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Kraftwerk's 3D concerts return to North America in September
Good news if you missed out on Kraftwerk's 3D concerts the last time the band was in North America: you're about to get a second chance. The electronic music pioneers have announced a slew of American and Canadian dates that will let you see their immersive visual landscapes first-hand. This stint kicks off in Edmonton on September 16th, and reaches the US with a September 19th gig in Portland; you'll also get to see these 3D performances in cities like Austin, Boston and Miami. The tickets are likely to sell out quickly when they go on sale May 8th, so you'll want to act quickly if you just have to witness a spectacle like "The Robots" in person. [Image credit: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images]
Department of Energy 3D prints an all-electric Shelby Cobra
Carroll Shelby's iconic Cobra roadster has been making jaws drop for half a century now. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cobra's debut the US Department of Energy built one of its own. The new Cobra's entire chassis and bodywork--from the passenger monocoque to the grille and headrests--were 3D printed from carbon fiber reinforced ABS using the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. And while the exterior of the new Cobra is nearly indistinguishable from its predecessor, they look nothing alike under the hood. The DoE's Cobra is, in fact, completely electric.
Sky's closing its dedicated 3D channel
Once touted as the next big thing in television and film, 3D has ultimately failed to find an audience. It's been five long years since Sky first introduced 3D programming, starting with a Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea, but after it chose not to schedule any matches in 3D for this past season, its TV future was called into doubt. Following that pretty big warning sign, Sky's latest move appears to have driven the final nail in its coffin: from June, the broadcaster's dedicated 3D channel will close and move on-demand.
It's now possible to map your home's WiFi signal in 3D
We already know that it's possible to map your home's WiFi signal in 2D, but that doesn't help if you're holding your phone above your head to get connected. Step forward YouTuber CNLohr, who appears to have developed a reasonably low-tech way to analyze the WiFi strength of any 3D space. Using just a WiFi module and a CNC mill, he was able to detect the variability of the signal in an area and then create the funky visualization you see before you.
Samsung's NX1 camera looks like a DSLR, but does it perform like one?
While companies like Sony and Fujifilm continue to stuff serious camera guts into smaller and smaller mirrorless bodies, Samsung's aiming to ape both the function and the form of modern "prosumer" DSLR's with its $1,500 NX1. With a rapid-fire 15 fps burst mode and 4K video support, the company's flagship interchangeable lens camera certainly boasts some high-end specs. I spent a month with Samsung's latest to see if it can match or even exceed the DSLRs it appears to emulate.
The first live VR broadcast brought the beach to my backyard
On Saturday morning in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it was about 30 degrees outside, but I was in my backyard enjoying a 75-degree day at the beach. That's only possible because I was testing out the first attempt at streaming virtual reality from one place to another -- in this case from Laguna Beach, California, to a Samsung Gear VR headset strapped to my head. Thanks to technology from the folks at NextVR, I could see and hear everything in 3D as though I was actually there, looking around in a virtual reality environment while on the phone with co-founder David Cole. NextVR's demo reel takes viewers to a prerecorded NBA game, beach scene or Coldplay concert, but until now, no one outside of its labs has actually used the technology to visit another place via a live feed. A couple of years ago, we talked to the company about its plans to distribute live video in a virtual reality environment and today that dream came true.
HP intros a slew of monitors, including curved, 5K and 3D models
HP just announced a boatload of new monitors here at CES and impressively, they seem to combine every big tech buzzword from the past few years. On the one hand, the company is showing off a pair of curved displays, which we already know are going to be huge at this year's show. Meanwhile, the company also unveiled its first 4K monitors, available in two sizes, along with its inaugural 5K model. Finally, HP is showing off a virtual reality display that works with 3D glasses, of all things -- a nice throwback to CES 2010.
