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Visualized: Kinect + night vision = lots and lots and lots of dots (video)
You know what you see when you flip on your Xbox 360, turn out the lights, and don a pair of night vision goggles? Dots. Lots and lots of little dots, courtesy of Kinect's infrared depth sensor. Judging by the videos that have been uploaded to YouTube, this is the kind of thing that will entertain the whole "hackey sack and Rasta hats" crowd for years to come, and to be honest, we're kind of digging it ourselves. Hell, we might even have to dig out that old Bob Marley black light poster. See for yourself after the break.
Visualized: Robonaut 2 settles in for month-long shuttle delay
NASA's recent announcement of a month-long delay for the launch of the space shuttle Discovery is no doubt disappointing for everyone involved, but it's hitting our friend Robonaut 2 particularly hard. While the human astronauts are able to relax and go about their business, Robonaut is forced to stay in his custom-made SLEEPR crate for the duration of the delay, with nothing but a pair of hand koozies and some "trash foam" for comfort. In fact, the real state of affairs is even less dignified than what you see above -- head on past the break for a look at the hard life of a robot.
Visualized: Garmin's G5000 integrated flight deck looks hard to navigate
Still upset that you missed your chance back in '88 to attend NASA's Aviation Challenge? Don't be. Garmin's G5000 fully integrated flight deck is the real deal, and we're certain that you could be looking at one in just a few months. Train up, nab a pilot's license and then convince some sucker to finance a business jet for you -- a minor chore in exchange for dual 12- or 14-inch flight panels with touchscreen control, wouldn't you say?
Visualized: the hardware of the Soviet lunar program
The Russian space program's emphasis on orbital space stations can be traced back to July 1969, when America put the first man on the moon and the Soviet Union scuttled its own lunar ambitions, either destroying or dispersing the hardware in the process. Despite the fact that much of it is still classified, a Russian blogger was recently able to snap a bunch of pics of the gear currently at home in the Moscow Aviation Institute. It's a shame we can't see some of this stuff where it would do the world some good, such as in the foyer of Engadget HQ. Hit up the source link for the rest of the story.
Visualized: TweetDeck Beta usage chart beautifully showcases Android diversity
Some, like our own Paul Miller, call it "Android fragmentation." Some call it downright gorgeous. The hard-working developers behind TweetDeck call it "extreme fragmentation." The chart shown above demonstrates the breakdown of the 36,427 beta users of the outfit's famed Twitter application for Android, and the company confessed that they were "shocked [in a good way] to see the number of custom ROMs, crazy phones and general level of customization / hackalicious nature of Android." Hit the source link for the full spread, and be sure to holler if you're included somewhere in the mix. [Thanks, Heath]
Visualized: the iPad that never was, complete with camera and wireless
If you're an Apple lover, you've probably heard of the Newton PDA, and there are probably even PenLite enthusiasts among the hardcore, but this is a tablet we've never seen: the Apple Vademecum. Marcin Wichary of the Computer History Museum (and Google Pac-Man fame) somehow got a hold of two piecemeal prototypes to take some fantastic shots, showing off their transparent construction, ribbon cables, and in this case an ancient webcam and integrated Ricochet wireless modem. Wichary claims the project was started in 1994 at Apple's Advanced Technology Group with touchscreen -- not pen-based -- computing in mind, and would have used a special MacOS designed for tablets rather than an extension of Newton. May it rest in piece. [Thanks, Nikolai]
Visualized: NASA's lunar laser light show
NASA's been quietly shooting lasers at the moon -- and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, specifically -- for some time now, but it only just opened its Laser Ranging Facility at the Goddard Space Flight Center to the public this weekend and, as you can see, it didn't fail to put on a show. Of course, the lasers do more than provide the backdrop for all-night NASA raves (we're guessing), they also measure the precise location of the LRO and ensure the accuracy of the lunar maps its generates.
