi Ishii from MIT Tangible Media …

Visual of Power Aware Cord

Power Aware Cord

The Power Aware Cord transports electrical power while simultaneously visualizing energy usage. Electrical transfer is represented through glowing pulses, flow, and intensity of …

Visual of RFID ladybag

RFID ladybag

a purse that visually keeps track of valuable items such as keys, wallets, personal identification cards, & cellular phones through various sensors embedded in the bag. if …

Visual of Sababa

Sababa

The Sababa is the first real time lava visualiser kit of global city flows. It takes the lava lamp one step further by reconstructing it according to the language of the current …

Visual of Save our Next Nature! Buy the book

Save our Next Nature! Buy the book

A critical and visual take on culturally emerged Nature. Full of statements from designers and thinkers from around the globe. Wild systems, Genetic Surprises, Calm Technology, …

Visual of Sequoiaview - harddisk visualisation

Sequoiaview - harddisk visualisation

Did you ever wonder where all that hard drive space went too? Sequoiaview generates organic-like views of the files and folders on your hard drives using cushion treemaps. …

Visual of Sixties last

Sixties last

The flower depicted in the image is a good example of Hypernature. While fake nature is always a flatter surrogate of old nature, hypernature is a simulation of an old nature that …

Visual of Sky-catcher

Sky-catcher

Luna Maurer has launched her long-expected website on december 18th 2006: From July 2005 a camera on the roof of De Balie (famous building in Amsterdam) is 'catching the sky' in a …

Visual of The infoBreath

The infoBreath

A flower arcing from a frosted pane of glass. Rigged with a breath sensor and connected to an internet packet sniffer, the flower is cued in to the wireless network flowing in the …

Visual of The World is not a Desktop

The World is not a Desktop

Mark Weiser (originally written for ACM Interactions ). What is the metaphor for the computer of the future? The intelligent agent? The television (multimedia)? The 3-D graphics …

Visual of Tree traffic light

Tree traffic light

Funded and produced by the Public Art Commissions Agency. On roundabout just beyond the Canary Wharf estate there are three trees, two are London planes; the third is a traffic …

Visual of Cellphone Treemasts

Cellphone Treemasts

Mobile phone operators go to extraordinary lengths to conceal the masts that form their networks. They are being disguised as chimneys, clocks, drainpipes, telegraph poles, and …

Visual of Walls with Ears

Walls with Ears

A traditional textile heritage is celebrated with flocked wallpaper that comes to life as it reacts to ambient noise levels. The louder the space the brighter the wallpaper glows. …

Visual of Typing With Water

Typing With Water

A technique developed by the German Claus Winterfor an installation artist makes whatever word you type into a computer visible by a "water-curtain". The video shows the World …

Visual of Weather forecasting umbrella

Weather forecasting umbrella

An umbrella that provides information about the likelihood of rain so that users can make a simple, informed decision about whether to take the umbrella with them as they leave …

Visual of Wifi SM: Feel the global pain

Wifi SM: Feel the global pain

You have the impression that the disasters of the world do not touch you anymore? You feel vaguely sorry for other people's misfortunes but you don't feel the inner urge which …

Visual of Wildgruen

Wildgruen

Mandy Meißner's "Wildgruen", a plant that can move and communicate. In her view, plants need to be freed from their isolation, both in the way that they can only lean towards the …

Visual of Wind Shaped Pavillion

Wind Shaped Pavillion

The Wind Shaped Pavilion is a design proposal for a large fabric structure that can be used as a public or private pavilion. As a lightweight fabric structure, the wind slowly and …

Visual of Contour door

Contour door

Silly inventions like these make me wonder why man continuously seeks interaction with the things surrounding him. Should buildings or offices be allowed to talk? "This door was …

Visual of Botanic Artists

Botanic Artists

Where other trees grow their branches towards the light, willows seem to want to touch the surface. Tim Knowles creates drawings independent of his own hand and when he attaches …

Visual of Bright blind

Bright blind

Made of electroluminescent (EL) sheets, Makoto Hirahara's Bright Blind simulates a window where none exists. In all other respects, the artificial blind functions in exactly the …

Visual of Car Navigation - Just Follow the Red Cable

Car Navigation - Just Follow the Red Cable

Just follow the yellow brick road ... thin red cable and you know where to go! Instead of looking at a small 6 inch screen, or listening to less than exact turn by turn …

Visual of Chewing = Browsing

Chewing = Browsing

Japanese researchers have developed head gear that lets people control devices such as an iPod using their teeth. Now that is not really new, except when you take in mind that …

Visual of Can't handle your machine? Just eat it!

Can't handle your machine? Just eat it!

