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The unconventional analogies of ‘Your Hands Are Feet’
Last week, we held the first Engadget Experience in LA, where Your Hands Are Feet was one of five immersive art projects to debut. The virtual reality experience drops you into a surreal world, full of experiential metaphors. Experiences like, for instance, what it's like to shave a giant's hairy pink leg in the desert. In our documentary, creators Sarah Rothberg and Amelia Winger-Bearskin explain their working partnership, visual style and the inspiration behind their psychedelic worlds.
This video will make you miss the heyday of animatronic puppets
Sure, CGI has come a long way. But there's still something magical about practical special effects in films. At Engadget Expand, we got a close look at some of the most intriguing work from animatronics expert Mark Setrakian. You've probably seen his stuff: He created the tiny, head-mounted alien that delivered some crucial plot information to Will Smith in Men in Black. He specializes in creating complex animatronics that appear surreally lifelike. (He particularly enjoys building terrifying robotic hands.)
Here's what happened at Engadget Expand 2014
If you didn't get to come out to the Javits Center in New York City for this year's Engadget Expand, but still wanted to see what all the fuss was about, we've got you covered. The entire two-day celebration of tech and talks has been whittled down into a megamix of sorts, giving you a sample of the sights, sounds and people that make Expand so great. Care to hear DARPA's director talk about the future of neurotechnology, glimpse Google's modular Ara smartphones, gawk at dancing robots or even see Engadget editors go head to head in a toy car race? It's all right there in the video below. Hope to see you next year!
Watch these adorable robots dance better than you
We're used to seeing robots like MIT's Cheetah that are absolutely terrifying, so starting day two of Expand New York with an android dance party was a welcome change of pace. It came, of course, by way of the folks at Aldebaran Robotics who brought a trio of their fifth-generation Nao bi-peds to bust a groove. The outfit's James Dietrich said that while there are over 10,000 of the friendly little 'bots in use in some 70 countries, there are a more than a few things holding us back from having Rosie from The Jetsons in our homes. Namely, the price needs to come down: Developers can get one for $6,000 and a consumer model is a whopping $8,000.
A colony on Mars will be the 'next giant leap for mankind'
Bas Lansdorp, CEO and co-founder of Mars One, is nothing if not ambitious. His dream is the stuff of science fiction -- not only does he want to put humans on Mars in 2025, but he wants to leave them there to establish a self-sufficient settlement. And he plans to fund the enterprise, in part, by televising everything from pre-mission training to daily life on the Red Planet. Or as much as the colonists want us to see, anyway, as they'll ultimately be in control. As you can imagine, he's a pretty interesting guy to talk to, which is why we were psyched to have him on the Engadget Expand stage to articulate his vision, and what he hopes it'll mean for humanity.
3D printing is venturing beyond plastic and into your home
When you think of what 3D printing can do, you probably imagine simple plastic models and parts -- clever, but not exactly revolutionary. If you ask Dovetailed's Vaiva Kalnikaite and Make's Anna Kaziunas France, however, they'll tell you that 3D printers can accomplish much, much more. Dovetailed's 3D-printed fruit is just the start of what you can do with food, for example. Kalnikaite told Engadget Expand guests that 3D printing offers not just extra creativity with how you present meals, but a way to change the meals themselves. Do you like the taste of bananas, but not their texture? You could print food that offers everything you like, and nothing you don't. This could be particularly helpful if you have a food allergy, since you could enjoy food that was previously off-limits.
Even you can build your own social wearable
It's easier than you think to create your own wearable gadget -- assuming you're handy with a needle and thread. At Engadget Expand this weekend, Kate Hartman, an associate professor at OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) University led workshops focused on building social wearables. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that my inability to sew well would hinder my wearable dreams. But, as you can see in the gallery below, others were far more successful.
DARPA goes beyond killer robots with prosthetics and Ebola research
DARPA, the military's mad science division, is also a master of PR -- we all cheer them on, even though they may be building a robot army that one day hunts us down (kidding!) There's a lot more to the Agency than robotics work, however. DARPA was actually founded to "prevent technological surprises" of any kind after the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957. As a result, it also supports projects peripherally related to defense, like Ebola research, brain-controlled prosthetics and space exploration. Here at Engadget's Expand NY, we sat down with Director Arati Prabhakar to learn about how its pushing boundaries with its, shall we say, less terrifying work.
