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Chris O’Shea was commissioned by Abandon Normal Devices and Liverpool City Council for BBC Big Screen Liverpool and the Live Sites Network to create something for the BBC Big Screen. Hand From Above interacts with unsuspecting pedestrians; it can tickle, stretch, flick or remove them entirely on the big screen. Chris used OpenFrameworks and OpenCV to build this software.

Watch the clip below:

The Float House is a high-performance house that generates and sustains its own water and power needs. The sloped concave roof collects rainwater and funnels it to cisterns housed in the chassis, where it is filtered and stored for daily use. The roof supports solar panels that generate all of the house’s power, resulting in net-zero annual energy consumption. The chassis incorporates electrical systems to store and convert solar power for daily use and to give back to the electrical grid during the temperate fall and spring months. Other than that, high-grade energy efficient kitchen, appliances and fixtures maximize durability and reduce the need for replacement. A geothermal mechanical system heats and cools the air via a ground source heat pump, which naturally conditions the air, minimizing the energy required to cool the house in the harsh summer months and heat it in winter.

While the Morphosis floating house is the first to be permitted in the United States, the technology was developed and is in use in the Netherlands where architects and developers are working to address an increased demand for housing in the face of rising sea levels associated with climate change.

Japan has lead the world in the respect to ISO 14001 certification for reducing environmental impact with over 10,000 certified companies. So it is no surprise that Coca-Cola decided to market their new product, I LOHAS directly to the Japanese. Although it may seem that Coca-Cola have just jumped on the eco-friendly bandwagon, at least they can say they have added a little twist.

The video advertisement for I LOHAS attempts to bring the green movement into the mainstream with its macho depiction of a man valiantly crushing his I LOHAS bottle. It is a big step away from the idea of environmentally-conscious consumers as hippies. Watch the advertisement below.

The Nokia Booklet 3G will get A-GPS, as well, a feature common on cell phones but less so on netbooks. With GPS location capabilities, Nokia will offer their Ovi services and products. Ovi Maps for instance, will provide turn-by-turn navigation and location based searches along the route.

Nokia seems to be pushing the netbook as a multimedia component, more than just an Internet browsing device. According to Nokia, the mini-laptop will be capable of displaying HD resolution movies on its 10.1-inch (1366 x 768 pixels) HD display (it has an HDMI port for HD video out). It is one of the few netbooks to feature an HDMI port and have the capability to output high definition video on a large screen.

This really sounds interesting. Do you think I should get one for myself?

The gadget was designed by the American space agency’s scientists to help astronauts get their five-a-day while on missions. Power Plant using a growing technique called aeroponics, uses an internal microjet system that constantly sprays hundreds of tiny jets of water on to the roots of plants. Scientists say that this system leads to far quicker growth than normal because super-oxygenated, nutrient rich water is supplied. Commercial growers already use it on a larger scale.

As the plant grows, the owner tops up the gadget with water and nutrient mix. The seeds are planted in a sponge that sits across the top of the device, which is plugged into the mains. The power is what drives the jets. Domes are placed over the seedlings to protect them and encourage their growth. Once they begin to sprout they are removed. If you’re feeding something on a nutrient solution it wouldn’t be organic, but it would still be completely wholesome.
You can grow all your herbs in it. Fresh fruit, such as raspberries, blackberries and tasty cherry tomatoes, and flowers too, as long as they’re from seeds. The crop will begin to sprout within around five days. Traditionally it would take around 120 days to grow a seedling plant. But with the Power Plant, on average, it will take around 90 days. In the summer months when there is more sunlight, then you can expect your herbs and fruit to grow even faster in around 60 days. Homegrown food is good because people like the taste and it’s good for kids to learn.

Cyberdyne said its 22 pound (10 kilogram) “HAL” is equipped with sensors that read brain signals directing limb movement through the skin. This enables the “HAL” robotic suit to fit on the body to assist and enhance a person’s own limb movements. When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneuron, moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence. At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. “HAL” catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit is controlled to move the joint unitedly with the wearer’s muscle movement, enabling to support the wearer’s daily activities. “HAL” has, but also a ‘robotic autonomous control system’ that provides human-like movement based on a robotic system which integrally work together with the ‘autonomous control system’.

“HAL” is expected to be applied in various fields such as rehabilitation support and physical training support in medical field, ADL support for disabled people, heavy labour support at factories, and rescue support at disaster sites, as well as in the entertainment field.

Employees of a Japanese robotics company have been showing off a rehabilitation suit designed to help people with mobility problems on the streets of downtown Tokyo.