Wall Of Cool

 A business card that transforms into a brushless DC motor. Awesome!

http://www.stealthelectricbikes.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMwPNlZIOE

 Super awesome and super geeky.

The Society of Automotive Engineers has embraced a competition in recent years that challenges University engineering teams to design and build hybrid formula-style race cars.  Geared toward performance, these teams push the limits of existing hybrid technology and go beyond to create new technologies along the way.  Congratulations to Politecnico De Torino, winners of the 2010 competition!

 I'm sure my cats would find a way in there, but it's a cool idea that would be great for some people.

NY web site dedicated to the culture, style and design of Motorcycles

 In the early naughties, it was only some municipalities that were ditching Microsoft's flagship product for half-baked alternatives.  Now, Google is following suit.  I just ordered a copy of this to replace the one I'd lent out.

It all started more than 6 months ago with 92 teams representing 15 colleges - whittled down to the final 16 just last week! All told, in its 12 years of existence, the Business Plan Competition, put on by the Center for Commercialization and Foster School of Business has awarded $812,000 to 78 startup companies!  
 
$25,000 Herbert B. Jones Foundation Grand Prize
YongoPal, UW
A service for South Korean university students that allows them to practice conversational English with their American peers via webcam, and that also allows university students in America to profit from those interactions.
Kyung Hee Yun, BA in Political Science; Jon Hickey, Master of Communication in Digital Media; Darien Brown and Daron Hall
 
$10,000 Bristlecone-Selamat Challenge Second Prize
Empowering Engineering Technologies, UW
EETech is developing a medical device called ExoWalk that utilizes patented ExoTendon technology to dramatically reduce the muscular force required to walk, enabling people with wheelchairs to stand up and walk their way to better qualities of life.
Brian Glaister, PhD in Mechanical Engineering; Katie Mulholland, MS in Mechanical Engineering; Chie Kawahara; and Jason Schoen
 
$5,000 Fenwick & West Finalist Prize
Febris, WSU
Produces a point of care viral diagnostic, based on patented processes, that can detect a viral infection days before the subject manifests physical symptoms and becomes contagious.
Jason Burt, MBA; Alice Lombard, DVM-Doctor of Veterinary Medicine; Andrew Lombard, MBA; and Michael Whittaker, MBA
 
$5,000 WRF Capital Finalist Prize
Emergent Detection, UW and UWT
Working to solve the worldwide obesity epidemic with its handheld device that immediately and directly measures personal fat loss in the home user.
Eric Fogel, Eve MBA; Joel Gjuka, MBA -UWT; Keegan Hall, MBA -UWT; Amanda Mathes, Eve MBA
 
BEST IDEA PRIZES
 
The BEST IDEA prizes were created to reward teams in the Business Plan Competition for their exceptional work in several different categories.  The teams receiving these prizes were selected by a special group of judges during the Investment Round.  This year we gave away SIX $2,500 Best Idea Prizes.
 
OVP Venture Partners Best Technology Idea
Empowering Engineering Technologies, UW
EETech is developing a medical device called ExoWalk that utilizes patented ExoTendon technology to dramatically reduce the muscular force required to walk, enabling people with wheelchairs to stand up and walk their way to better qualities of life.
Brian Glaister, PhD in Mechanical Engineering; Katie Mulholland, MS in Mechanical Engineering; Chie Kawahara; and Jason Schoen
 
Synapse Product Development Best Consumer Product Idea
Native Roots, WSU and U of Idaho
Positioned to become a major supplier of native plants, the breeding program currently has 40 native plant varieties in position to be patented with plant variety patents (PVPs).
Kathryn Leonard, MBA - WSU; Casey Neumeyer, BS Agribusiness - U of Idaho; and Mac Reynolds
 
Perkins Coie Best Innovation Idea
GreenStone International, Seattle U
Has developed a revolutionary enzyme that when mixed and compacted with clay creates a durable, low cost, waterproof and environmentally friendly road with a lifespan of more than 15 years.
James Spaulding, MBA; Heidi Han Yu, MBA; Emily Marshall, MBA; Ping Chee; John Craig; and Dick Polley 
 
DLA Piper Best Service/Retail Idea
Snovision, UW and Seattle Central Community College
Automated camera systems for mountain resorts that allow their terrain park participants to capture, share and further enjoy their mountain experience at home through our online community.
Rob Hammond, MBA; Jonas Harris, BA International Business; Josh Scotland, Undergrad CS and Business; Scott Stucker, Associate of Applied Sciences in Graphic Design; Sterling Swigart, Undergrad CS; Eli Rosenberg, MBA; and Robert Capogna
 
Sensors in Motion Best Sustainable Advantage Idea
WISErg, WSU
Will provide earth-friendly solutions to the growing problems of food waste disposal and energy consumption by offering a unique food-to-fuel solution to the nation's largest consumers, starting with Fortune 500 corporate campuses.
Brandon Baker, Undergrad Business; Jaimee Jewell, Undergrad Business; Larry LeSueur; and Jose Lugo
 
Keeler Investments Best Clean-Tech Idea
EnVitrum, UW  
Using the consumer glass waste stream to produce 100% recycled building materials and agricultural products.
Serena Batten, TMMBA; Scott Coil, Eve MBA; Grant Marchelli, MS Mechanical Engineering; and Renuka Prabhakar, BS Mechanical Engineering
 
A special thanks to the sponsors of the 2010 Business Plan Competition! Learn more about all the teams that competed in the Sweet 16 on May 27.

