Search results for toys-are-us

Visual of Fake for Real: Toys are Us

Fake for Real: Toys are Us

Play can be a wonderful way to learn new things. Even young lions obtain their predatory skills through play. Don't worry - it's only a game! Humor can bring relief in tense …

Visual of White Blood Cell War/Game

White Blood Cell War/Game

Blood Wars is an  art-science installation that will pit white  blood cells from two different people against each other in a "tournament" that aims to see which person has the …

Visual of A Clockwork Forest

A Clockwork Forest

Has nature become a fairytale or do we want it to be one? In their installation The Clockwork Forest , artist collective Greyworld seems to opt for the latter. The work of art …

Visual of Shock Therapy for a Better Self

Shock Therapy for a Better Self

The Pavlok wristband gives its wearers an electric shock if they fail at hitting work deadlines or completing fitness goals.

Visual of The Advent of Connected Toys

The Advent of Connected Toys

It is the era of smart toys, but they certainly raise difficult questions for parents.

Visual of The Next Nature Sneaker Series

The Next Nature Sneaker Series

We present for the real sneaker heads amongst us, six new futuristic pieces of footwear. Going from pineapple leather to self lacing 'Back to the Future' Nikes.

Visual of Fitness Tracker to Make Happy Meal Healthier

Fitness Tracker to Make Happy Meal Healthier

McDonald’s provided their Happy Meals with a high-tech activity tracker toy.

Visual of Barbie Becomes a Hologram of Herself

Barbie Becomes a Hologram of Herself

Barbie has been turned into a hologram version of herself and will now be your kids assistend.

Visual of Robo Wunderkind is a modular robot even a five-year-old can program

Robo Wunderkind is a modular robot even a five-year-old can program

Meet the Robo Wunderkind, a new breed of smart toys that introduces children to the basics of coding and robotics in a playful way. Advanced technologies are increasingly embedded …

Visual of Babybunny - stuffed pets as toys

Babybunny - stuffed pets as toys

Nowadays, young children are so used to the omnipresence of disposable toys. When their parents buy them a living pet animal they are unable to take care of it. Hamster tend to …

Visual of Axe Effect - Almost like the Real Thing?

Axe Effect - Almost like the Real Thing?

I guess we shouldn't expect better from Axe. I'm sure it makes watching internet porn feel so much more like the real thing. One of those products that is a clear signal to RUN if …

Visual of Can crushing Frog

Can crushing Frog

Joyful recycling from Japan, comes this powerful frog that can crush cans! You can buy it from this Japanese store . A less whimsical can crusher can be found at Amazon for $20. …

Visual of Chewing = Browsing

Chewing = Browsing

Japanese researchers have developed head gear that lets people control devices such as an iPod using their teeth. Now that is not really new, except when you take in mind that …

Visual of Deep in the Forest : Owls, Logs and Noise

Deep in the Forest : Owls, Logs and Noise

Starting as noise makers, the owlproject work on different products which are deeply rooted in nature. And electronics.With their logs the owlproject travel around the world, …

Visual of Delete-Key-Eraser

Delete-Key-Eraser

Remember no-tech? Back in the days, we would ocassionally write down things with a pencil on paper. If we made a mistake, we would rub something that looks like an delete button …

Visual of Digital trashcan

Digital trashcan

The TEMPO is a fake product with a real idea. As I am really neat and eager to clean up my digital desk I tend to throw away too much files. This digital trashcan copies the stuff …

Visual of Do you

Do you "MIND"?

NeuroSky (founded in 2004) innovator in "wearable" bio-sensor/signal processing systems and SEGA TOYS are developing mind-controlled computer games and next generation consumer …

Visual of Giant Plush Microbes

Giant Plush Microbes

The bear is a wild animal, a predator and hostile to man. Yet somewhere in the beginning of the 20th century someone caught the idea of making a cuddly toy out of it. Perhaps …

Visual of Hamster Shredder

Hamster Shredder

Tom Ballhatchet introduces mice and hamsters into the officegarden. tomballhatchet.com

Visual of Hyper Animals

Hyper Animals

No no, don't worry! These hypernatural animals aren't the genetic surprise of some mad scientist, it is artist Sarina Brewer resampling, remixing and stitching together her Custom …

Visual of Pleo - the resurrected robot dino

Pleo - the resurrected robot dino

Ever since Rosie from 'The Jetsons,' robots have been the next big thing, but the business case was never there. So far, companion robots have been a big flop in the market , but …

