Pluvior
Need some background rain pattering on your window while working? Try out the Pluvior.
Transparent LCD’s
LG OLED Signature T announced at CES it is going to be the first commercially available transparent TV. It definitely could add a lot to minimalist living spaces. Samsung, not to be outdone, introduced its micro-LED display technology which seems to deliver an even brighter, better image.
Transparent OLED and LCD screens have around for a while – in fact, you’re probably using one. People were making cool transparent panels by taking a standard backlit LCD, remove the LCD antiglare coating, do a little wiring, then put a lot of light behind it.
LG also has large transparent OLEG signage as well.
Personally, I don’t think just making a standard TV out of a transparent display is understanding what new things are possible with this technology. The Verge review even points out that the tv came with a movable backing screen that slid behind it to help it act more like a traditional TV – so why go transparent? I personally think this opens up a lot of new ideas for innovative new products and experiences instead of just being a minimalist TV.
To that point, the LG Dukebox showed up at CES 2024 and is one of the first devices to make use of a transparent LCD as part of the product design. It’s essentially a re-imagined jukebox. You get to see the internals of the system while the user interface is displayed on the transparent display.
While a good start, I can think of a number of interesting new products that simply COULDN’T really be made in other ways than using a transparent display. Those are the kinds of product ideas that I think are ripe for this kind of technology.
DreaMoving – now anyone can dance
I previously wrote about the Everybody Dance Now technology that allows you to take a video of a source dancer and then apply it to a video of a target person.
Now we have text-to-video technology called DreaMoving. You can start with a reference image, type in a description of the kind of moving you want, and get a generated video clip.
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Holodeck flooring
Lanny Smoot is a Disney Research Fellow that is being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Here he is showing off his holo-tile floor that allows multiple people to walk on it in any direction and it automatically keeps you centered on the floor. Definitely something that could be used for VR.
Deep Nostalgia
MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia is a tool that came out about 3 years ago and can add animation to static faces in your photos to bring life to them. People first tried it on historical images:
Then it became a trend on TikTok to upload images of relatives that have long since died. While it’s not perfect, it brought many to tears to see their loved ones again.
Of course, this can be a double-edged sword. This technology can bring the past to life, but it can also be used to create fake videos of living people.
Haloasis
Haloasis is an interesting device that uses a rapidly spinning LED bar to produce a constantly changing display inside a clear plastic tube. It seems geared towards creatively displaying lyrics from your music. It’s not even in kickstarter yet, but it’ll be interesting to see how they do. I’m curious how loud it is, because these devices are never exactly quiet due to the high RPM spinning LED bars.
I think it could be more cool as a display for interesting information since my karaoke skills are less than amazing.
Fistful of Yojimbo
Sergio Leone was inspired by Akira Kurosawa who in turn was inspired by Dashiell Hammett.
I think Kurosawa had a solid leg to stand on when his studio sued (and won a settlement) with Leone over what was essentially an unlicensed remake.
Prince of Peace
Akiane Kramarik is a self-taught painter and says that Jesus spoke to her when she was four years old, encouraging her to draw and paint what she experienced.
At age eight, after seeking the right face to help her paint an image from her dreams and visions, a family friend brought to her a carpenter as a possible subject. The man’s face closely resembled what Kramarik remembered as the face of Jesus. She completed the portrait in 40 hours of intensive work.
Not long after, it was shipped to her agent for exhibition, who then stole it and sold it without permission. For sixteen years the original painting was held locked in a bank vault, with the then-owner unwilling either to show or to sell it. In December 2019, Prince of Peace was recovered by the artist’s family and sold to a private collector for $850,000. After twenty years, the original is available for public viewing at Beloved Gallery in Marble Falls, Texas.
At the age of four, Colton Burpo, whose story was featured in the best-selling book Heaven Is for Real and the film adaptation of the same name, underwent a critical operation after his appendix burst. Although it was not a near-death experience (his heart never stopped), he did say he had an experience of visiting Heaven and had visions of Jesus. Years later, when he saw Kramarik’s Prince of Peace on TV, he told his father “Dad, that one’s right.”
Akiane Kramarik has a gallery and the copies of the picture are for sale.
Arsenal camera assistant
The Arsenal device attaches to your camera and provides a number of previously more manual operations. It’s supposed to automate photo stacking, long exposures, focus stacking, timelapse, removes moving elements (people/cars/etc), color enhancing, and other features using advanced intelligence and AI.
I got captured by their ad because almost everything was filmed here in Oregon and boy is it slick looking:
Is it any good? I wondered if they were able to put the smarts of a good photographer into a device. Well…the British aren’t one for candy coating things:
So, it’s another great reminder that you should take the fabulous promises in a slick video and a smash Kickstarter with a grain of salt.
Yanko Designs turntable
Yanko Designs reports that Miniot has decided to re-invent the record player. Miniot calls it simply Wheel. It features a neat upright design and plays records from the back. One of the most unique elements is the barely visible tactile control system that lets you press and push parts of the hidden wheel to jump tracks, change volume, and even set the stylus weight.
The Miniot site shows it runs $2187 – $4156 depending on the options and color you select.