Of Outer Space and Virtual Spaces
Daniel FragaOur evolutionary stage does not allow us to physically navigate outer space - at least just yet. In fact, only a tiny, tiny fraction of our species ever ventured beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Our evolutionary stage does not allow us to physically navigate outer space - at least just yet. In fact, only a tiny, tiny fraction of our species ever ventured beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Can we create a new biosphere on another planet? Documentary "Spaceship Earth" shows how - in the Arizona desert.
The ‘Beneath the Surface’ exhibition organized by Taiwan Designers’ Web at the Chiayi Art Museum teaches us about unconventional connections, past and future.
The IonKids system from the firm Bluespan allows parents to give their young children some autonomy in the context of their environment to a certain point. The child wears an …
Could the internet be expanded to include sentient species like apes, dolphins and elephants?
The definition of the noosphere as "the sphere of human thought on earth" is woefully anthropocentric. It ignores that fact that our fellow sentient organisms have noospheres of …
In The Watchers , the creative geniuses at Studio Smack picture a world where surveillance systems don't just watch us - they actively judge. Are you a green-coded Conformist or …
NEC corporation is developping a "Childcare Robot PaPeRo" capable to play with and watch over children. The Childcare Robot is capable of recognizing and verbally communicating …
Regular furniture is quite static. You can move it around, but 90% of the time you're not using it and it is just standing there in your room. So boring! But if Janis gets his …
Epic is a fictional prospect (from 2004) on the future culture of media and internet-corporations. The human addiction to news and information must - according to this video - …
This amazing 'flexible love' folding chair can be stretched to seat as many as sixteen individuals; once compacted, the chair seats one. Watch the video in order to understand the …
While the Freedom tower , replacing the WTC twin towers, is being constructed at ground zero, I still enjoy looking at some of the earlier submitted proposals. They tend to be …
What you are looking at, is the logo of perhaps the (in idea) biggest competitor on the search-engine market. It is beta-testing right now, but its demo video looks promising. Why …
It might just be my old nature mind, but I still find it a daily miracle: being able to walk into the bakery around the corner and trade a piece of paper – called money – for a …
This installation in P.S. 1 countryard (NY) serves as a music stage, leisure space and a vertical public farm. It grows - amongst others - peas, mint, rhubarb, and fennel. …
Get Wickd (props for the name boys – totally wicked!) is a tech-fashion brand that sells basic clothes with barcodes that can link your mobile phone to any page on the web, from a …
19th century people needed some explanation to understand the difference between the regular candlelight and the electrically simulated candlelight. Note the disclaimer at the …
The Google Opt Out Feature Lets User protect their privacy by moving to a desolate village where the are guaranteed an environment free from Google products. Participants will …
Buttons are everywhere: throughout your day you press them on phones, alarm clocks, keyboards, elevators, dishwashers and of course on the computer screen. Although buttons did …
You step out of bed. Why? Because your alarm clock tells you it is time. A quick glance at the alarm clock tells you that you are still on schedule. First you take a shower and …
Visitors of the British amusement park Alton Towers can have themselves wristbanded and RFID tracked in order to buy a "personalised" DVD at the end of their visit. Precomposed …
Imagine we would have an alternative monetary currency for environmental value. Would the rain forest still be destroyed if there existed an ECO–currency to express its value and …
Designer Guus Baggermans was quite annoyed by the clumsy impoliteness of current vending machines, that typically require you to enter some abstract number to select your drink or …
Drive Legs is a portable hard drive which stands up if liquid is spilled near it. Created by James Chambers , who is experimenting with giving products defense mechanisms to …
Cinematographer Luke Geissbühler made a homemade spacecraft with his 5-year-old son Max, and some of Luke's friends. The spacecraft was made from a Thai food takeout container, an …
These two co-workers found out the face tracking feature of the utterly advanced HP webcam will not recognize or track black faces. Hewlett Packard says it's because the program …
"Have you seen my stapler? No, but just look it up on Google home office maps ." CSIRO Researchers have developed miniature sensors that track lab equipment, coffee mugs and …
Viktor Navorski is an Eastern European traveler – portrayed by Tom Hanks, who in the movie ‘Cast Away’ already played a man stranded on an uninhabited island – that finds himself …
Nowadays buttons are completely mundane and natural objects in our environment. You find them on phones, alarm clocks, keyboards, elevators, dishwashers and of course on the …
When techno–optimist and fellow at the Hybrid Reality Institute , Jason Silva, meets with Richard Doyle, author of Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants and the Evolution of the …
Supersmart cat beats pitt-bull with a little help of an electric vacuum cleaning robot.
