To promote its zero-emission F-CELL fuel cell technology, Mercedes funded the creation of a vehicle that could be turned “invisible” – in reference to the vehicle’s limited impact on the environment. They pulled it off by wrapping their ride in flexible sheets covered with a grid of LEDs. A camera on each side of the vehicle then relays what it’s seeing to the other side of the minivan, creating the illusion of invisibility. You can see the invisible Mercedes in action in the video clip:

It’s a pretty cool concept, though you have to stand back pretty far and be viewing the vehicle at an exactly 90-degree angle for the effect to work. I’d love to see someone work out higher resolution version of this illusion, along with head tracking so it would work no matter what angle you were standing at (like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol’s invisbility shield.) Still, Mercedes’ promo beats your average crummy ad campaign, IMHO.

To see some behind the scenes photos from the shoot, head on over to Mashable and check out their gallery.

The glasses have slightly red and blue lenses like the old-fashioned 3D glasses we had when I was a kid. The glasses work in conjunction with the TriOviz Games SDK to allow the developer to program in 3D effects that can be seen on a 2D TV. Naturally, the catch is that the game has to use the SDK. So far the only two games being offered are versions of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Enslaved, as well as a single 3D movie, Battle for Terra.

There have been a number of games come to market over the years that had red and blue lens 3D glasses and sought to make 3D effects on a normal TV. None of them every worked particularly well and I suspect the TriOviz will fall into the same category. Who knows though, what do you think?

[via Coolest-Gadgets]

In the experiment conducted by Arvid Guterstam, Valeria I. Petkova and H. Henrik Ehrsson, participants were asked to put their right arm next to a prosthetic right arm. As you can see in the left half of the picture below, both hands were simultaneously stroked by a brush at similar points. You’d expect that a participant would only feel the brush on his real hand, but what happens is that their brain gets confused. The blanket hides the fact that only the real arm is connected to the participant, so his brain is comfortable enough with treating BOTH hands as part of the body. Most participants responded that they felt the brush on both hands. Awesome.

To further prove the illusion, the scientists then threatened the confused participants by holding a knife over the fake right arm and then doing the same to their actual arm. The stress response for both events were very similar, again proving that the participants thought that the prosthetic was also their arm. But our brains are not that dumb – when the scientists tried placing a prosthetic left arm or a rubber foot next to a participants’ real right arm, the experiment failed.

So what applications could this result have? Ehrsson says that maybe in the future, stroke patients and other people with paralyzed limbs will be able to use prosthetic arms, or even people who have functional arms but could use an extra limb to do their job more effectively. Check out the source links below for more details on the experiment.

[via PLoSone via PhysOrg]

ObamaPacman spotted this seemingly convincing demonstration of just how light the MacBook Air is. He even caught it on video…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

But both the picture and the video give the illusion away. For one thing, the notebook and the balloon stay in mid-air. Also, you can clearly see two strings tethering the balloon from above.

I’m sure simple math would also pop this myth. But it does make me wonder – how many balloons will it take to lift up a MacBook Air?

[via 9-to-5 Mac]

The screen on the device is now 70-inches, and is powered by a computer that runs a dual core Intel processor at 2.8GHz. The video content from the device is stored to a 40GB SSD that can store 18 hours of uncompressed digital video.

The computer is dedicated to the running of the Holobox alone and will do nothing other than run the hologram system. It uses a projector that has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 and 600 cd/m2 brightness. Exactly how much this thing will cost is unknown, but it won’t be cheap.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Yanko Design]

The Brits are working on the system with seven vehicles at this point – with some of the vehicles being unmanned, some of them manned, and some being armed. One of the vehicles in the program is said to be like the Batmobile. I assume they mean the Tumbler from the recent flicks, not that dorky one from the Keaton days.

Ultimately, the Brits want a vehicle using the system that weighs no more than 30 tons, uses a hybrid drive system, and has the survivability and effectiveness of a current main battle tank. This sounds really cool to me. Something similar surfaced back in June of 2010 from a different company.