Visual of Smiley Cushion

Smiley Cushion

I don't know how it is with you, but to me sending smileys in emails or text messages always feels a bit primitive. It's not that I don't like the icons, I really do. I just don't …

Visual of Build a better being

Build a better being

Will Wright's hugely successful games SimCity and The Sims let players shape the structure of urban areas and the lives of virtual humans; his upcoming game, Spore , lets them …

Visual of Car tech makes reality look like a game

Car tech makes reality look like a game

Tech company Fuijtsu released a new way to look around you while driving a car. Following the old fashioned neck turning and mirroring this tech has cameras around the vehicle to …

Visual of Catch and eat fishing by phone

Catch and eat fishing by phone

For mobile gamers in western Japan, a hearty seafood dinner awaits just a few key clicks away, thanks to a unique new cellphone fishing game that rewards successful players with …

Visual of Gameboy Bricks a million years from now

Gameboy Bricks a million years from now

A million years from now that hand would probably look more evolved, but the idea is nice: What if we would mold objects of the now into stone or bricks to preserve them over time …

Visual of Hemp–Mote

Hemp–Mote

This weeks peculiar image gives gaming that "natural" touch: the Hemp–Mote by dhrek.com Made from 3 kinds of 100% natural hemp string on the outside, while remaining 100% …

Visual of High Performance Hip

High Performance Hip

A commercial by an orthopaedic reconstruction company introducing the next generation of joint replacements: " Highly advanced hips and knees. Engineered to meet the needs of your …

Visual of Human genome sequencing soon child play?

Human genome sequencing soon child play?

Starting next spring, a complete human-genome sequence can be ordered the Californian startup Complete Genomics for just $5,000, Techreview reports. Currently sequencing still …

Visual of iDog

iDog

Or you could get an iDog. This electronic animal with musical sensibilities. It sits on your desk and sings along with the music you are playing. Dog haters don't need to worry; …

Visual of It came out of the Sea

It came out of the Sea

A giant, smiling Lego man has been fished out of the sea in the Dutch resort of Zandvoort. Workers at a drinks stall rescued the 2.5-metre tall model. "We saw something bobbing …

Visual of iWater

iWater

Somehow I feel there is some deeper meaning in this cheesy video. No? See also: Water in my Phone .

Visual of Letting Go

Letting Go

Inspired by the death of his grandfather, LEGO builder Shannon Ocean visualizes the chaos that lies beyond death in this thoughtful and somewhat disturbing piece called " Letting …

Visual of Next Rabbit

Next Rabbit

This is not a 3-D-animation of a fictional creature, but an actual existing animal: the Angora Rabbit.

Visual of Pondering the Future

Pondering the Future

Peculiar image of the week. Langley researcher Elton W. Miller stands poised in the Propeller Research Tunnel, as if pondering the future of aviation in this image from mid-1927. …

Visual of Popple

Popple

With her babybunnies series provocateur/artist/designer Tinkebell aims to provide an analysis of the consumptive attitude people have in relation to their pets. This latest work – …

Visual of A robot that controls your remote controls

A robot that controls your remote controls

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, …

Visual of Robotic R)evolution

Robotic R)evolution

In 1921 the word "Robot" (meaning "labor") was introduced by Czech writer Karel ?apek . In his play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots), robots seem happy to work for humans. …

Visual of Tail communicator

Tail communicator

'The LED Dog Tail Communicator' is an initiative of James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau, and it is part of the larger 'Augmented Animals' project. Its focus points to technological …

Visual of Teddy's Atonomy

Teddy's Atonomy

Wool sculptor Stephanie Metz researched the meaning of 'cute' through the morphology of some Teddy bear species. Related posts: PacMan's Scull | Animatus

Visual of Aging Barbie

Aging Barbie

You wouldn't give it to her but Barbie is already over 50 years old. The doll made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in  1959 and has been a young girls (and gays) …

Visual of Anthropomorphic 3d webcam

Anthropomorphic 3d webcam

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 …

Visual of Augmented Phone Browsing

Augmented Phone Browsing

This video shows the first beta version of TwittARound – an augmented reality Twitter viewer on the iPhone 3Gs. It shows live tweets around your location on the horizon. Because …

Visual of Cursor Kite

Cursor Kite

Cursor Kite brings the desktop of your computer outdoors. Nerdy? Yep, but the youtube video of the mouse pointer exploring the beach is fun to watch. Related: Boomeranged …

Visual of Epidermits – The Tissue Engineered Toy

Epidermits – The Tissue Engineered Toy

The world of tissue engineering is usually associated with medical applications . But how about some tissue engineered toys? The Epidermits toy is the Karten Design firm 's …

Visual of Eyeborg

Eyeborg

The Eyeborg Project is the work of Rob Spence, a 36 year old filmmaker residing in Toronto, Canada and Kosta Grammatis – an unemployed engineer from San Francisco, California. …

Visual of Foldable Icons

Foldable Icons

In response to the Boomeranged Metaphors post of last week, visual wizard Ton Meijdam sent us these foldable icons. Print them, fold them and use them to decorate your 3D desktop …

Visual of Millions of gadgets unused in Britain

Millions of gadgets unused in Britain

Gadgets! You love them when you buy them, but what happens next? Over half of Brits have abandoned gadgets because they don't know how to use them properly.  Seventy-one per cent …

Visual of Norwegian forest cat on batteries

Norwegian forest cat on batteries

Robots are penetrating our homes... disguised as cats? On July 30, Sega Toys releases an el-cheapo simulation cat toy for robot cat lovers with allergies or pet-unfriendly …

Visual of Not so Happy Meals

Not so Happy Meals

This week a Brazilian prosecutor asked a judge to nationally ban toys sold with meals in fast-food outlets like McDonald's and Burger King, because it can lead children to develop …

Visual of Objects of Desire

Objects of Desire

Created by  Alex Sandwell Kliszynsk . Via Posthuman blues .

Visual of Real Baby Dolls

Real Baby Dolls

We already know that guys love dolls ... Now learn why some mothers can never stop playing with dolls and that cuteness is defined in the mind's eye. Image credit: Kentish Babies …

Visual of Real Mario (video)

Real Mario (video)

These college students perform a "live-action" skit of the old school Super Mario Brothers video game at a talent show. Virtual for real in a high school musical  (hilarious …

Visual of Real Mario (closeup)

Real Mario (closeup)

In next nature, video game characters become part of your everyday environment, however I am no sure if I would hire this guy to do my plumbing. This hyperreal Mario was created …

Visual of Recycling Robot Takes the Streets of Italy

Recycling Robot Takes the Streets of Italy

Let the robots do the dirty work! This real-life Wall-E Recycling robot, part of the $3.9 million DustBot research program that is trying to improve urban hygiene, collects trash …

Visual of Robot costume

Robot costume

Tiger meets tiger. Apparently some of the owners of a vacuum cleaning robot feel the need to 'costumize' their device. We are now awaiting the witty bio-robotics company that …

Visual of The Nanosong

The Nanosong

The American Chemical Society is holding a contest seeking short videos that answer the question: "What is nano ?" UC Berkeley graduate student Patrick Bennett and his colleagues …

Visual of Chinese Crayons

Chinese Crayons

Though I did not eat as many crayons as PiPi growing up, I’m sure we all remember the first day we tasted wax. How can something *look* so tasty, yet be totally bland. But I …

Visual of Drive in Wheel

Drive in Wheel

The Drive in Wheel is an unique and spectacular giant wheel made especially for cars. The wheel is 100 feet high and takes four cars on one trip. City sightseeing has never been …

Visual of Geminoid Female

Geminoid Female

Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro ( Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaska University) has done it again! This time in coöperation with robot-maker Kokoro Co. Ltd . Objective: to …

Visual of Grow-a-NanoRaptor

Grow-a-NanoRaptor

Now here is an example of the fusion between the made and the born , most kids would crave for. Much better than the robotic dino toy. Designed by evolution! Hopefully this …

Visual of Living with First-Person shooter disease

Living with First-Person shooter disease

Now how is this for a Boomeranged Metaphor ? Gene suffers from first person shooter disease, also known as Duke Nukem’s disease. It is such a sadness. See also: When Facebook gets …

Visual of Marching Back to the Tribe

Marching Back to the Tribe

Hurray, the Next Nature tribe is growing! Today, we’ve welcomed our 2,000th friend on Facebook . And what better way is there to honour this person with a celebrational parade …

Visual of Memory Helmet

Memory Helmet

Protection is the fundamental purpose of the helmet. This helmet, a conceptual design project by Seungjoo Lee , enables the storage and protection of memories. Plug in your USB to …

Visual of Sea Breacher

Sea Breacher

A relatively new kind of marine species is called "Seabreacher" . These watercraft vessels started appearing from 1997 and have been evolving at a rapid pace. Seabreachers enable …

Visual of SMSlingshot

SMSlingshot

Urban intervention, naughty boy-style! The public media interventionists of VR/Urban have designed a cool tool to intervene into next nature: the SMSlingshot. A wooden, embedded …

