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Giant scissors are your controller in this quirky first-person action game
There's this small world inside GDC 2018 called Alt.Ctrl.GDC, where you'll find a booth full of quirky games that incorporate physical objects into their story. With Scissors the that than (the latter part pronounced "da da dan," according to its Japanese developer), you use giant scissors as your controller and as the main weapon inside the actual game. Before we get into the premise of Scissors the that than, you should first know that the physical pair that acts as a controller only has a joystick on the left handle (which you use to move) and a red button on the right one that starts the game.
You can cut this display with scissors
Want a display that can take any shape? You might not need a factory to cut it for you in the future -- you may only need a pair of scissors and a steady hand. Japan's National Institute for Materials Science has developed a flexible, organic/metal hybrid polymer display that you can cut without wrecking it. The technology only needs a few seconds of power to adjust to its new shape, and it even maintains its last information when you switch it off, a lot like e-paper.
How to create your own Micro SIM card using a chef knife and some scissors
We told you you could shave down your old and busted SIM cards and turn them into minty fresh Micro SIMs, didn't we? An industrious Londoner by the name of John Benson has gone and proven that concept with the help of some cutting implements and an original Micro SIM to use as a reference. His saintly patience resulted in his being able to negotiate the Vodafone SIM you see above into his iPad 3G (imported from the USA) and riding the waves of Voda's network as if Apple never decided to encumber its portable device with a silly new standard. The 3FF (Micro) SIMs and the bulkier original ones are electrically identical, so there's no threat of harm by using them interchangeably, though we can't say the same thing about the tools that get you there. As always, we advise trying to rope someone else into doing the work for you -- less chance of hurting yourself that way. Hit the source for more. [Thanks, Brandon]
Anthropomorphic robot shows off its Rock, Paper, Scissors-playing skills
BERTI (built by a partnership of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory and Elumotion Ltd.) is a fully automated robotic torso designed to perform "credible conversational gestures." The robot is capable of quite complex hand movements, and, in the demonstration video above, plays a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with a fine gentleman wearing a Goldfinger t-shirt, becoming another addition to the long line of gaming bots. Hit the read link to find out more info about BERTI and the project. [Via Robots.net]
Aihou's portable paper shredder
If you've ever needed any super sensitive documents destroyed, everything is fine and dandy if you're two cubicles down from the office shredder, but things get a bit trickier when on the go. Japanese company Aihou has developed a not-so-complicated approach to shredding documents while out and about -- by connecting 9 pairs of scissor blades to a blaze orange handle, you get a very awkward cutting device that makes dicing up that paperwork quite painless. We've seen miniaturized paper shredders before, but this contraption requires no electricity to make mince meat out of whatever letter, receipt, or list of vault combinations you may have laying around. Unfortunately, it appears that there are no plans for various colored handles, and the only other (legal) use for these would be to give a mean haircut reminiscent of an 80s fashion experiment gone awry. If you've found your way into a double-agent career path and just have to have a handheld way to eliminate that telling paper trail, you can jet on over to Japan and pick these up right now for ¥1,980 (about $17), but you might not be so lucky trying to convince the extra-cautious security guards that you're just wielding a portable office supply on your return.[Via Road Gladiator]
