SUNDAY FEBRUARY 05 2012
As it happens, he likes to glide. On wheels. On motorised wheels attached to his shoes.
Peter has developed a pair of battery-powered skates called spnKiX – a fancy way of writing Spin Kicks – which strap right on to your shoes and are hand-controlled by a wireless remote.
The remote, which is the size of a key fob and straps to your hand, allows you to vary the throttle while each skate has its own battery and motor, with the hardware and electronics cleverly integrated into the Nylon-fibre reinforced frame to create a sort of mini Segway for each foot.
“For most of my life, I have been interested in personal mobility and I have been asking the same questions all of you have been asking: Where are our flying cars? Where are the jet packs? Where are my motorised shoes?” says Treadway.
“Well, after spending five years researching, designing and developing a variety of different prototypes, the miniaturisation of certain technologies found in smart phones, laptops and radio controlled cars has finally made it possible for us to integrate them all into a pair of ‘shoes’ so that you can go for a spin!”
To gather the cash necessary to go into a full scale production, Treadway used Kickerstarter.com, the online threshold pledge system that helps to raise capital for projects by harnessing the power of ‘crowd funding’.
“Now the project is funded, we expect our first production run to arrive from the factory towards the end of February,” he says. “So expect the first delivery in March.”
Of course, if spnKiX use mobile phone-like technology, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the weather forecast the days you plan to use them – and not take them out for a spin in the middle of a tropical downpour. “Small rain or water puddles on the street shouldn’t be a problem, but spnKiX can’t be soaked in water, just like your cell phone,” says Treadway.
The robustness of the design will also be challenged by the heftier among us – to the point that the spnKiX team recommend that users weigh no more than 80kg (180lbs) – ruling out most rugby players, American footballers and sumo wrestlers from using them.
To brake with spnKiX, there is a stopper, like on rollerskates. Otherwise, you just take your finger off the gas and you will slow down fairly quickly.
It might be, though, that you come to a complete halt a lot sooner than you wish: The rechargeable lithium battery – which takes 2 to 3 hours to fully load – lets you go about 2 to 3 miles (4.8 to 6.4 km) per charge depending on the angle of the surface you are rolling on.
So, with a top speed of 16 kmh/10mph, that will give you an autonomy of only about 20 minutes, which means you could find yourself taking a long walk or jog home, which, if that were the case, would certainly dispel any accusations that using spnKiX will make the lazy among us even lazier.
“SpnKiX are closer to rollerblades than any ‘upright, stand-on’ vehicle and will not make anyone lazy,” says Treadway. “People will be outside and more active than before – and with more speed and style. These are a range extender!”
For more information, please visit www.spnkix.com and www.kickstarter.com/
SUNDAY JANUARY 29 2012
Unlike conventional cameras, the Lytro light field camera captures all of the rays of light (angle/colour/intensity) in a scene, providing new photographic capabilities hitherto impossible – including the ability to focus a picture after it has been taken!
The terrific pocket-sized camera creates three-dimensional, interactive ‘living’ images that can be refocused as many times you wish thanks to a light field sensor that records a far richer set of data than any previous photographic instrument – in terms of colour, intensity and the direction of every light ray that flows into the camera – about 11 million of them.
To process all this additional information, the camera contains a light field ‘engine’ that allows users to refocus the images directly on the camera via an intuitive glass touchscreen.
And when the Lytro’s living pictures are shared online, this light field engine travels with each picture, so anyone can interact with them on virtually any device – web browsers, mobile phones or iPads – without having to download special software
The camera also offers a pretty powerful 8x optical zoom and f/2 lens – and you don’t need a degree to work out all its functions; it features just two buttons – power and shutter – that both activate instantly. It also performs well in low-light environments, so there is no need for a flash.
Another neat feature is the minimalist, rectangular design that, thanks to its anodised aluminum case, weighs in at approximately 225g/5lbs, making it an extremely light yet sturdy companion wherever you want to exercise your picture-taking skills.