Visual of Super Mario Cloud

Super Mario Cloud

Cory Arcangel hacked and modified a piece of hardware'the cartridge on which the game "Super Mario" is stored, or rather, was stored to produce "Super Mario Cloud" This is …

Visual of Die Hard - Vilcus plug dactyloadapter

Die Hard - Vilcus plug dactyloadapter

Many people get a kick out of a direct contact with AC power supply. To that end, people normally use U-shaped fragments of bare wire, paper clips or even usual metal forks. All …

Visual of Dishmaker

Dishmaker

This "printer" is all about creating, storing and recycling householdproducts on demand. link | video

Visual of Email Flight Sim

Email Flight Sim

This must be the best worst software concept I've seen this year.. An email mailbox represented as a 3D, virtual LAX airport. in this world's coolest email program, based on the …

Visual of Fake for Real: Phone Trees

Fake for Real: Phone Trees

For a long time in the history of painting, the landscape functioned merely as a backdrop for people, buildings or symbols. But in the 17th century, artists started making …

Visual of Fake for Real: Romantic Sunsets

Fake for Real: Romantic Sunsets

Sunsets are loved by people all around the globe. Could this universal aesthetic preference be linked to a deeply rooted understanding of the sunset's importance? Life on earth …

Visual of First A4 colour e-paper unfurled

First A4 colour e-paper unfurled

Philips presented an A4-sized colour electronic paper . A paper-thin and bendable viewing panel. "This represents the next generation in display technology," Chung In-Jae, chief …

Visual of Forest clock

Forest clock

TiWalkMe is a clock (still in conceptual stage) designed to track 1,000 years using a forest seeded along a ribbon of land to tell time. Annual tree plantings set the pace, …

Visual of Furry Display

Furry Display

I applaud any new display technique that isn't emitting light. A recent patent application by Philips for a new type of screen based on "furry" pixels , or physical pixels made …

Visual of Grass Wheel

Grass Wheel

If you've gotta run the wheel, you might as well do it in bare feet. Many of us are so busy being good little hamsters that we never have face time with green space. A group of …

Visual of Hamster Shredder

Hamster Shredder

Tom Ballhatchet introduces mice and hamsters into the officegarden. tomballhatchet.com

Visual of Hug T-Shirt

Hug T-Shirt

If you're longing for the touch of a loved one who is a few thousand miles away, what better way than to pick up the Hug Shirt for the both of you? This shirt is capable of …

Visual of iBiogenetics

iBiogenetics

In 1998 at the introduction of the iMac , Apple declared that the "i" stood for "internet". Apple later adopted the "i" prefix across its consumer hardware and software lines. …

Visual of Information Decoration: Our Environment as an Information Carrier

Information Decoration: Our Environment as an Information Carrier

Picture this: it's 40,000 years ago, and you are an early Homo sapiens. You are standing on the savanna. Look around you. What do you see? No billboards, no traffic signs, no …

Visual of Liquid armor

Liquid armor

The US Army Research Lab in collaboration with the University of Delaware developped a special liquid called s hear thickening fluid . It is actually a mixture of hard …

Visual of Magical Interaction

Magical Interaction

Man's ability to control illumination is magical in itself but is seldom experienced as such because light switches are purely functional and generally don't stir up imagination. …

Visual of MemorySticks / USB-tree

MemorySticks / USB-tree

Now here's a nice piece of dead old nature I would like to stick in my computer! Notice the beautiful micro-organism-patterns. Designed by Oooms.nl Related posts: Sunflower …

Visual of Philips Vibe Emotion Sensor

Philips Vibe Emotion Sensor

The VIBE - emotional sensing necklace combines conductive ink and textile sensors. The necklace can read multiple biometric signals of the wearer and communicates them to other …

Visual of Philips Wake Up Light - Sunrise Alarm Clock

Philips Wake Up Light - Sunrise Alarm Clock

Philips hits the shops with a product that aims to naturalize alarm clocks. The annoying buzzing machines were once invented to cultivate our day/night rhythms, formerly connected …

Visual of Sao Paulo vs Billboards

Sao Paulo vs Billboards

The mayor of Sao Paulo decided that he was tired of the wildgrowth of billboards in the city. So he decided to take them all down (not personally). This creates a very pre (or …

Visual of Skyscreen - largest urban LED screen in Asia

Skyscreen - largest urban LED screen in Asia

Alright, we can agree most of old nature has been altered by human activity. We're not just talking rain forest, icecaps and genetically modified fruit and kittens . Now you might …

Visual of Slogan of the Week

Slogan of the Week

The media are disappearing, Nature takes over. Our slogan of the week.

Visual of Switch Critters - Can you make them switch?

Switch Critters - Can you make them switch?

Earlier we discussed the Magical Interaction project, in which Joris van Gelder rethought the boring activity of switching on/off a light by transforming it into a magical …

Visual of The objectuals

The objectuals

The Objectuals is a series of work by artist Hyung Koo Lee , it features an interesting mix of visual distortion apparatus for the human body. Lee says that he experienced …

Visual of Tickle Massage Robot

Tickle Massage Robot

Tickle is a small robot that walks on the human body to generate a pleasant, tickling sensation.It has two motors and rubber feet for a good grip on the skin. When it encounters a …

Visual of Urban Camouflage II

Urban Camouflage II

Aaron Larney made these urban camouflage printed hoodies, just in case you need to blend into your dorm's notice-board. See also: Urban Camouflage I .

Visual of Vanity ring

Vanity ring

For all you self-Googlers out there. And yes.. that means you too! Back in the old days (pre-next-nature) you used to wear gold rings and lots of bling you show off your wealth …

Visual of Waterworld - Old nature meets next nature

Waterworld - Old nature meets next nature

Atkin's Architecture Group recently won the first prize award for an international design competition with this hyperreal entry. Set in a spectacular water filled quarry in …

Visual of Who wants to drive in a Fish?

Who wants to drive in a Fish?