You look at the great dane and wonder what information the QR codes on its pelt might contain. You point your smart phone camera at the dog and realize you’ve been hit by a …
Wikileaks gone physical? Aram Bartholl’s Dead Drops is an anonymous, offline, peer to peer file-sharing network in public space. USB flash drives are embedded into walls, …
The human body as an instrument is a cool example of how culture and nature are merging. Calvin Harris used a giant human synthesizer to perform his single. The material used is …
The zoomorphic designers of Festo , whom you might know from the robot penguins and a robotic elephant trunk , now managed to decipher the flight of birds. Their prototype is …
By nature, man is not meant to fly. But while we're at it, we may as well turn it into an experience . Charles Champion, Airbus Executive Vice President Engineering, envisions a …
In this TED talk, Kevin Slavin explains how computer algorithms are breaking free of their virtual habitats and changing the physical world to their liking. Through algorithms, …
Tweenbots are small robots that depend on the kindness of strangers. They are only able to move straight forward and do this constantly. Once they get stuck in a hole or at a …
Our proposal to study the financial system as an ecosystem is sometimes criticized as 'abuse of vegetational concepts'. Interestingly enough BBC documentary maker Adam Curtis now …
I've noticed DNA spray notices springing up around Amsterdam. I assumed it was a fairly standard anti-theft device: A crime is committed, a little nozzle is activated by the …
The economic system and profit motive has been a driving force that steers and even dictates social change. Investors and stockbrokers have been a major influence to these social …
Nearly every adult in the Western world owns a personalized pet, sometimes more than one . It is treated with great care, fed when necessary and fitted to the owner’s wishes and …
So you thought the Internet was made by and for people? Think again. A study by Incapsula , a provider of cloud-based security for web sites (mind you where this data comes from), …
The future of farming is not to be found in further mass-industrialization nor in the return to traditional farming with man and horse power, but rather in swarms of smart, cheap robotic farmers that patiently seed, tend and harvest fields one plant at a time without the need for damaging pesticides.
Nothing beats the factory-scent of expensive, freshly unboxed technology! Artist group Greatest Hits produced the Apple Unboxing Scent for use at an exhibition in Melbourne, where …
Volvo cars is testing a new safety system that automatically hits the brakes once an animal is detected in the vehicles vicinity. The Animal Detection System expands the range and …
Once upon a time animism ruled people's beliefs: both organisms and objects were imbued with a conscience. Artist Ronald van Tienhoven states that as technology closes the gap …
Arjen Born , a Dutch Photographer, envisions the future of assisted living through hilarious and moving photographs. Photography often reside in the realm of the nostalgic past, …
Can you do it? Do finish your lunch before clicking the link – or you might vaporise. The video was made by Jason Silva for the ongoing TEDGlobal 2012 which has Radical Openness …
Egyptian authorities detained a stork last week on suspicion of espionage.
Drones are the mosquitoes of the 21st century. A small town in Colorado will be voting on an ordinance for drone hunting licenses for shooting down the wild robotics.
Amazon announces they want to use drones to deliver your order within a half hour at any location you choose.
Mesmerizing drone ballet from Kmel Robotics and Lexus.
Kate Darling argues that society needs to update its ethical landscape to include thinking machines.
In the movie Fantastic Voyage, a submarine and its crew were shrunk and injected into the body of a sick man in an attempt to save his life. Despite the fictional nature of this …
Digestible Microchips are now approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Two lights that behave like pets, acting and reacting like autonomous creatures.
A new wearable device provides runners with info on posture, rhythm and stride length.
Buckle up for a cinematic espresso show from Jason Silva on the various epochs of evolution.
Helsinki tested out a Facebook-like interface to get public opinion on a new construction project.
UltraHaptics is a system for creating haptic feedback in mid-air, offering new kind of interactions with our touchscreens.
Tired your ugly duds? Sick of surveillance drones? Does Adam Harvey have the clothing for you!
Buckle up for a 1:11:28 interview with technology philosopher and founding editor of Wired Magazine, Kevin Kelly.
Anti Drone Tent is a small construction of emergency blankets that blocks infrared sensing, making it invisible to drones.
While in old nature people build shelters to protect themselves from natural forces like wind and rain, today one has to protect oneself from nextnatural forces.
Drones are typically thought of as flying spying robots, or even worse flying spying shooting robots. But could we also employ drones for good? The people of …
If the moon were only one pixel: a scale model of the solar system that shows how big our milky way actually is.
Since Darwin we tend to look at the biological world exclusively in economical terms. The idea that monkey's, frogs, or even ants do more than simply propagate, doesn't find much acceptance among scientists. And yet, even crayfishes at times seem to displace objects just for fun.
A recent project, named GENESI, might make it possible for city infrastructures to communicate with us.
On may 21st, Next Nature Network art director Hendrik-Jan Grievink will host a workshop around the idea of Speculative Sensing: exploring the potential of senses found in nature …
Tired of drunk people peeing everywhere on the street, people of St. Pauli, Hamburg decided to take a smart step to prevent it.