MoviePass' new subscription lets you watch any flick in any format
MoviePass' usual watch-every-day subscription is tempting, but it's limited to standard presentations. What if you want to see that shiny new blockbuster in an advanced format? That's where the company's new, experimental MoviePass Premium comes into play. Paying up to $45 per month lets you see a movie each day at an AMC theater regardless of the technology involved -- 3D, IMAX and AMC's own ETX are fair game. The main catch, aside from finding time to visit the theater that often, is the availability. Premium is currently in a trial phase in Boston and Denver, and it'll only be available elsewhere in the US if and when the test run proves successful. [Image credit: Jeff, Flickr]
Europe's space agency is also sending a 3D printer to the ISS
The ISS will soon serve as home to not one, but two 3D printers, courtesy of the European Space Agency. It's a small cube that measures 10 inches on all sides, and it's slated to reach orbit in the first half of 2015 to coincide with Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's ISS expedition. The device, called Portable On-Board Printer or POP3D, was developed by Italy's ASI space agency to require very little power while creating objects through a heat-based process -- a technology different from what NASA's device uses. Aboard the ISS, it will be printing out biodegradable plastic components (it's unclear what those parts will be at this point), which will then be sent back to Earth for comparison against similar ones printed on the ground.
John Lewis brings Monty the penguin to life with help from Microsoft and Google
Every year, high street retailer John Lewis taps into the hearts of millions of Brits with a new Christmas ad. This year is no different, after it unveiled a new £7 million marketing campaign, Monty's Christmas, which centres on a little boy called Sam who wants to give his little penguin mate Monty the gift he has been dreaming of -- a new penguin companion called Mabel. John Lewis' festive campaigns tend to drive up its profits, and this year will likely be the same. However, to ensure this remains the case, the company is betting on technology to get mums and dads spending, with a little help from their children.
Nintendo is remastering 'The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask' for 3DS
Oh, so a head-scratching leak from Target wasn't enough to convince you? That's fair, how about something a bit more concrete? Nintendo just revealed in its most recent Nintendo Direct stream that The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is indeed getting a 3D remake, and it's slated to hit shelves in Spring 2015. We're coming for you, Skull Kid.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D arrives in spring 2015
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask will get a re-release in spring 2015 for Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, Nintendo announced today during a Nintendo Direct livestream. The game's predecessor, Ocarina of Time, got its own 3DS remake in 2011. First launching in 2000 for Nintendo 64, a Majora's Mask remake has been teased for some time, notably in November 2011 when series producer Eiji Aonuma deemed the 3D version a possibility. Fans in Europe will be able to pick up a special edition of the game, which will include a steelbook case, pin badge and two-sided poster. [Image: Nintendo]
Tour the space station in 3D, or from inside a water bubble (video)
Astronauts aboard the ISS have been sending back space videos for years, but now they've stepped up their game: they just beamed back a couple of 3D footage taken by a Panasonic camera. These video clips take us on a 3D tour of the space station and show the astronauts submerging a sealed GoPro into a water bubble floating around in zero-g. By the sound of NASA's press release, though, we'll see more 3D videos in the future, as the camera used to take them fares batter in space. See, the radiation out there affects ordinary cams, burning out hundreds to thousands of pixels -- enough for them to need replacing every 8 to 12 months. The astronauts noticed, however, that the first $21,000 3D camera brought aboard the station in 2011 remained largely the same through the years.
A Halloween party where the costumes are 3D-printed (and a little hot)
Tokyo's FabCafe is a creator space dedicated to laser-cutting, 3D-printing and other things that give off the faint smell of burnt plastic and hardboard. It also just held its annual Halloween Party, but this year decided to add a new element: 3D-printed costumes. The "GRUE" projected accepted costume and headwear designs over the last month and a half (see some entries here), and then proceeded to print them out over the last few days. The results are pretty broad, but most of them share a common theme, aside from them all being spun out of a machine -- they're all white. Most were also pretty heavy -- and they're not really the kind of costumes you can wear a long time. Things get warm inside. We took a peek behind the preparation, and then got dressed up to attend.
HP to show off its 3D-scanning 'Sprout' PC next week
HP is synonymous with mass-market PCs and notebooks, but according to a report from Re/code, HP is trying it proverbial hand at something new. According to the usual slew of unnamed sources, the company (which is currently undergoing some business mitosis) will show off a novel new Windows PC called the Sprout at an event in New York next week. We're not using the word "novel" lightly here, either: the Sprout is comprised of a big flat screen display paired with an expansive surface for touch input and a combination projector/3D scanner that hangs above it.