Behold the BoxFish, Mercedes' bionic concept car. This tropical fish is outstandingly streamlined. Its engineers were able to achieve a wind drag coefficient of just 0.06 in the …

Visual of X-finger

X-finger

wired.com | video | Related posts: Robotic hand | Bionic arm Invented by Dan Didrick of Naples, Florida, the device has NO batteries, electronics, servos or actuators. Instead, …

Visual of A view beyond

A view beyond

Imagine the impossible… a secret transatlantic tunnel running between New York and London, that has lain undisturbed for a hundred years. And imagine an extraordinary optical …

Visual of Ambient Umbrella

Ambient Umbrella

The Ambient Umbrella shows when rain or snow is in the forecast by illuminating its handle. Light patterns intuitively indicate rain, drizzle, snow, or thunderstorms. Local …

Visual of As real as it gets

As real as it gets

Art Directors Andreas Junus and Irawandhani Kamarga; copywriter Darrick Subrata and photographer Anton Ismael (Indonesia) went through some trouble , visualizing Photoshop's …

Visual of Biomechanical Energy Harvesting

Biomechanical Energy Harvesting

Let's face it: every time your cellphone battery runs empty you feel amputated and you quickly run back to your house to connect to a powering-adapter. Bionic Power Inc. is now …

Visual of Boxing the Desert

Boxing the Desert

With his Waterboxx , Pieter Hoff (The Netherlands) won the Bèta Dragons Award 2008. It is an instrument that supports plants and trees in order to survive in difficult …

Visual of Car tech makes reality look like a game

Car tech makes reality look like a game

Tech company Fuijtsu released a new way to look around you while driving a car. Following the old fashioned neck turning and mirroring this tech has cameras around the vehicle to …

Visual of Clear Blue Sky

Clear Blue Sky

Who likes clouds anyway? Especially for the people still living in the suburbs of Venray (small town in the Netherlands), artist Helmut Smits made this billboard depicting a clear …

Visual of Click me

Click me

Humans become web-banners. Click me! By Irina Blok.

Visual of Cloudmaker

Cloudmaker

Always dreamed of creating your own clouds? You can now create them... from text. Wordle is a toy for generating 'word clouds' from any text, url or rss stream you provide. The …

Visual of Dashboard Tree

Dashboard Tree

What is that growing on my car dashboard? Is that a tree? Indeed, Ford and Honda's next-generation dashboard instrument clusters feature trees (a vine in Ford's case) that grow …

Visual of Dogpause

Dogpause

According to the inventors of the dogpause bowl , slow eating dogs are happier than fast eating dogs. Having a dog in the first place is supposed to improve the quality of life, …

Visual of Playing with Dry Water

Playing with Dry Water

The Waterboard is an interactive installation by Mike Burton giving the user a chance to play with water without getting wet. By drawing lines on the whiteboard, the water will …

Visual of Find Brain, replace with GPS

Find Brain, replace with GPS

So far, over-dependence on GPS devices has resulted in more inconvenience than actual danger, but earlier a U.K. woman sent her £96k Mercedes flying into a river, trusting the …

Visual of Future playground

Future playground

Shot taken before the robot in question short-circuited and started to kill all humans in sight.

Visual of Gameboy Bricks a million years from now

Gameboy Bricks a million years from now

A million years from now that hand would probably look more evolved, but the idea is nice: What if we would mold objects of the now into stone or bricks to preserve them over time …

Visual of Gel Remote

Gel Remote

Human-product relationships increasingly play out in a realm which was previously considered exclusive for human-human and human-animal relationships. Panasonic now redesigned one …

Visual of Honeycomb vase

Honeycomb vase

This Honeycomb vase was made from a vase-shaped hive that 40.000 bees colonized for one week, building a hexagonal comb to encompass the existing form. Created by Studio Libertiny …

Visual of Human body farm

Human body farm

Why not use the human body to grow products for the medical industry? The designer Michael Burton envisions Future Farm where the body is used as a farm to cultivate clinical and …

Visual of Let the plants do the dirty work.

Let the plants do the dirty work.

Mathieu Lehanneur created a plant-powered indoor filtration system, that pulls in filthy air to be processed through a plant's leaves, roots, and humidity, reintroducing purified …

Visual of Light weeds

Light weeds

Lightweeds is a project by Simon Heijdens and currently exhibited at the MoMA - part of the Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition . The organisms - plants, weeds, trees - exist …

Visual of Luxalive - The emotionally aware lamp

Luxalive - The emotionally aware lamp

So you thought that animated Pixar Lamp from the movies was just a fantasy? Not anymore. Luxalive is a prototype of an reading lamp that moves according to the character of its …

Visual of Recycled Books

Recycled Books

A lot of dead books were used to make this piece of tree trunk. By Jacqueline Rush Lee | Related: Modernistic Tree | Modernistic Chair

Visual of Robomonk

Robomonk

An industrial robot has been given an unusual production task; writing out the full Martin Luther bible "by hand" in a calligraphic style. The robot arm appears to be a fairly …

Visual of Roboswift, Eyes in Disguise

Roboswift, Eyes in Disguise

With its 50 cm wing span and 80 grams of weight, this high tech bird is ready to infiltrate swift surveillance squads next summer. Aerospace engineering students at TU Delft , …

Visual of A robot that controls your remote controls

A robot that controls your remote controls

Confused with the pile of remote controls in your house? Now here is an idea: get a robot to control them. Researchers at Toshiba have developed a talking robot, named ApriPoko, …

