technabob » berlin

toys for big boys: iphone remote controls honda civic, blackberry remote controls f1 car

lambert v. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:40:55 +0000

Man, these are smartphones indeed. The wise – and probably bored – folks at the University of Berlin made a one-of-a-kind iPhone app which they called iDriver, which allows them to control a Honda Civic via Wi-Fi. But it’s not like our German friends just coded the app and then began playing real-life Hot Wheels; the car – which has been nicknamed “Spirit of Berlin”- was modified and fitted with a ton of electronic equipment as well.

Here’s iDriver and Spirit of Berlin in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Praise Apple and the iPhone! Well, not really. Upon reading about iDriver at 8bitfix, commenter Solidsnake72 took time off from sneaking about and shared the video below. It starts small, but an insane turn of events comes about 2 minutes into the clip:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Blackberry FTW! Although RIM’s smartphone loses points for using Bluetooth, which of course has a limited range, I think we can all agree that controlling a real F1 car is infinitely more fun than controlling a station wagon, even if said station wagon has lasers onboard.

Update: as nobbi points out in the comments, the Blackberry video is (almost) certainly a viral marketing stunt. Can anyone confirm this? At least no kids on balloons were involved. And thanks to gusto for the tip!

berlin block tetris: where do you go when your floor disappears?

technabob — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:18:42 +0000

This clever video by artist Sergej Hein offers a whimsical look at the world of old socialist housing, as seen through the eyes of Tetris.

Hein was inspired the “block” housing he lived in on the streets of Berlin – as well as his childhood block home in Latvia, and decided that the rigid construction style was the perfect subject for a Tetris tribute.

Insert your quarters now, and enjoy…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Sergej created this amusing short animated film through the magic of Adobe After Effects.

[via PSFK]

captcha business cards ask: are you human?

technabob — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:35:48 +0000

You know those annoying (but necessary) anti-robo-spam CAPTCHA boxes you have to deal with when filling out forms on the web? Here’s a clever idea for some eye-catching business cards based on CAPTCHA technology.

Berlin-based artist Aram Bartholl created these cards by uploading the individual images to MOO Cards, who specializes in making tiny business cards, each with a different image. While the cards ask the question “Are you human?”, I’m not quite sure what would happen if you handed one of these to a robot. Would it self-destruct? That would be cool.

Did you know CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”? I always thought it meant “Cats Acting Cool Taste Chocolate Ham Animals”. Mnemonics, your dear, dear friend.

[via F.A.T., Josh Spear and Micah Spear]

reppo II backpack: boombox on your back

technabob — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:36:56 +0000

This modern backpack is sure to draw attention as you walk down the street — especially if you’ve got the volume cranked up. You see those big black patches? They’re loudspeakers.

Created by industrial design student Joonas Saaranen, the Reppo II backpack features a built in pair of full-range speakers and an amplifier, so you can kick out the jams as you walk down the street. The only thing better would be if that big black patch were a subwoofer. Of course, that might shatter your vertebrae if you turned up the volume too much.

Saaranen’s concept design has gotten as far as a functional prototype at this point, but he hasn’t revealed if he’ll ever have them produced en masse. In the mean time, if you happen to be in Berlin, Germany (where Joonas currently resides) and hear someone coming down the street wearing this bad boy, offer up the mad props he deserves.

[via Square]