technabob » eye

technology saves the day in a weird way: man loses eyesight, doctors restore it by implanting his tooth in his right eye

lambert v. — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:12:52 +0000

Martin Jones lost his eyesight about 10 years ago, when “a white hot tub of aluminum exploded in his face” while we was working at a scrapyard. Doctors had to remove his left eye, while his right eye was rendered useless because of the damage. Jones married his wife four years ago while still without eyesight. But thanks to the Sussex Eye Clinic in Brighton, Jones finally got to see his wife and scored a wicked looking right eye in the process. How? By having part of his front tooth implanted in his right eye. Go Technology go!

As you can see, Jones’ tooth serves as as a support for the lens that was created out of a patch of his skin. What’s even more amazing (for me at least) is that the procedure, developed by surgeon Christopher Liu, has actually been performed about 50 times! So Jones isn’t the only guy with the Sauron-like eye. Check out Daily Mail’s report for more details.

[via gizmo watch]

olympus μ9000 digicam: beauty is in the 10% larger than normal eyes of a person

lambert v. — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:30:57 +0000

Our eyes are one of our most distinguishing features; change them even just a bit and the consequences are sure to be dramatic. Put a green mask over Dick Grayson’s eyes and suddenly people won’t recognize him, all they see is this young and athletic sidekick doomed to wear a costume whose color scheme seems to be inspired by traffic lights. So! Modify your eyes and you modify your very fate. With that in mind (not really) the inventors of Olympus invented the μ9000, a digital camera seemingly targeted towards casual users who usually find themselves taking pictures of ugly people.

Aside from the usual digi-cam features, the μ9000 also has a “beauty mode” that packs several face-enhancing post-capture edits, like red-eye removal, and the option to enlarge a person’s eyes and add shine to them. I am not making this up. I wish I was.

The feature called “Shiny Eye” is self-explanatory, while “Dramatic Eye” bumps up the height of a person’s eyes by 10%. Yet another proof that the ancient mathematical expression Japanese = weird is correct.

But honestly, do you see any difference between the eyes in the image above? There’s barely any right? And how do we know that those eyes belong to the same person? So I challenged the geeks of Olympus (not really). I sent them a picture of this earthworm and asked them to give it the Dramatic Eye treatment:

Here’s the result:

My god. That’s horrible. This camera is awesome. You can buy the μ9000 at Rakuten for ¥37,600 ($384 USD).

[via Inventor Spot]

googly eyeball clock: it’s eye time.

technabob — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:50:11 +0000

Here’s a fun way to keep track of time. Designer Mike Mak’s Eyeclock tells time with a pair of slowly rotating disks that look like cartoon eyeballs.

The position of the left eyeball signifies hours, while the right one is minutes. Depending on the time of day, the eyes might be looking up (like at high noon), down (6:30), right (9:45) or left (3:15). The wackiest times of day are probably 3:45 and 6:00, although 3:50 is a pretty goofy time too:

The only thing missing from the clock is a couple of bubble-shaped plastic domes over each of the eyeballs. Speaking of googly eyes, I think this clock would be perfect for this guy…

[via 25togo]

third eye video camera makes you look like a cyclops

technabob — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:40:22 +0000

Can’t figure out where to put that pesky camcorder when you’re out and about? Why not free your hands and strap the darned thing to your head?

This ridiculous looking (and badly named) “Third Eye” video camera attaches to your forehead using a stretchy elastic headband, and lets you capture images and videos hands-free.

With a $299.95 (USD) price tag it’s just a wee bit ridiculous for a camera that can only shoot videos at lousy 320 x 240 resolution (I think my wristwatch can capture higher res video these days). But I can assure you that the looks you’ll draw walking around with one of these strapped to your head will be priceless.

[Hammacher Schlemmer via The Green Head]

blinky keeps his eyes on your glasses [pac-man]

technabob — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:35:19 +0000

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve set my eyeglasses down somewhere really obvious. But, like Mr. Magoo, I completely misplace them anyhow. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure if I kept my glasses in this awesome Blinky ghost eyeglass case, I’d never lose track of them again.

Handmade by New York crafter (and according to her profile – future librarian, lazy artist, and aspiring pro bowler) badclipart, this Pac-Man ghost glasses case is the perfect way to keep tabs on your spectacles. Thanks to a bit of clever needlepoint work, Blinky looks just like he did when he first made his way into that fateful maze back in 1980.

Now I just absolutely had to get my grubby little mitts on this for myself, so it’s already too late if you want the original one featured above. Definitely swing by badclipart’s Etsy shop and hopefully she’ll whip up another one just for you.

i’ve got my eye on you

technabob — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:27:32 +0000

Interactive artist Marcus Graf created this dramatic video display window which keeps a watchful eye on passersby.

The piece, entitled I, ball used a webcam along with special processing software to detect people as they pass the display window. A series of digitized eyeball movements then follow the those who approach the window. The installation was on display at the recent Exposed @ VillaNuts show in Den Haag, Netherlands.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I think I’m gonna have some weird dreams tonight.

usb eyeball massager seems like a really bad idea

technabob — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:40:27 +0000

Here’s another strange USB device from the Far East. Designed to massage your cares away, these USB-powered eyeball massagers look like they’ll easily poke an eye out if you’re not careful.

Available in wholesale lots from Sundayo, I’m not sure how much they cost. But I’m gonna say that’s a good thing, since I’m guessing that your opthamologist would advise against buying one anyhow.

I’m pretty sure that you’ll end up looking like Phil Ken Sebben if you do.

[via ThisNext via OhGizmo!]