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Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Classiest App To Get People Naked [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5829664/the-classiest-app-to-get-people-naked

Despite the great things the internet has done, it's also made us prudish about having naked images of us captured, and that's made it harder to get people to take of their clothes for you. Until now...

Until the internet came, you only needed a fancy-looking camera and a beret and the clothes would drop to the floor in the name of Art (with a capital A). Before that, "I want to paint you," was arguably the best pick-up line ever (it sure worked for Picasso), but these days even that might get someone's hackles up. No, the super old ways, are the super best ways. "Let me sculpt you!" Yes! Oh God yes, I'm already naked! The problem is, you need talent and clay. Well, now there's an iPad app for that, so you don't need either.

AutoDesk (from the smart folk behind AutoCAD, SketchBook Mobile) has added Sculpt 123D to their product portfolio. You start with a blob that is something like the shape you want to sculpt (human, elephant, T-Rex, etc.), and then you can turn it and manipulate it at will. I was surprised to see just how much control you have the over forms and how detailed you can make something. Check out the quick demo video which is, sadly, totally safe for work. FREE for a limited time, and it will then be $.99. [Autodesk via TechCrunch]

Image credit: Shutterstock/Fancy

You can keep up with Brent Rose, the author of this post, on Google+ or Twitter.

The Amazingly Seamless New Apple Cube [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5829710/the-amazingly-seamless-new-apple-cube

The massive glass cube hovering over the Apple Store at Fifth Avenue is truly iconic: It's transformed a store where people buy iPhones into a legitimate New York City landmark. And it's about to be reborn, made even more striking by its sheer simplicity.

The current, cross-hatched style cube is composed of 90 panes of glass. The new cube will use just 15 expansive pieces of glass—around 32 feet long—erasing all but a handful of seams. So the cube will appear to be almost weightless, as if it's truly suspended in mid-air. We'll see it sometime in November, apparently.

That is how you build a store. [Gothamist]

How The Magical Windows Work in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner [Airplanes]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5829395/how-boeings-magical-787-dreamliner-windows-work

Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner has the best airplane windows ever. It ditches that small window with a pull-down plastic shade and replaces it with a larger, dimming window that can be adjusted to let in various amounts of light.

The windows are a dreamy 19 inches tall and 65% larger than the standard airplane windows so you'll get to see a lot more of your surroundings. And did I mention they dim?

The dimming effect is the result of an electrified gel sandwiched between two thin pieces of glass. As the electric current increases, the gel darkens and as it drops, the gel lightens. The system is brilliant in its simplicity.

Each passenger in the coveted window seat will have control over their window. They're also networked together so flight personnel can control the windows, too. Attendants can adjust each window, adjust windows in an entire section of the plane or adjust them for the entire plane.

These new dimming windows are just the beginning for Boeing and its research partners PPG Aerospace and Gentex Corporation. The trio hopes to add other features to the windows like automation that would brighten your portal during take off and dim it at night. [Boeing]

You can keep up with Kelly Hodgkins, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google + or Facebook.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Organic Motion's OpenStage motion capture system grabs 200FPS, no backdrop required (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/10/organic-motions-openstage-motion-capture-system-grabs-200fps-n/

At just under $40,000 for an eight camera setup, we're hardly in hobbyist territory here, but Organic Motion's new OpenStage 2.0 motion capture system could certainly make do in the average basement. Unlike a few competing solutions shown here at SIGGRAPH, this one actually has no backdrop mandate, and better still, doesn't require you to latch a single sensor onto your subject. The magic lies within the cameras hung above -- kits are sold that contain between eight and 24 cameras, and even the latter can be handled with a single workstation. Multi-person tracking ain't no thang, and while you aren't capturing HD footage here, the high-speed VGA capability enables up to 200 frames per second to be logged. Not surprisingly, the company's aiming this squarely at the animation and medical realms, and should start shipping bundles as early as next month. Looking to take down Pixar? You'll need a lot more than 40 large, but perhaps the video after the break will give you a bit of inspiration.

Gallery: Organic Motion's OpenStage motion capture system grabs 200FPS at SIGGRAPH

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Visualized: 3D3 Solutions scans our face in two seconds flat

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/10/visualized-3d3-solutions-scans-our-face-in-two-seconds-flat/

See that bloke? That's Darren Murph. Well, a digital representation of the human version, anyway. That image was captured in two painless seconds at the hands of 3D3 Solutions, which was on-hand here at SIGGRAPH to demonstrate its newest FlexScan setups. The rig that snapped our face rings up at around $10,000, and relies on a Canon DSLR (strictly for capturing textures), a projector and a secondary camera. As you've likely picked up on, this is hardly designed for average DIYers, but these solutions are also far more detailed and flexible than using Microsoft's Kinect. We're told that the company recently started to support Nikon cameras as well, and for those who'd prefer to use their existing cameras / PJs, a hobbyist-centric software package will allow you to do just that. The only problem? Figuring out where the $2,700 (for software) is going to come from. Head on past the break for a demonstration vid, or peruse the gallery below if you're feeling extra creepy.

Gallery: 3D3 Solutions scans our face in two seconds flat at SIGGRAPH