Light field science was the subject of Lytro CEO and Founder Dr Ren Ng’s PhD dissertation in computer science at Stanford University, and was once only possible with 100 cameras tethered to a supercomputer in a lab.
This year Lytro plan to apply special light field algorithms to the pictures to enable viewing on any 3D display – where viewers will be able to shift the perspective of a scene. We can’t wait!
Interview with the inventors
And is the Lytro really any good as a camera? Well I'll let you know as I've just ordered mine!
For more information on the Lytro camera, please visit www.lytro.com/camera. And for a demonstration of the ‘living’ pictures, visit the Lytro Picture Gallery at www.lytro.com/living-pictures (click anywhere inside a photo and watch that section come into focus).
SUNDAY JANUARY 22 2012
Christened Little Shining Man, the sculpture has also been complemented by an equally impressive video which shows the spectacular creation take flight at sundown above the beaches of Jersey, the biggest of the Channel Islands (between Britain and France).
Elegant yet robust, Little Shining Man was commissioned by luxury property developers Dandara and manufactured by Queen & Crawford, a Birmingham-based Design and Fabrication Workshop.
Its structure is based around the tetra kites developed by Alexander Graham Bell, multiplied out into colliding cubes, the form of which is inspired by the natural cubic formations of the mineral pyrite.
There were several challenges involved in creating Little Shining Man, which contains 23,000 individual components overall and took 16 months to develop.
The structure had to be very strong yet as lightweight as possible to enable it to fly and return to the ground again with minimal damage so it could be installed as an artwork afterwards.
State-of-art carbon fibre rods were therefore chosen in addition to a hand-made composite fabric – Cuben Fibre – normally used for yacht sails, as well as specially designed, 3-D printed nylon connectors. The ensemble allows Little Shining Man to float across the sky as if weightless.
The flying sculpture in these photos is just one section of an arrangement of three pieces, forming a final piece of art which has been suspended in the atrium of Dandara's Castle Quay development in St. Helier, Jersey.
In addition to being a permanent piece of sculpture, it will also serve as a working kite and will be annually taken down from its display to be flown in nearby St Aubin's bay.
Ivan Morison was more than satisfied after witnessing his co-creation make its maiden lift-off.
“When we first took Little Shining Man out onto the beach, you could feel the sculpture come alive,” he said. “It wanted to twist and tumble as we took it across the sands.
As the wind took hold, it rose slowly, bobbing just above our reach, until a gust caught its sails and lifted way up above us.
Standing there, watching this complex form that had taken us months to plan and build, rise high up into the sky was truly breathtaking.
We felt as Bell must have in his early experiments into flight – a time of true wonder and optimism.”
The debut flight was captured in this beautiful short film, shot at sunset to create a truly beautiful backdrop of light with some great close-ups of Little Shining Man’s geometric structure.
Complementing the superb visuals is an intriguing audio track – the sounds of waves gently lapping and slightly ominous electro music that makes Little Shining Man’s floating upwards seem science-fiction-esque.
SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2012
The phrase came about in the 16th century because the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England was based on the mining and selling of coal.
Local supply and demand was such that attempts to sell coal to Newcastle were seen as being doomed to failure.
On a similar note, last year my London-based, Anglo-American parents – victims of the 1970s craze for fondue parties in Britain and the US – kindly asked me if I would like to take off of their hands one of the five fondue sets that they had amassed over the years.
I politely declined their offer as I live in Switzerland, the home of fondue.
But it got me asking myself what real-life examples exist of those people with a bit of initiative who have figuratively managed to “carry coals to Newcastle”.
It actually turns out that the good people of Newcastle have themselves pulled off the unlikely trick of selling Champagne to the French.
Admittedly, it’s not Newcastle-cultivated Champers – the Tyneside climate isn’t exactly conducive to that.
Nevertheless, the Newcastle business Lovely Bubbly – set up in 2006 to give British drinkers access to quality Champagnes from independent French producers – struck a deal to supply Champagne to the French Consul in Edinburgh.