60 seconds with the world's first Bluetooth padlock
In just a matter of three months, the Noke smart padlock managed to make its way from Kickstarter to our Expand event as an Insert Coin contender, so of course it's rather special. First of all, it's a Bluetooth 4.0-enabled steel bolt that can be unlocked with a click on the shackle when your iPhone or Android phone is nearby. Secondly, the companion app lets you share your Noke locks with family and friends, thus saving you the hassle of passing on a physical key. You can even set the repetition and security level for the authorization, as well as tracking history by users or by locks.
60 seconds with a simple but smart home monitoring device
There are already plenty of ways to keep an eye on your abode from afar, so any new home monitoring product better have a fresh approach if it wants to stand out from the competition. For start-up Form Devices, the goal wasn't to create an elaborate, connected home security system that did more than existing products, but to make something simple, affordable and user-friendly. And, it must've done something right with its Point home monitoring device, which cruised past its $50,000 Kickstarter goal just two days after the campaign went live, and is now participating in our Insert Coin competition at Engadget Expand. The plain white, palm-sized puck hosts sound, humidity, temperature, air quality and particle sensors, but no camera. This was a very intentional omission, not just because Point is supposed to be small and inconspicuous, but so users have peace of mind that nobody will ever be watching them.
Taking apart Google's modular smartphone
What do you want to know about Project Ara? Does a modular smartphone actually work? Yes. Is it very different from Android phones? In a basic how-a-phone-all-works, yes indeed. Paul Eremenko, Technical Project Lead on Google's modular phone project just called in at Expand NY, and he brought along the latest working prototype. Modular phones do indeed work: you can take out a component without bricking the device, it can already run Angry Birds and we just got to play with one.
60 seconds with a robotic pour-over coffee machine
Coffee enthusiasts know that one of the best ways to brew the caffeinated beverage is via the pour-over method, a meticulous technique that requires a steady hand and precise timing. At coffee shops, baristas have traditionally brewed this style of coffee the old-fashioned way, carefully pouring hot water in a steady spiral stream over multiple filter setups. Not only can it be tiresome, it can also distract them from giving better customer service. Poursteady, however, is a potential solution to that.
60 seconds with the wearable that might save your back
This Insert Coin contender could well cure what we call "Engadget back": the slightly unappealing hunch that some editors (read: this editor) descend into after typing away at one too many articles or trade shows. The Upright sticks (through a hypoallergenic adhesive strip) to the small of your back, where it uses multiple sensors -- an accelerometer and a strain gauge -- to monitor the line of your spine -- and tell you through gentle vibrations when you're doing it wrong. We just tested it briefly here at Expand, and the reminder vibrations are far more gentle than, say, your smartphone. It kinda feels like soda water on your skin: enough to remind you that you're slouching but not enough to grate. The team behind it reckons that 15 minutes a day will be enough to reeducate your back muscles and a Bluetooth connection links the device to your smartphone to keep everything recorded for future posterity.
60 seconds with a giant, rollable display for your mobile devices
At some point, you've probably wished that your smartphone had a much larger screen to watch a movie or get work done... but you can't always lug a desktop display or tablet around, can you? If Insert Coin finalist RollRR has its way, you won't have to. It's developing rollable displays that would give your mobile devices a lot more visual real estate without consuming much space in your bag. The prototype on the Engadget Expand show floor is a 10.7-inch roll of e-paper attached to a giant tube, but the ultimate goal is to fit a 21-inch or larger screen (ideally, full color plastic OLED) into a gadget the size of a small umbrella. It's also considering touch technology like 3M's silver nanowires, so RollRR could expand your input area, too -- you could edit a large image on your phone just by unrolling the sheet on a table.
60 seconds with a modular drone that packs a pro camera
We're entering a golden age of UAVs, with models ranging from hobbyist drones like the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 all the way up to DJI's DSLR-packing Spreading Wings S900 Hexacopter. So what could our Insert Coin semi-finalist drone possibly bring to the party? Ivan Stamatovski said he created the EasyDrone for one simple reason: portability. Unlike most commercial drones, the EasyDrone can be broken down into a relatively compact case and easily assembled without having to connect any wires. At the same time, it comes with all the capability of a high-end drone: video streaming, a built-in gimbal, the ability to carry heavier cameras like Sony's NEX models and a high-end navigation system from 3D Robotics.
