The next best thing to a Babel fish

December 6, 2006 | Leave a Comment

Speech researcher Tanja Schlutz of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, has helped to develop a device that will automatically translate speech into a foreign language. Electrodes attached to the face and neck, detect and interpret the patterns of signals that are sent to the facial muscles as the person mouths words. Starting to not feel as guilty for putting off the French evening classes. Source: New Scientist

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Technology 

Undersound

December 6, 2006 | Leave a Comment

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Three designers who go by the name Undersound, are setting up a system whereby you will be able to send tracks (via Bluetooth) to and from your mobile phone to a wall mounted unit on the London Underground. The idea was based on the fact that people leave newspapers on the tube for people to read all the time, so why not extend this offering to music? We can assume that licensing restrictions may be an initial problem however, this is a great concept that I will certainly be adopting as soon as they come into the market.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Music, Technology 

Stella Artois

December 6, 2006 | Leave a Comment

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Explore the trap and try to get your hands on Stella Artois. The device has actually been created both in real life and on the web and consists of six different challenges that you can either undertake yourself or challenge a friend. The real life trap was designed and built by Toronto based agency Lowe Roche currently located on the corner of Avenue Road and Bloor Street in Toronto. The digital version of the trap was developed by Stockholm-based interactive agency Lowe Tesch. This is an excellent example of just how far digital interactive games have come. With beautiful graphics and great navigation, Lowe Tesch have really given the game a slick look and feel whilst not overcomplicating what is a challenging and sometimes frustrating piece of advertising.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Advertising, Blog, Games, Marketing, Technology 

Big Brother Second Life has begun

December 6, 2006 | Leave a Comment

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15 participants from 3 time zones online for 24 hours a day. The residents of the house will spend at least 8 hours a day online until 4th January 2007. The winner of the competition will receive a tropical island in second Life. The residents have been selected from 300 candidates from 30 different countries. Each week the house members have to decide which 3 residents must leave the house. The house is on Big Brother island and everything on the island was built by Endemol Netherlands.

Posted by Jamie Coomber | Filed Under Blog, Experiential, Social network