Perhaps even better is Fracino. Don't be fooled by their Italian-sounding name as the
award-winning Italian-style coffee machines manufacture is actually based in Birmingham, England, and was founded in the 1960s by the very un-Italian sounding Frank Maxwell, who was inspired by a coffee machine bought while holidaying in Italy with his family.
The small yet innovative manufacturer is not only the UK’s only coffee-machine maker, but it also now exports its cappuccino and espresso machines to over 25 countries – including Italy, the land of coffee connoisseurs if ever there was one.
Following Fracino’s lead is Scottish pizza kitchen Cosmo who, you’ve guessed it, sell their gluten-free varieties to Italy. The next thing you know, the Italians will be exporting haggis to the Scots.
It should be pointed out that Cosmo are slightly helped by the fact founder and chairman Cosmo Tamburro is an Italian himself, having emigrated to Edinburgh in 1958.
Meanwhile, the Central Australian Camel Industry Association have succeeded in selling 119 camels to none other than Saudi Arabia.
Australia has a sizeable population of camels – around 500,000 – the direct descendants of the 20,000 brought over in the 19th century from India and the Canary Islands, animals which were left in the wild once their use for exploration had finished.
Beside a means of transport, camels have often been an integral part of the traditional Muslim diet. Thousands are annually slaughtered during Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca.
The Saudis have traditionally got their camels from North Africa, but disease, drought and political instability have seen them turn to the Aussies for some hump-backed help.
Along very similar lines, Perth-based GMA Garnet managed to get the Saudis to buy Australian sand. The special alluvial sand is suited for sandblasting because it is free of silica, which creates dust that can cause lung cancer and silicosis in workers.
So the next time you hear 'Coals to Newcastle', don't laugh, it may just be an excellent business opportunity!
SUNDAY JANUARY 08 2012
Born in Shandong in 1973, Liu has made a name for himself as the ‘invisible man’, a master of camouflage – an exponent of ‘stage photography’, as he likes to think of it, who paints himself so well that he blends in with his surroundings.
A graduate of theSuojia Village, a Beijing community where Bolin was based built specifically for artists.
“At the time, contemporary art was in quick development in Beijing,” says Liu. “But the government decided it did not want artists like us to gather and live together. "
“The situation for artists in China was very difficult and the forced removal of Suojia Village was my direct inspiration of my series of photographs ‘Hiding In The City’.
“I was filled with indignation,” he adds. “I painted myself in the same colour as the pulled-down walls and tried blending into the demolished areas. I wanted to disappear!"
“It was a sort of self-defence mechanism because I think it was better than being overlooked. It represented my helpless mood and I achieved some balance in my heart after finishing this artwork.”
A year later, a gallery curator from America went to the artist’s studio,and bought some of Liu’s works, which brought him worldwide attention.
For the last four years, Liu has branched out from his Chinese setting and created a series of photos where New York, Paris, Venice, Rome and London have been the backdrop for his human canvas.
To achieve the required effect, Bolin stands still for hours – at least five and sometimes as many as ten – to be painted and photographed.
When he started out, he asked friends to do the painting and photography but now employs assistants, most often art students.
He says: “My job is to choose a good background where I want to be ‘disappeared’, and then stand there stationary until a design has been painted on me."
“My work sort of reminds people what the community we live in really looks like, and what kind of problems exist."
“Some people call me the invisible man, but for me it's what is not seen in a picture which is really what tells the story.”
The video above shows the transformation that Bolin has to go through to create one of his artworks. Here he blends into the staircase of Paris’ Grand Palais.
For more information on Liu Bolin, please visit http://www.liubolinart.com/
spnKiX motorised roller skates - imagine a mini Segway on each foot
Peter Treadway is a design consultant based in Los Angeles and with a name like his you would think that he likes to walk places.As it happens, he likes to glide. On wheels. On motorised wheels attached to his shoes.
Peter has developed a pair of battery-powered skates called spnKiX – a fancy way of writing Spin Kicks – which strap right on to your shoes and are hand-controlled by a wireless remote.