Visualized: GE's exoskeleton from a heavy metal past-future
Sure, plastic is light, durable, and easy to mold, but there's something so raw and medieval about a metal exoskeleton -- built long before anyone could call it steampunk -- that it makes us want to strap on our hard hat, hop in the Engadg-O-Matic Time Machine, and travel back to a bulkier past where we could give this big guy a painful hug. Check the source link for all sorts of adorable / frightening prototype illustrations of General Electric's army-commissioned "Hardiman force amplifying exoskeleton" from 1967, and feel free to drift off to happier times in the process. Just come back at some point, cool?
Visualized: the Apple iWatch
Japanese freelance writer Kei Ogikubo was seemingly in attendance at Apple's fall event, and wasted no time affixing the new iPod nano to his black watch strap. This week, he's causing tech journalists around the globe to ask themselves the fatal question: "Why didn't I think of that?" Speaking of questions, it sounds like the answer to ours may well be "all of the above." Image copyright: ogikubokei.
Visualized: world's most trafficked websites and their favicons
We knew Google Search was an iconic service (we had to), but seeing it dwarf the rest of the web like this is pretty humbling. This here map of the internets uses Alexa data from earlier this year to assign the favicon dimensions of each of the top 288,945 sites around the world. Oh, and if you don't have an icon sidled up next to your URL, tough luck, you're not on here. See how many you can spot before your eyes start bleeding, then hit up the source to look up your favorite sites. As to your absolute favoritest site of them all, you can spot us somewhere in the space between vBulletin and Wikipedia.
Visualized: PlayStation controller table, or the things men do when in love
Continuing the fine tradition of combining console peripherals and lounge room aesthetics, this here mod was built by a young chap completing his Year 12 high school qualifications in Australia. Made out of humble MDF and plywood, the PlayStation controller coffee table took 20 weeks of on and off labor to finish and the result pretty much speaks for itself. You'll find a couple more pictures after the break and a fuller gallery at the source.
Visualized: PlayStation 3 is big in Japan
Surely some folks must have noticed the similarities between the Namba Parks building in Osaka, Japan and the original PlayStation 3 before, but it somehow seems to have remained a well-kept secret on the internet until now. Apparently, the rent is cheap, but planned upgrades have hit a few snags.
Visualized: iPhone 4 jailbreak makes itself at home
Sorry folks, we don't think this one falls under "fair use." Nice try though.
Visualized: Boeing's CST-100 gets you and six friends to space... for cheap!
It's not expected to make its first jaunt to outer space before 2014, but Boeing's "low-cost" Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) will allow up to seven Earthlings to travel up to 100 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The best part? Once you spend up to seven months docked at the International Space Station, you'll rely on "the aid of parachutes [as you head] to an airbag-cushioned landing on dry ground." Something tells us the crew of Jackass will be all over this in just a few years.
Visualized: Tesla owner talks smack using world's greatest vanity plate
Owning one of the world's most electrifying and exclusive four-wheelers not enough for you? In that case, you'll probably be wanting a bright orange paintjob and a vanity plate that rubs pretty much every other road user up the wrong way.
Visualized: a strange world where echo doesn't exist
Anechoic chambers are special rooms designed to absorb sound or electromagnetic radiation; they're nothing new, and most audio and electronics companies consider them critical parts of their testing facilities. Considering how odd they look, though, we never get tired of a good picture of one -- and Apple's press conference today pimping its in-house inventory of 17 such chambers gave us an opportunity to look at some of the craziest we've ever seen. See more at Apple's web page devoted to its antenna design and test labs.
Visualized: Douglas Coupland's pixel orca
Douglas Coupland (yes, that Douglas Coupland) created this pixel sculpture which lives outside of the Vancouver convention center. He should meet these guys.
Visualized: iPhone 4 spills its guts
The most beautiful iPhone art of all time? Likely. And the best part? There's no lower left corner to grab and kill your reception. [Thanks, Mads]
Visualized: literally
This eyeball, currently under construction in Chicago's Loop district, is an art project appropriately named "Atraxi" "Eye." Getting into a staring contest could be a deadly affair.
Visualized: NASA's virtual-repairs HUD
Back in 1993, NASA toyed with a VR system which would allow engineers to virtually replace and repair parts on the agency's X-34 experimental reusable space vehicle. This is what it looked like.