[via The Telgraph]

You’d think that whoever invented the things would have noticed that everything you see in a mirror is backwards. No, they took the cheap way out and just wrote it off as a “feature” or something. Thus, if you want to fix this problem, you’ve got to hack together a solution of your own. This True Mirror looks like one of the nicer hacks out there.Alright, so maybe I’m being a little harsh on mirrors. They do a good job for when you want to see how you look. The times where I actually care about things being reversed are quite rare. However, if you simply must see things properly, this looks like a rather nice way to do it. The device uses a pair of mirrors cut so they fit together almost seamlessly when set at a 45-degree angle.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While it is a novel idea, you’ll want to have some pretty deep pockets in order to get one. I mean, $245 for a 1-foot square mirror (am guessing on the dimensions, as none were listed)  is a tad excessive.

[via RedFerret]

As you can see, once you realize that the lines displayed do have differences, it’s just a matter of figuring out the outline of the numbers that they form. Compared to this design, this one’s a cakewalk. Here’s the display magnified:

No calculations, no need to memorize symbols or count flashing lights. Just a few seconds of staring and maybe a minor headache – assuming your brain can see it at all. As further proof that Tokyoflash is pandering to our inferior minds, you can even turn off the illusion completely at the press of a button.

Seriously though I like this design not only because I can easily read it compared to their other watches, but because it’s simple. Wacky mechanics make for wacky displays. If you like this design as well, vote for it at the Tokyoflash blog.

[via Chip Chick]

As shown in the picture above, the N-3D can also produce images that change in response to sound. I’m not sure what the practical applications of that are, perhaps this is merely proof of concept regarding its interactive potential. I’d be more stoked if it responded to touch though.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Will the TV’s and monitors of the future be pyramid-shaped? I’m all for pyramid-shaped TVs.

[via DVICE]

Researchers Peter Barnum Srinivasa Narasimhan, and Takeo Kanade at Carnegie Mellon University have come up with a way to project 3-dimensional images onto multiple curtains of water to form a volumetric display. The system uses layers of water dripped from tiny needles and slightly offset from each other. A single projector rapidly alternates images between the different water curtains to form a single image. Since there are four separate layers hanging in space, you can actually view the 3D effect without glasses. You can see it in action in the video below, but you’ll have to take their word for it that it actually looks 3D.

[New Scientist via VizWorld via 3D-Display Info]

The photo was taken by PBase user bbzippo way back in 2004, and won 4th place in the PBase forum’s Illusion challenge. I think it’s been Photoshopped – there’s something weird going on in the edge of the crossbar, right on top of the right post. But that’s just me.

How do you think he did it?

[PBase via Mighty Optical Illusions]

At first glance, the image just looks like a giant portrait of a smiling yellow Minifig. But as you move past the face of the portrait, the dark (blay) side of LEGOland comes out.

Doyle managed to achieve an effect similar to those lenticular moving images by using alternating blocks of angled LEGO wedges. Check out the video below to see the illusion in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Chris, I’d say that was more than reasonably clever.

[via The Brothers Brick]

I won’t tell you how far to jump in because you really should watch the whole thing. Wait for it. Wait for it…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via UFunk]

These aren’t the first clocks I’ve seen that pull off this illusion, but what makes these ones unique is their stylish angular face design, which makes them easy to read whether standing up or sitting down. As an added bonus, the clocks display not just the time, but also the date and temperature.

The clocks measure in at 8.25″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ (21 x 9 x 9 cm) and come with an 110v – 240v A/C adapter, so they should work worldwide. LED Wood Triangle Clocks are available in either a dark and light wood veneer finish and can be found over at HOMELOO for $39 USD.

The Lampex Lex module screws onto the spokes of your bicycle, and produces rapidly flashing sequences of LEDs to display your messages. The device connects to your computer’s USB port, and can be programmed in English, Japanese or Chinese characters using the included message creation software. It’s even waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about wet roads damaging it. You can see a video clip of the Lex in action here (and no, I have no idea what the deal is with the guy in the horse head at the end of the video).

The Lex module is available for pre-order from Japan’s Digital Cowboy for ¥3980 (appx. $35 USD).