To me, whimsical umbrellas—you know, the kind printed with Starry Night or cats—have always seemed like a mockery of the rain-drenched commuter’s misery. But this reflective version actually makes practical sense, since it turns its owner into a glowing beacon of safety.
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Cutting boards are built to be brutalized, but just because they’re definitely going to get busted doesn’t mean they have to be boring. In fact, the flip side of these op-art Shape Boards are cool enough to double as wall art.
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There is no better way to get a nerd’s money than to decorate a hotel with their favorite toys. Do this and they’ll line up and drop their money in your account as if their mint, on-card action figures depended on it.
The Asahikawa Grand Hotel knows how to lure said nerds out of their basement dwellings… with a limited time only Transformers themed room.
Basically you will be sleeping under a Transformers comforter and playing with Autobots and Decepticons. So, not much different from home really. You just won’t have to put up with your mother yelling for you to wake up at 1 P.M.
The hotel actually teamed up with Takara Tomy to make the room possible. It has Transformers magic everywhere. Guests even get gifts that go with the Transformers theme. Pretty sweet!
If you happen to find yourself in Hokkaido, Japan, you can rent the room until April 25th for roughly $90(USD) per night.
[Higekumatoytoy via Kotaku via Nerd Approved]
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) recently unveiled Project Tango, a smartphone that lets users make 3D models of their surroundings. ATAP is also working on development APIs that will let developers use those 3D models in apps.
The current Project Tango prototype is a 5″ phone with a 4 megapixel camera, a depth sensor, a motion tracking camera and two “computer vision processors.”
The sensors supposedly take about 250,000 measurements per second, which the phone processes into a 3D model in real time.
You’re not going to let the Google Street View crew into your house, but a harmless little smartphone? Come to my pocket and my life! The NSA wants a pendant-sized version of this thing yesterday.
[Google ATAP via Ubergizmo]
If I have to look at one more half-melted slushy snowdrift, I’m going to junkpunch the nearest passerby. Luckily, there are things like amazing honeycomb sculptures and insane light installations to bring everyone off the ledge that winter has put them on. Enjoy a little reprieve in the form of the most beautiful items we posted this week.
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Envelopes generally don’t get a lot of love—especially the ones holding big fatty bills that need payin’. Small consolation, but the privacy patterns that line the insides can actually be pretty awesome.
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Jewelry inspired by food is nothing new, but Tiny Hands took things one step further by adding another dimension to their necklaces: the delicious smell of breakfast.
The necklaces are available in a wide variety of scrumptious designs, from waffles and pancakes to smores, cinnamon rolls, and shortcakes. Not only do they look like miniature replicas of the real thing, but they also smell like it, too.
It might not be a good idea to wear it when you’re on a diet though, for obvious reasons.
The Food Necklaces are available from Tiny Hands for $21 to $38 (USD) each. Or, for $25 a month, you can sign up for their Necklace of the Month club, and be rewarded with a delicious pendant every month.
[via Incredible Things via FoodBeast]
The only thing cooler than using a huge robot arm to sculpt? Using a huge robot arm to sculpt with liquid hot metal. Joris Laarman Studio‘s prototype software instructs a robotic arm to recreate 3D models in midair, using molten metals of all kinds. It looks as cool as it sounds.
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He might have favored email over physical post, but a document obtained by The Washington Post suggests that Steve Jobs’ face is set to appear on a US Postal Service stamp in 2015.
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On the company’s blogspot today, YouTube announced a couple of changes, most notable among them being a redesign that aims to accommodate screen sizes of all flavors. Users will also … Continue reading
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