Picture this: it's 40,000 years ago, and you are an early Homo sapiens. You are standing on the savanna. Look around you. What do you see? No billboards, no traffic signs, no …
As our everyday living spaces are packed with electronics and become increasingly sentient, we might one day wake up in a house that knows more about your family's state than you …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
Wifi Camera Obscura reveals the electromagnetic space of our devices and the shadows that we create within such spaces, in particular our wifi networks which are increasingly …
Incognito is a new skin cream line that let's you be unrecognizable for the CCTV cameras on the streets and public spaces like banks, city halls ATM's etc. …
Lightweeds is a project by Simon Heijdens and currently exhibited at the MoMA - part of the Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition . The organisms - plants, weeds, trees - exist …
Recently, two new inventions have been developed. One, the mosquito-buzzer produces a 5 or 6 KHz buzz, which is (or should be) only audible for people under 25 years old. A …
In 1961, the name of Marshall McLuhan was unknown to everyone but his English students at the University of Toronto – and a coterie of academic admirers who followed his abstruse …
This project explores the invisible terrain of WiFi networks in urban spaces by light painting signal strength in long-exposure photographs. A four-metre long measuring rod with …
Roads are a ubiquitous, even defining aspect of our urban and suburban spaces. In the United States alone, parking lots and roads cover 16,000 square kilometers. So why must roads …
The nature of humanity in the twenty-first century is, according to sociologist Steve Fuller, a ‘bipolar disorder’ beset with dualisms of identification such as divine/animal, …
Today we cannot meet, touch or hug our loved ones. And while we all like the feeling of the touch of another human being, physical contact does not just feel nice, it is crucial …
Today our human impact on Earth is humongous. Climate change, plastic oceans, mass urbanization and deforestation. Scientist recently calculated the technosphere now outweighs the …
The first essay ever written on Next Nature, published in Next Nature Pocket and in Entry Paradise, New Design Worlds . ( download pdf ) (German version: Erkundungen im Nächste …
I am sorry I couldn't be there— I had an important meeting with my bathtub that could not be rescheduled. This bathtub with an internal multicolour LED light fitting, creating a …
by Richard Brautigan (1968) I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammels and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure …
An actress in Atlanta, has tried to answer her phone to the thrrrrup, thrrrrup, thrrrrup of a truck bouncing down a pothole-pocked street. Others say they thought they heard …
Instruction for the Birds: Land on perch->trigger sound file->observe human response-->behave accordingly. Instructions for People: Listen, you'll be able to understand. The sound …
Crowd counter is a piece of software able to track moving features within a video clip. It works on the assumption that points that move together are most likely part of the same …
"In the morning paper, I can read the weather report as well as the stock quotes. But when I look out of my window I only get a weather update and no stock exchange info. Could …
Skin conductivity sensors are used to deduce the emotional state of the sleeper. This information is brought to 3-D studio where a script is used to transform this into physical …
This weekend is the last change to visit the Entry 2006 exhibition in the coalwashe building, Zollverein. Over 300 exhibits from more than 20 countries are on display. Next nature …
Today the Entry 2006 exhibition opened in the coalwashe building, Zollverein. For 100 days 'perspectives and visions in design' with over 300 exhibits from more than 20 countries …
Written by Werner Lippert & Peter Wippermann, Curators of the Entryparadise exhibition (26/8 until 3/12, 2006, at Kohlenwäsche, Zollverein) Design is about to undergo a …
Die Natur verändert sich mit uns (English version: Exploring Next Nature ) by Koert van Mensvoort , published in Entry Paradise, Neue Welten des Designs, Gerhard Seltman, Werner …
The body suit pictured above has LEDs that illuminate according to the wearer's state of excitement. Skin signals are measured and change light emission through biometric sensing …
Anshe Chung is an avatar, or onscreen graphic character, created by a Chinese-born language teacher living near Frankfurt, Germany has proclaimed herself the first second life …
GPS drawings over land , on water , and in the air were created to investigate principles and techniques of geodesic drawing. The maps were made to measure travels and tracks and …
TomTom and Vodaphone want to use mobile phone signals sent from traffic jams to gather real-time travel information. The data will be used for TomTom users to establish if roads …
Hypernose is a short movie made by students of the HKU/KMT. Klick to view it here Found at Lucky Coin Films
Thanks to this device our pda's may become even smaller. Also piano's and dance clubs are made redundant. All you need is a charged battery. virtualdevices.net
There may even come a moment that our connection with an industrially manufactured coke bottle may be richer and more mythical that our relation with a genetically analysed and …
600 million people worldwide are beginning to see online access as an absolute necessity. From airports to living rooms to roof gardens to classrooms to city parks, People want …
The Netherlands produces some 16.5 million tons of pig meat each year, making it the European Union's leading exporter. In 1999 there were officially 15.2 million pigs in the …
One day you will step into the garden to look at the flowers - and the flowers will look back at you. Rich Fletcher, Nikolai Slavov, and Hiroshi Ishii from MIT Tangible Media …
The Power Aware Cord transports electrical power while simultaneously visualizing energy usage. Electrical transfer is represented through glowing pulses, flow, and intensity of …
Carolina Sobecka released her tiger into the night, projected by a moving car. The animal's movements are programmed to correspond to the speed of the car. As the car moves, the …
Despite the metaphor, current virtual desktops (a) have little resemblance to the look or feel of real world desktops (b). Bumptop explores making virtual desktops behave in a …
'Release' is a product that terminal patients can use to leave audio messages for their relatives, for after their death. People living with the notion that they will soon die …
The Sababa is the first real time lava visualiser kit of global city flows. It takes the lava lamp one step further by reconstructing it according to the language of the current …
New creatures arise through interactive media. Shadowmonsters found here Digitally generated ants found here
Smile! We are your friends. Robots will play an important role in our future society. We need to ensure that robots are socially compatible with us in order for society to accept …
