Thursday, July 31, 2014

GoPro as scientific instrument?

Yes, it's probably the most ridiculously narcissistic device ever invented. Without doubt, more information coding and storage has been wasted on self-aggrandizement with this little camera than in the entire previous history of egomania.

But like many scientific sensors and instruments of the past--like the telescope, microscope, oscilloscope, geiger counter, IR and X-ray film, EEG, even the scientific method itself--the inexpensive, yet incredibly capable GoPro camera platform is providing a new sensory organ that allows people to see and interact with both the familiar world and its hidden (to us) aspects in ways no one ever has before.

Seeing outside of the expected and familiar is the first step in the creation of new knowledge whether created by art, or by science. 

Here are a few of the most thought-provoking GoPro videos I've seen. Post others in the comments...

Home-grown spaceflight:



Knee replacement surgery:



Marlin deciding whether to eat:



Inside a dishwasher:


On a hubcap:

Friday, July 25, 2014

Non-traditional electronics

Calculation doesn't have to be done with silicon transistors.

You can use jelly...


NOISY JELLY from Raphaƫl Pluvinage on Vimeo.

or marbles...



or Legos...



or bronze gears...



or DNA (okay, this is just digital storage)...



so, how about this?...



...or there's water. Kudos to this guy for programming his fluidic logic gate simulation with a crappy video game!

Sunday, April 27, 2014

A little machine music...

What is it about House of the Rising Sun?...