Daily Bits

Wearable QR Codes

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Cross-stitched QR Code
What did I say last week? QR codes are “coming of age”, and they are here to stay. Somewhere in Seattle, people are using QR codes on their tombstones and the tombstones of their loved ones so that they can preserve memories in more tangible forms. Morbid as it may seem to some, I think it’s one of the more creative and useful uses of technology.

If you disagree, then you might be more interested in another application of QR codes, which seems to be gaining traction. A project called QR-3D ((QR-3D Site)) is up and running and looking for participants. This project has a simple aim – to see if textile versions of QR codes will work.

It does not take much effort to realize that textile QR codes can take on a wide variety of forms, as there are so many ways by which you can place a design on fabric. There is screen printing. Then there’s cross-stitching (or plain old stitching). How about quilting? Knitting? The possibilities are boundless, and one can easily see how this project can open up the doors of your geeky creativeness – or creative geekiness, whichever you prefer.

The project is being curated by Sally Fort, who poses the challenge to textile artists and geeks to come up with all sorts of ways to integrate QR codes into their work. Anyone can participate in the project, and if your work is chosen, it will be included in the QR-3D exhibit at Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK. This will be held later this year, in autumn.

What makes me excited about this development is the possibility of having QR codes (with real “meanings”) on t-shirts. Everyone’s wearing quirky, geeky shirts. Bring out the next big thing – QR codes shirts that need to be deciphered! What do you think?

HP Does Good With Anti-Malaria Technology

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malaria
Electronics giant Hewlett-Packard might not be the first thing that comes to mind when the subject of mobile technology is brought up, but they are giving back to humanity using this very technology that other entities dominate. Most people in developed countries would not think twice about malaria, and maybe many even think that the disease has been wiped out. While this may be true in many countries, there are still locations where malaria is present. In some parts of the world, malaria poses a serious threat to locals. Botswana is one of these locations.

What HP is doing is working hand in hand with a health monitoring service in the African country, with the aim of tracking outbreaks of malaria and ultimately stopping the outbreaks before they reach too far.

Enter the Palm Pre 2. There was a time when there were people who thought that the Palm Pre 2 just might give the Apple iPhone a run for its money, but it didn’t really happen. And while there might not be too many people using the Palm Pre and Palm Pre 2, at least the technology is being put to good use.

The program is being conducted together with the group Positive Innovation for the Next Generation (PING), the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and Mascom (a network provider in the country). With these significant players collaborating, the people of Botswana will benefit from the program. In the future, the program is meant to be spread to other African countries, with HP continuing to help with the technological aspects. HP may not be your favorite brand, but it still is nice to hear about initiatives like this one, isn’t it?

Via Venture Beat

This Could Be the Hardest Puzzle You’ll Meet This Week

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Do you love challenges? Do you like sitting down and pitting your wits against puzzles? Well I have discovered something that you might like to spend time on when you have nothing else to do. I don’t know what it is called although the first text that you will see is “Enter the Door”.
Level One
This level’s pretty easy. Even I figured it out within a second. However, the moment I moved to the second level, I found myself embarrassingly stuck.
Level Two
The idea of the game is fairly simple. You have to move on to the next level, no matter what. You have to use everything in your power to move to the next level, and as you progress, the solution is not always obvious. You can always read the tips and hints provided with the game, but then if you consider yourself brilliant and independent, you shouldn’t need to check that document. 😉 (Also, the hints are only provided up to level 8. From level 9 to 81, your trainer wheels are taken off, and you’ll be on your own.

It’s Monday, and you may have tons of work waiting for you, but if you need a break, go check out NotPrOn. Please don’t blame me if you end up not getting any work done today. (It’s Monday anyway.)

Star Wars Sandcrawler in LEGO

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Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) listen up! You have something new to drool over – a Sandcrawler replica made with LEGO bricks. You might be thinking, “So? So many things have been created out of LEGO!” Then again, this one is nothing to scoff about.

