That OBD II port that has been installed on just about every US-bound automobile since 1996? It’s potential has just been tapped. For years, ambiguous dashboard lights have clued motorists in on internal issues, but driving to a body shop just to borrow a data port reader is so last decade. Enter the Automatic Link — a simplistic nub that plugs into said port and utilizes Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to … Read More → "Automatic Link converts your iPhone into a personal driving assistant"

There’s nothing wrong with the image. Italian artist Ferruccio Laviani carved his Good Vibrations cabinet to make it look like a glitchy photo. Don’t stare at it for more than 30 seconds or you may get a headache.
via Neatorama

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Michael B. Morgan, CEO of Morgan & Claypool Publishers, writes:

In 2009, we invited Aaron Swartz to contribute a short work to our series on Web Engineering (now The Semantic Web: Theory and Technology). He produced a draft of about 40 pages — a “first version” to be extended later — which unfortunately never happened.

After his death in January, we decided (with his family’s blessing) that it would be a good idea to publish this work so people could read his ideas about programming the Web, his ambivalence about different aspects of Semantic Web … Read More → "Aaron Swartz’s unfinished monograph on the “programmable Web”"

At the laboratory of Dr. Luis Liz Marzán, Ikerbasque researcher and Scientific Director at CIC biomaGUNE, they are developing an ambitious research project, known as ‘Plasmaquo’, aimed at developing a sensor which enables detecting the molecules that are released by bacteria to communicate with each other and, thus, understanding their paths of communication. This project has a budget of 2.3 million euros, provided by the European Research Council (ERC) and which places the … Read More → "Nano-sensors for listening to the ‘conversation’ of bacteria"

… Read More → "See water run through a 24hz sine wave"

There likely aren’t too many people in the world crying for ways to exponentially increase the number of digital pictures in their collections, but Memoto’s hoping to help wearers rethink picture taking as they know it. The device, which is roughly the size of an SD card case, clips on a shirt collar, taking five-megapixel pictures every 30 seconds without prompting, running on a battery that’ll last around two days. The idea is to … Read More → "Memoto lapel camera turns your life into one big photoblog"

Starbucks baristas will write your name on the side of your coffee cup, but that’s no where near the level of personalization the Barista Bot is capable of. After snapping your portrait with a webcam, it uses a robotic arm to then draw your face in the milk foam atop your latte. That’s overkill in the best way possible.
via Gizmodo</ … Read More → "Barista bot paints your portrait on your latte"

Neurowear, who first came on the scene with those mood controlled animal ears and tails, has now developed a mood-sensing pair of headphones that play songs based on how you’re feeling…

A big white pair of headphones are connected to a sensor that rests on your forehead and a dangling clip for your earlobe (a la the … Read More → "Mind-reading headphones play music based on mood"

If your decor choices aren’t governed by concerns over child safety, then the stark angles and pointy corners of Mirco Kirsch’s origami lamp just might land it a home on your desk. It’s another flat-pack engineering marvel that assembles in just five minutes with nothing but a few strategic folds.
via Read More → "If you can fold a paper airplane, you can assemble this LED lamp"

Sexuality, political leanings and even intelligence can be gleaned from the things you choose to “like” on Facebook, a study suggests.  Researchers at Cambridge University used algorithms to predict religion, politics, race and sexual orientation.  The research, published in the journal PNAS, forms surprisingly accurate personal portraits, researchers said.
via Read More → "Facebook ‘likes’ predict personality"