Visual of Robotic Red Snapper

Robotic Red Snapper

Just because you're feeling paranoid, doesn't mean the fish aren't actually spying on you. Engineers at the University of Kitakyushu created an underwater survey robot that looks …

Visual of Search Engine

Search Engine

"Google has stationed approximately a million computers worldwide to be able to process the 40 billion searches per month. One search request uses as much energy as a low-energy …

Visual of Smart Forests - EWAN

Smart Forests - EWAN

At Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Christopher Love and colleagues are working to find out whether energy from trees can be used to prevent forest fires. A sensor system …

Visual of Solar Trees

Solar Trees

Welsh designer Ross Lovegrove ('Captain Organic') placed several glowing Solar Trees in the streets of Vienna (October 2007). These solar powered streetlights could save cities …

Visual of Speaking at the Wall

Speaking at the Wall

I used to hear voices in my head, but now they seem to be coming from the walls – am I back in to the womb? No wait.. it's a wall that reacts to the spectators voice (quicktime) . …

Visual of The Blogging Houseplant

The Blogging Houseplant

Meet midori-san ,  the first blogging houseplant! Through sensors connected to the leaves of this Sweetheart Hoya reads bioelectric currents through the plant, this gives …

Visual of The Breathe Table - Visceral Interaction

The Breathe Table - Visceral Interaction

Now why is that girl so excitingly staring at a few blurry blobs on a flat screen? Is it because these blobs are connected to her breath... What? Yes that is right, you are …

Visual of Type trousers

Type trousers

Beauty and the Geek jeans by Erik de Nijs. The trousers offer a full Querty keyboard layout as well as a mouse, speakers and a little joystick. As he calls it: "Beauty is skin …

Visual of Wallpaper Blooms When the Heat is On

Wallpaper Blooms When the Heat is On

Now this is a spot on example of  information decoration : a heat–sensitive wallpaper of which the printed flowers will be blooming when the radiator is on. Created by Shiyuan .

Visual of Want privacy? Use pigeon messaging

Want privacy? Use pigeon messaging

Our society seems to be driven by an obsession of gathering personal data. Yes, they say it is for your own good, so we willingly collaborate by filling in our most intimate …

Visual of Water in my phone

Water in my phone

Water inside your phone used to be rather devastating, but with the NEC FOMA N702iS (only in Japan) , designed by Oki Sato, it is turned into a joy. Watch the faked fluid move on …

Visual of Waterdrop

Waterdrop

Imagine: your walking in the park about 15 years from now, water shortage is rising and public water fountains and ponds are becoming scarce. Why not settle for the next best …

Visual of Work in progress

Work in progress

"I think we are all "work in progress", this necklace is featuring a cool progress bar to indicate that." Nice work Irina!

Visual of A plate that regulates the speed of eating

A plate that regulates the speed of eating

Many people tend to eat too fast. As a result they do not receive signals from the stomach that they are in fact full. The result can be overeating and obesity . To encounter …

Visual of Agenda Wallpaper

Agenda Wallpaper

Using thermochromatic ink, which changes color when the temperature exceeds a specific degree, designer Josien Pieters created a prototype of a dynamic wallpaper that …

Visual of Bioluminescent Trees will Replace Streetlights?

Bioluminescent Trees will Replace Streetlights?

Most people know about light emitting organisms such as jellyfishes, fireflies and mushrooms . Some time ago, genetic engineers transferred genes responsible for the luciferin and …

Visual of BioStream

BioStream

A renewable energy technology company in Australia designed this power generation system inspired by the shape of the tailfins of sharks, tuna and mackerel. The currents on the …

Visual of Computational Wood

Computational Wood

Dr. Herb Smokler teaches us how to husband and harvest Computational Wood. Omitting he jerky production value of the video, one has to appreciate the inventive idea of treating …

Visual of Dandella Shows You the Way

Dandella Shows You the Way

How to navigate the urban jungle? Adopting the metaphorical image of a dandelion in flight, Dandella is a GPS device that shows you the way. Inspired by how young sunflowers …

Visual of Field of Waves

Field of Waves

Parks are not nature. Parks are culture: man-made simulations of nature, carefully constructed to provide walkers, runners and mountain bikers with a recreational, yet confined – …

Visual of Freshness Label

Freshness Label

Japanese design agency To-Genkyo proposes a dynamic freshness label for meat products. The hourglass-shaped label contains special ink that changes color based on the amount of …

Visual of Green Vibes

Green Vibes

The big lobby to endeavor for a climate neutral lifestyle must have reached its peak. It is common knowledge that recycling electronic and battery operated utensils is better for …

Visual of Laptop Pillow

Laptop Pillow

With who or what do we have contact the most in our daily life routines? Our family, our bed pillow, doorknobs maybe? The answer is probably: Display. And now there is even a …

Visual of Plant Plays First-Person Shooter

Plant Plays First-Person Shooter

After the plant that glows when thirsty , the plant that calls when thirsty , the dataplant , plantvertizing , the emphatic plant and the blogging houseplant , there is now a …

Visual of Sunlight-shaped Furniture

Sunlight-shaped Furniture

Austrian designers Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler have created a solar powered machine that makes arrays of furnishings that vary based on how much sunlight it receives over …

Visual of The Trillion Node Network

The Trillion Node Network

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" , a remark made by Thomas J. Watson of IBM in 1943. But what if the number of computing devices connected to each other …