The remote, which is the size of a key fob and straps to your hand, allows you to vary the throttle while each skate has its own battery and motor, with the hardware and electronics cleverly integrated into the Nylon-fibre reinforced frame to create a sort of mini Segway for each foot.
“For most of my life, I have been interested in personal mobility and I have been asking the same questions all of you have been asking: Where are our flying cars? Where are the jet packs? Where are my motorised shoes?” says Treadway.
“Well, after spending five years researching, designing and developing a variety of different prototypes, the miniaturisation of certain technologies found in smart phones, laptops and radio controlled cars has finally made it possible for us to integrate them all into a pair of ‘shoes’ so that you can go for a spin!”
To gather the cash necessary to go into a full scale production, Treadway used Kickerstarter.com, the online threshold pledge system that helps to raise capital for projects by harnessing the power of ‘crowd funding’.
“Now the project is funded, we expect our first production run to arrive from the factory towards the end of February,” he says. “So expect the first delivery in March.”
Of course, if spnKiX use mobile phone-like technology, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the weather forecast the days you plan to use them – and not take them out for a spin in the middle of a tropical downpour. “Small rain or water puddles on the street shouldn’t be a problem, but spnKiX can’t be soaked in water, just like your cell phone,” says Treadway.
The robustness of the design will also be challenged by the heftier among us – to the point that the spnKiX team recommend that users weigh no more than 80kg (180lbs) – ruling out most rugby players, American footballers and sumo wrestlers from using them.
To brake with spnKiX, there is a stopper, like on rollerskates. Otherwise, you just take your finger off the gas and you will slow down fairly quickly.
It might be, though, that you come to a complete halt a lot sooner than you wish: The rechargeable lithium battery – which takes 2 to 3 hours to fully load – lets you go about 2 to 3 miles (4.8 to 6.4 km) per charge depending on the angle of the surface you are rolling on.
So, with a top speed of 16 kmh/10mph, that will give you an autonomy of only about 20 minutes, which means you could find yourself taking a long walk or jog home, which, if that were the case, would certainly dispel any accusations that using spnKiX will make the lazy among us even lazier.
“SpnKiX are closer to rollerblades than any ‘upright, stand-on’ vehicle and will not make anyone lazy,” says Treadway. “People will be outside and more active than before – and with more speed and style. These are a range extender!”
For more information, please visit www.spnkix.com and www.kickstarter.com/
SUNDAY JANUARY 29 2012
Incredible Lytro camera doesn't just shoot light, it shoots 'light fields'.
Californian company Lytro have revolutionised the world of photography with their amazing light field camera.Unlike conventional cameras, the Lytro light field camera captures all of the rays of light (angle/colour/intensity) in a scene, providing new photographic capabilities hitherto impossible – including the ability to focus a picture after it has been taken!
The terrific pocket-sized camera creates three-dimensional, interactive ‘living’ images that can be refocused as many times you wish thanks to a light field sensor that records a far richer set of data than any previous photographic instrument – in terms of colour, intensity and the direction of every light ray that flows into the camera – about 11 million of them.
To process all this additional information, the camera contains a light field ‘engine’ that allows users to refocus the images directly on the camera via an intuitive glass touchscreen.
And when the Lytro’s living pictures are shared online, this light field engine travels with each picture, so anyone can interact with them on virtually any device – web browsers, mobile phones or iPads – without having to download special software
The camera also offers a pretty powerful 8x optical zoom and f/2 lens – and you don’t need a degree to work out all its functions; it features just two buttons – power and shutter – that both activate instantly. It also performs well in low-light environments, so there is no need for a flash.
Another neat feature is the minimalist, rectangular design that, thanks to its anodised aluminum case, weighs in at approximately 225g/5lbs, making it an extremely light yet sturdy companion wherever you want to exercise your picture-taking skills.
Light field science was the subject of Lytro CEO and Founder Dr Ren Ng’s PhD dissertation in computer science at Stanford University, and was once only possible with 100 cameras tethered to a supercomputer in a lab.
