RnaLabs

BY Babak A. Parviz // September 2009

The human eye is a perceptual powerhouse. It can see millions of colors, adjust easily to shifting light conditions, and transmit information to the brain at a rate exceeding that of a high-speed Internet connection.

But why stop there?

In the Terminator movies, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character sees the world with data superimposed on his visual field—virtual captions that enhance the cyborg’s scan of a scene. In stories by the science fiction author Vernor Vinge, characters rely on electronic contact lenses, rather than smartphones or brain implants, for seamless access to information that appears right before their eyes.

These visions (if I may) might seem far-fetched, but a contact lens with simple built-in electronics is already within reach; in fact, my students and I are already producing such devices in small numbers in my laboratory at the University of Washington, in Seattle [see sidebar, "A Twinkle in the Eye"]. These lenses don’t give us the vision of an eagle or the benefit of running subtitles on our surroundings yet. But we have built a lens with one LED, which we’ve powered wirelessly with RF. What we’ve done so far barely hints at what will soon be possible with this technology.

IEEE Spectrum: Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens

World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

“Microsoft gave a public showing of its futurologist vision of 2019 the other day at the Wharton Business Technology Conference, and it’s set the interwebs a-quiver with excitement. But if you have a bit of time to think about it, it’s actually not very visionary at all.

Gizmodo’s Jason Chen loved it, quoting Arthur C. Clarke’s famous Third Law: “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The Industry Standard’s Paul Boutin suggests “More important than whizzy interfaces, the videos promise much more extensive collaboration, instant information retrieval, and multimedia communication.” And “2019″ has  appeared all over the place because it’s from Microsoft, and that’s a name that carries almost limitless clout.

Which is why it’s surprising the video is actually so uninspiring.

The references to Minority Report are unmistakable: Transparent “air screens” with gestural controls, handheld computers with see-through screens that you can hold over a larger display to “capture” the info. Everything is touch-controlled, with gestural inputs and with seamless wireless information transfer from one device to another–the concept of a “file” is conspicuously absent–and that’s very Tom Cruise. There’s also much use of color e-paper with a touch-surface, and modular cellphones with interactive touch-sensitive exteriors and screens. Location-based services show up, with the “corporate visitor” chap being located (presumably by some smart RFID/GPS/LPS tech in his phone) and directed to his destination by smart-display floor tiles.”

Links:
Article by Kit Eaton @ Fast Company

Microsoft Office Labs:  How will emerging technology improve our productivity in the years ahead?

Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Its world premiere will be in Austin, Texas at the South by Southwest Film Festival March 13th to 21st.

About the trailer: the voices belong to Jonathan Ive, Andrew Blauvelt, Marc Newson, and Karim Rashid. The song is “I Like Van Halen Because My Sister Says They Are Cool” by our friends El Ten Eleven, from their new record These Promises Are Being Videotaped [get it on iTunes]. And the font used in the trailer is… Akzidenz Grotesk! [Shout out to Paula Scher!]

[via Objectified Website]