Final Fantasy Explorers ditches 3D, uses new 3DS' C-stick
Final Fantasy Explorers will not use the 3DS' stereoscopic 3D functions, Siliconera reported. The game will make use of the new 3DS and 3DS XL's buttons and C-stick, however, controlling the third-person game's targeting and lock-on mechanics. It will also be compatible with the Circle Pad Pro, unlike a certain popular Nintendo-published fighting game that launched recently. Square Enix isn't the first publisher to dismiss the handheld system's 3D capabilities to some degree; Nintendo's own Pokemon X and Y limited their use of the stereoscopic 3D visuals to the game's battles. The console manufacturer even launched an entire version of the system without the 3D functions roughly one year ago, the Nintendo 2DS. Final Fantasy Explorers will launch on December 18 in Japan. While both US and European trademarks exist for the game, it hasn't yet been given a release date elsewhere. [Image: Square Enix]
VRClay marries the Oculus Rift and motion control for easy 3D sculpting
In case you needed yet another reminder that we live in the future, take a look at what happens when someone mashes up the Oculus Rift and Razer's handheld Hydra motion controllers with some nifty homebrew sculpting software. The end result is VRClay, an awfully nifty way to virtually manipulate and craft three-dimensional objects right in front of your face. Watching one of the developers making a faux-clay spider out of nothing is undeniably cool (check out the video after the break), and despite all the additional hardware that makes it possible, the process of actually creating the thing still seems just a little more natural than rotating and poking with a keyboard and mouse. Alas, VRClay doesn't seem to be ready for primetime yet: it's not clear how precise and meticulous you can get with your designs, and the developers are keeping mum over on the official site. Still, this is the latest in a long line of technical achievements meant to make creating easier. British game developer Media Molecule showed off something very similar for the PS4 in early 2013, and Microsoft's Project Spark aims to get us sculpting landscapes and the like -- the latter will finally debut in a few short weeks.
The Aquila tablet scans our world in 3D to help build better virtual ones
Your tablet can fire off emails and help you rotate beautiful, Escherian worlds, but can it capture the world around you in glorious 3D? Probably not, but the newly revealed (and Android-powered) Aquila from Mantis Vision and Flextronics can. Most of its spec sheet reads like any other top-flight tablet's would -- it's got a 8-inch screen running at 1900 x 1200 and a punchy Snapdragon 801 chipset ticking away in there -- but the telltale dual image sensors 'round the back make it clear this isn't your average Android slate. By capturing regular color footage and infrared depth data, the Aquila can put together an awfully detailed spatial representation of your surroundings.
Play 3DS games on Oculus Rift (some assembly required)
Got a little too much money and an abundance of gaming gadgetry on your hands? Here's a weekend project that may be right up your alley. As demonstrated by KatsuKity, the makers of a 3DS capture card, you can rig up a way to play your favorite games on an Oculus Rift complete with those rad stereoscopic 3D effects (assuming the game in question actually has them). It's actually pretty simple once everything's hooked up -- KatsuKity's viewer software has been updated with support for the DK2, so once your tiny console is sending 3D video to your PC, you shouldn't have much trouble running that into your Rift. As for how you get that capture card up and running in the first place... well, that's another story entirely. You can either buy a a capture board and shoehorn it into your 3DS yourself, or take the easy way out and purchase a pre-modded unit. It's a pretty proposition either way, but it may just be a small price to pay to catch a few glimpses of Super Smash Brothers in three dimensions.
Bing Maps spices up more than 100 cities with 3D and Streetside views
Bing Maps just got much, much better if you're tired of looking at plain old satellite pictures. Microsoft has just added either 3D maps, Streetside views or both to more than 100 cities, many of which you'll definitely recognize. You can now see what it's like on the ground near the Chicago Theater or San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge; if you have the Bing Maps Preview app for Windows, you can go on a 3D flight through famous places like Disney World or the Las Vegas Strip. You'll want to hit the source link for the full upgrade list, but most of the additions are in the US. If you've wanted to tour America from the comfort of your couch, you're going to have a field day.
