ConEdison Solutions, a leading energy services company, and Community Energy, a marketer and developer of wind energy generation, have teamed up to donate 404,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable wind energy attributes to WIRED Magazine’s NextFest.
Photojournalist Meagan Cignoli and David Buttaro had a chance to check out the conference this weekend and here is what they saw.
This is Alex. Alex is a robot. Hanson Robotics makes the skin out of Frubber, which makes thier robots appear human. Many people including myself did not realize this man was a robot.
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Our second favorite setup was a 2-d fighting game. Animaatiokone Industries has developed. The setup consists of two large screens, you in the middle fighting Bruce Lee, the Devil, and George Bush. It detects your every move, so you can do kicks, jumps, and flips to ward off attackers. Here is David Buttaro demonstrating the game.
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The sequel to the award-winning SpaceshipOne project, this vessel is designed for flights into space for tourists. Sir Richard Branson’s company Virgin plans to offer trips into space for those willing to shell out $200,000. The flights will carry passengers up to space to let them experience 4G-action at its best. Passengers will then be able to float around and enjoy some breathtaking views before plummeting back down to earth at 7Gs. Flights are scheduled to begin in 2008 after approval is cleared.
Partner Ballroom Dance Robots
The folks at Tohoku University have spent nearly $300,000 on developing these robots that are able to ballroom dance like humans. They can match your lead, anticipate steps, and even take a bow at the end. Other practical applications of the robot include assisting the elderly and helping people in hospitals with walking.
A safety invention for the oldest profession in the world. Yes, we're talking about sex. These shoes--The Aphrodite Project Platforms are meant to keep sex workers safe with a built-in GPS locater, a button that dials 911, and an alarm system. Of course it's not all practical--on the other side it also has a video screen that displays custom graphics--and even audio! The ultimate gift for the Silicon Alley prostitute in your life.
Speaking of love, also on display was the hug shirt. Long distance relationships can become a little easier to bear with these bluetooth enabled shirts--you can send a hug to your honey using a bluetooth enabled cell phone, just by hugging yourself.
Our last peice, is something we didn't quite understand, but here is the description by the designer.
"This project was commissioned by onedotzero for the Transvision exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I collaborated with Sennep to create an interactive dandelion where you could blow the seeds off using a real hair dryer. I was responsible for the technical solution both in terms of programming and the physical interaction." Visually, we loved the project though!