Visual of WakeUp light tested on Roosters

WakeUp light tested on Roosters

://nextnature.net I tend to think of the Philips Wake Up Light as a product of missed opportunity: Good concept, implementation too cheap and illustrative. Especially the crappy …

Visual of Water Shows When the Heat is On

Water Shows When the Heat is On

Designer Carlijn Compen upgraded her watertap with some LED's that shift color along with the heat of the water. A simple yet effective example of information decoration that will …

Visual of Where the Green Grass Grows

Where the Green Grass Grows

It grows freshly in your windowsill; a lawn to linger. By hyock.com | Related: Grass Wheel | Office Grass | Caravan Garden | Parking

Visual of Wifi Dowsing Rod

Wifi Dowsing Rod

Today's technology advances so rapidly that people are often unable to update their media schemas in time and as a result are left cluelessly in awe of it all. Mike Thompson's …

Visual of Acoustic Botany

Acoustic Botany

With his speculative ‘acoustic garden’ David Benqué tries to explore our cultural and aesthetic relationship to nature. He states that the current debate around Genetic …

Visual of BMW's Flexible Skin Concept GINA

BMW's Flexible Skin Concept GINA

This extraordinary concept model that came out of the batcave of BMW shows how textile might be the future of car design. By replacing metal bodywork with a strong but flexible …

Visual of Intimacy Dress

Intimacy Dress

The Intimacy dress takes our notion personal space to a next level: the closer someone approaches, the more transparent the dress becomes. As such, the garment becomes a sort of …

Visual of Mud Tub

Mud Tub

Mud tub is an experimental tangible interface that allows people to control a computer while playing in the mud. By sloshing, squishing, pulling, punching, etc, in a tub of mud …

Visual of Nano Tattoo to Monitor Diabetes

Nano Tattoo to Monitor Diabetes

Now here is something for the NANO Supermarket : Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories have developed a special injectable ink with nano–particles. This ink eventually could …

Visual of Seashells are becoming Unnecessary

Seashells are becoming Unnecessary

At the beach, I'm always on the look-out for seashells big enough to hold against my ear to hear the sound of the sea . This child-like behavior still resonates with me. But I got …

Visual of Social Networking with Plants

Social Networking with Plants

Using energy is not a social activity. Every electrical device we use has its own carbon “foorpint” which, in excess, can harm other living beings. How and to what extent you’ve …

Visual of Space Monkey

Space Monkey

During the 1960s, monkeys were sent into outer space as part of the US space exploration program. But they didn’t all return, until now. Via scaryideas.com | Related: WWF

Visual of Squamata headset dances with the Music

Squamata headset dances with the Music

Inspired by body language of animals (in particular squamates and porcupines), designer Jop Japenga created a headphone with an adaptive skin that responds to the music played on …

Visual of Technostalgia

Technostalgia

In Next Nature, not only old nature is being idealized. Because of the rapidness of new emerging technologies, we have a tendency to dwell on earlier prototypes. To recall …

Visual of The Footsticker

The Footsticker

There are many advantages of bare feet sporting: better motion control, more feeling in your feet and direct floor contact, etc. In this way you are more grounded and more aware …

Visual of The Keyboard for a new generation

The Keyboard for a new generation

Peculiar object of the week. Via

Visual of Traces of Everyday Embedded in Textile

Traces of Everyday Embedded in Textile

The ‘Decay’ project explores how traces of time and use can be embedded in textile. By wearing a carbon fibre suit over a white blouse, textile designer Marie Ilse Bourlanges …

Visual of Transnatural Expo + Symposium

Transnatural Expo + Symposium

If you happen to be in the neighborhood you might want to attend the Next Nature lecture I will be throwing at the Transnatural symposium this Saturday 13-03-2010 at the Trouw …

Visual of Unlimited Urban Woods

Unlimited Urban Woods

What to do when you have a small city with limited space, and you rather turn available space into parking lots instead of parks? You turn to DUS Architects for an unlimited …

Visual of A bacteria of a different color

A bacteria of a different color

In 2009, undergraduates at the University of Cambridge worked with scientists and artists to engineer E. coli into E. chromi , a new type of bacteria that secretes a range of …

Visual of Brainscan App

Brainscan App

By hooking up a commercially available EEG headset to a Nokia N900 smartphone, Jakob Eg Larsen and colleagues at the Technical University of Denmark in Kongens Lyngby have created …

Visual of Catalytic Clothing

Catalytic Clothing

Catalytic Clothing is a fashionably calm technology that aims to tackle air pollution by embedding a substance in the clothing that purifies air when you wear it. The purifying …

Visual of Conquering the Skies

Conquering the Skies

Everywhere we go, we conquer the land and shape it to our preferences. The next place to build might as well be the clouds. Tiago Barros , designer and architect, has decided to …

Visual of Crickets Inspire New Sensitive Sensor

Crickets Inspire New Sensitive Sensor

Inspired by crickets, researchers of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente in the Netherlands have build a biomimetic sensor that can measure changes …

Visual of Fly Paper Clock

Fly Paper Clock

Bionic horror by designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau , who have created a clock that traps insects on flypaper before depositing them into a vat of bacteria. The resulting …

Visual of Humane Technology #4: Resonate with human senses

Humane Technology #4: Resonate with human senses

Principle number four: Humane technology should resonate with the human senses, rather than numbing them. If you're an office worker or a video game fanatic , you may spend most …