Visual of The Keyboard for a new generation

The Keyboard for a new generation

Peculiar object of the week. Via

Visual of Toy Emissions

Toy Emissions

You know the HeHe collective from their laser projection on a power plant emission cloud . But did you know these folks have a real emission clouds fetish going on? In this …

Visual of A Bug's Afterlife

A Bug's Afterlife

When fruit flies die, they don't go to heaven, but they do get to go to outer space. At least that's the conceit of artist  HsienYu Cheng's Collector: Afterlife , which zaps bugs …

Visual of Flap to Freedom

Flap to Freedom

It works like this. Position yourself with a friend in front of a battery hen and flap your arms as fast as you can when the music sets in. The harder you flap the faster your …

Visual of Gamers Solve Enzyme Riddle

Gamers Solve Enzyme Riddle

In a vivd example of the blur between culture and nature, players using an online game called Foldit have helped solve complex questions for researchers about enzyme models. The …

Visual of Gaming Glitches

Gaming Glitches

Some beautiful images from games gone wrong. If you have more of them, post a link in the comments Via

Visual of Manko & The Children [#9]

Manko & The Children [#9]

As they went down the elevator shaft, going deeper underground, neither Nada nor Manko spoke a word. To Manko it seemed to take forever. In his mind, he went over the long …

Visual of Phone Camouflage

Phone Camouflage

In twenty years , the mobile phone has become man's closest utensil. Can you imagine living without this umbilical box? Too bad it's often still a box that we hold to our ears... …

Visual of Playing with Microbes – Biotic Games

Playing with Microbes – Biotic Games

Stanford researchers are developing 'biotic games' involving paramecia and other living organisms. So far, they have created three games that mimic classic video games. The …

Visual of Pump My Ride

Pump My Ride

Lovely image of a really fat car by Austrian artist Erwin Wurm . This image is for a Belgian eco-awareness campaign.

Visual of Real women advertise RealDolls

Real women advertise RealDolls

At the 2011 Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, a photograph of a flesh-and-blood woman advertises a RealDoll, the life-sized sex mannequin made for people with a fetish for …

Visual of Robo-teacher

Robo-teacher

Say hello to teacher Engkey ! The city of Daegu — South Korea, introduced 29 robot teachers in 19 elementary schools as part of a large scale project to robotize teaching. The …

Visual of Steve Jobs 1955 -2011

Steve Jobs 1955 -2011

Steve Jobs , former Apple CEO, passed away on Wednesday October 5th after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Technology conceived from his vision has changed the world …

Visual of Video Game Logic Wins This Round

Video Game Logic Wins This Round

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, …

Visual of When Siri met Siri…

When Siri met Siri…

Like with pets and babies, we seem to like it when devices mimic our behaviour and social patterns. In the process of domesticating technology, we teach products to behave like …

Visual of Bunny Doesn't Grow on Trees

Bunny Doesn't Grow on Trees

Having trouble getting the kids to eat their fruits and vegetables? Try turning their 5-a-day into a trendy, collectible toy. We've seen Buddha fruit  and square watermelons …

Visual of Enter the self-driving car

Enter the self-driving car

This promo video for the Google autonomous car is pretty exciting. I'm sure in a decade driving our own car will seem so old-fashioned,thinking how we ever trusted the physical …

Visual of Gangnam Autonomy

Gangnam Autonomy

"A robot is a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. Its components are usually electro-mechanical and are guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry. By …

Visual of How To Grow Your Own Sneaker

How To Grow Your Own Sneaker

Raymond Ong creates uniquely customized fish leather by transferring the DNA of existing animal patterns on the skin of stingray fishes. This leather is then used to produce highly personalized sneakers.

Visual of Millions Mourn After Massacre Leaves City Littered with (Virtual) Dead

Millions Mourn After Massacre Leaves City Littered with (Virtual) Dead

"Earlier today, certain realms were affected by an in-game exploit, resulting in the deaths of player characters and non-player characters in some of the major cities," wrote a …

Visual of Playing With Pigs

Playing With Pigs

Besides children and pets , it turns out that pigs are also attracted to interactive interfaces. Pig Chase is a computer game in which pigs and people can play together. The aim …

Visual of Playing with Your Food (Industry)

Playing with Your Food (Industry)

Back in the old days, we played with a  Playmobil ®   farm. With a farmhouse, two pigs and a chicken, and it was a fair reflection of how the food industry worked. Nowadays small …

Visual of Rule #7: Respect Social Standards

Rule #7: Respect Social Standards

Anthropomorphic products enter the human social space. Humans have the most complex social behavior of any organism on Earth. Anyone or anything trying to join in should be careful to do it right.