According to Environmental Health Science Department of Columbia University, nearly 80% of the earth's population will, in the year 2050, reside in urban centers. At present, …
A short story by Terry Bisson. For those who prefer video to literature, there's also this seven-minute film adaptation . "They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "Meat. They're made …
USB was originally only used by computer experts and nerds. Nowadays USB (universal serial bus) has developed into an every-day item and symbol for connecting the digital with the …
A traditional textile heritage is celebrated with flocked wallpaper that comes to life as it reacts to ambient noise levels. The louder the space the brighter the wallpaper glows. …
A technique developed by the German Claus Winterfor an installation artist makes whatever word you type into a computer visible by a "water-curtain". The video shows the World …
An umbrella that provides information about the likelihood of rain so that users can make a simple, informed decision about whether to take the umbrella with them as they leave …
The Wind Shaped Pavilion is a design proposal for a large fabric structure that can be used as a public or private pavilion. As a lightweight fabric structure, the wind slowly and …
Let us pretend you are a soldier and you are being sent to war. One of the first questions that should pop into mind: how will you prevent yourself from getting shot? Armor that …
The AR+RFID Lab at KABK (Royal Academy of Art, The Netherlands) sends this marker card, wishing an Augmented Christmas. Funny they need a real tree for hanging those markers... …
The Augmented Cognition System will help the brain adapt to data on computer-screens. If there's too much/little data, it will decrease/increase the information for you. If the …
Bio Mapping is a research project which explores new ways that we as individuals can make use of the information we can gather about our own bodies. The project envisages new …
Using electrodes positioned around a person's scalp, scientists from the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas in Greece are developping a method for electronic identification …
Electromagnetic radiation of active mobile phone sets off the LEDs in relative proximity. Light shadow follows the conversation through the space. …
Inventors keep coming up with new ways to exploit RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. Now Kodak wants to use them to probe a person's digestive system. RFID tags are tiny …
Future billboards will be looking back at you! The Eyebox2 can track the gaze of several people at once from 10 metres away in order to know how much attention the billboard is …
Philips presented an A4-sized colour electronic paper . A paper-thin and bendable viewing panel. "This represents the next generation in display technology," Chung In-Jae, chief …
I am a tree and I need water! Dance with me! Guide the river! Together with designer Emily Gobeille , Theodore Watson created the Funky Forest , an interactive ecosystem where …
If you've gotta run the wheel, you might as well do it in bare feet. Many of us are so busy being good little hamsters that we never have face time with green space. A group of …
A bug that does the cleaning? This 1-meter (39-inch) tall, 1.35-meter (53-inch) long prototype robot ' named "Lady Bird" ' is designed to clean public restrooms at highway rest …
Philips hits the shops with a product that aims to naturalize alarm clocks. The annoying buzzing machines were once invented to cultivate our day/night rhythms, formerly connected …
The Ironic Sans blog brings you Pre-Pixelated clothing! Stop worrying about whether or not the producer of that Reality TV show you're on will pixelate your carefully chosen …
When he's not saving the word, artist Matt Siber is disecting street images and their typography. Seen before in many forms on this blog, but very well done!
The MQ-9 Reaper is loaded, but there's no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq and Afghanistan, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. Although …
A nice light printer by rAndom International . The printer makes images with light on a light reactive surface. Really nice and high tech, but what I like is that the images fade …
Nowadays, most people can't make anything at home because it's too expensive. Roboticist Hod Lipson wants you to stop shopping and use his portable 3-D printer to make your own …
Sometimes I have a hard time choosing between going out and staying home watching TV or my computerscreen. The great fashiondesigner Hussein Chalayan made these choices a lot …
Amal has two RFID implants, one in each hand. His left hand contains a 3mm by 13mm EM4102 glass RFID tag that was implanted by a cosmetic surgeon. His right hand contains a 2mm by …
The Ambient Umbrella shows when rain or snow is in the forecast by illuminating its handle. Light patterns intuitively indicate rain, drizzle, snow, or thunderstorms. Local …
Using the special cube, stick, and web camera, ARis will appear and move around in the monitor of your PC. When you touch her by the AR Stick, she shows various reactions. You can …
Blendie is an voice controlled blender with a mind of its own. Materials are a 1950’s Osterizer blender altered with custom made hardware and software for sound analysis and motor …
The Waterboard is an interactive installation by Mike Burton giving the user a chance to play with water without getting wet. By drawing lines on the whiteboard, the water will …
Ten tons of cement were pourred into this grasscutters ant colony, revealing a subterranean structure of 8 meters / 26 feet deep. 'Ant-City' was built including circulating …
With their project 'Rules of Six' architects Aranda & Lasch envision an unpredictable, self-generating landscape of interlocking hexagons that could represent rooms, buildings …
So you thought that animated Pixar Lamp from the movies was just a fantasy? Not anymore. Luxalive is a prototype of an reading lamp that moves according to the character of its …
Confused with the pile of remote controls in your house? Now here is an idea: get a robot to control them. Researchers at Toshiba have developed a talking robot, named ApriPoko, …
The struggle between the born and the made is being fought out in a wardrobe on Saturn. By: 1stavemachine.com | Related: Sixties Last
At Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Christopher Love and colleagues are working to find out whether energy from trees can be used to prevent forest fires. A sensor system …
I used to hear voices in my head, but now they seem to be coming from the walls – am I back in to the womb? No wait.. it's a wall that reacts to the spectators voice (quicktime) . …
Meet midori-san , the first blogging houseplant! Through sensors connected to the leaves of this Sweetheart Hoya reads bioelectric currents through the plant, this gives …
"Nature adapts, even to human actions that seem to destroy everything. The amazing power of evolution has given birth to a new species of insect. Their ideal habitats are old …
Now this is a spot on example of information decoration : a heat–sensitive wallpaper of which the printed flowers will be blooming when the radiator is on. Created by Shiyuan .
