Humane-Technology « NextNature.net

Posts Tagged ‘Humane-Technology’

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. Chen, just graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, built the machine as one of a series of functional robots capable of reenacting human social behaviors.

The patient enters the specially designed room and lays on the bed. The doctor asks for permission to put the patient’s arm underneath the caressing mechanism.

“The device is activated, and an LED screen reads “Detecting end of life.” At this point, the doctor exits the room, leaving the patient alone by him or herself. Within moments the LED reads “End of life detected”, the robotic arm begins its caressing action, moving back and forth, stimulating the sense of comfort during the dying process.”

The machine then plays the scripted message:

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Marco van Beers
on 19/06/12 Comments »
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- Anthropomorphobia | Bionics | Calm-technology | Humane-Technology | robotics
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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 efficient. Faced with a fictional, future scenario of global apocalypse, Takram was tasked with the challenge of creating a water bottle for the end-times. The designers quickly realized that the best approach was not a bottle at all, but a set of artificial organs that retain and recycle the water already present in the body. Their Hydrolemic System is the cyborg’s answer to surviving global warming, nuclear explosions and Death Valley.

Humans are leaky. We sweat, pee, and breathe out all our hard-earned water. The Hydrolemic System uses several devices to minimize this loss. Two nasal inserts harvest exhaled moisture. A generator implanted in the jugular, in combination with a neck collar, transforms body heat into electricity and reduces the need for sweating. Even better are the urine concentrator and the rectal fecal dehydrator, both intended to make every bathroom trip a dry-as-dust affair. The system works in concert with “rubedo candies”, small pills that contain a day’s nutrients and 32 mL of water – less than a thimble-full.

Via Fast Co.Exist
Allison Guy
on 18/06/12 1 Comment »
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- Augmented-Bodies | Bionics | Calm-technology | Humane-Technology | Hypernature
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Further Incredibly Shrinking Man

At the last Next Nature Power Show, artist Arne Hendriks gave a lustrous talk on the possibilities of downsizing humanity to better fit the earth.

Last week Arne gave a longer talk on the same topic at TEDxBrainport. Interestingly enough in this new talk Arne not only promotes shrinking humanity as a means to avoid all kinds of overpopulation related disasters, but also adds a positive reason to his argument: shrinking humans could be a way to realize the long dream of human powered flight.

The crucial question: if human eugenics ever becomes acceptable should it be employed strictly to avoid disasters or also to realize human dreams? If we choose for the latter, why not add some wings? Anything is possible, as long as we avoid a situation in which humans don’t recognize each other as humans anymore.
Van Mensvoort
on 10/06/12 4 Comments »
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- Anthropomorphobia | Augmented-Bodies | Humane-Technology | Hypernature | Technorhetoric
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3D Printing a New Face

Earlier this year, Belgian surgeons successfully performed the country’s first full-face transplant using 3D printing. The operation was conducted by a medical team of Ghent University Hospital, led by Phillip Blondeel, assisted by Belgian 3D-printing company Materialise. Prior to the procedure the defects in the patient’s face were digitally scanned, after which anatomical models of healthy bones were 3D printed and used as a reference during surgery.

“We also printed a surgical aid to fit the lower jaw of a potential donor,” says Bellinckx. “This guide sits on the donor’s face during surgery and describes exactly where the surgeon needs to cut.”

Six days after the surgery, ahead of anybody’s expectations, the patient was able to speak. “He defied all odds,” says Bellinckx. Story via Wired.
Van Mensvoort
on 09/06/12 1 Comment »
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- Augmented-Bodies | Humane-Technology | Physical-computing
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Robutt

Tokyo University of Electro-Communications, revealed SHIRI (尻 = “buttocks”), a “Buttocks Humanoid That Represents Emotions With Visual and Tactual Transformation of the Muscles.” It was made by Nobuhiro Takahashi’s team, known for his robotic kissing machine.
Arnoud van den Heuvel
on 12/05/12 Comments »
Tags
- Anthropomorphobia | Augmented-Bodies | Bionics | Feed-Back | Humane-Technology | Physical-computing
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Huggable Vending Machine

Finally a vending machine that doesn’t want you money, it wants hugs. Embrace it to get a free can of coke. Might give you rushes of anthropomorphobia too though.

