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Adidas' Strung shoe is threaded together by a sewing robot
Futurecraft Strung is a mew manufacturing process that uses thread placement to create structure without the need for added support.
Scientists capture 4D atomic movement in breakthrough experiment
Long-held theories about how materials melt, freeze and evaporate may need to be tweaked thanks to some breakthrough research. A UCLA-led team of scientists have captured the 4D movement of atoms through time and 3D space as they changed states, reportedly for the first time. The results were surprising and contradicted classical theories about "nucleation," when atoms start to change from one form to another. The research may prove valuable for the creation and study of new materials, chemicals and biological processes.
Adidas Futurecraft 4D shoes: The fourth dimension is hype
Adidas is getting serious about turning its 3D-printed concepts into consumer products. Last week, the sportswear giant revealed Futurecraft 4D, a sneaker designed partially with a manufacturing technology called Digital Light Synthesis, which creates 3D objects by mixing light and oxygen with programmable liquid resins. According to Carbon 3D, the Sillicon Valley firm who developed it, this process is capable of making "durable, high-performance" 3D parts, unlike other conventional 3D printing methods. In this particular case, that was used to make and shape the shoe's midsole, while the upper is made out of Adidas' Primeknit material.
Nothing immerses you in 'Resident Evil 7' like a 4D candle
4D experiences are typically only found in theme parks and fancy theaters, but soon you'll be able to trick your senses at home with the launch of the "official Resident Evil 4D candle." Yes, a candle. Created by Capcom and merchandise merchant Numskull, it's intended to make playing Resident Evil 7: Biohazard on PlayStation VR even more immersive by filling your den with the scent of the game's Baker House Mansion -- which, given it's an abandoned house, should probably smell like damp and old socks.
Immersit Vibes puts a rumble pack in your sofa
Sitting down: It's such a passive activity. Immersit wants to shake that up, all too literally, with its "vibes" sofa accessory. We've seen Immersit before, when it debuted a much more intense (and more expensive) 4D motion kit. That one actually raised the sofa off the ground for added impact. Vibes, on the other hand is meant to be more accessible, and at around $350, it's within most consumers' reach.
NOAA's supercomputers can make hourly weather forecasts
NOAA's US Global Forecast System has gone 4D, thanks to the power of its new supercomputers. The agency has added "time" as a fourth dimension to its weather and climate model, allowing GFS to make hourly forecasts for up to five days out. Before the upgrade, GFS could only deliver forecasts for every three hours, which isn't exactly bad. But hourly forecasts allow first responders and disaster relief operators to plan their best course of action. Not to mention, people can use that kind of info in their daily lives, say to plan their commutes and avoid being on the road in the middle of a raging hurricane.
ICYMI: Printing in 4D, solar panel breakthrough and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-509705{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-509705, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-509705{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-509705").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists at Harvard have figured out how to print incredibly small, shape-shifting creations out of hydrogel that can then morph from 3D to 4D depending on water or heat is applied to them. Scientists figured out how to grow a material that could make solar panels cheaper. And a new jacket on Indiegogo captures heat from UV light then stores it in a steel mesh center to warm you up. If you need to catch up on big stories from the week, we recommend starting with Google's donations. And as always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Your couch can become a VR thrill ride with Immersit
I've tried virtual reality demos a few times and there's always just a little something missing. Whenever the VR camera moves through an environment, I know my body isn't actually moving, and it breaks the immersion. To fix that, Immersit's device props your couch up on four motors to move back/forward, up/down and side-to-side (or any combination of those). Tonight I gave it a quick demo while wearing a VR headset playing 360-degree video filmed from the perspective of a rally car to see how well that works. While it didn't have as much bounce as your average low-rider, its movements were enough to help trick my inner ear into thinking I might actually be on a WRC course instead of the CES Unveiled show floor.
You'll soon be able to turn your sofa into a 4D theme park ride
Buzz Lightyear is tearing around on his jetpack in Toy Story 2, but I'm not watching passively. Every time he banks left, my chair banks left. When he accelerates and climbs, I tilt back. When he finally touches down on a strange planet, my seat drops with a bump. No, I'm not at a theme park or "4D"-equipped theater -- I'm sitting on a couch. Specifically, I'm at the Paris headquarters of Immersit, a company that wants to turn your trusty sofa into an honest-to-Dieu ride simulator. I got to take a spin on its latest prototype, and spoiler: It was pretty cool. But would anybody be willing to pay the price of a decent laptop to get 4D at home?
'4D' movies bring rain and snow inside the theater
Most people would consider going to the movies a way to avoid inclement weather, but drop into a 4DX theater and you'll be taking the rain and snow with you. The "4D" cinemas, which only landed on American shores last year, augment the standard big screen and booming sound with smells (like flowers or gunpowder), wind and even fake lightening. At CinemaCon in Las Vegas the company behind 4DX, CJ Group, will be demonstrating new effects, including rainstorm, snow and warm air. Why would you want to be showered with rain, shrouded in fog or buried in snow while you're trying to watch a movie? That's a good question, CJ Group would argue it creates a more immersive experience. Though, it remains to be seen how "immersed" people want to feel in the brutal sand storms of Mad Max.
3D? Feh. MIT has already moved on to 4D printing (video)
The bad news: just as much of the world is starting to get excited about the prospects of 3D printing, science is moving on to the world of 4D. The good news: in the future, you might not have to assemble that Ikea chair yourself. "4D printing" is the term cientists are using to refer to a technology that MIT's Skylar Tibbits talked up during a recent TED appearance. The fourth "d" here is time, referring to an object that, once printed, is capable of changing shape (over time, naturally). "Essentially the printing is nothing new," Tibbits told the BBC. "It is about what happens after." So far the concept has been demonstrated with thin strands of plastic, which, once added to water, form into a predetermined shape, using energy from the absorption. Suggested future applications involve furniture, pipes, bikes and buildings. First, however, scientists will have to demonstrate the technology on a larger structure, of course, and they'll explore the possibility of other energy sources, like heat, sound and vibration.