Visual of Information Decoration Scarf

Information Decoration Scarf

Remember the Information Decoration essay which argued our so-called information society barely employs our human bandwidth, as most of the data in our lives is presented in …

Visual of Morphing Cutlery

Morphing Cutlery

Imagine a world where the shapes of all objects around you would be able to change on the fly. Envision a future where nanotechnology and morphing become ubiquitous and blend in …

Visual of Robot Guide Dog

Robot Guide Dog

#! Possibly the answer for blind people with cynophobia, the fear of dogs. This robot guide dog is stil a bit slow compared to the old nature version, but as technology advances …

Visual of Skyscrapers for Pandora

Skyscrapers for Pandora

We've previously featured architecture that imitates nature by opening its walls like a flower , or drifting like a cloud . However, maybe this is not imitation enough. The next …

Visual of Soundmixtree

Soundmixtree

Diego Stocco is sound designer and composer from Burbank CA/US. He plays a tree as a rhythmic musical instrument, recording its sounds using a custom stethoscope. I suggest him to …

Visual of Streetlight Trees

Streetlight Trees

We all know the cellphone masts disguised as trees , created in an attempt to blend technology within the 'natural' landscape. Now Taiwanese scientists have created trees that …

Visual of The Sound of the Blue Canary

The Sound of the Blue Canary

Blue is a beautiful color, but its sound is simply irresistible. It is the song of the unhappy and the depressed. It is a sound that touches people. It was also the sound of a …

Visual of Theriomorphous Cyborg

Theriomorphous Cyborg

The Animal Architecture Awards have just announced the winners of their 2011 contest. Taking first place is Simone Ferracina's Theriomorphous Cyborg , a (speculative) augmented …

Visual of Using Pigeons as Protestors

Using Pigeons as Protestors

Artist Jaroslav Kyša has invented a novel form of social protest . By scattering seed in front of targets in London, he can attract droves of pigeons that disrupt shoppers and …

Visual of Visualizing Wifi Landscapes

Visualizing Wifi Landscapes

This project explores the invisible terrain of WiFi networks in urban spaces by light painting signal strength in long-exposure photographs. A four-metre long measuring rod with …

Visual of Windmill Trees

Windmill Trees

A new Dutch landscape with windmills up to 120 meters. Designed by NL Architects .

Visual of Book as Human-Computer Interface

Book as Human-Computer Interface

In combining the classic feeling of handling a book with the interactivity of the computer, Waldek W?grzyn of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Poland, has created a new human-computer interface.

Visual of Braille 2.0

Braille 2.0

Text for blind people using the Braille alphabet has been around for some time. But instead of making separate books for the visually impaired, why not change the way we all read? …

Visual of Brain Implant Restores Memory to Cocaine-Addled Monkeys

Brain Implant Restores Memory to Cocaine-Addled Monkeys

A team of researchers from three universities have succeeded in creating the first device that boosts the brain power of primates. In the study, five rhesus macaques were trained …

Visual of Can Life Be a Technology?

Can Life Be a Technology?

In 2009 the Initiative for Science, Society and Policy coined the phrase ‘living technology’ [1] to draw attention to a group of emerging technologies that are useful because they …

Visual of Don't turn that page, it's patented

Don't turn that page, it's patented

Apple's recent work on iOS has been using as much references to "natural" elements as possible, making the digital as physical as possible. Doing how they do, they have been …

Visual of End of Life Care Machine

End of Life Care Machine

Designer, artist and engineer  Dan Chen has developed the ' End of Life Care Machine ', a machine designed to guide and comfort dying patients with a carefully scripted message. …

Visual of Enter the self-driving car

Enter the self-driving car

This promo video for the Google autonomous car is pretty exciting. I'm sure in a decade driving our own car will seem so old-fashioned,thinking how we ever trusted the physical …

Visual of Goats Replace Lawnmowers in San Francisco

Goats Replace Lawnmowers in San Francisco

They might not be as fast, but goats offer several advantages over diesel-powered lawnmowers. They're quieter, they emit fewer greenhouse gases, and they fertilize soil as they go …

Visual of Little Green Cows

Little Green Cows

The world is alight with algae fever. In this age of deep ecological design aspirations, the range of speculative design projects based on algae technology is growing. Algae are …

Visual of Mobile Phone Avant La Lettre

Mobile Phone Avant La Lettre

Our peculiar image of the week is exemplary of our human longing for technology that intimately integrates with our body & senses. We are all cyborgs .

Visual of Nano Product: Nico

Nano Product: Nico

Nico is cute, cuddly and serious about your child’s health. Many adults smoke around children with no thought for their developing lungs. Covered in nicotine-sensitive nano-cloth, …

Visual of NANO Product: The Necklace

NANO Product: The Necklace

Breast cancer is a disease that comes with feelings of helplessness and loneliness. This nanotechnological necklace allows you to regain some control regarding your disease, in …

Visual of Nanotech Water Bottle Harvests Water from the Air

Nanotech Water Bottle Harvests Water from the Air

The Namib desert gets less than a half an inch of rain per year, yet the stenocara beetle manages to survive in these punishing conditions. The beetle's secret lies in an array of …

Visual of Playing With Pigs

Playing With Pigs

Besides children and pets , it turns out that pigs are also attracted to interactive interfaces. Pig Chase is a computer game in which pigs and people can play together. The aim …

Visual of Portable Data Silence

Portable Data Silence

Experience full data silence with the Faraday Bag. Made from electromagnetic shielding silver coated fabric, it prevents devices inside it from being contacted. Made by artist …

Visual of Put on your Pixelhead

Put on your Pixelhead

A while ago we wrote about the Pixelhead mask by artist Martin Backes . Now he informs us that the masks are for sale. Get one while they last!