By MARCEL VAN DER DRIFT. Ten years from now, a cell phone gently sinks to the bottom of the river. It's one of the latest models. The clever design, trendy colours and nifty …
Using thermochromatic ink, which changes color when the temperature exceeds a specific degree, designer Josien Pieters created a prototype of a dynamic wallpaper that …
This new 3D webcam with two cameras spaced approximately as far apart as human eyes is our anthropomorphic object of the week. Can you feel it, watching you? The little brother …
This report on spooky showhost holograms appearing on national TV might be a bit of old news..., but I guess still worth posting. The word "hologram" CNN uses in this Youtube, is …
Its title might be self-explanatory and it sure looks intriguing... however kokkugia fails to give a thorough description for this architectual piece. Classified as 'peculiar …
The eye passes on more information to the brain than the brain will process. In that sense, the brain functions as a filter. But on the battlefield the risk of neglecting …
Filippo Minelli envisions Google total world domination in his very own stickery manner. See also: Google tracks flue via sick searchers , Google 2084 , Google DNA , Google …
In the future, every street will be a Nokia street? Perhaps not, however we may expect some changes in street signage due to the arrival of mobile & gps technology. Once …
Today browsing and gaming is dominated by the shortcomings of machines, for machines simply do not know who is on the other end. Man needs to interact; therefore man needs to …
These dudes from the Spanish TV show El-Hormiguero mixed cornstarch and water made on a concrete mixer truck, effectively creating a pool of non-newtonian fluid – which is almost …
A retail lot in Austin, Texas recently sprouted a field of solar photovoltaic sunflowers that soak up the sun’s rays to provide shade while generating a steady stream of …
Minsh is an underwater 3D navigable world where each fish represents a Twitter user. The concept behind this world is that the social behaviour of fish will represent what people …
Designer Carlijn Compen upgraded her watertap with some LED's that shift color along with the heat of the water. A simple yet effective example of information decoration that will …
Today's technology advances so rapidly that people are often unable to update their media schemas in time and as a result are left cluelessly in awe of it all. Mike Thompson's …
This interactive installation came out of the Postgraduate Certificate Course in Advanced Architectural Research of the Bartlett School of Architecture in London. Graduate Justin …
No this is not some stellar system far away. What is it then? Lets make another picture, this time with the flashlight on... ...and we learn the small universe is comprised by LED …
At ISEA 2010 , the International Symposium on Electronic Arts, media artists and media researchers from all over the world present their work in Dortmund (Germany). This year, …
Multi-touch designer and developer Richard Monson-Haefel considers sound as an important part of our user interfaces. As an application of " Calm Technology " which revolves …
In the last few decades there have been numerous films that take the struggle between mankind and its increasingly intelligent and autonomous technology as a leitmotif. Ranging …
Researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole, Massachusetts, are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by using a sound broadcast to attract them into …
Inspired by body language of animals (in particular squamates and porcupines), designer Jop Japenga created a headphone with an adaptive skin that responds to the music played on …
Catalytic Clothing is a fashionably calm technology that aims to tackle air pollution by embedding a substance in the clothing that purifies air when you wear it. The purifying …
Our historical snippet of the moment is a Canadian television fragment from 1968 featuring a debate between Norman Mailer and Marshall McLuhan on the implications of media …
If a light switch would be hairy or snotty nobody would want to turn on the light anymore, which is exactly why designer Katrin Baumgarten created some of the most one nauseating …
In cities across Germany, Big Brother looks like a smiley face. The Fühlometer, a piece by Julius von Bismarck, Benjamin Maus, and Richard Wilhelmer, uses security cameras and …
Bionic horror by designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau , who have created a clock that traps insects on flypaper before depositing them into a vat of bacteria. The resulting …
Principle number four: Humane technology should resonate with the human senses, rather than numbing them. If you're an office worker or a video game fanatic , you may spend most …
A while ago I wrote a post about birds which tried to adapt to the city by singing louder and in different tones than before. Now it seems the birds have taken this adaptation to …
Remember the Information Decoration essay which argued our so-called information society barely employs our human bandwidth, as most of the data in our lives is presented in …
Architecture has now come to a stage where the technical possibilities seem limitless. Buildings become more fluent, dynamic and organic. Examples can be found in most buildings …
Imagine a world where the shapes of all objects around you would be able to change on the fly. Envision a future where nanotechnology and morphing become ubiquitous and blend in …
Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities ... But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their …
Blue is a beautiful color, but its sound is simply irresistible. It is the song of the unhappy and the depressed. It is a sound that touches people. It was also the sound of a …
The Animal Architecture Awards have just announced the winners of their 2011 contest. Taking first place is Simone Ferracina's Theriomorphous Cyborg , a (speculative) augmented …
By fading between scenes of pre- and post-quake Tokyo, this time-lapse video shows how Tokyo's nightscape has been affected by ongoing conservation efforts and power shortages. …
Text for blind people using the Braille alphabet has been around for some time. But instead of making separate books for the visually impaired, why not change the way we all read? …
Philosopher and professor Jos de Mu l and media artist Geert Mul set out to visualize the Gods Browser in a unique art-science collaboration. The result is a conceptual poem of …
Feeling grumpy and hungry? Unfortunately, the University of Tokyo's Happiness Counter refrigerator won't open up until you give it a big smile. The concept is based on the fact …
Do you ever miss being able to smell the woods in an online travel journal? The odor of a new leather jacket in an online shop? Or perhaps you just couldn’t find the words in an …
Often cockroaches aren’t people's best friends, but maybe in a few years you will be relieved when you see a cockroach. Researchers of the North Carolina State University …
A device that remotely controls cattle's movements promises to transform the American landscape.
Earn points in an online game by destroying real-life CCTVs.
With rising energy costs and our growing arsenal of iPads, smart phones, and wearable monitors, we're always on the lookout for new ways to power our devices. Perpetua Power , an …
Samsung is working on a brain interface that lets you go truly hands-free with your phone.
Need a personal trainer? Google's new sneakers fulfill the role of a human coach.
As we strive to milk all available energy from nature, we not only harvest but alter our surroundings in the process. By mixing the warm sea air with cooler air above, offshore …
A new website changes the text's font size depending on your distance from the computer.