Alt-week 9.29.12: 3D pictures of the moon, 4D clocks and laser-controlled worms
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. Dimensions, they're like buses. You wait for ages, and then three come along at once. And then another one right after that. While that might be about where the analogy ends, this week sees us off to the moon, where we then leap from the third, right into the fourth. Once there, we'll learn how we could eventually be controlled by lasers, before getting up close and personal with a 300 million-year old bug. Sound like some sort of psychedelic dream? Better than that, this is alt-week.
4D technology coming to 200 US cinemas to help you feel and smell the action
Booming 64-track soundtrack at the cinema making you yawn? Already jaded about 4K , 3D and high frame-rates? If so, a company called CJ Group out of Korea may be able to blast you from your stupor -- it's bringing so-called 4D to nearly 200 theaters stateside. That extra 'D' won't let you warp spacetime, but instead will bring your other senses into play with seats that move and thump, smells from things like flowers or gunpowder, and artificial wind, rain and lightening. All that extra stimulation could bump the freight of a seat by around eight bucks, and movie house owners will need to shell out half of the $2 million cost to retrofit each salon. But CJ Group claims it's been hugely popular in markets like Asia and Mexico, so theaters there have quickly recouped the cost. Of course, you wouldn't want all that strang and durm on certain films, but lots of cinematic squealers could use a good dose of extra lipstick.
Crapgadget CES, round six: 4D Vibestar vibrating lumbar speaker system
Combining two of our favorite things, massages and LOUD noises. Feel the sound... in your lower-back.
This concept wants you to smell it, smell it, Smellit
We admit it: this could just be another highfalutin gadget render that'll never breathe the polluted whiff of day. But it's a nice render, which demonstrates a concept called the Smellit: a miniature olfactory factory that's meant to connect to your PC and bring a "fourth dimension" to video and gaming. Its creator, Nuno Teixeira, even claims he's found a French company to build the device and show it off at the Lisbon Design Show next week. Now, the principle of a practically-sized scent generator has already been demonstrated by others, but we won't be convinced until we have to open a window.
Pix4D turns your 2D aerial photographs into 3D maps on the fly (video)
Assuming you own a Sensefly Swinglet CAM or some other high-res camera-equipped UAV, you could be just minutes away from turning your plain old 2D aerial photos into comprehensive 3D maps. Pix4D, a new software program coming out of EPFL -- the same institute that brought us this race of altruistic robots -- takes images shot using an aerial drone to render 3D maps in the cloud in just 30 minutes. Users upload images taken with their flying machines, at which point Pix4D kicks into action, defining high contrast points in the phots and pasting them together based on those points. It then renders a 3D model, overlays the graphics, and spits out a Google Earth-style map. So what's with this 4D business? Well, its developers claim that users can easily see the progression of any model by deploying their Sensefly drone whenever they see fit, throwing the added layer of time into the mix. You can see the fruits of Pix4D's labor in the video after the break.
Avatar available to watch in 4D, but only in Korea
Yo Carl Sagan, we found the fourth dimension! It was hiding in a South Korean movie theater all this time, and you can go try it out for the eminently affordable $15.80 a pop. CJ-CGV, an enterprising Korean cinema operator, has been offering its 4D experience for a year now, but Avatar's sellout success has led it to open three more "4D plexes." The way the company finally cornered that elusive fourth dimension is by engaging all five senses: moving seats, wind, water sprinkling, lasers, and synthetic smells are all used in time with the movie. Sure, it's a gimmick and takes a loose interpretation of what the word dimension means, but at least it's unlikely you'll fall asleep during the movie, as some of us may or may not have done while watching the 3D screening.
GenAudio bringing 4D sound to 3D / 2D films
Oh, brother. Evidently the 3D bandwagon was simply getting too full, so GenAudio has decided to start a new trend: 4D. Over in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival, said outfit is demonstrating its AstoundSound 4D sound localization cue technology, which purportedly enables audio to be "perceived as coming from every direction including above and beyond the physical placement of the speakers." Jerry Mahabub, chairman and CEO of GenAudio, seems pretty stoked about bringing this fourth dimension to future 3D films, and it's also partnering up with Universal Pictures and Lionsgate to bring the enhanced audio experiences to the DVD / BD release of Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Bangkok Dangerous. If you're eager to see what the fuss is all about, you can grab its consumer audio software (AstoundStereo Expander) right now and enjoy it for free for 30 days. Just be sure to not get permanently stuck in a parallel universe or anything while trying it out.
LG's XM-900 4D mouse could enable time travel
LG just announced its new XM-900 mouse for Korea. Besides featuring an adjustable 800 or 1600 dpi sensitivity this mouse also features a "4D" scroll wheel with touch sensor. A quick swipe of which allows you to navigate the space-time continuum, presumably. Well worth ???18,240 (about $20) or any price, really.
TGS: 1080p for 360! [update 1]
Joystiq has some rather astounding news from the Tokyo Game Show today. A software update later this year -- we would guess the scheduled fall update -- will add full 1080p capability to your Xbox 360. Still no word of an HDMI cable, though. Right now this is only via component or VGA. Still, Microsoft is promising immediate upscaling of all existing games and DVD movies. Huh, it looks like the 360 is capable of "True" high definition after all. The question is: can it play games in 4D? Stay tuned to X360F and Joystiq for more breaking TGS info.Update: Changed confusing image.
