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LibraryBox Personal Privacy

LibraryBox mentioned on TWiT’s Triangulation

My friend Nathan Freitas was a guest on TWiT‘s Triangulation this week, and was kind enough to give a little mention to both myself and The LibraryBox Project in his intro of The Berkman Klein Center at Harvard. To be mentioned in the same breath as his Guardian Project and Amanda Palmer (not to mention Zittrain and Benkler and Tufekci and the rest) is quite an honor. Thanks, Nathan!

I’ve queued the video below to the beginning of his discussion of Berkman Klein, but obviously the entire discussion is worth watching.

Categories
Release_Candidate Robots

Master Plan, Part Deux | Tesla Motors

So, in short, Master Plan, Part Deux is:

  • Create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage
  • Expand the electric vehicle product line to address all major segments
  • Develop a self-driving capability that is 10X safer than manual via massive fleet learning
  • Enable your car to make money for you when you aren’t using it

Source: Master Plan, Part Deux | Tesla Motors

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3D Printing Release_Candidate

Apollo 11 Command Module

To mark the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission, the Smithsonian has made available a high-resolution 3-D scan of the command module “Columbia,” the spacecraft that carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon. This highly detailed model allows anyone with an internet connection to explore the entire craft including its intricate interior, which is not possible when viewing the artifact in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian is also making the data files of the model available for download so it can be 3-D printed or viewed with virtual-reality goggles.

Source: 3d.si | Apollo 11 Command Module

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3D Printing Release_Candidate Wearable computing

Disney Research brings 3D printing principles to knitting machines

Disney Research has been on a serious roll with its 3D printing innovations and 3D printing patents. From high-res 3D printing processes, to replicating reflective properties onto 3D printed surfaces, to 3D printed wall-climbing robots, it seems as though Disney is looking to redefine how movie merchandise is made using 3D printing technology. But their latest study shows that they are also keen to bring 3D printing principles to other industries, for they have developed a new compiler that lets knitting machines behave like 3D printers and easily produce customized objects.

Source: 3ders.org – Disney Research brings custom 3D printing principles to knitting machines with new compiler | 3D Printer News & 3D Printing News

Categories
Berkman Personal

Anniversaries and New Roles

This morning I woke to a few “remember the day” emails that I thought were worth marking here on the blog for future reference. The first was that it was almost exactly 2 years ago that I officially left my position at UT-Chattanooga, walked away from an associate professorship and tenure, and went out on my own to try to start an independent business. So far, I’ve been very lucky and able to continue in this self-employed mode, although the downside is that it means I’m always looking for a job. 🙂 If you have a consulting need, workshop or training need, or are organizing a conference and want a great keynote….feel free to contact me. I’d love to work with you.

The second is that one year ago I became a Fellow at the Berkman Center, and spent the academic year 2015-2016 mostly living in Cambridge and enjoying the intellectual fruits of Harvard and MIT. I cannot speak highly enough of the amazing group that I was a part of…I learned so much from everyone there, and they are the most caring, careful, and thoughtful group of academics and scholars that I’ve ever been affiliated with.

And now, today, I can say that I am overwhelmingly pleased to be included in the 2016-2017 Berkman Klein community as an Affiliate. This means I get to continue my association with this amazing, wonderful community of learning…although from a distance, as I’ll not be in residence in Cambridge. I am going to be visiting as much as I can manage, though, because I have to get my 23 Everett Street fix occasionally. I’m also really pleased to be in the “transitional” class, the last to be Berkman Fellows and the first to be Berkman Klein, and to see how the Center evolves under the new nom de guerre .

To those in the incoming class at Berkman Klein: buckle up, you’re in for an amazing trip. I hope to meet all of you in September at the opening of the Center for the year.

And to everyone in the library community: I’ve got big things brewing this year. This Fall will see (finally) the launch of Measure the Future, and while I still can’t share all of my news about the project….it’s gonna be big. I’ll be doing some announcements about that over the next couple of months, including information about how your library can get involved. Soon!

 

Categories
Release_Candidate Robots

Robot factories could threaten jobs of millions of garment workers

The jobs of nearly 90% of garment and footwear workers in Cambodia and Vietnam are at risk from automated assembly lines – or “sewbots” – according to a new report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Source: Robot factories could threaten jobs of millions of garment workers | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian

Categories
Release_Candidate Robots

Self-driving Mercedes-Benz bus takes a milestone 12-mile trip

CityPilot has taken a key early step towards fully autonomous public transportation: The Mercedes-Benz self-driving bus program saw one of its Future Bus vehicles drive 20 km (or around 12.4 miles) in the Netherlands, on a route that connected Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport with the nearby town of Haarlem. To make the trip, the bus had to stop at traffic lights, pass through tunnels, and navigate among pedestrians.

Source: Self-driving Mercedes-Benz bus takes a milestone 12-mile trip | TechCrunch

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Release_Candidate Uncategorized

Lucasfilm is making a virtual reality movie about Darth Vader

It’s fairly obvious that VR and AR are going to be a big deal over the next couple of years, and if this is the sort of thing that big media is going to be producing for it, well…sign me up.

“You are the visitor in this story that is happening in and around you, and to a certain extent you might even have some effect on,” Goyer said. “You can pick up things, you can open things. You can push things, you can walk. You can touch characters.” The film will also take place in a “persistent” world, that cycles through day and night, and continues to go on even after the “visitor” has gone through the story for the first time.

Source: Lucasfilm is making a virtual reality movie about Darth Vader | The Verge

Categories
FutureTech Release_Candidate Robots

BMW promises fully driverless cars by 2021

“In just five years, the driverless experience will be activated by the touch of a button,” said Amnon Shashua, the chief technology officer of Mobileye.

Source: BMW promises fully driverless cars by 2021 – Jul. 1, 2016

Categories
AR/VR FutureTech Release_Candidate Wearable computing

Wearable Contact Lens Computers

Sony, Samsung, and Alphabet want to get right in your eyeballs. The tech firms have made public movements that appear to see contact lenses as one of the future interaction mediums. For taking pictures, video streaming, and measuring health signs, there may be solid reasoning behind sticking a computer in your eye.

Source: Sony, Samsung, and Alphabet Are Making Wearable Contact Lens Computers | Inverse