Hasta La Gadget!

Late last year I talked about the DIY Gamer Kit, which contained all the parts you need to assemble your own handheld game console. In other words, the kit introduces you to video game hardware. Aurélien Rodot’s Gamebuino on the other hand comes fully assembled and is intended to get you into video game software.

The Gamebuino has an ATmega 328 microcontroller, an 84 x 84 monochrome display with automatic backlight, six buttons, a 4-channel speaker and a 240mAh battery. It also has four ports: one microUSB, one microSD and two I2C ports. While the DIY Gamer Kit is also based on the Arduino language, Aurélien made a software library for Gamebuino, which includes a graphics engine, a game engine, sound effects, user interface and more. Coding a Gamebuino game will be easier and faster because you don’t have to start from scratch.

Aurélien says he’s already finalized the Gamebuino’s hardware, the software library and a few sample games. Right now he’s working on a browser that will let you load and switch between games from a microSD card. He’s also going to make tutorials and setup an online community to make it easier for newbies to get help. Pledge at least €35 (~$48 USD) on Indiegogo to get a Gamebuino – and priceless knowledge – as a reward.

[via Kotaku]

If 13th Lab has its way, you could soon be playing first-person games using your surroundings as a battlefield. Or a space station, a temple and anything else you can imagine. The computer vision company is working on Rescape, an FPS platform for mobile devices that can scan and digitize your environment, turning it into a video game map.

13th Lab uses a robotics technique called Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). With the help of cameras and sensors, SLAM allows a device to make a map of its environment and place itself – i.e. know its location – within the map that it just made. The end result is shown in the image above. If you look closely you can see that the iPhone is showing a virtual equivalent of the player’s environment – everything from the structures, objects and even other players. 13th Lab calls this mix of augmented and virtual reality Reality Gaming.

As of now, a Rescape package includes a 180º fisheye lens and an adjustable gun controller with a trigger and a d-pad. To drive costs down and make it easier for app developers to port their FPS games, Rescape will make use of your mobile device to map and digitize your environment, as well as track your position.

The Rescape software development kit (SDK) handles the mapping feature, as well as the ability to digitally paint over a map and turn it into your battle ground of choice. I don’t know if the SDK will be simple enough for normal folks to understand and use though.  As I mentioned, mobile game developers can port existing FPS games into the Rescape platform, but that’s not as fun as turning your house or university into a game map.

Pledge at least $39 (USD) on Kickstarter to get the Rescape controller and Office Defender, the game shown in the video. Pledge at least $129 and you get the controller, the game and the Rescape SDK. When it launches Rescape will only support the iPhone 5, 5C and 5S, with “experimental support” for the iPhone 4S. 13th Lab promises that it will provide support for Android devices within a few months after the launch.

[via InStash]

Costume specialist Cospa will be selling a Dragon Ball Z Kai cap with a built-in scouter. You can flip the scouter’s lens up and inside the cap when you’re not assessing opponents. Because if you need a scouter to measure a farmer’s power level, you’re just showing that you’re not confident in your own strength.

Aside from its adjustable dorkiness, the cap is also better than ordinary scouters because it makes it appear like you have a six-pack on your head.

Kamehamesurf to J-List and order the cap for $55 (USD).

An imaginary thinking cap? Pfff. The next time you’re in a quandary, put on this replica of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s jacket and let the cerebral hero of Star Trek: The Next Generation be your spirit animal. As soon as you put it on you’ll have at least one profound thought: “Really Captain? Suede?”

The officially-licensed replica is being made by Anovos, who got their hands on one of the jackets worn by Patrick Stewart in the last two seasons of the show. The company claims that the replica’s color, pattern and fabric closely match the TV show costume.

Damn. That’s a 90s show all right.

As of this writing you can pre-order the jacket from Anovos for $250 (USD). Only 100 jackets will be made, with the final 40 jackets going for $300. At those prices you’d think the turtleneck and comm badge would be included.

[via Star Trek]

Late last year we found out about Looking Glass, a volumetric printing service. Each 3D object consists of printed slices stacked and stuck together in a case. This month the company relaunched with a better and more affordable service.

I talked with Looking Glass founder Shawn Frayne shortly before their relaunch. Shawn said they’ve “made dramatic improvements in the resolution and color-fidelity” of their product since we first heard about them. They can also now make prints out of CT scan data, in addition to .obj, .ply and .skp files. With the help of these improvements, Shawn said that they’re barely keeping up with orders. Doctors in particular have been asking Shawn for prints of CT scans.

The two images above show a Looking Glass print of an injured foot based on CT scan data. Shawn says it’s the first volumetric printed object with varying opacity. Speaking of which, Shawn said that Looking Glass isn’t looking to compete with 3D printing services. The company is focused on making prints that are great to look at instead of ones that are meant to be touched or used.

http://vimeo.com/88536241

In my first article about Looking Glass, I mused that the prints would be much better if the slices were removable. Shawn said he’s gotten requests about that option as well and that it is possible, though his company isn’t going to offer that option anytime soon. I wonder if making the slices removable is a lot more complicated than it sounds.

Shawn did offer an alternative to my suggestion. Instead of one Looking Glass print with removable slices, the company can take a 3D model and split it into multiple prints: “We do however offer cross-sectional prints, where several Looking Glasses can be combined like building blocks to reconstruct, say, a heart or enlarged cell volumetric image.  When these blocks are pulled apart, the internals of the volumetric image can then be examined.”

Looking Glass accepts orders online if your source file is .obj or .ply. Their standard size is 9 cm x 5 cm x 4 cm (approx. 3.5″ x 2″ x 1.6″), and costs $65 (USD) plus $10 shipping anywhere in the world. Email Shawn at smf[at]lookingglassfactory.com for other print requests, such as printing from CT scan data or printing large objects. Shawn says they can make prints as large as a person if they want to. You can also check out and buy customer-submitted prints on the Looking Glass site.