Don’t let Cupix fool you. On the surface, it may look like any other 3D virtual tour content you’ve seen on real estate sites or hotel kiosks but Cupix is actually a complete web-based platform to map 360 photos to generate full 3D immersive environments. Their approach is simple. Using an affordable 360 camera (like Ricoh Theta S or Insta360 Nano) you take a series of snapshots in the space you want to map. You load the photos into the Cupix Editor. This is where is gets full-on cray cray – Cupix constructs the camera locations, dense point cloud, optimized 3D mesh, and a textured model automatically, then gives you…
If you’re a SolidSmack regular around here (and let’s be honest—you probably are), then you’re no doubt familiar with one of our all-time favorite ‘garage inventors’, Colin Furze. The five-time Guinness World Record Holder and YouTube’s undisputed king of crazy inventions have kept millions of viewers entertained with off-the-wall concepts that are both insane and functional—from The World’s Fastest Pram to a working Hoverbike. In total, his video process journals have earned him nearly 5 million YouTube subscribers and a staggering 450 million views. Now, Furze wants to inspire a younger generation to find their own inner-wackiness through invention with his new (and first) book, This Book Isn’t Safe. With…
In other robotic and A.I. advancement news, robots aren’t just becoming all-terrain, hazard-traversing back-flipping machines; now they can play musical instruments just about as good as mathematically-precise humans, too. Nigel Stanford, an ambient dance/ electronic musician, has repurposed a number of robotic arms for his newest album, Automatica. Designed and manufactured by KUKA, the robotic arms are traditionally used in automated manufacturing processes for precision-based accuracy. No doubt, that absurd level of precision comes in handy when it comes to keeping the beat: Nigel, who had relatively little experience with robotics before embarking on the project, preprogrammed the notes before the music video was shot. Each robotic arm has a…
It’s time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device(s)! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@www.solidsmack.com. Hit it! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flyright/id1296706648?mt=8 (iOS — Free) Flyright uses magic to collect critical information about international travel to over 200 unique countries and regions…
Plagued by a loss of his Native American identity, booze, and drugs, Master carver Wayne Price was once a drifter who no longer had a connection to his warrior spirit. Today, the Tlingit wood carver from Haines, Alaska calls upon thousands of years of his ancestry in the form of wood carving to help both himself and his community of fellow Native Americans around him. From totem poles and dugout canoes to his own woodworking tools (an adze, a traditional Tlingit wood-carving tool used by his ancestors for thousands of years), Price is living proof that staying busy in your craft can truly be life-changing—no matter what situation you came…
When it comes to side projects, hours become days, days become weeks, and weeks can often become months or years. But what if getting a minimum viable product created could happen on a Saturday…assuming you aren’t building a flying car? Many successful entrepreneurs have been touting the benefits of the 1-Day MVP—a one-day, all-out sprint to go from fresh idea to app or hardware prototype. Sure, some projects may take a little more energy and time than others, but having the process and infrastructure in place to successfully glide ideas along is what counts the most. Which is exactly the premise behind the 1-Day MVP 2.0 online training course; one…