Five things we learned from robotics expert Mark Setrakian
Mark Setrakian has been working with robotics and animatronics for a while -- starting at 19 and working at Industrial Light & Magic. If you've seen Men In Black, Hellboy or even Pacific Rim, then you've seen some of his creations. He's also a former heavyweight champion of Robot Wars and the man behind Robot Combat League's metal fighters. Who better, then, to come onstage at Expand NY (the show starts today!) and explain how robotics make it onto the big screen, how to ensure it all looks the part and what challenges still remain. However, before all that, we've asked him to explain what he's learned from roughly two decades of making inanimate things come to life.
Five questions answered about the future of food
There are more than 7 billion people on the planet and counting. The United Nations recently projected that the world's population will rise to 9.6 billion in 2050 and perhaps even 10.9 billion by the end of the century. With so many more mouths to feed, the environmental impact of increased food production is an issue that's only growing in importance. This weekend we'll be talking with two people who have very different approaches to the problem. Agnieszka Nazaruk (also known as Aga) co-founded a company called Niwa, which makes a smartphone-connected, modular hydroponic growing system that is intelligent enough so that even those with the blackest of thumbs can grow their own fruits and vegetables at home. Greg Sewitz, on the other hand, co-founded Exo, which offers a line of protein bars that has crickets -- yes, actual crickets -- as its main ingredient. Intrigued? Come on by the Expand stage this Saturday, November 8th, to hear more about what they have to say. Here's a little amuse-bouche for the conversation ahead (The answers below are not verbatim and were compiled from a series of interviews).
Five questions for the man who created a robot documentarian
We've spilled buckets of digital ink on headless horse bots, uncanny humanoids and the coming of the robot apocalypse, but there's a softer, more emotional side to these machines. Social robots, as they're referred to, are less mechanized overlords and more emotional-support automatons, providing companionship as well as utility. Robots like these are forcing us to consider how we interact with the technology that we've created. Under the direction of artist/roboticist Alexander Reben and filmmaker Brent Hoff, a fleet of precious, cardboard BlabDroids, set out to explore the shifting boundaries of human-robot interaction. These tiny, wheeled machines aren't automated playthings, but serious documentarians seeking an answer to a deceptively simple question: "Can you have a meaningful interaction with a machine?" We'll dive deeper into the topic at Expand this weekend, but in the meantime, here's a short Q&A with Reben on an incredibly complex topic.
Five questions for the woman running the Pentagon's mad science research agency
DARPA. It's an acronym that comes loaded with certain expectations -- a governmental research organization from which emerges some of the most advanced military technology the world has ever seen. While there's truth to that description, it fails to encapsulate all the work DARPA does. Yes, the research agency is developing robots, tactical drones and futuristic weaponry, but it also has its hands in biotechnology, big data analysis and telecommunications research, among other projects, too. And managing all of that fast-paced, groundbreaking work is Dr. Arati Prabhakar, DARPA's director. She's joining us this Saturday, November 8th, onstage at Expand in New York to share (some of) her agency's secrets, but you can read on to get a sneak peek into the United States' most renowned governmental skunkworks, right now.
Five questions for the creator of Google's modular smartphone
It's been just over a year since Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division announced Project Ara, a full-scale effort to produce the world's very first modular smartphone. The team has been working hard and fast to get a unit on the market before the end of its two-year mission, and it's progressing quite nicely: We recently saw a functional "Spiral 1" prototype running on Android, and the next version -- "Spiral 2" -- should be getting into developers' hands later this year. Paul Eremenko, who heads up the Ara team, will be onstage at Engadget Expand with me for a live demonstration and fireside chat. We'll catch up on how things are progressing, how Ara has evolved since its inception, the most interesting use cases for a modular smartphone he's seen so far and also discuss the next Developer Conference, scheduled for January 14th, 2015, in Mountain View, California. In anticipation of his appearance at Expand, I reached out to Eremenko for a quick Q&A about Ara.