Advertisers have figured how how to induce auditory hallucinations into your morning commute.
The visualization of every known drone attack in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ever notice how ant colonies so successfully explore and exploit resources in the world … to find food at 4th of July picnics, for example? You may find it annoying. But as an …
Our peculiar image of the week is titled "High Frequency Captured on the Surface of Augmented Objects" by Ryota Matsumoto , Mixed Media 140718 110cmx85cm.
Maybe in the future swarms of robots could help cleaning oil spills, provide immediate emergency help at a disaster or guide millions of self driving cars.
The desire to avoid face recognition algorithms could bring us a whole new set of make up styles,
The rise and fall of the Earths forests can now be tracked 'real time' through a new mapping tool called Global Forest Watch.
How cities will function when there are more robots than people working in factories, everything is intelligently interlinked, autos drive autonomously and drones deliver the mail?
Recently 338 sharks in Western Australia subscribed to the microblogging service. They are now tweeting out where they are.
The United Arab Emirates released plans to build a city on Mars.
Trading animal skins for pixels, our digital selves call for a digital wardrobe. The Institute of Digital Fashion , led by CommuneEast founder Leanne Elliott Young and Digi-Gxl …
Joyce Hwang discusses the challenges for designers, and gains for citizens, of living in a truly biosynthetic city.
Besides finding their way, people look at to transport them to another place, or in this case, another perspective on planet Earth.
Dutch experience designer Leanne Wijnsma designs for the human instinct and puts the sense of smell back to where it belongs, as modern hazards have shifted to the digital realm.
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
10 design requirements to fully immerse ourselves into the 21st Century—in which technology makes our world richer, not poorer.
Just in case you hadn't seen this one . Informational spaces define physical spaces, rather than the other way around. The map is the territory? Let's just hope the territory can …
The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true. -Ecclesiastes If we were able to take as the …
I should tell you the story of how Manko lost a leg. You need to know about this incident to understand his recent works. So please forgive me, I first have to go back to that …
Many things have been rumored about the artist called Manko since he vanished about a year ago. Some even went so far as to claim he had died. So it was all over the news when …
There is a domain of creatures that diffusively encircles an entire planet. There are so many of them that they occupy every conceivable ecological niche. Yet, despite their …
As cities push to the edges of the wilderness, wild animals are increasingly com
What one ugly overpass in Berlin reveals about our attitudes towards nature.
Last month graffiti artist Katsu presented his graffiti drone called the ‘’spray copter’’.
With cities covering growing area of land, we humans and our spaces build the new wilderness for animals and plants.
Interview with Liam Young on his work in speculative architecture, the future, and our role in nature as humans.
The Random Darknet Shopper, with bitcoin to burn, has purchased counterfeit jeans, master keys, dodgy cigs and even a bag of ecstasy tablets. Who is legally liable?
Last week nearly 70 portraits of cats replaced all advertisements at the Clapham Common tube station in London.
A group of researchers is working to optimize the way we sleep, increasing our relaxation, and therefore reducing the time devoted to our naps.
Interview with Govert Flint, designer, architect and self-taught artist.
How wild animals and cities are adapting to each other.
Madrid's new plans to fight rising temperatures and high pollution rates investing on green urban areas.
An AI draws streets and spaces stitching together its artificial memories of real places.
Emma is in poor health. She has painful varicose veins, stress-related eczema, puffy skin, a grey complexion, red eyes and a hunch-back. She is an imagined office worker of the …
A recent lip filler trend blew up on social media. 'Devil lips' , or Octopus lips, have attracted divided opinion online. When the body modification hit Instagram, some spectators …
Recently, Twitter announced it would be clearing all inactive accounts in an effort to free up dormant usernames and prevent the risk of old accounts being hacked. The new policy …
Play is a core part of a healthy childhood , through which children develop social, communication, cognitive and physical skills. Children’s play adapts to its circumstances. …
Dig a teaspoon into your nearest clump of soil, and what you’ll emerge with will contain more microorganisms than there are people on Earth. We know this from lab studies that …
Good day astronauts of spaceship Earth! Today it was announced that Next Nature's plans for the Evoluon have been awarded a financial contribution of €7.6 million from the Region …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
As humans have industrialised farming to feed a growing global population, pollinators – animals vital for plant reproduction – have seen their food supply decline. In the UK, …
Many aspects of the current metaverse were already familiar 143 years ago.
Spoiler alert: this article explains a key plot point, but we don’t give away anything you won’t see in trailers. At the beginning of the new Disney Pixar film, Lightyear, Buzz …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Wondering how next natural furniture may change your way of life? Will we feed our lamps? Grow chairs? Talk with our tables?
We spoke with the Museum of Edible Earth, a travelling museum dedicated to the prosperous amount of soil samples.
