Real Cracked Log Lamps: For That Campfire Feeling Indoors

There’s nothing quite like telling stories around a campfire. But what if you’re inside? And what if you don’t have a fireplace like me? Enter Tasmanian artist Duncan Meerding’s beautifully crafted Cracked Log Lamps, salvaged pieces of wood that he’s outfitted with a lightbulb socket inside so they glow warmly through the cracks. Quick, you turn the log on, I’ll run out and get the ingredients to make s’mores!

Duncan is legally blind with only 5% of his sight remaining, so he works in the medium of light and shadow because they’re still elements he can perceive and harness with his limited visibility. Work with what you’ve got – my dad always used to tell me that, but I never knew what it meant until now. A much more profound message than I gave it credit for at the time.

The logs are available with a natural or charred finish and cost around $270 apiece, meaning I’ll probably try making my own for cheaper and failing miserably before deciding to buy one professionally crafted by Duncan. I only hope I don’t accidentally burn the house down during my little learning experience.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Autonomous driving is here to transform the lumber industry

If you thought the Tesla Semi was an impressive beast of a machine, Einride’s T-Log is sure to change your mind. Imagine a powerful electric truck… Now imagine it without a driver or even a cockpit. Einride’s T-Log, built for Sweden’s billion-dollar logging industry, features a design with practically no cockpit, as the truck comes with a platform for holding the logs, and a slim front that’s all autonomous. It even ditches the windshield for a display that is only outdone by the stunning, U-shaped headlamps below.

Einride’s autonomous driving chops come powered by Nvidia’s Drive platform, and the truck is built with a cornucopia of sensors such as radars, lidars, cameras, and intelligent routing software that helps optimize its performance, enabling it to deliver at faster times, using lesser energy and conserving battery life. The 300kWh battery sitting within the T-Log can power the truck for 120 miles on a single charge.

The T-Log isn’t completely autonomous though. It comes with a manual override that lets you remotely control the truck like a drone, using Phantom Auto’s teleoperation technology, allowing experienced drivers to maneuver the truck through sticky situations from hundreds of miles away using a low-latency cellular connection. However, the lack of a human operating the truck from within proves to be highly beneficial. It cuts down the risk of human error at the wheel, allows the truck to operate 24×7 without taking mandated sleep breaks (as humans would), while the absence of a waged driver itself helps cut down on a tonne of expenses.

With its edgy, future-forward design and the ability to transport logs without manpower, Einride’s T-Log aims at creating a cost-competitive transport solution that’s high on performance and low on risk.

Designer: Einride

einride_tlog_1

einride_tlog_2

einride_tlog_3

einride_tlog_4

einride_tlog_5

einride_tlog_6

einride_tlog_7

einride_tlog_8

einride_tlog_9

Google’s Self-Driving Cars Log 700K Miles in City Street Driving


Google’s self-driving cars were pooh-poohed in the beginning as a vain pursuit. But the Google Lab has integrated so much electronic stuff into these cars that they have entered a progressive phase....

High court takes cases on cellphone searches


Supreme Court will weigh police power to search arrestees' cellphones without a warrant WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether police need a warrant to...
    






Questions and answers about Obama’s new NSA rules


Questions and answers about Obama's plan to rein in NSA snooping on phone records and emails WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is ordering changes to spy programs that sweep up...
    






Facebook and NBC Look Towards A Social Winter Olympics, Just Don’t Mention The Tape Delay Or #NBCfail


NBC and Facebook have announced a content sharing deal for coverage around this year’s Winter Olympics from Sochi in Russia. It continues Facebook’s ‘social’ relationship with the Olympics via NBC,...
    






Report: NSA maps pathway into computers


Report: NSA maps pathway into foreign computers using radio waves and covert chips WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Security Agency has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers...