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We're live at SXSW's Al Gore on The Future panel
Al Gore: former Vice President, environmental activist, author, voice-over artist, gadget freak -- and psychic? The politician and supporter of all things green will be looking into his crystal ball today, with a little help from The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg here at SXSW. Join us after the break for all the robots, lasers and flying cars.
We're live at Elon Musk's SXSW keynote
Electric cars and commercial space flight -- what more could a person want? The Tesla / SpaceX founder is bringing all of that to his keynote on this, this second day of South By Southwest Interactive. The exec has never been on to mince words, so this ought to be an interesting one. Join us after the break, won't you?
We're live at SXSW's Leap Motion panel
Can't get enough of futuristic peripherals? Hey, neither can we -- so it's a good thing we're here at SXSW this week. We're kicking off a series of liveblogs today with a conversation with Leap Motion co-founders David Holz and Michael Buckwald. Utilize your favorite input device and join us after the break, won't you?
Live from SXSW: catch our Leap Motion, Elon Musk and Al Gore liveblogs today!
Austin, Texas is loaded to the gills with geeks of every shape and size, and we're here too! We're parked at the city's convention center for a day filled with A-list SXSW speakers, including Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame, former Vice President Al Gore and the ace team from Leap Motion. We'll be liveblogging several events today, and bringing you hands-ons and interviews throughout the weekend and early next week. Head over to our event page for a full rundown of our SXSW posts, galleries and videos, and be sure to check out our liveblogs, kicking off with Leap Motion at 1:30PM ET, then followed by Elon Musk at 3:00PM ET and Al Gore at 4:30PM ET. Oh, and if you're in Austin tonight, don't forget to drop by our very first Engadget+gdgt Live event. We'll see you there!
OpenPool transforms billiards with a Kinect camera-controlled light show
Want to know how to make a pool table an attention-grabber on a showroom floor full of highly explosive video games? Try a couple of Kinect cameras, some projectors and a sound system. OpenPool's an open-source project that's looking to bring a little multimedia action to the world of billiards. The company had some reps on the floor of SXSW's Game Expo today, showing off the system, which, at the very least, is most probably unlike any pool game you've played. The system uses two Kinect cameras to detect ball movement, which in turn directs the motion of the projectors -- not entirely unlike those floor shows in malls that seem to endlessly fascinate small children. The speakers play sound effects and music in sync with the movement as well, signaling noises when balls drop into the pockets. The company is really excited at the prospect of open-sourcing here, and told us you should probably be able to set up your own system at home for around $10,000, pool table included. For those who aren't particularly tech-savvy, the Japanese company is working on building full systems for offices and bars. Having Konami as a partner will certainly help it realize that dream. Check out a video of the table in action after the, you know, break.%Gallery-181155%
Multimorphic shows off its modular, open-source P3 Pinball machine at SXSW
When we spoke to Gary Stern way back in January at CES, the pinball exec let it be known that his was the only company currently producing pinball machines -- and while that may be accurate so far as actual shipping systems go, there are a handful of startups looking to get into the game. One of the more compelling examples we've seen is the offering from Multimorphic, an Austin-based company showcasing a prototype at SXSW Interactive's Game Expo. The P3 is interesting for a number of reasons. First, and arguably most importantly, is the modular nature of the machine. If you take a look at the (still-unfinished) sides of the cabinet, you can see a big slit down the center, where the top can be lifted off and replaced -- since the machine is targeted toward home users, there's no concern about vandalism there. The idea is to essentially offer a platform to both developers and at-home hackers to create their own games atop what is essentially a clean slate.
We're live at SXSW's Virtual Reality: The Holy Grail of Gaming panel with Oculus and more
What? You didn't think we'd make it out of the first day of SXSW without some gaming coverage, did you? We're here at the show's Gaming Expo, a room full of the latest and greatest offerings from companies big and small. We couldn't help but do a doubletake when we saw the lineup for the rather verbose Virtual Reality: The Holy Grail of Gaming. The panel's got Cliff Bleszinski (Epic), Palmer Luckey (Oculus Rift), and Chris Roberts (Wing Commander) -- an impressive offering moderated by Oculus' Nate Mitchell. Strap on those goggles and come talk VR with us after the jump.
The Engadget Interview: Bre Pettis talks MakerBot's Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner
The job of kicking off this year's South By Southwest Interactive conference fell firmly in the hands of none other than MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis -- and really a show like this couldn't ask for a better, more enthusiastic evangelist for emerging technologies. And certainly the fact that Pettis' company has firm ties to the event doesn't hurt matters either. Pettis spent much of his talk espousing the "next industrial revolution," a phenomenon in which he sees desktop 3D printing playing a pivotal role -- MakerBot's 3D printing specifically, if he has his way. The company took a big step in that direction with the announcement of the Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner. Still in its early prototype stages, the device is an attempt to do for 3D scanning what the Replicator and its ilk have done for printing -- i.e. democratize the process in such a way that makes it affordable and user-friendly enough to make it an appealing prospect for hobbyists and, later, consumers. It's hard to say just how realistic that dream is at this point, of course -- the device is set to go up for order in the fall, and Pettis is the first to admit that the company still has a long way to go before the Digitizer is consumer-ready. But if anyone's going to convince us that such a dream is close to coming true, it's the MakerBot co-founder. Click through after the break to hear him discuss the device.
MakerBot unveils prototype Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner, promises easier 3D printing
Well, that was quick. Bre Pettis just started delivering South By Southwest's opening remarks and may well have taken the wraps off the biggest news of the show. Of course, we'll still have to hang out in Austin for a few more days just to, you know, totally make sure, but this really does feel like a doozy. As the MakerBot CEO puts it, "It's a natural progression for us to create a product that makes 3D printing even easier" -- but, let's be honest, few of those who don't have a vested interest in moving some 3D printers are running around calling the whole process particularly "easy." And while consumer-facing devices like the Replicator, CubeX, Solidoodle, et al. have gone a ways toward making the technology more accessible for laypeople, there's still a fundamental breakdown: the creation of models to be printed. The maker community has helped on that front, as well, with MakerBot's Thingiverse serving as an unparalleled resource for 3D images, meaning that, once your printer's all set up and calibrated, you can download and print to your heart's delight -- but what if, say, you want to print up something that some kindly soul hasn't designed for you? You could learn a CAD program -- or you could invest in an industrial 3D scanner. The latter option has lead to something of a land rush of companies and individuals looking to break things wide open with an affordable, consumer-facing offering. And while MakerBot still seems a ways away from the final product, the company used SXSW as a platform to unveil a prototype of its MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner.
Live from MakerBot's SXSW Keynote
South by Southwest Interactive kicked off this morning in Austin -- well, sort of. Can you really say a show like this has "kicked off," before a 3D printing CEO has given the opening remarks? Debatable. Thankfully, MakerBot's Bre Prettis is set to take the stage shortly to get this show started right. Join us, as the bespectacled exec talks about his company's role in "the next industrial revolution."