KTM and others starting to offer some real electric motorcycles worth looking at.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/03/ktm-freeride-electric-motorcycles/
 

 The beatbox I always wished I was

A visually awesome animation of Dan Pink's research on incentivisation and motivation in organizations, specifically the impact of the profit motive on creative and cognitive output.  Dan Pink's TED talk can be found here.

In the spirit of "humblefacture," Nortd labs is in development of an open-source 100W laser cutting system with a target BOM under $5k (compared to about $30k commercially).  Help the project and get early access via the Kickstarter project page.

Slick little helicopter. 

Hacking is easy.  Let it be known.

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugV6cLgwomo&feature=player_embedded

 The Pentagon's enemy is Powerpoint.

Check out these sweet glasses the children of mexico are being given.  I want some!

 Use your laptop's accelerometer to detect earthquakes.  Cool!

I love how these guys have so much personality.  These two did a really great job bringing spare electronics bits to life.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd Annual Environmental Innovation Challenge!
$10,000 Grand Prize
EnVitrum
Post-consumer glass recylcing technology

$5,000 Second Prize
Triangle Energy
Biomass conversion to synthesis gas (syngas)

$2,500 Honorable Mention #1
Idyll Energy Solutions
Intelligent AC powerstrip to reduce "idle power" energy waste

$2,500 Honorable Mention #2
iDriveSmart Smartphone
ODB system to promote fuel efficiency habits
 
$2,500 Honorable Mention #3
NanoWave
LED lighting for efficient indoor plant growing
 
The event was produced by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with Foster School of Business, College of Engineering, College of the Environment, and the UW Center for Commercialization. 19 student teams—representing the University of Washington, Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle Pacific University, Washington State University, Western Washington University, North Seattle Community College, and Green River Community College—brought a wide variety of ideas ranging from transparent photovoltaic window laminates to an open-source modular electric vehicle drive unit with integral braking and suspension.
 
Congratulations to all!

one awesome road bicycle, not UCI legal, but who cares...

Wow, I <3 this.
I've always loved the golden ratio and how it shows up in nature.
Those that know me probably know I have a tattoo of the golden triangle on my arm - reminding me of many things - the wonder of nature, the difference between intellectual understanding and the wonder you feel when you see something you can fully appreciate but never fully understand.  This video does a good job of revealing that wonder.
(click the image to go to the video)
 

An online painting tool that is different from other's i've played with.

Combine books with awesome-fast transformation algorithms and a smart use of hardware and I swoon with delight.

Great use of the Wii and microprocessors.  Neat music generation device.

A video of new york, shot in stills and post-processed to make it look like the entire city is  miniature.  COOL!
Worth HD if your system can handle it.

Michael Strano, MIT’s Charles and Hilda Roddey Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering says that the discovery “opens up a new area of energy research, which is rare,” and according to MIT, the new development could pave the road to a totally new way of producing electricity.

This slideshow of the newest Americas Cup boats are really amazing.

This short parkour animation uses a flipbook animation technique that I've never seen before that is really really cool.  I would love to see someone do this in person at some point :-)

A video that shows what it would look like if earth had rings like Saturn does.  Apparnatly done with scientifically accuarate rings.
The answer is as not surprising (earth would look totally cool with rings) as it is breathtaking.
 

I love this idea.
A monthly event in Portland put on by these guys:
http://www.devgroupnw.org/ 

 I feel like a minority living in Seattle and not being a bike nerd, but that's a damn fine bicycle!
The "carbon fiber composite yellow belt drive system" makes a nice visual touch,l but even the frame alone is pretty gorgeous.

Thanks to Dave! @dmzucker

Not bad for an 8-bit uC running at 12MHz

Seattle Mind Camp 6.0 is coming up fast. For those of you who aren’t sure what to expect, this guide will hopefully give you a bit of an orientation. Even you Mind Camp veterans might want to look over the details, here, as a few things have changed this time around:

It's in French, but it's pretty well visually explanatory. You just need rubbing alcohol, a tub of cold water, yarn and a lighter. Then some wet sandpaper for the finishing.

You can now do 3d projections onto buildings that take the building architecture into account.  Everytime I think I've caught up, the future seems to get ahead of me again.

It's about time the government tries to take some action.

This photo series of Saturn at it's equinox, taken by NASA's Cassini expedition is really beautiful/remarcable.  It's amazing that we have the technology to send data and control information to and from a craft that is literally billions of miles away.  I would love to see the protocols used to handle packet loss in this sort of system.
But enough about wireless protocols... check out the photos!

National Geographic's info graphic is pretty neet.