This year Lytro plan to apply special light field algorithms to the pictures to enable viewing on any 3D display – where viewers will be able to shift the perspective of a scene. We can’t wait!
Interview with the inventors
And is the Lytro really any good as a camera? Well I'll let you know as I've just ordered mine!
For more information on the Lytro camera, please visit www.lytro.com/camera. And for a demonstration of the ‘living’ pictures, visit the Lytro Picture Gallery at www.lytro.com/living-pictures (click anywhere inside a photo and watch that section come into focus).
SUNDAY JANUARY 22 2012
Little Shining Man: A stunning kite as scuptural art
Artists Heather and Ivan Morison have collaborated with architectural designer Sash Reading to create an amazing sculptural work that can fly like a kite.Christened Little Shining Man, the sculpture has also been complemented by an equally impressive video which shows the spectacular creation take flight at sundown above the beaches of Jersey, the biggest of the Channel Islands (between Britain and France).
Elegant yet robust, Little Shining Man was commissioned by luxury property developers Dandara and manufactured by Queen & Crawford, a Birmingham-based Design and Fabrication Workshop.
Its structure is based around the tetra kites developed by Alexander Graham Bell, multiplied out into colliding cubes, the form of which is inspired by the natural cubic formations of the mineral pyrite.
There were several challenges involved in creating Little Shining Man, which contains 23,000 individual components overall and took 16 months to develop.
The structure had to be very strong yet as lightweight as possible to enable it to fly and return to the ground again with minimal damage so it could be installed as an artwork afterwards.
State-of-art carbon fibre rods were therefore chosen in addition to a hand-made composite fabric – Cuben Fibre – normally used for yacht sails, as well as specially designed, 3-D printed nylon connectors. The ensemble allows Little Shining Man to float across the sky as if weightless.
The flying sculpture in these photos is just one section of an arrangement of three pieces, forming a final piece of art which has been suspended in the atrium of Dandara's Castle Quay development in St. Helier, Jersey.
In addition to being a permanent piece of sculpture, it will also serve as a working kite and will be annually taken down from its display to be flown in nearby St Aubin's bay.
Ivan Morison was more than satisfied after witnessing his co-creation make its maiden lift-off.
“When we first took Little Shining Man out onto the beach, you could feel the sculpture come alive,” he said. “It wanted to twist and tumble as we took it across the sands.
As the wind took hold, it rose slowly, bobbing just above our reach, until a gust caught its sails and lifted way up above us.
Standing there, watching this complex form that had taken us months to plan and build, rise high up into the sky was truly breathtaking.
We felt as Bell must have in his early experiments into flight – a time of true wonder and optimism.”
The debut flight was captured in this beautiful short film, shot at sunset to create a truly beautiful backdrop of light with some great close-ups of Little Shining Man’s geometric structure.
Complementing the superb visuals is an intriguing audio track – the sounds of waves gently lapping and slightly ominous electro music that makes Little Shining Man’s floating upwards seem science-fiction-esque.
SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2012
Coals to Newcastle
You may have heard the saying “carrying coals to Newcastle”, an expression sometimes used to describe a futile endeavour.The phrase came about in the 16th century because the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-east England was based on the mining and selling of coal.
Local supply and demand was such that attempts to sell coal to Newcastle were seen as being doomed to failure.
On a similar note, last year my London-based, Anglo-American parents – victims of the 1970s craze for fondue parties in Britain and the US – kindly asked me if I would like to take off of their hands one of the five fondue sets that they had amassed over the years.
I politely declined their offer as I live in Switzerland, the home of fondue.
But it got me asking myself what real-life examples exist of those people with a bit of initiative who have figuratively managed to “carry coals to Newcastle”.
It actually turns out that the good people of Newcastle have themselves pulled off the unlikely trick of selling Champagne to the French.
Admittedly, it’s not Newcastle-cultivated Champers – the Tyneside climate isn’t exactly conducive to that.
