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25 November, 2016
A new type of battery that lasts for days with only a few seconds' charge has been created by researchers at the University of Central Florida. "If they were to replace the batteries with these supercapacitors, you could charge your mobile phone in a few seconds and you wouldn't need to charge it again for over a week," said Professor Nitin Choudhary, one of the researchers behind the new technology. To date supercapacitors weren't used to make batteries as they'd have to be much larger than those currently available. But the Florida researchers have overcome this hurdle by making their supercapacitors with tiny wires that are a nanometre thick. Coated with a high energy shell, the core of the wires is highly conductive to allow for superfast charging.
Labels:
ICT Capability,
research
Amazon is making good on its promise to ban “incentivized” reviews from its website, according to a new analysis of over 32,000 products and around 65 million reviews. The ban was meant to address the growing problem of less trustworthy reviews that had been plaguing the retailer’s site, leading to products with higher ratings than they would otherwise deserve.
Labels:
Ethical,
Sustainability
24 November, 2016
Would you like to time travel to the Woodstock concert and be able to roam around just like it was August 1969? Or roam around Madison Square Garden in New York with John Lennon and Elton John performing as in 1974? Shared reality site AltSpaceVR is making this possible with music, comedy and other events it hosts in virtual reality. When you put on a VR headset and attend an AltSpaceVR event, you are represented by an avatar that can be moved around. The people you are talking with or moving among appear directly in front of you as avatars in the VR space, but in reality they live across the globe.
Labels:
3D,
Critical + Creative Thinking,
ICT Capability,
Social
23 November, 2016
Building Blocks: A Deep Dive Into Leap Motion Interactive Design. 3 Kinds of Interactions Designing for hands in VR starts with thinking about the real world and our expectations. In the real world, we never think twice about using our hands to control objects. We instinctively know how. The “physical” design of UI elements in VR should build on these expectations and guide the user in using the interface. There are three types of interactions, ranging from easy to difficult to learn: spectrum Direct interactions follow the rules of the physical world. They occur in response to the ergonomics and affordances of specific objects. As a result, they are grounded and specific, making them easy to distinguish from other types of hand movements. Once the user understands that these interactions are available, there is little or no extra learning required. (For example, pushing an on/off button in virtual reality.) Metaphorical interactions are partially abstract but still relate in some way to the real world. For example, pinching the corners of an object and stretching it out. They occupy a middle ground between direct and abstract interactions. Abstract interactions are totally separate from the real world and have their own logic, which must be learned. Some are already familiar, inherited from desktop and mobile operating systems, while others will be completely new. Abstract interactions should be designed with our ideas about the world in mind. While these ideas may vary widely from person to person, it’s important to understand their impact on meaning to the user. (For example, pointing at oneself when referring to another person would feel strange.) Immersion and Flow As human beings, we crave immersion and “flow,” a sense of exhilaration when our bodies or minds are stretched to their limits. It’s the feeling of being “in the zone” on the sports field, or becoming immersed in a game. Time stands still and we feel transported into a higher level of reality. Creating the potential for flow is a complex challenge in game design. For it to be sustained, the player’s skills must meet proportionately complex challenges in a dynamic system. Challenges build as the player’s skill level grows. Too challenging? The game becomes frustrating and players will rage-quit. Not challenging enough? The game is boring and players move on. But when we push our skills to meet each rising challenge, we achieve flow. flow-channel To design for flow, start with simple physical interactions that don’t require much physical or mental effort. From there, build on the user’s understanding and elevate to more challenging interactions.
Labels:
3D,
Critical + Creative Thinking,
Game,
Graphic Design,
Social
21 November, 2016
It’s true that automation can and often does eliminate jobs, but very often they are jobs that Vinnie Mirchandani, author of Silicon Collar: An Optimistic Perspective on Humans, Machines, and Jobs, refers to as 3D jobs, an acronym for “dull, dirty, and dangerous”. In short, there are jobs that my father did that my kids just won’t. So automation plays a vital role in the march of progress.
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