Senseg.com is a haptic interface company based in Helsinki which is developing a new “type” of touch screen that let’s you feel different surfaces.
Instead of using vibrating motors, the devices are completely motionless. Instead, the Senseg system stimulates your fingers or hand with an electrical field to simulate the feeling of friction or texture.
Because it uses no motors you can’t hear it and it doesn’t run down the battery. A small module – about as big as two sugar cubes – controls the sensation by connecting to a thin film that can be placed on any device. The film can even go around curves.
I am pretty sure MS is not faced with this new invention, but I think it is an interesting idea and I am sure people will come up with loads of things to do with it.
It is a flexible display consisting of foam and force sensors which is deformable. It’s called Impress and works with the parameters position and time like other touch screens as well, but in addition to that, it reacts, above all, on the intensity of pressure.
Have you ever been caught in the rain with your umbrella wishing you would be more visible or had a bit of light around you?
Fear no more because now there is Lightdrops – not just an umbrella.
As water pours over the surface, potential energy from raindrops slamming onto the conductive membrane called PDVF transforms into electrical energy powering embedded LEDs sending your umbrella ablaze with light. The heavier the rain, the brighter the light to help you see your way.
Looks like more and more people are thinking about the opportunities that piezoelectric material can give us.
Blog Action Day 2008, Oct.15, is a chance for the digital community to unite against global poverty by creating loud messages of hope, outrage and solutions to this difficult global problem.
To inspire bloggers across the nation to participate, World Vision Australia is running a contest (here) to see who can write, draw, record and share the most compelling message about global poverty.
With the help of Amnesia, Yahoo!7 and Google, the grand prize winners of the WVA contest will be flown to Sydney for an exclusive digital training day with each of the above. It even includes an hour of time getting hands on with one of the only Microsoft Surface tables in Australia here at Amnesia.
So don’t be a passive observer. 1.GET INVOLVED with Blog Action Day and REGISTER (HERE) 2. Submit your link in the comments of the page above (HERE)
Spot the cameos from Amnesia employees in this report from SMH online about Microsoft Surface.
The report shows a few of the table’s demo apps, including our own business card reader application. All our new business cards have a Surface-readable tag on them that our application has been coded to respond to and display our flickr feeds, tweets and latest blog posts.
We had a great time presenting the table with Microsoft at Web Directions South and we look forward to showing it off more in the future!
August de los Reyes, Creative Director of the Windows Platform Core Innovation team presented his keynote at the Web Directions South ’08 conference at Sydney’s Darling Harbour Convention Centre.
Titled ‘Remembering the Future’, August presented on his vision of the future of user interfaces and how products like Microsoft Surface are helping to develop a new set of experiences that rely on emotion and exploration.
August spent some time with our developers this week to see where we’re taking Surface and shared his thoughts on the technology’s future.
Our devs have only been playing with Surface for a few weeks and have already produced some amazing demos so we’re very excited to see what kind of things we’ll produce in the coming months.
Yesterday, we (Amnesia) took delivery of Australia’s first two Microsoft Surface tables. We believe they were the first units to ship outside the US. Not often you get your hands on something no one else has seen, so we thought we’d share the grand opening of the boxes…
These crates are heavy. Around 125kg each. “That’s a Big Ass Box” quipped one of the designers.
Raiders of the Lost Ark eat your heart out…
No time to waste we borrowed a crowbar and a hammer from the courier to get inside.
The tables we packed very securely and nothing was even slightly scuffed from transit.
Something to hang on the wall to inspire everyone… a big finger
The entire package is very polished.
The entire table is packed in what is essentially a GIANT ziplock bag.
When unpacked, the table has the calibration mat and some other printed materials covering the screen.
Up and running in just a few minutes. We actually had our first app (with our own content) up and running within 20 minutes which is great news.
Meantime, staff can’t stop walking up to the table and playing with the demos that were included – A big ass table yes… but so much fun.
We just returned from the Avenue A Razorfish 2008 client summit. Here’s a couple of quick videos (taken with mobile phone) demonstrating Microsoft Surface.
First Clip: Bidding on the guitar signed by Sir George Martin (of Beatles fame). The way this worked – you placed your attendance card onto the table – up comes your details then you are able to bid on the guitar by dragging your card onto it.
Second clip: Demo of me using my attendance card and entering the draw for an Xbox 360.
Amnesia Razorfish is a digital marketing agency headquartered in Sydney, Australia. It is the Australian arm of Razorfish, one of the largest digital agencies in the world.
We live and breathe digital and provide a range of services from strategy, media, creative, tech, social media, analytics and more.