Made from 10,000 LEGO bricks over a span of nine months, you can just imagine the effort and creativity (not to mention the money!) that has gone into this Sandcrawler. Oh, and in case you’re wondering what the heck a Sandcrawler is – yes, I totally get it that not everyone knows everything about Star Wars, however “epic” it might be – here is the official definition from Wookieepedia: ((Wookieepedia))

Sandcrawlers were large, slow, treaded vehicles, used as self propelled bases for mining squads. Most notable example of usage of these vessels, later adapted by Jawas for their mobile homes, was on Tatooine, where bulky sandcrawlers climbing the dunes were a common sight.

This overview of the LEGO Sandcrawler gives you an idea of the scope of the project. Again, 10,000 LEGO blocks!
Sandcrawler Overview

This diorama gives the Sandcrawler some context.
Sandcrawler Diorama

And this makes use of lighting to add some drama.

Sandcrawler Lights
Sandcrawler at night, with lights

Brilliant piece of work – and I don’t think anyone will contest that. In case you want more (and I am sure Star Wars fans will want more), here is a short video clip showing the Sandcrawler in action.

The brains behind this? A guy who calls himself marshal banana on Flickr. For more photos and details, head on over to Flickr and check out the photostream.

Nintendo Games Urinal – It Works!

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Are you addicted to video games? As you lie in bed drifting off to sleep, do you see images or scenes of the latest video game that you have been playing? Do you try to figure out strategies that will work when you wake up and get to play again? (If you even stop playing to sleep, that is.)

If you’re that much into games (and probably even if you aren’t), you’ll be amused to see this fully functional urinal that was built from Nintendo games. It is real, and it works.

game-urinal-side

To be honest, I could have done without the colored liquid, but I guess they had to show that to prove that the contraption works.

Envious now? Don’t fret – you can make a urinal like this for yourself. All you need is tons of Nintendo games. Avid and long-time gamers will have no issues, but if you don’t have those old games, I am sure that you can find someone willing to give or sell them to you. Here’s a list of things you need:

  • 40 Super Nintendo games
  • Saw drill and drill bits
  • Polyurethane spray and liquid
  • Clear waterproof sealant
  • 3/4 inch inlet spud
  • 2 inch drain spud
  • 1 sheet of Hardibacker
  • 3 tubes of clear plumbing glue
  • Urinal flush valve
  • P trap
  • Sand paper
  • SNES screwdriver security bit

Phew! I zoned out after the drill and drill bit, but this should not be much of challenge for you DIY-ers out there. For the rest of the instructions, visit Price Charting. ((Source: Price Charting))

In the meantime, good luck finding 40 Super Nintendo games!

Robot Ruby Holds New Record for Solving Rubik’s Cube

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The “contest” to solve Rubik’s Cube the fastest is a perpetual one. Both humans and machines are continually coming up with strategies and techniques to solve this puzzle in the least number of moves and shortest period of time. Recently, we were wow-ed by teenager Feliks Zemdegs when he set a new world record for solving a 3x3x3 cube in a mere 6.24 seconds. No one can say that this feat may not be broken in the future, but for now, it is something that we can only marvel at.

Now that’s the humans’ record. In case you didn’t know, robots are also at it – solving Rubik’s Cube, that is. Of course, it can be argued that at the end of the day, the accolades still fall on human heads as they are the ones that make these robots.

A group of students who were on the Mechatronic Engineering/Computer Science degree program at the Swinburne University of Technology had a brilliant final project last year. It was brilliant then, and it is brilliant now – never mind that the press just got wind of their creation.

Named Ruby, the robot solves the Cube by scanning the faces in order to recognize its status before setting to solve the puzzle. Ruby has made it to the charts – she is the fastest Rubik’s Cube-solving robot at 10.69 seconds. Impressive, but I have to give Zemdegs this one.

This is a quick rundown on how Ruby does her thing, straight from one of the students who created her: ((Source: dakiller))

The basic rundown of operation is that there are 2 systems, the PC software and the embedded microcontroller hooked together via a USB serial link. The camera connected to the PC scans in the cube and detects the colours and determines the cube in the computer, then runs through a tree search algorithm (our own implementation of Kociemba’s Algorithm) that finds a list of moves that will solve the cube. That is then fed to the microcontroller which has some big DC servo controlled motors and solenoids that manipulate the robot grippers, to the physical solving of the cube.

And here are some behind the scenes videos from the guys themselves.