Takram
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Wild UI concept uses paper to interact with projected displays
A simple table can be a profound tool for collaboration, so it's particularly disappointing that we haven't yet solved the puzzle of how to effectively digitize that experience. Microsoft's original Surface table was cool, but expensive, and newer options like Lenovo's Horizon PC still haven't taken off. But Tokyo-based design firm Takram has one idea that might help us achieve interactive digital tables (and other surfaces): Just use paper. Last year it developed a concept called "On the Fly Paper" for Intel's Collaboration Center in Japan, which uses an infrared sensor and specially formatted pieces of paper to manipulate a projected computer display. Basically, the paper acts as an input device: As soon as you place it on the table, the projected image changes both on the table and the paper itself. You can also manipulate things by moving the paper around and covering physical holes. What's truly remarkable is that your interactions with it register almost as quickly as a touch screen. Check out a brief demonstration below.
Phasma the terrifyingly adorable, six-legged insectoid bot
Is it possible for something to scamper into our heart and our nightmares simultaneously? Phasma is making a bid for that distinction. The hexapedal running robot, built by Takram Design Engineering, is based on Stanford's cockroach-inspired iSprawl, and is built to look all cold and mechanical at rest, but to move very much like an insect, churning those springy six legs in a tripod gait. At first we were terrified by the motion, depicted on video after the break, but the more we watch it the more we're struck by how eager and exuberant it looks. Eager and exuberant to dwell inside our hollowed out carcass during the end of days? May we never find out. The robot is currently on exhibition at the Science Museum in Tokyo, if you care for a look. %Gallery-99979%
