The Cubic Wireless Mouse ditches ergonomics for visual appeal

Shattering the mouse-design-archetype in glorious fashion, the Cubic mouse takes on a less ergonomics-driven design approach and a more, dare I say, cubist one. The Cubic Wireless Mouse concept (yes it’s a concept and not a real one, so calm down) comes with a hexagonal design and uses bright colors… something you’d agree most mice don’t really do. Rather than being designed as a peripheral for your computer, the Cubic Mouse takes on the appearance of a jewel that you’d be proud to keep on your desk.

Its symmetric design would confuse you regarding basic stuff like button placement, but that’s where the Cubic Mouse uses design details efficiently. With a 3D pattern on the top, the mouse cleverly tells you how to use it. The buttons lie right under the majority of lines pointing in the same direction, divided equally between the left and right-click. It isn’t as intuitive as you’d think, but it does achieve its goal to be a mouse that challenges the rules of computer peripheral design. The Cubic Mouse is designed to be something that your eyes and hands almost gravitate towards, and if you’re a bit of a design purist, you’d argue that it isn’t ergonomic enough; but hey. It’s just a concept… and a pretty beautiful one too!

Designer: Kim Hyunsoec

Is there a human inside?

First there was Jeeves, then came JARVIS, and now there’s Cubic. Cubic isn’t like your average Siri. Cubic is Siri’s big daddy. A standalone device, Cubic is mega-efficient and has a warm personality for something who’s heart is a digital chip. Literally a chunk from the future, it’s the closest ACTUAL thing to having an interactive e-assistant. Cubic controls all your devices for you, makes wonderful conversation, and pretty much makes your life beautiful. With that kind of life-altering capability, let’s hope Cubic doesn’t turn against mankind!

Designer: ObjectLab

Author: Sarang Sheth










Cubic: Your Own A.I. Personal Assistant

Cubic

Looking for a personal assistant but don’t want to actually hire one? Cubic, a gadget that’s supposed to take care of almost every need you have in terms of organizing your day and making your life a lot more comfortable just might be the answer.

So what is Cubic? Something of a digital co-pilot, which users interact with by speaking or using companion apps on mobile devices. Services such as IFTTT, Nest, Hue, Spotify, SmartThings, Homeboy and more currently support it.

It’s currently over on the Indiegogo crowd funding website looking to raise $100,000 in pledges to make the jump from concept to production.

The premise for the gadget is as following:

With Cubic, you can harness the power of all of your scattered technology from anywhere. You just talk to Cubic, and Cubic gets things done. If you’re at work, Cubic can adjust the temperature in your home, turn off your lights, lock your doors, set your alarm, and more. On the go, Cubic can remind you where you parked, tell you how many calories you’ve burned, and make funny comments about the news. In the car, Cubic can give you traffic updates and read you emails. You can even ask Cubic to repeat that funny comment he made and have him Tweet it for you. At home, Cubic can tell you when your favorite show is on, play music, order delivery, read instructions while you cook, turn off your alarm, tell you knock-knock jokes, anything. Users can connect with Cubic through a range of devices that have you covered at home and on the go. And thanks to Cubic’s developer-friendly, open API, there are tons of opportunities for integration with gadgets and services yet to come.

In short? An actual personal assistant, only in the form of a small box. It’s pretty much all the apps you use on your tablet or smartphone and in your home all crammed into one unit, with the ability to interact with it through other mediums. Almost like a digital friend, although unlike the Tamaguchi, you don’t have to feed it.

For more, go to Indiegogo

For a bit more on Artificial intelligence, check out this post about the moves Google are making in the field.

Vers Audio 1Q Natural Bluetooth Speaker: Mobile Sound Cubed

Whether you are always on the road, or spend a lot of time at your friends’ houses, Bluetooth speakers are a nice thing to have around. This little cubic speaker looks like a good way to go if you need to share your tunes on the go. The 1Q is a portable Bluetooth speaker that’s housed in wood, resulting in better quality sound than typical plastic enclosures.

1q vers audio speaker bluetooth mobile

1Q was designed by Vers Audio and launched through Kickstarter. This little 3-inch speaker is designed to work in tandem with another to deliver stereo sound. The output is 6.5W, so it won’t knock off your socks, but the designer says that it’s optimized for 1Q’s small size. The charge is supposed to last about 10 hours, which isn’t bad.

1q vers audio speaker bluetooth mobile walnut

The project is already fully funded, and surpassed its humble $10,000 goal almost tenfold! You’ll have to wait until a retail version is released to get your own, which will sell for $120 before the holidays.

1q vers audio speaker bluetooth mobile bamboo

[via Kickstarter]


OLED Display Blocks pack six 128 x 128 panels, we go hands-on at MIT (video)

Image

How do you develop an OLED display that gives a 360-degree perspective? Toss six 1.25-inch panels into a plastic cube, then turn it as you see fit. That's an overly simplistic explanation for the six-sided display on hand at the MIT Media Lab today, which is quite limited in its current form, but could eventually serve an enormous variety of applications. Fluid Interfaces Group Research Assistant Pol Pla i Conesa presented several such scenarios for his Display Blocks, which consist of 128 x 128-pixel OLED panels. Take, for example, the 2004 film Crash, which tells interweaving stories that could be presented simultaneously with such a display -- simply rotate the cube until you land on a narrative you'd like to follow, and the soundtrack will adjust to match. It could also go a long way when it comes to visualizing data, especially when in groups -- instead of virtually constructing profiles of individuals who applied for a slot at MIT, for example, or segments of a business that need to be organized based on different parameters, you could have each assigned to a cube, which can be tossed into an accepted or rejected pile, and repositioned as necessary.

Imagine having a group of display cubes when it comes time to plan the seating chart for a reception -- each cube could represent one individual, with a color-coded background and a name or photo up top, with different descriptive elements on each side. The same could apply to products at monstrous companies like Samsung or Sony, where executives need to make planning decisions based on product performance, and could benefit greatly from having all of the necessary information for a single gadget listed around each cube. On a larger scale, the cubes could be used to replace walls and floors in a building -- want to change the color of your wallpaper? Just push a new image to the display, and dedicate a portion of the wall for watching television, or displaying artwork. You could accomplish this with networked single-sided panels as well, but that wouldn't be nearly as much fun. The Media Lab had a working prototype on display today, which demonstrated the size and basic functionality, but didn't have an adjustable picture. Still, it's easy to imagine the potential of such a device, if, of course, it ever becomes a reality. As always, you'll find our hands-on demo just past the break.

Continue reading OLED Display Blocks pack six 128 x 128 panels, we go hands-on at MIT (video)

OLED Display Blocks pack six 128 x 128 panels, we go hands-on at MIT (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments