daqri

daqri's disruptive technology empowers you to visualize and interact with data in a completely new way. Our unique approach goes beyond the mechanics of augmented reality, deeply engaging design, interface, and user experience and forging a path to a world that is more connected than ever before. This is where we share design inspiration, ideas, and updates.

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As a result of participating in the prototyping weekend conducted during UPSingapore, I was able to massage and mangle a number of datasets, graciously made available by private and public organisations. One of the datasets that I managed to sink my teeth into was the collection of geocoded cab data collected over a 24 hour period on the 15 of May 2012 for 15,694 cabs.  From the data, I was hoping to observe the behavioural patterns of cabs in Singapore.

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“Producing and selling a product that is well-designed or badly designed costs exactly the same amount of money,” says Bertazzoni, the fifth generation of his family to run the company. “Style is part of the products we manufacture.” This is from an awesome article on high end ovens from Northern Italy. Inspiration can come from anywhere!

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-13/an-italian-oven-maker-feels-the-heat-of-the-euro-crisis

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Can Medical Games in 3D Improve Your Health?

We don't know for sure, but they're really fun and definitely informative. 3D medical imaging company ION Medical Designs has created three interactive games intended to showcase their graphics capabilities and medical know-how. At the time of writing, we could only get the one to work: Sepsis, the premise of which is to learn about a medical condition and play the role of a macrophage, engulfing invading bacteria and protecting the patient's blood pressure level. It's super fun and in terms of difficultly, about on par with a few other favorite time-waster games like TextTwist, except playing this game actually teaches you about your immune system. Rad!

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So Flipping Cool: AR Sandboxes with Virtual Water Simulation

The UC Davis W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in the Earth Sciences built this incredible demonstration of interactive AR topography with funding from the National Science Foundation. The demonstration uses Microsoft Kinect as well as water flow simulations based on the Saint-Venant set of shallow water equations.

These AR sandboxes will be set up as hands-on exhibits in science museums including the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC).

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Companies that build digital products and services are engaging in a new level of competition; it's no longer good enough to deliver a usable product. Our designs must reach an aspirational vision that elevates the experience beyond mere usability.

http://www.cooper.com/journal/2012/05/elevating_the_brand_and_visual.html

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Levitation: Baby Steps

An exciting new project from MIT Media Lab holds the promise of being able to control and levitate the objects around you, opening new doorways for digital and physical interactions with your environment. 

Says creator Jinha Lee, "ZeroN is a physical and digital interaction element that floats and moves in space by computer-controlled magnetic levitation." Interaction options include physical playback of gestures, physical manipulation of 3D trajectories, camera recording along 3D paths and lighting viewpoints. While these interactions are occurring inside a lab today, let's hope it won't remain that way forever. Watch the video to learn more about the technology behind this amazing process.

What am I most excited about? The fact that the day when I can say, "Accio ZeroN!" only seems to be getting closer.

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'Welcome to the Anthropocene' Earth Animation

This 3-minute video is simply stunning, you won't be able to take your eyes off it. I highly recommend watching it in full-screen mode. The visual execution is superb, and the data that unfolds contains thought-provoking insights about our impact on the planet. A question comes to mind: are we nearing an age where our technology can support a more lightweight visual impact, or will the lines criss-crossing the planet only increase as a new private space industry starts to gain its footing?

About the project:

Welcome to the Anthropocene, commissioned by the London Planet Under Pressure conference, provides a data visualization of the state of the planet. It opens at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. As the camera swoops over Earth, viewers watch the planetary impact of humanity: cities, roads, railways, pipelines, cables and shipping lanes until finally the world’s planes spin a fine web around the planet. The film is produced as part of the world’s first educational portal on the Anthropocene.

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To be human is to be a user (and maker and remaker) of technology.

Alexis Madrigal

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16th Century Amsterdam in 3D

Amsterdam-based studio PlusOne has completed an intriguing project for the Amsterdam Museum: a series of stunning videos that bring the viewer into the physical, political and religious milieu of one of the most important port cities of the 16th century.

3D art has the unique quality of feeling extremely immersive and immediate, which is why it is a fantastic way to introduce people to a historical setting in full color! 

The creative team behind the production spoke with Motionographer for an in-depth interview, be sure to check out the original post for more details, photos and videos.

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The Future of Science

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Awe-Inspiring: An Interactive, Musical Starry Night

Greek artist Petros Vrellis has successfully taken our breath away. We love seeing art and tech come together, and this homage to a great master is nothing short of wondrous. Opening up an old favorite to so many new possibilities, while still retaining the majesty and integrity of the original work, is no easy feat. Petros, we hope you make a habit of it!

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An unexpected new technique is starting to take hold amongst archaeologists: using lasers to determine the dimension of bones and then 3D printing them to create a full dino skeleton. It's simple, effective, brilliant, and should have happened a long time ago!

MakerBot is so awesome.

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This magical story begins with inventor and magician Wolfgang von Kempelen's parlor demonstrations in eighteenth century Vienna, and continues today through a curious turn of events and a California man's passion for the awe-inspiring Mechanical Turk, an impressive contraption which appears to intelligently play chess by mechanical means alone.

Since the artifact was lost in a fire in 1854, its mysterious inner workings have remained a topic of much speculation. Until now.

After years of research and study, magic-maker and automaton-collector John Gaughan has painstakingly rebuilt the Turk. Gaughan keeps a reliquary shop in Atwater, CA and has a wealth of knowledge, delightful anecdotes, little-known facts, and a master's experience with magical automatons and cabinetry, Houdini-esque escape hatches, optical illusions, and levitating carpets (and teddy bears). 

It's fascinating how powerful confidence and belief can be. Charles Babbage, the inventor of the first computer experienced the Mechanical Turk in the 1770's. Says Gaughan,

People then didn’t know it was an illusion. They thought it was a thinking machine. And Babbage thought: “My god, if they can build a machine that plays chess, I should be able to make a machine that that can execute various rational functions.”

So this very powerful illusion could be part of what inspired Babbage as well as Jaquard, the inventor of the mechanical loom, to have the courage to innovate on such a great scale. It turns out magic has its uses, after all.

Do click through and read the entire interview with Gaughan, it's well worth it.

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Keeping Royalty Fresh: The World's First Augmented Coin

Can you think of anything more traditional than a federal money-making mint, and a Royal one at that? Yet in a delightful turn of events, the Royal Canadian Mint got a breath of fresh air, topped with a breath mint last night. The Mint has sourced internationally renowned artist Gary Taxali to design six new limited edition collector’s quarters. And to spice things up further, our fearless leader Brian Mullins teamed up with visionary augmented reality researcher Helen Papagiannis to develop the world’s first Augmented Reality coin. Helen and Brian created a one-of-a-kind experience that guests were treated to during an evening celebration last night at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

To learn more, head over to our full blog post here: http://j.mp/xQSao8

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Erick Miller and Jon Rodriguez are two young, driven startup founders. What sets them apart from the sea of young entrepreneurs with big dreams? For starters, their near term goal is to make an Iron Man suit. Long term, they're thinking cyborgs.

This is Jon Rodriguez giving a prototype demo.

Check out their website and keep an eye out for Kickstarter campaigns to fund their sci-fi-like projects. In the meantime, see their latest release, social-media enabled goggles that recognize your friends' faces: 

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9188672.htm

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How Robots See the World

A fascinating compilation of clips from different robots around the world, built for a variety of purposes. Forget your human sensibilities for a while, and enjoy a view of the world with new, digitized eyes.

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Swarming: a collective behavior exhibited by animals of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving en masse in some direction.