Visual of Rachel Armstrong - Living Architecture

Rachel Armstrong - Living Architecture

Venice, Italy is sinking. To save it, Rachel Armstrong says we must develop living technology.

Visual of

"Smart Highways" to Power Streetlights and Electric Cars

Roads are a ubiquitous, even defining aspect of our urban and suburban spaces. In the United States alone, parking lots and roads cover 16,000 square kilometers. So why must roads …

Visual of The Action Plant Runs Away from Your Touch

The Action Plant Runs Away from Your Touch

Plants have it tough. They're tasty, silent, and stuck to the spot. With  Jurema Action Plant, artist Ivan Henriques has given plants the mobility they deserve . Henriques' pieces …

Visual of Thirsty? With a Cyborg Bladder, You'll Never Need to Drink

Thirsty? With a Cyborg Bladder, You'll Never Need to Drink

Some desert animals, like the kangaroo rat, get through their lives without needing to drink even a drop of water. Now, a Japanese design company aims to make humans just as …

Visual of To Generate Electricity, Just Tap on this Virus

To Generate Electricity, Just Tap on this Virus

Is your friend impatiently tapping on her phone, or is she just charging the battery? Researchers at the Berkeley Lab have produced the first virus-powered generator that runs off …

Visual of Turning Wind Farms into Seaweed Farms

Turning Wind Farms into Seaweed Farms

Closed to commercial shipping and fishing, offshore wind farms aren't put to much use besides generating clean energy. Ecofys , a Dutch sustainable consulting company, hopes to …

Visual of Using Simple Scents to Trick Shoppers into Buying

Using Simple Scents to Trick Shoppers into Buying

Retailers have long known that certain smells get us into the buying mood – cinnamon or warm cookies around the holidays, for instance – even if we're shopping for completely …

Visual of Years

Years

Artist Bartholomäus Traubeck created a hyper-nostalgic record player that, rather than making music from vintage vinyl records, uses slices of woods to generate sound.

Visual of “Soccket” Ball Generates Free Electricity

“Soccket” Ball Generates Free Electricity

It looks like a normal soccer ball, but Soccket has a secret: a hole for a charging cable. Designed by two Harvard students, the ball has a pendulum-like mechanism inside that …

Visual of Bacterioptica

Bacterioptica

Living lamps like Latro Algea Lamp by Mike Thompson are nothing new. But design studio MADLAB has created Bacterioptica , a lamp that contains organisms and bacteria from the …

Visual of Clothes that Turn Heat into Electricity

Clothes that Turn Heat into Electricity

With rising energy costs and our growing arsenal of iPads, smart phones, and wearable monitors, we're always on the lookout for new ways to power our devices.  Perpetua Power , an …

Visual of Control Your Environment with Myo

Control Your Environment with Myo

A new armband interprets your muscle contractions to act as a novel computer interface.

Visual of Control Your Mobile Phone or Tablet Directly from Your Brain

Control Your Mobile Phone or Tablet Directly from Your Brain

Samsung is working on a brain interface that lets you go truly hands-free with your phone.

Visual of Now Dads Can Experience Pregnancy Too

Now Dads Can Experience Pregnancy Too

A new device replicates the kicking and moving of a baby inside a mother's womb.

Visual of Bionic Eye: Limited Vision to the Blind

Bionic Eye: Limited Vision to the Blind

A new implant lets blind people see letters, crosswalks and people.

Visual of Free Electricity from the Technosphere

Free Electricity from the Technosphere

Scientists learn how to harvest electricity from radio waves.

Visual of Interview: Rachel Armstrong, Innovative Scientist Who Wants to Grow Architecture

Interview: Rachel Armstrong, Innovative Scientist Who Wants to Grow Architecture

Rachel Armstrong discusses living buildings, Venice's foundations, millennial nature and how to improve our future.

Visual of Killing Cancer Cells, Arcade-Style

Killing Cancer Cells, Arcade-Style

A speculative nanotech pill that lets you virtually rove your body, zapping cancer cells as you go.

Visual of Moss Table Powers Its Own Lamp

Moss Table Powers Its Own Lamp

When moss photosynthesize, they release nutritious fats, carbs and proteins into their roots to feed colonies of helpful, symbiotic bacteria. In the process of breaking down these …

Visual of Nanosponges

Nanosponges "Soak Up" Toxins and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Nano-scale sponges show promise for defeating a variety of bacteria and toxins.

Visual of

"Responsive Typography" Tracks Your Location to Automatically Resize Text

A new website changes the text's font size depending on your distance from the computer.

Visual of Swallow a Pill to Turn Your Body into a Living Password

Swallow a Pill to Turn Your Body into a Living Password

Need a password that you'll never forget and can never be stolen? Try storing it in a pill in your gut.

Visual of Treating Mental Illness with Video Games

Treating Mental Illness with Video Games

Neurofeedback shows promises in treating a range of mental ailments.