Via The Pop-Up City. Thanks Teun.
Van Mensvoort
on 24/04/12 Comments »
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- Anthropomorphobia | Brand Territory | Corporature | Humane-Technology | Intimate Technology
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The Ecological Human

The nature of humanity in the twenty-first century is, according to sociologist Steve Fuller, a ‘bipolar disorder’ beset with dualisms of identification such as divine/animal, mind/body, nature/artifice and individual/social. He notes that they have challenged our collective sense of identity as ‘human’, particularly though the operationalization of the mind/body question in new material configurations of metallic or silicon bodies [1].

In short, we are ‘becoming’ machines. Inventor Ray Kurtzweil and performance artist Marcel Li Antunez Roca both explore this notion in their projections about the future of the human body. Yet ‘emergentist’ philosophers and scientists have challenged the mechanistic model of matter since the late 18th and early 19th century. They propose another way of understanding the organization of matter [2], without resorting to the customary mechanist [3] – vitalist [4] dichotomy [5]. Observations from the biological and chemical sciences demonstrate that substances frequently do not behave in a manner that can be explained as the simply ‘sum’ of their components. For example, the addition of an acid and an alkali creates salt and water, while the fusion of an ovum and spermatozoon produces a conceptus. These are transformational rather than additional processes, which resist simple, mechanical interpretations.

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Rachel Armstrong
on 21/04/12 Comments »
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- Bionics | Guided Growth | Humane-Technology | Sentient Spaces
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Macbook Pro Fragrance

Nothing beats the factory-scent of expensive, freshly unboxed technology! Artist group Greatest Hits produced the Apple Unboxing Scent for use at an exhibition in Melbourne, where it will be diffused for the visitors at West Space – Level 1, 225 Bourke Street – April 20th – May 12th.

“A distinctive scent can be observed when unwrapping a newly purchased Apple product from its packaging. Apple fans will certainly recognize this smell. The scent created for Greatest Hits encompasses the smell of the plastic wrap covering the box, printed ink on the cardboard, the smell of paper and plastic components within the box and of course the aluminum laptop which has come straight from the factory where it was assembled in China.”

For centuries mother nature has been the inspiration to the perfume makers. Our perfumes make us smell like lavender fields or cool breezes. Even our sweat smells rollicking. Nowadays one could question whether there is such thing as “natural odor”. Seen from this perspective, it is only logical that concepts like these, prelude the coming of a new era where the fusion of man and technology is accepted and common. This must be what NextNature smells like!
Arnoud van den Heuvel
on 19/04/12 Comments »
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- Biomimicmarketing | Humane-Technology | Sentient Spaces | Technorhetoric
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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 particular, how to share your recovery with your loved ones.

By gently pushing a link of the necklace onto your skin it withdraws a small blood sample without any feeling of discomfort. This link then changes color. The deeper the color of the link the healthier you are. Such information decoration allows you to see any time of day how your recovery is progressing and communicate it with your love ones who m you learned how to read it. In this way this unique necklace symbolizes your personal story.

Please note that the Necklace does not yet exist today. It is a speculative product designed by Marco van Beers for the NANO Supermarket, who in the TEDx video talks about the why and how of his project. Go Marco!
Van Mensvoort
on 17/04/12 Comments »
Tags
- Calm-technology | Humane-Technology | Information Decoration | Intimate Technology | Nano Supermarket
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A Computer that Nods and Waves When You Do

Ever wish you could express yourself better over Skype? Tired of being a disconnected head-in-a-box? A team at Stanford University has rigged a Mac computer screen to shake its screen when you shake your head, to nod, and to track other people’s movements around the room. An added robotic arm can make gestures more emphatic, or knock on the table for attention. These fairly simple hacks had a noticeable effect on participants – they rated the remote interactions to be “more friendly, less dominant, and more involved.” Someday, full-body physical avatars could facilitate teleconferencing, and help keep you out of morning traffic.