Visual of The Relative Size of Old Nature

The Relative Size of Old Nature

Created by Cary Huang, this interactive scale of the universe shows the relative sizes of everything from quarks to the Hoover Dam. Be prepared for some cosmic gee-whiz moments …

Visual of Where Games are Made

Where Games are Made

For his Made of Myth series, Marc Da Cunha Lopes goes back to the places where the elements of great game classics were made. You really didn't think it was all virtual, right? …

Visual of “Soccket” Ball Generates Free Electricity

“Soccket” Ball Generates Free Electricity

It looks like a normal soccer ball, but Soccket has a secret: a hole for a charging cable. Designed by two Harvard students, the ball has a pendulum-like mechanism inside that …

Visual of Digital Sharing Becomes Physical

Digital Sharing Becomes Physical

The embedded "share" button in the new Playstation assumes that sharing is at the center of our existence.

Visual of Google's Shoes Talk to Runners

Google's Shoes Talk to Runners

Need a personal trainer? Google's new sneakers fulfill the role of a human coach.

Visual of If Barbie Had Human Proportions

If Barbie Had Human Proportions

What does Barbie look like when she has the proportions of a normal 19-year-old?

Visual of Serious Gamers Assist Society

Serious Gamers Assist Society

New citizen science games are bringing gamification to serious issues.

Visual of Making the Skin your New Touchscreen

Making the Skin your New Touchscreen

A tool that could turn the arm into a touch screen display.

Visual of The Human Hamster Wheel Desk

The Human Hamster Wheel Desk

The Human Hamster Wheel Desk is the latest result of workspace evolution. Office work has domesticated us!

Visual of What’s the Point If We Can’t Have Fun?

What’s the Point If We Can’t Have Fun?

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.

Visual of A Self-Aware Mario Able to Learn and Feel

A Self-Aware Mario Able to Learn and Feel

Super Mario is now able to learn and feel in the confines of his 8-bit universe.

Visual of Analogue vs Digital: Add, Browse, Destroy

Analogue vs Digital: Add, Browse, Destroy

Just like Lego, Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks.

Visual of Changing your Mood on Demand with Brain-Altering Wearable Technology

Changing your Mood on Demand with Brain-Altering Wearable Technology

Thync, is a new brain-altering wearable technology that promises to “shift your state of mind and conquer life” by allowing its users to change their mood whenever they need it.

Visual of Pac-Man Boomeranged in the Real World

Pac-Man Boomeranged in the Real World

A life-size replica of the fammous1980s arcade game, complete with big ghosts and pac-dots.

Visual of The World's First Virtual Reality Park

The World's First Virtual Reality Park

A virtual reality theme park where visitors can explore the virtual world in a physical environment.

Visual of Gameplay of the Crowds

Gameplay of the Crowds

Australian programmer started a social experiment called “Twitch Plays Pokémon”. Over a Million People Play Pokémon in Social Experiment

Visual of Are There Pokémon on the Moon?

Are There Pokémon on the Moon?

Pokémon Go is slowly taking over our planet. People know more Pokémon than bird or tree species. However, avid players will have noticed that some of the first-gen Pokémon are not available in the game yet.

Visual of Disney-Themed Prosthetics for Children

Disney-Themed Prosthetics for Children

Open Bionics is helping children in need for bionic hands. With Iron Man, Frozen, or Star Wars-themed prosthetics, their fantasies become reality.

Visual of Pokemon Go and Virtual Property

Pokemon Go and Virtual Property

What happens when someone places a virtual property on top of a physical one?

Visual of Lego Bricks Come Alive

Lego Bricks Come Alive

Lego announced the next generation of building bricks, bringing the creations to life.

Visual of Tiny Food Made in a Tiny Kitchen

Tiny Food Made in a Tiny Kitchen

A small introduction to tiny cooking.

Visual of How AI could revolutionize the teaching profession

How AI could revolutionize the teaching profession

In various parts of the world, access to education is, or risks becoming, a huge crisis. UNESCO estimates that around 20 million new teachers are needed worldwide - and that's not …

Visual of A guide to parenting with AI Barbie

A guide to parenting with AI Barbie

The rise of artificial intelligence has brought us more advanced toys. If AI Barbie and her talking robotic friends are going to raise our kids, what would their parenting style …