Google Glass: Don’t Be A Glasshole
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Expert Talk: “We are at a Gutenberg moment of healthcare”
We know Yuri van Geest as the Dutch Ambassador and double alumnus from the Singularity University. But he is also the co-founder of Quantified Self event in Europe. This personal data stream is also part of our Things research program because we are very interested in how this self-management/monitoring with wearable tech will affect the agency of individuals, especially in the context of healthcare.
In this interview Yuri talks about how he has become more self aware thanks to tracking his behaviour. He believes Quantified Self means more control and describes this movement as one of the building blocks of big changes.
Hat tip to FastMovingTargets for making the interview available on their channel.
The Social Revolution – Remember Me
“In 2013 it is safe to say that memories are the last private and intimate pieces of ourselves that haven’t been uploaded to social media for others to see.
Everyday, everything we see, hear, touch and smell is stored in real time in our brains. Our memories define who we are.”
Big Data Strategy for Government
Let me be brief. The Australian government has published their Big Data Strategy Issues Paper. Opportunities are in data management, the personalisation of services, problem solving and predictive analytics, productivity and efficiency.
The governmental goals are: delivery of better services, improved efficiency of operations, and of course open engagement.
For the challenges that remain and the way forward, you can read the whole paper here [PDF]. You should definitely also check out this Big Data Story Map by EMC [Prezi].
5 Cool Open Source Arduino Projects
Arduino is an open-source electronic prototyping platform that allows you to create objects that can really interact with their environment through different triggers and signals. So far, the maker community around Arduino has come up with some pretty nifty things. Check out these projects I found:
1. Laser harp
A laser what? Yes you read it right: a laser harp. How it works is very simple. When you build an instrument out of lasers you can play it by breaking the beams of light. Will there are music instruments on stage in the future or, only lasers? Connected with a software synthesizer and sensors on the ground the laser harp will sound something like this.
More and technical information can be found here
2. Keyless door entry
Maybe people think psychical money will disappear in the future but how about keys? The keyless entry unlocks a door by touching a wire in a specific time and sensitive pattern. So a light version of the fingerprint ID you might say.
3. Open source Game boy
Being smaller than a Gameboy does not mean being less fun. That shows us our next Arduino based project. The maker of this little Game boy wanted to build one since middle school and guess what, he just created one… Imagine what people will build on their own with a few pieces of electronics in the next decade.
If you want to build one, you will find the source codes in this blog post
4. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Now let us talk about drones. Not just quadrocopters, no, drones. With a handful of servos, battery pack, GPS unit, and the Arduino programmer you can build your own unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) drone. The 22 page tutorial here will guide you through the entire build process.
5. Wall avoiding robot
You always wanted to have a wall-avoiding robot for whatever reason? You can make one up for yourself now. The famous B-9 robot from Lost in Space inspired the maker of this robot. He used Google’s Sketch Up to make a scale model. Personally I have no clue how this wall avoiding robot is really adding value to my life but I would certainly like to have one. Keep in mind that a wall-avoiding robot is one step closer to creating a walking fridge as a next project.
Parts, tools, a description how to make one of these and the image credits you can find here
Lots of people share their Arduino project online. The technology is cheaper than ever before and will also become cheaper in the future. Everyone can start making awesome new applications from their kitchen tables and garages.
Do you know other awesome applications or did you build one yourself, please share your applications in the comments below.