For people who are wound up too tight, it’s a great way to release the stress and pent-up energy. And for the interns at  Open University’s computer science department, it’s something that has been programmed to take punches and turn them into different forms of stimulus and feedback.

The characteristics of each punch are detected using impact sensors and an accelerometer. These signals are then processed in an Arduino processor, which provides sounds, lights, images, and other information. In addition to playing music, this particular punching bag can also emit laughter, or even a sigh when hugged.

The interactive punching bag was intended investigate the impact of feedback and stimulus on the users (or the punchers), as well as observe what effects impact interactive design might make on the user (or puncher) experience over time.

Pretty cool, huh?

[via Dvice]

The series of three spots was produced on behalf of Sony Europe by Studio Output and Marshmallow Laser Feast to promote the immersiveness of movies rented or purchased from the PlayStation Store, and they definitely get the point across with these spectacular short clips. Incredibly, all three clips were shot in real-time, with zero edits or post-production. Everything you see was an optical effect seen through the lens of the camera. Michel Gondry would be proud. Watch, and see what I mean:

The scenes were created by projecting images onto various 3-dimensional surfaces, and then syncronized a variety of real-world props, booby traps, and triggers in the enviroment to move along with the scene changes. As you saw in the clips, live actors also helped move around various props and contrivances to help with the immersion. They shot the entire thing with a Steadicam, with several of PlayStation Move controllers strapped to it, as well as EyeToy cameras around the room in order automatically track motion and adjust the scene accordingly.

Now if only Sony could make a real holodeck, I’d buy one.

The system is in the prototype stage right now and is called Universal Control. The way it works is that your TV or set-top box has to be Internet enabled, so that the BBC can send out synchronized Wi-Fi signals to the miniature Daleks. Their experimentation involved two-foot-tall Daleks, with information encoded into the video of a Doctor Who episode.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’m going to assume that their intentions are good and that they just want to make neat toys. At least I hope that the Beeb isn’t planning world domination by putting Daleks in our living rooms. (Un)fortunately, the BBC says it’s not planning on releasing these to the general public anytime soon.

QisDesign’s Piano lamp is comprised of a series of LED bars which resemble large piano keys. As you glide your fingers across the “keys”, the segments illuminate, changing the intensity of the light to suit your mood. Each lamp features a polycarbonate shade, and a stainless steel base.

Here’s a video showing off the Piano lamp in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The Piano lamp is available in both a desk and floor lamp version, with the table version selling for $630 (USD), and the floor model selling for $1650.

Thankfully, these nasty many-legged creatures aren’t real. In fact, they’re digitally-projected images. Glowing Pathfinder Bugs was created by Anthony Rowe and Squidsoup. The interactive display lets you manipulate the sand to unearth insect colonies, then let a virtual bug crawl into your hand. it’ll follow your movements once you pick one up.

Here’s a video clip showing off the little glowing buggers in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Weird. Cool, but weird.

[via Core77]

Even the set-up is a bit DS-like. Users write on a whiteboard, using ordinary markers; a webcam then takes an image of the written word or phrase. The real magic is done by the software, which “analyzes the image and interprets the handwritten words into different output modalities.” In other words, what you write is what you get.

Unfortunately, the demo video doesn’t go into detail about the capabilities and the limitations of the software, like the number or kinds of languages it can interpret, the types of words (adjectives, proper nouns, adverbs, verbs) it can interpret, the number of words it can recognize, or if the virtual objects can be made to interact like in Scribblenauts.

Nevertheless, this is an awesome project, and preschool and elementary teachers will no doubt fall on their knees and cry buckets of joyous tears if and when WYWIWYG comes out, because it’s a clever way of capturing the attention of kids and motivating them to learn. After all, you can’t make green poop appear if you don’t know how to spell “green” and “poop”. You can watch the demo video at the Interactive Multimedia Lab’s website; be sure to check out their other projects as well.

The generation that grew up with tamagotchis, video games, and the internet isn’t about to research kids and babies in books or – God forbid – the internet! They’re going to be turning to the Gravida, of course!

The Gravida Nurse Prenatal Education Device features a touchscreen display that shows educational articles that are perfect for tweeting moms. They include the dos and don’ts of pregnancy, as well as care for the newborn baby. The device also has images as well as voice recordings to help you absorb all of the great knowledge it contains!

It’s got a memory card slot, so I’m betting that you’ll be able to find out how to take care of your kid throughout his or her whole life, thanks to more lessons! It’s available for $22.69 (USD) over at UXSight.

[via Ubergizmo]

This is nothing new, as there are small baby-simulator dolls available to do this to prospective parents already. However, the Yotaro comes with an interactive screen that doubles as a face.

Yotaro was the fruit of research done by the University of Tsukuba in Japan. It can portray various facial expressions, movements, and physiological traits that are associated with babies. Yotaro reacts with an emotion-control system that uses sensors to create appropriate responses.

Would you believe that it can cry? Imagination is needed to see its unusual form factor and stylized face as a baby. I think it’s kind of cool. I’ve never seen a robot like this.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Designboom]

Bionic Heart is an interactive story with up to 24 endings available for the completionists. The Tycoon Games title is set in futuristic London, and is chock full of romance and comedy. Oh, and science fiction. There’s a little of that, too.

If you’re at all interested in visual novels, odds are you can give this one a shot, since it’s available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Convenient. It’s worth trying out the demo on the official site, too.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Siliconera]

Yep, that’s the idea behind interactive artist Eric Loyer’s new iPhone app, Ruben & Lullaby. By jostling your iPhone, you’ll make the lovers angry. Give them a little stroke, and they’ll calm down and maybe even shed a tear.

Your motions and gestures control the destiny of the young couple, and each action produces a real-time reaction from the characters in your little mobile drama. It’s sort of like a Tamagotchi for adults, with a couple, on a park bench.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Ruben & Lullaby is the first of Loyer’s Opertoon series, which envisions animated stories that can be played like a musical instrument. While the concept of two fighting lovers seems a bit odd, the interactive component could be pretty cool for other animated stories.

It’s available now over at the iTunes App Store.