Brilliant Weekend Edition
Brilliant Weekend Edition
Real-world avatars, CyberTruck campers, 3D webcams, LEGO Macs, AI binoculars and more!
Brilliantly Bad Ideas
This mask turns your face into an avatar in The Real World
The Qudi Mask 2 works like a digital avatar. You cover your entire face with it, then blinking lights mimic your mouth movements and facial expressions. It’s a way to convey facial expressions while hiding your face. You can customize the look and behavior of the mask, for some reason. And it comes in three models: Robot with eyebrows, Kawaii with emotion glyphs, and XX with unique visual effects. Why would anyone buy this? The company calls it “an emotional filter to take a break from social pressure” — you know, if you feel self conscious and don’t want to attract attention to yourself.
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With a CyberTrailer for your CyberTruck Your CyberLife will be CyberComplete
A camper company called Living Vehicle is taking pre-orders for their upcoming CyberTrailer — a towable camper designed for (and after) the Tesla CyberTruck. The camper is solar powered and its features are wirelessly controllable from an Apple iPad. The company says it offers “unlimited water from air creation and recycling.” The CyberTrailer ships next year starting at $175,000.
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This new webcam streams your face in 3D
Acer unveiled its SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera, which no doubt represents the future of video-streaming webcams. The device has two 8-megapixel cameras, image stabilization and both auto and touch focus. You can use the camera to stream in 3D to Apple Vision Pro users; to meetings via Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams; and also in 3D to YouTube. It ships in Q3 for $549.
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When Apple fandom and LEGO enthusiasm collide
A LEGO maniac, who also loves old iMacs, submitted this design to LEGO Ideas (a crowdsourcing platform run by LEGO where fans aged 13 and older can propose new LEGO set ideas). It’s an iMac G3 from 1998.
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Binoculars are getting AI and AR
The French binoculars and telescopes company Unistellar is baking both AI and AR into its binoculars. The Envision binoculars product connects to a dedicated smartphone app (presumably via WiFi, Bluetooth or both — the company doesn’t say) that gives you AI-powered augmented reality information when you look through the binoculars. The information identifies what you’re looking at regardless of whether you’re looking at a planet or a squirrel. They can even be used for survival, pointing out trails and even sources of water. Another neat trick: You can lock onto an object, then hand the binoculars to someone else, who will be guided to the same object.
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Dumb smartphone accessories make zero sense
London-based designer Sinead Gorey created a range of smartphone and smartphone-referencing accessories called The Phonecore Collection for the HMD Global Oy UK Branch. (HMD Global a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer known for producing Nokia-branded mobile phones and smartphones. The company brands its own phone called the HMD Pulse Pro.) She’s designed sunglasses that look like two smartphones. Her Phonecore backpack is different from other backpacks in that it’s completely open — this in London, a city where 40% of all thefts involve smartphones. And finally, a belt with a holster that holds an HMD Pulse Pro. Most surprisingly, they’re actually selling all this stuff! No, really!
Shameless Self-Promotion
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Inside AI podcast: Google Gemini and the Wall of Noise
Check out all Elgan Media content!
My Location: Valdobbiadene, Italy
(Why Mike is always traveling.)
Love that Valdobbiadene picture.