Via New Scientist.
Allison Guy
on 11/04/12 Comments »
Tags
- Augmented-Bodies | Humane-Technology | Physical-computing | virtual-for-real
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Arne Hendriks – Incredible Shrinking Man

The human population is expected to grow to 9 billion within this century. As a result we need more energy, more food and more space. If we continue our current consumptive patterns we soon need three planets. But what if we could turn this trend around?

Artist Arne Hendriks explores the possibilities and implications of downsizing the human species to better fit the earth. Can we do it?
Van Mensvoort
on 30/03/12 Comments »
Tags
- Anthropomorphobia | Augmented-Bodies | Back to the Tribe | Green Blues | Humane-Technology | Technorhetoric
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Is the Human Body Redundant?

The increasing ‘liveliness’ of machines and accessibility to the virtual world has raised questions about whether it is possible to uncouple the mind from the body in through a host of different strategies. The basic idea is that if we are able to escape the ties of our own flesh then we can upgrade them and even replace them with immortal ones. Performance artist Stelarc has made some of the most extreme and enduring work on this subject. The artist characteristically depersonalises his anatomy and claims that it is not only an object that can be subjected to re-designing but is also ‘obsolete’. During his performances, Stelarc mentally ‘vacates’ his own body to prove its obsolescence, and claims that his body is no more than a site for redesigning and re-engineering the human form.

In my view, Stelarc’s work paradoxically highlights the profound importance that embodiment holds for being human. When Stelarc dissociates his mind from his body he demonstrates its sheer plasticity and robustness. The artist then recolonizes the body with robots, communications technologies and soft prostheses as proof of this inbuilt physical redundancy. Yet the machines he hosts are given context by the presence of a body – for in its absence, they are just a collection of machines devoid of meaning. Moreover, redundancy is a characteristic of complex systems, which are a form of organization that does not obey the Cartesian, dualistic laws that govern machines. The artist’s rejection of these qualities simply highlights that the human body is not a machine.

There is nothing liberating about having an anesthetized body, nor one that is functionally redundant. While Stelarc’s suspensions and performances demonstrate that we can temporarily ‘forget’ our bodies in order to explore a transcendent state of being, there are those who live in a permanent state of disconnection.

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Rachel Armstrong
on 24/03/12 1 Comment »
Tags
- Anthropomorphobia | Augmented-Bodies | Bionics | Humane-Technology
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Man Flies Like a Bird

Some months ago we wrote about the dream of mechanical-engineer Jarno Smeets to fly like bird. Over the last few months Jarno worked steadily to materialize his dream. Today Jarno posted a video in which he actually takes off.

Filed under: magical, inspiring, unbelievable, humane technology.
Van Mensvoort
on 20/03/12 2 Comments »
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- Augmented-Bodies | Humane-Technology | Technorhetoric
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Bacteria “R” Us

There is a domain of creatures that diffusively encircles an entire planet. There are so many of them that they occupy every conceivable ecological niche. Yet, despite their countless numbers they are so in tune with their local ecology that they have become an intrinsic part of it. Those that live in rural locations greatly outnumber those that inhabit strange cites, which are gregarious, smart and even have their own personalities. The cities consider themselves as being independent from their inhabitants, yet share their nutrition with them. They have a diurnal waste cycle that removes debris and also makes room for a new influx of city dwellers. Mature cities can even reproduce to make new ones that are immediately available for the city inhabitants to colonize.

Modern biotechnology has recently revealed that humans are immersed in a bacterial world. So much so, that an alien naturalist might consider humans as little more than smart city housing for bacterial colonies. While we think we are at the top of an evolutionary tree, it appears that our evolution is closely linked to, if not entirely dependent on bacteria. They have collectively made it possible for complex life forms to exist as they have produced our breathable atmosphere, our soil and even our rainfall. Although they have not been proven to possess a collective ‘mind’ they do have extremely sophisticated methods of communicating using linguistic qualities [1]. They encircle the planet like a chemical Internet and hold incessant conversations using physics and chemistry.