Visual of What You Feel Is What You Get - Smartphone for the Blind

What You Feel Is What You Get - Smartphone for the Blind

A revolutionary new smartphone for the blind uses a completely tactile interface.

Visual of A Jewel That Stops You From Checking Your Phone

A Jewel That Stops You From Checking Your Phone

For every smartphone user to recognize, is that merely the lighting of your screen, a vibration or ring distracts you from almost every activity. Even when you are spending time …

Visual of Acoustic Instrument That Sounds Digital

Acoustic Instrument That Sounds Digital

Yaybahar is an acoustic instrument that emits sounds like a music synthesizer.

Visual of Design by Termite

Design by Termite

Why not outsource your laser engraving jobs to termites?

Visual of Invisible Girlfriend

Invisible Girlfriend

Virtual for Real relationship.

Visual of Learning Circuits While Playing With Clay

Learning Circuits While Playing With Clay

Kids learn the basics of electric circuits while playing with clay.

Visual of My Device is in the Sky

My Device is in the Sky

Truly advanced technology will be light as sunshine and indistinguishable from nature.

Visual of The Ideal Phone Might Be The noPhone

The Ideal Phone Might Be The noPhone

Your next phone could be the noPhone: a technology-free alternative to any smart mobile device.

Visual of Traffic Ballet

Traffic Ballet

If only next nature would be this perfectly harmonic.

Visual of An Adblocker for Your Eyes

An Adblocker for Your Eyes

Most VR concepts and products are coming from big tech companies. With their ad-driven business models they are likely to fill your Glass, Hololens or Oculus with ads at some …

Visual of Caress of the Gaze

Caress of the Gaze

Designer Behnaz Farahi envisions an interactive 3D printed outfit that can detect and respond to the gaze of the other and respond accordingly with life-like behavior.

Visual of A Wooden Floor that Follows the Curves of the Tree it's Made of

A Wooden Floor that Follows the Curves of the Tree it's Made of

A wooden floor that follows the curves of the tree it's made of, thanks to smart milling techniques.

Visual of Happy Next Nature!

Happy Next Nature!

Time measurement tools are perhaps among the most inventive technologies mankind has produced, as it enables us to articulate ‘natural’ time (in the form of lunar years, sun …

Visual of Intelligent Bikini Tells You How to Tan

Intelligent Bikini Tells You How to Tan

Think you've had enough sun? Ask your bikini!

Visual of The Phone That's Just a Phone

The Phone That's Just a Phone

Meet the anti-smartphone. It literally does nothing but make and answer calls.

Visual of Using Nanobots to Treat Depression

Using Nanobots to Treat Depression

A team of scientists has developed a way to deliver drugs into our body using nanobots as vehicles and our toughts as controllers.

Visual of Shapeshifting Robotic Furniture

Shapeshifting Robotic Furniture

Robotic furniture for the young professional.

Visual of Xian'er, When Religion Meets A.I.

Xian'er, When Religion Meets A.I.

A robot monk has been created in China, mixing spirituality with artificial intelligence.

Visual of Animal Guided Mediation

Animal Guided Mediation

Animal Meditation uses meditation guiding sounds to to enable user to feel as if he is an animal.

Visual of Robotic Pillow Breathes to Help You Sleep

Robotic Pillow Breathes to Help You Sleep

A smart, huggable bed partner, who also improves your sleep quality. Sounds great, right? Soon, you might be able to order one yourself: Somnox is a soft robotic pillow that gently breathes as you hold it.

Visual of Ermi van Oers wants to bring  living light to your living room

Ermi van Oers wants to bring living light to your living room

The Living Light harnesses plant energy to provide light. We spoke to its designer, Ermi van Oers, to find out more about the unique product.

Visual of Why in the future, we will all wear one piece of garment

Why in the future, we will all wear one piece of garment

It's not an easy task to define the practice of designer Jasna Rok . Fashtech pioneer? Radical innovator? Visionary designer? ‘All of the above’ seems only appropriate. In fact, …

Visual of In conversation with Teresa van Dongen, biodesigner exploring natural forms of artificial light

In conversation with Teresa van Dongen, biodesigner exploring natural forms of artificial light

There was a time when flipping the switch, and seeing a glass bulb light up, was magical to anyone in the world. Today, the presence of a light switch in a room, is something …

Visual of A phone that says “no” to little kid fingers

A phone that says “no” to little kid fingers

It may soon be possible for your phone to automatically figure out whether it’s you or your five-year-old who’s swiping the screen—and, if it’s the latter, block apps you want to …

Visual of Next Nature Gift Guide 2018

Next Nature Gift Guide 2018

The season of giving has come and to make sure you can find the perfect gift for your loved ones we have brought together a collection of Next Nature inspired goodies. Whether you …

Visual of Can technology be humane?

Can technology be humane?

We must be mindful about how we engage with technology: what we use it for, why, and whether it helps us or hinders us. Sometimes our tech seems to be flowing in inhumane …

Visual of The path towards solar democracy with Marjan van Aubel

The path towards solar democracy with Marjan van Aubel

Solar cells are often considered an eyesore, used for their sustainability yet not for their beauty. Installed on roofs or in solar parks, they take up precious space. Well that’s …

Visual of How future fashion could help us cope with isolation

How future fashion could help us cope with isolation

Today we cannot meet, touch or hug our loved ones. And while we all like the feeling of the touch of another human being, physical contact does not just feel nice, it is crucial …