Every ecology needs balance. So that's also true for the ecology of the office. The office is a ecology that is highly regulated: temperature, light, humidity, distance to other …
Aram Bartholl's Map project converts Google map markers into physical objects that can be moved around public spaces. The size of the rebuilt red Marker in reality corresponds to …
This cell-shaped building for the institute for Nanobiomedical Technology & Membrane Biology in Chengdu, China, is an unusual croos-disciplinary collaboration between MIT …
In the UK farmers recall simple circles appearing on their land for generations. The British media first reported on the circles in the early 1980s. By 1990 crop circles had …
Espace Pur by Marc Hottinger & Lucien Iseli (MID-ECAL) is an air ionizer that uses dust as pixels and that displays patterns thanks to it, in a very slow motion way. It cleans …
Written by Joop de Boer from Studio Golfstromen - strategy, planning and design on the city. In the virtual world 'Second Life' everything is possible. That's most obvious in the …
The history of art through the ages reveals a constancy that, by conscious or unconscious applications, provides us with an omnipresent correlation dealing with the …
Conceptually the square box and the interior spaces are carved out of an undefined cluster of foam bubbles, symbolizing a condition of nature that is transformed into a condition …
Some weeks ago we pondered over the oddity of a space race in cyberspace . Rockets and jet-packs –so cool in the previous century– don't make sense in a virtual environment. The …
Since the early days of the net, the electronic pastoral has lent itself to all sorts of dubious agendas pushed by science, the military and even libertarian tendencies. In the …
Second Skin takes an intimate look at computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging genre of Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs). World of Warcraft, …
Scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are chastening. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental …
Coca-Cola© succeeds in what most NGO's try to achieve: getting the goods to the poor in the 3rd world Africa. For most people there, a Coke is easier to get and cheaper than a …
So here we are; bragging about our discoveries and great new ways of living... meanwhile we tend to forget that we are NOT the dominant species on the surface of the earth. …
So, you are aware biotech will drive our evolution , you took the crash course on synthetic genomics , you've got your map of the DNA world in your backpack and are now eager to …
Is the evolution of the single bladed razor into an exorbitant five–bladed vibrating gizmo the outcome of human needs, or is there another force in play? Say hello to Razorius …
As neuroscience progresses, we gain access to previously inaccessible and unexplored areas of the human mind. Consequentially the intricate processes in our brain are cultivated …
Many people will have heard of the infamous swastika made up of larches that revealed itself every autumn in a forest outside Berlin . The trees, which turned yellow at the end …
Are you familiar with the affliction? Anthropomorphobia is the fear of recognizing human characteristics in non-human objects. The term is a hybrid of two Greek-derived words: …
Traditionally, technology is seen as a force that diminishes our instincts and puts us at a distance of nature. Increasingly however, we realize technology can also energize and …
Adapting video games to real life has become a fairly common, jokey way of exploring the games' surreal aspects. I saw kids with balloons playing Mario Kart on my college campus, …
The High Line , the amazing recycling project that converted a former NYC railroad to high-rise park, has inspired the reincarnation of similar disused urban spaces across the …
The world is alight with algae fever. In this age of deep ecological design aspirations, the range of speculative design projects based on algae technology is growing. Algae are …
Deep below bustling, noisy Delancy Street in Manhattan lies the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, a building abandoned in 1948. This terminal is just one of many tunnels and …
The Singularity , as popularized by Ray Kurtzweil, refers to a near term, theoretical time when machine intelligence greatly surpasses our own. At this point we will experience a …
Putting the birds into the bird's eye view of Google Maps.
Hendriks’s activity explores the positive transformative power of creative impulses and the importance of fundamental free scientific research.
An interview with Daisy Ginsberg, artist and synthetic biologist.
An artist visualizes WiFi waves across landmarks in Washington, DC.
The Paleo workout replicates the fitness regimen of our caveman ancestors.
Buq are electronic life forms that shift the experience of the street scape from the primarily visual to a more auditory experience.
Asian architects of AT Design Office want to build an incredible floating underwater metropolis that is also self-sufficient.
An artificial illumination that is "authentic" enough to replace natural light.
The latest subspecies in the Razorius line is the Razorius Gilletus Flexball. While Gillete proclaims they reinvented shaving, others argue Gillette's new razor is everything that's wrong with America.
On the emerging field of technologies that are worn close to or on the body
The wind turbines of the future will look like post-modern tree sculptures.
These paintings by Johnny Abrahams look almost computer made - except they are not. Working mainly with black and white acrylic paints and with a lot of patience, the American …
For the first time, researchers at the University of Linkoping , Sweden, have succeeded in establishing organic circuits within living plants. They combined electronics with the …
Dutch architect Chris Collaris and designers Ruben Esser, Sander Bakker and Patrick van der Gronde, saw a new sustainable potential in discarded mega oil tankers in the Southern …
Dom Indoors , is the latest research project developed by a construction robotics company called Asmbld . It includes a robotic system that can reconfigure an indoor space within …
A sky garden of cacti and artificial life forms floating a hundred thousand feet above the Earth's surface.
A group of architects looked at natural forests to design the bamboo skyscraper.
During the event The Biosphere Code, Stockholm University researcher Victor Galaz and colleagues outlined a manifesto for algorithms in the environment.
Nasa funded a program to turn astronauts’ poop into food.
A remote-controlled LED chip can make a mouse walk in circles.
Artists respond to biometric technology and data collecting software through subversive projects.
Begging ghetto blasters in Utrecht are making you question poverty.
The Octobot is the first of its kind made fully of soft materials and is aimed to pave the way towards a more safely interaction with humans.
Since plans for conquering the Red Planet are becoming more serious we should get acquainted with the possible view from up there.
The 5th largest airline in the United States, JetBlue, is growing potatoes at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Speculative designer Agi Haines' work focuses on (re)designing the human body, and speculates upon future scenarios.
Lunar Insurrection is a group of architects that explores the creative possibilities of the moon as a potential territory for human activity and inhabitation. In Vol.2 , their …
Nissan created the e-NV200 workspace: an electrical van with zero emissions that is packed with everything you need to work efficiently.
An experiment tries to prevent crime by identifying aggressive behavior with new surveillance technology before actual violence is used.
A canadian entrepreneur is trying to help reduce plastic pollution by building a village made out of plastic in Panama.
