ArKaos GrandVJ to Support 50-60 fps, Framerate is Beautiful, Plus Why FRAPS Rocks

GrandVJ struts its stuff at the World Lighting Fair. Mmmm… light. Delicious light. Photo courtesy ArKaos. GrandVJ is the live visual world’s best secret at the moment. Maybe it’s the software’s streamlined feature set or simple-looking UI, or maybe hard-core visualists had come to associate the name “ArKaos” with the company’s previous product, which recently […]

Logic Express Packs Most of Logic for Less; Apple Adds PDF Manual to Logic 9

I have to say I think Express is a model of what a more entry-level edition of a product could be. (I know Apple competitors reading this are shaking their heads and pointing out that Apple is in the comfortable position of selling pricey computers with big margins, but I think Apple still provides incentive […]

An Abstract Visual Interface, Made of Light and Gestures, and Full-Body Virtual Exercise

Computer vision technologies for manipulating digital interfaces with gestures are already here and mature; now it’s simply a matter of designing creative applications around them. And as with many design tasks, presentation is everything. From comments, Jeremy Bailey sends along an example of a gestural interface in which elements are moved around with gestures. The […]

Osmos Game Available, with Brilliant Electronic Score

Osmos Trailer from hemisphere games on Vimeo. Osmos is a glorious glimpse of the fusion of electronic sound and game design many of us anticipate. It is built around a (challenging!) physics-based gameplay style – in the same vein as float-around-the-world games like flOw (and long before that, Asteroids) with procedural design and a perfect, […]

Alternative Music Distribution: Moldover’s CD Case as Circuit Board Noisemaker

Making music into an object – the central genius of recording – could be a wonderful thing. But the CD was always somewhat utilitarian as a distribution mechanism, with its easily-splintered plastic jewel case and inserted artwork that paled next to the grand visions of the LP. Moldover is the latest artist to experiment with […]

Minority Report Interface, Implemented in Flash + FLARToolkit, and Why it Rocks

ActionScript programmer Peter Kaptein has done some brilliantly creative work to mimic the infamous gestural interface in the film Minority Report using only Flash, a webcam, a printer, and your fingers. (Okay, you may want to pick up some Scotch tape, too.) The tricks to make it all work (as I see it, anyway): 1. […]

d-touch Tangible Sequencer: Updates to Free Camera+Blocks Drum Machine

Bored with mouse pushing and knob twiddling? The d-touch tangible sequencer / drum machine makes a cheap interface (with free downloadable software) for assembling sequences. Make some (attractive) blocks, set up a webcam, and plug into your computer. I took a first look at this tool last month, and noted its use in sequencing walnuts. […]

Computer Vision Markers, Designed by You – Not Ugly Patterns

Pens and pencils out – it’s time to call back those art skills and start drawing tags. Computer vision is all the rage again. One assumption seems to be that you’ll know the technology has evolved when markers – graphical identifiers that allow the camera to more easily spot control points in the image – […]