Here's a video displaying all commercial air traffic in the world during a 24-hour period.
http://gizmodo.com/5055160/24-hour-air-traffic-around-the-world-blows-minds-eyeballs
 

 A mobile robot that can also squeeze through tiny holes? Wow!

Finland has become the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/15/finland.internet.rights/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

This is a rare Continental IV-1430 (inverted V12). The hyper engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper_engine) was a 1930s study project of the United States Army Air Corps, an effort to develop an aircraft engine capable of delivering 1 horsepower per cubic inch (46 kW/L) of engine displacement. The USAAC funded development of an engine of about 1200 cubic inches (20 L), hoping the engine's smaller size would lead to better streamlining and improved range. The engine did not enter volume production because it had been matched by existing designs by the time it was perfected.
This is an interesting story of one. http://www.enginehistory.org/iv-1430.htm
Check out the video of it running. Link at top of page.
I love internal combustion engines!

Two officers of Italian police, left and right, and their Swiss colleague pose near a Lamborghini Gallardo of Italian traffic police "Polizia stradale", which is told to be the world's fastest police car, at a highway rest area in Bellinzona, southern Switzerland, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009. The Lamborghini will be presented at an international police meeting in the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Keystone/Karl Mathis)
 

I really love this kind of engineering.  A simple idea that makes a big difference to the  people it effects.  It's the type of thing that when you see it, you really wish you had thought of it... I mean, it's so obvious now right?  Brilliant.

This is nuts.
reverse-next ('rn') -- Step program backward, proceeding through subroutine calls.

I really appreciated how these guys made a commentary on a number of things.  What struck me here is this:
  - We are in a recession.  We are always hearing about this recession.
  - I know about 400 people with iPhones.  Did I mention we are in a recession?
  - Of course we couldn't go without our iPhones.
  - So we should limit our discresionary spending and use cardboard cases for our $400 (or whatever) devices.
Sweet.

This is quite possibly one of the coolest things I've seen in a long while.  So creative.

There's been a lot of work on source control in the last couple of years.  How do you choose the right tool for the project?

Using accelerometer triangulation and a concrete wall, these guys have devised a way to play first person shooters (such as Half Life) with real guns. Or shovels, hammers, rocks, etc.

...Can we put one in the office?

The dynamics shown in this video are spectacular.  There's not much mention in the article of how consistent the robot is, but even getting one take of it throwing a ball across the room into a small net is impressive.

A fairly concise look at why computer vision, among other things, is hard.

A fun comic about Benjamin Franklin from Maira Kalman of the New York Times.

Words won't really do it justice.  I like this art.

A fun concept for a city-based bike rental system, coupled with hybrid buses. Standard dynamos on the front wheel can be opened to a capacitor upon braking, so extra slowing force generates electricity to be stored. When the bike is returned to the rack, the energy ties to the grid for charging a hybrid bus system, and the amount generated credits the user with bus fare. Brilliant!
Video of its function also available here.

 I've always wanted to do this...

Synapse has been making changes to our space lately.  We are always hunting for new ideas and inspiration.  Friend of Synapse Aaron Rincover (rincover.com) sent this page to us to use as inspiration.  I thought it was cool enough to share. 
Zaha Hadid architects built a custom space to surround a chamber music hall that was placed in a much larger room than was appropriate for a chamber music concert.  The architects were able to design a space that mimicked the Bach pieces to be played during the festival, provided and intimate environment for audience and musicians, and provided appropriate reverberation for chamber music.
The space is made of billowing fabric with internal steel walls wraps around itself, the stage and the audience.  When space is not iin use, programmed lighting and auditory effects turn the space into it's own installation for passers-by.

Oh yes.
Despite being tethered to the water, it still looks like fun.

A gorgeous 4.5 minute video of the second largest aquarium tank in the world.  This just makes me miss scuba diving in the tropics like crazy.
A few years ago, I had the good fortune of being so close to a full grown whale shark that I had to swim backwards to avoid touching it (the oils on our hands is bad for their skin).  The big spotted sharks in this video are whale sharks, although they are tiny for whale sharks.  This video brought that memory back to life for me.  It made me nostalgic and sad, and warm and fuzzy at the same time. 
The music behind the video is the band 'Barcelona'.  It's good.

Anyone wanna play?

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Way Cool. I like how they've made the 'person' digital looking, and all the objects for interaction are so frikken REAL.

Who doesn't love pie?  I love this article about a design-for-good team experiment, currently using the medium of delicious pastry.  Brilliant!

My friend sent me this link in an email that said "dude, I want a chalkbot." 
My only response could be "totally."
Nike is sending chalkbot to paint the streets of the Tour De France with inspiring personal message to victims of cancer from the people who care about them.
:-)

Dr. Doughlas Emlen of the University of Montana studies Dung Beetles. Cool.

http://dbs.umt.edu/research_labs/emlenlab/gallery.htm

I'm very interested to see how open this platform will be.  Google's continued push to create open platforms means much cooler prototyping, and eventually faster product development.
 
It is initially targeted at Netbook devices, based on a linux kernel, with initial release running on both ARM and x86.  Release in mid-2010, so they say.