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Rachel Armstrong
on 13/03/12 Comments »
Tags
- Designed-by-Evolution | Guided Growth | Humane-Technology | Microbial Factories
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Lucy McRay – Swallowable Parfum

Know garlic? Now imagine you could make something that functions alike, but smells a lot better. Body architect Lucy McRae teams up with Harvard Biologist Sheref Mansy to create a digestible scented capsule that works through your own perspiration.

Once absorbed, fragrance molecules are excreted through the skin’s surface. A unique odor is emanated, depending on each individual’s acclimatization to temperatures, to stress, exercise, or sexual arousal. Watch Lucy’s presentation at the Next Nature Power Show.

www.swallowableparfum.com
Van Mensvoort
on 02/03/12 Comments »
Tags
- Augmented-Bodies | Bionics | Fitness Boosters | Humane-Technology | Hypernature | Intimate Technology | Supermarket
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Nanotech Bracelet Detects Allergies

Designed by Luc de Smet, Awear is a speculative bracelet that can detect and record the sources of allergies for children in uncontrolled environments, such as schools and playgrounds. While the child wears the bracelet, parents or teachers can check the results on a computer or smartphone. It can be removed at any time when it is deemed no longer necessary or in the way.

Awear works by using an array of nanosize Raman spectroscopes that can scan any surface where light pierces. These miniature spectroscopes would look inside the wearer’s skin to see if an allergic reaction is occurring, and then analyze the surrounding air to detect what allergens are in range. GPS or another similar technology would record the location. The bracelet could be linked with others to share information, and could be modified to give warnings when certain known allergens are in range.

Want to design your own speculative nanotech? Check out the Call for Products in the second edition of the NANO Supermarket.
NextNature.net
on 21/02/12 Comments »
Tags
- Humane-Technology | Hyperreality | Information Decoration | Nanotechnology
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Raise Crops on the Moon with Plant-Growing Jelly

In dry areas like the desert, on mountain tops or on the moon it’s impossible to grow anything. Or is it? A rain in the desert sparks extreme plant growth from the moment the raindrops hit the ground. As long as the ground is irrigated and fertilized, plants will grow during the warm periods of the day. For some regions, the nights are another challenge. In the desert, temperatures drop drastically at night. For farmers, its a big challenge to keep the soil “livable” for plants, and to cope with the drastic temperature differences between day and night. Money is another problem. There needs to be a stable environment for plants to grow in, at low costs. That’s what the Plant-Growing Jelly project seeks to solve.

Conceived of by industrial design students Ruud van Reijmersdal, Tom Slijkhuis, Joppe Spaans and Jeroen Rood, this speculative project consists of a gel which serves as an ideal growing environment for food crops. The gel contains all the vital nutrients for a plant to grow, and insulates it from extremes of temperatures. Isolated the plant from the outside world could enable plants to grow anywhere, even on the moon. This enriched environment would attractive for mass-production, as fruits and vegetables could grow faster, earlier, and take up less space than traditional methods.

Want to learn more about the inspiration and specifics for this project? Read the project report.
NextNature.net
on 08/02/12 1 Comment »
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- Food Technology | Humane-Technology | Hypernature | Technorhetoric
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Ice Cream Cones Made from Ice Cream, and Other Wikicells

Plastic is a part of the earth’s ecosystem, but it’s a part that no one wants. At Harvard, scientists are looking to replace single-use plastic bottles, plates, and cups with packaging that not only biodegrades, but tastes great. These so-called Wikicells are made up of liquid or solid food contained within an organic membrane that’s held together by electrostatic forces – the same forces that cause cling wrap to cling. In the wonderful world of Wikicells, the wrap around a cut of in-vitro beef could contain the sauce, or an ice cream cone could be made from actual cream. If the scientists get it right, we may soon have an edible way to stop using plastic bags and bottles that take 500 to 1,000 years to degrade.

Photo via The Way We See the World.
Allison Guy
on 03/02/12 Comments »
Tags
- Food Technology | Humane-Technology | Plastic Planet | Suburban Utopia
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