Turning cows into walking vending machines for milk.
We asked Shubhendu Sharm, our first ECO coin award nominee about his method, business and hopes for the future.
Ecosexuality reconceptualizes our perspective on the biosphere by having consensual experiences with it.
NNN fellow Govert Flint discusses Enrichers in Frame magazine.
Breakroom is a VR app that lets you fill your daily working tasks in a simulated nature surrounding, enhancing productivity and mental balance.
We recently spoke to Ilari Laamanen, to peel the outcrops of Momemtum9, and unveil the overlapping themes to the next nature philosophy.
We recently interviewed Lining Yao, Chinese interaction designer who uses organic materials as a technology that brings us back to nature.
Imagine being able to enter your office through a digital representation of reality. It sounds crazy, but it’s possible with augmented and virtual reality.
A Russian construction firm prints houses in 24 hours on site with their mobile 3D printer.
Using alternative reality as a cure for the socially excluded.
FrenchDreamTowers is an eco-friendly high-rise complex imagined by Paris-based architect studio XTU , for the city of Hangzhou in Southern China. Currently under study, the …
Don’t be surprised when you catch a human face on a screen strolling through the Van Abbe museum for contemporary art in Eindhoven, as these are Europe’s very first robotic …
Looking for a self-sustainable mobile microhome? Ecocapsule got you covered. This cute-as-pie capsule pod allows you to live completely off the grid in a low-energy, mobile …
There’s no place on earth untouched by human activity: This was clear as Lucas Foglia whizzed across the vast, white expanse of Alaska's Juneau Ice Field last summer. He was …
A team of German researchers published a study earlier this week indicating people can be duped into leaving a robot turned on just because it “asks” them to. The …
Not only is air pollution bad for our lungs and heart , it turns out it could actually be making us less intelligent, too. A recent study found that in elderly people living in …
Designers face an unprecedented urgency to alter their methods and reprioritize their goals to address the accelerating degradation of the environment. This new …
Some centuries ago landscape painters taught us to appreciate the quality of an untouched landscape. Ever since we have been doing everything to recreate it. We camouflage cell …
Rooftops covered with grass, vegetable gardens and lush foliage are now a common sight in many cities around the world. More and more private companies and city authorities are …
What do in-vitro human skin, spider silk and cow manure have in common? They are all unlikely materials that can cloth, protect and inspire humans, as realized by award-winning …
Oded Ezer is a typographer from Israel who never fails to push boundaries, or rather, discard them altogether. Ezer is a rebellious force that swings between commercial and …
Travelling to work, meeting friends for a catch up or just doing some shopping are often taken for granted by people with no known disabilities. For the visually impaired, these …
Every day brings fresh and ever more alarming news about the state of the global environment. To speak of mere “climate change” is inadequate now, for we are in a “ climate …
Facial recognition is increasingly being used in many countries around the world. In some cases the take up has been dramatic . As a result, people are being observed by cameras …
What does it mean to become a cyborg? Better yet, aren't we cyborgs already? What then, does it mean to have a body? Is a 'standard' desirable, what does that even mean, and what …
We live in a world in which we control the biology of a tomato at such precision, you could think of it as a product of technology, instead of a product of nature. Think about it, …
Patricia Piccinini is an artist interested in the relationship between humans and non-humans, the natural and the artificial, science and storytelling. Working with silicone, …
For years, normality has been stretched nearly to its breaking point, a rope pulled tighter and tighter, waiting for a nip of the black swan’s beak to snap it in two. Now that the …
Data Dating is an exhibition that explores what it means to find romance in the internet age. Love it or hate it, technology has transformed the way we date. So, how are digital …
As the viral pandemic continues to spread, so too does the world’s collective uncertainty. As a result, people are turning to media for some levity. And can you blame them. …
Interior based on bacteria, spaces morphing perception and the merging of man, animal and machine. These five must see exhibitions in the Netherlands explore the intersection of …
In imagining future urban landsapes, we need to answer questions about what can be sustained and what cannot, where cities can be located and where they cannot.
Lately it seems that every movie, book and video game we see is about future apocalypses. Science articles are also painting a grim future for Earth and its inhabitants. If it’s …
We now live in a world where plastics are becoming a part of our marine ecosystems. As a result, we strive hard to clean the plastics from our oceans. Dr. Max Liboiron ( Michif …
As winter arrives, so does the season of giving. Good gift giving is an art and can be quite the endeavor at times. But don’t worry, Next Nature is here to help! We present to you …
When the first baby is born off-Earth, it will be a milestone as momentous as humanity’s first steps out of Africa . Such a birth would mark the beginning of a multi–planet …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
Each year we search the globe for people and projects that have outstandingly contributed to make this planet a more sustainable place and honour them with our ECO Coin …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Sometimes a festival can be so much more. Tapping into arts, design, and electronic and experimental music festival, Sónar Lisboa (8-10 April) is one for the body and for the …
The sun lies at the heart of our solar system, providing life-giving light, heat and energy to Earth. The sun always gives, without asking for anything in return. In the …
Exploring the intersection of technology and art, a team of creatives presents a virtual performance that pushes the limits of human expression.
We have identified eight key defining moments that tell the story of geodesign, from ancient insight to artificial intelligence.
The way we currently build is not sustainable. We will have to develop a sustainable living environment that matches our human needs, intuitions and potential.
Ten books that continue to inspire the next nature philosophy—gathered for you to read this summer.
When Earth goes south, cowboys go all the way up. The Space Rush of 2020s has something to do with settler colonialism.