Nevertheless, the Newcastle business Lovely Bubbly – set up in 2006 to give British drinkers access to quality Champagnes from independent French producers – struck a deal to supply Champagne to the French Consul in Edinburgh.
Perhaps even better is Fracino. Don't be fooled by their Italian-sounding name as the
award-winning Italian-style coffee machines manufacture is actually based in Birmingham, England, and was founded in the 1960s by the very un-Italian sounding Frank Maxwell, who was inspired by a coffee machine bought while holidaying in Italy with his family.
The small yet innovative manufacturer is not only the UK’s only coffee-machine maker, but it also now exports its cappuccino and espresso machines to over 25 countries – including Italy, the land of coffee connoisseurs if ever there was one.
Following Fracino’s lead is Scottish pizza kitchen Cosmo who, you’ve guessed it, sell their gluten-free varieties to Italy. The next thing you know, the Italians will be exporting haggis to the Scots.
It should be pointed out that Cosmo are slightly helped by the fact founder and chairman Cosmo Tamburro is an Italian himself, having emigrated to Edinburgh in 1958.
Meanwhile, the Central Australian Camel Industry Association have succeeded in selling 119 camels to none other than Saudi Arabia.
Australia has a sizeable population of camels – around 500,000 – the direct descendants of the 20,000 brought over in the 19th century from India and the Canary Islands, animals which were left in the wild once their use for exploration had finished.
Beside a means of transport, camels have often been an integral part of the traditional Muslim diet. Thousands are annually slaughtered during Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca.
The Saudis have traditionally got their camels from North Africa, but disease, drought and political instability have seen them turn to the Aussies for some hump-backed help.
Along very similar lines, Perth-based GMA Garnet managed to get the Saudis to buy Australian sand. The special alluvial sand is suited for sandblasting because it is free of silica, which creates dust that can cause lung cancer and silicosis in workers.
So the next time you hear 'Coals to Newcastle', don't laugh, it may just be an excellent business opportunity!
SUNDAY JANUARY 08 2012
Amazing vanishing act from human chameleon Liu Bolin
What started off as a protest against the authorities has become a career for Chinese artist Liu Bolin.Born in Shandong in 1973, Liu has made a name for himself as the ‘invisible man’, a master of camouflage – an exponent of ‘stage photography’, as he likes to think of it, who paints himself so well that he blends in with his surroundings.
A graduate of theSuojia Village, a Beijing community where Bolin was based built specifically for artists.
“At the time, contemporary art was in quick development in Beijing,” says Liu. “But the government decided it did not want artists like us to gather and live together. "
“The situation for artists in China was very difficult and the forced removal of Suojia Village was my direct inspiration of my series of photographs ‘Hiding In The City’.
“I was filled with indignation,” he adds. “I painted myself in the same colour as the pulled-down walls and tried blending into the demolished areas. I wanted to disappear!"
“It was a sort of self-defence mechanism because I think it was better than being overlooked. It represented my helpless mood and I achieved some balance in my heart after finishing this artwork.”
A year later, a gallery curator from America went to the artist’s studio,and bought some of Liu’s works, which brought him worldwide attention.
For the last four years, Liu has branched out from his Chinese setting and created a series of photos where New York, Paris, Venice, Rome and London have been the backdrop for his human canvas.
To achieve the required effect, Bolin stands still for hours – at least five and sometimes as many as ten – to be painted and photographed.
When he started out, he asked friends to do the painting and photography but now employs assistants, most often art students.
He says: “My job is to choose a good background where I want to be ‘disappeared’, and then stand there stationary until a design has been painted on me."
“My work sort of reminds people what the community we live in really looks like, and what kind of problems exist."
“Some people call me the invisible man, but for me it's what is not seen in a picture which is really what tells the story.”
The video above shows the transformation that Bolin has to go through to create one of his artworks. Here he blends into the staircase of Paris’ Grand Palais.
For more information on Liu Bolin, please visit http://www.liubolinart.com/
