Anti-Surveillance Clothing

January 4, 2017 by kris de decker Filed Under: Clothes, Random

The use of facial recognition software for commercial purposes is becoming more common, but, as Amazon scans faces in its physical shop and Facebook searches photos of users to add tags to, those concerned about their privacy are fighting back.

Berlin-based artist and technologist Adam Harvey aims to overwhelm and confuse these systems by presenting them with thousands of false hits so they can’t tell which faces are real.

The Hyperface project involves printing patterns on to clothing or textiles, which then appear to have eyes, mouths and other features that a computer can interpret as a face.

Read more: Anti-surveillance clothing aims to hide wearers from facial recognition

No Tech Reader #10

November 27, 2016 by kris de decker Filed Under: No Tech Readers

The Office on the Move: Portable & Pocket Typewriters

November 22, 2016 by kris de decker Filed Under: Typewriters

hermes-featherweightAt least since the 1980s, home working has been touted as a trend with potential environmental benefits. Since the arrival of mobile phones, portable computers and the internet in the 1990s, the focus has shifted to “remote” or “agile” working, which includes working at home but also on the road and in so-called third places: coffeeshops, libraries or co-working offices.

According to a 2014 consultancy report, “the vast majority of jobs in most organisations can be accomplished from virtually any PC or mobile device, from just about anywhere”. Upon a closer look, however, wireless computing isn’t that revolutionary as you would expect. The laptop and the internet have eroded the anchoring function of the office, but this is only a novelty if you compare with the office of 25 years ago. In a larger historical context, not that much has changed.

The Hermes Featherweight. Source: ozTypewriter.

[Read more…]

Human Powered 3D Printer

November 7, 2016 by kris de decker Filed Under: 3D printers, Human power, Random

human-powered-3d-printer

The Trophy is a 3D Print Machine, consisting of an Ultimaker 3D printer and a stationary bicycle to power it. Pierre-Clement Niviere designed it to make people aware of the high energy consumption of printing a 3D-object, criticising a technology that’s usually presented as an environmentally friendly way of production. The set-up also involves the maker in the creation process, raising questions about how 3D printing is changing making.

See it in action. Previously: Mechanical 3D-printer. Thanks to Pim Rooymans.

No Tech Reader #9

November 7, 2016 by kris de decker Filed Under: No Tech Readers

Last three links via Hunther/Gatherer.

Vertical Walking

October 29, 2016 by kris de decker Filed Under: Human power

vertical-walking-stairs“Even as our cities get more crowded and its buildings get taller, it seems that we have yet to find a more energy efficient way to navigate this high-rise environment. Right now, our options are limited to stairs, escalators, and elevators—all of which are expensive, require constant maintenance, and take up a lot of space.

Enter Rombout Labs and their concept of “vertical walking.” Their technology is designed to allow humans to move between building floors without the need for any sort of power supply, also using less effort than we would if we were using stairs, and making optimal use of available vertical space.

“By using harmonious movements and smart materials, only 10% of the effort of walking stairs is needed to bridge multiple floors. This not only provides a solution for the growing number of people who are unable to take stairs, but moreover offers new possibilities for urban architecture,” they explain on the Dutch Design Week website, where the system is currently featured.”

See & read more: New Futuristic Prototype Replaces Stairs and Elevators for ‘Vertical Walking’.