Hasta La Gadget!

It can be pretty dangerous riding a bike these days what with all of the texting, drunk, or just plain bad drivers on the road. Many of the accidents happen when a cyclist is hit from behind when taking turns or slowing down. Here’s a little gadget that may be a big help in improving biker safety.

Rearviz has introduced a simple solution. A wrist-mounted convex mirror accessory. It allows the user to see what’s coming up from behind and when it is not in use it automatically collapses into a wristwatch like base.

Just being able to see behind them easily will certainly help bike riders to stay alert and keep safe without bulky mirrors sticking off of their handlebars. RearViz comes in a removable arm band kit with a rotatable, collapsible, convex mirror. The Rearviz will sell for about $23.50(USD) for the standard model, or $37.50 for the “Classic” – which offers a more durable mirror as well as a medical ID tag pouch inside the armband.

[via Damn Geeky]

There’s a lot of lore about what we see in mirrors, or what happens if we go through the looking glass. And this vaguely sinister app offers some control of the situation. Unsigned Mirror is an openFrameworks Windows and Mac app written by the art and technology group Unsigned Long Long. It creates slit-scan craziness when you drag an image into the program and feed it through the "mirror". You can also use your webcam for source images. While putting an image through the mirror, you can rotate the scene in 3d and then save as a new image file. Sort of makes you want to bring the word "groovy" back, doesn’t it? I said sort of. [Creative Applications]

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Researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Ishikawa Oku Lab have been hard at work on a camera system that can track fast moving objects incredibly well, and the technology may change the way sports like baseball and soccer are televised. Recently, the team building the system has entered the next phase of testing: taking it outside, to see if will perform as well as it has in a lab setting. If all goes according to plan, they expect it’ll be ready for broadcast use in roughly two years.

Demos of the tech are pretty impressive, as you can see in the video below showing the (warning: not recommended watching for those easily prone to motion sickness). To get the ping-pong ball-centric shots, the system uses a group of lenses and two small mirrors that pan, tilt and move so the camera itself doesn’t have to. The mirrors rely on a speedy image tracking system that follows movement, rather than predicting it. Swapping the camera out for a projector also has some interesting applications — it can paint digital pictures on whatever its tracking. Sounds like the perfect gadget for folks who wish their table tennis balls looked like emoji.

Filed under: Cameras, Alt

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Via: Diginfo

Source: Ishikawa Oku Laboratory

Aside from its functional uses, mirrors come in pretty handy when you’re trying to achieve some cool optical illusions. A good example of this is the classic infinite effect. It looks like a pretty complicated effect, but it’s easily achievable and only requires a mirror, glass, and a light source.

Employing this effect to create an uber cool computer desk is Redditor Jacks_RagingHormones. His setup makes it look like his keyboard is on the surface of an abyss that has no end, which is what makes it so awesome.

Want to try and do what Jack and his raging hormones did? Head over to Imgur for more details on the build.

[via Obvious Winner]

Do you find yourself sitting in the dark, even if it’s bright and sunny outside? Well, speaking from experience, regular exposure to sunlight can really make you feel better both mentally and physically. But if the Sun isn’t hitting your windows you might be missing out on its radiant glow. With the help of this device, you can now automatically reflect the Sun into your rooms.

Designed by an engineer named “Mr. Lim” the Sunflower is a compact version of a heliostat you can place in your yard. It automatically follows the Sun throughout the day and reflects it into a location of your choice. It uses a solar panel along with a motorized array of mirrors to ensure the light is always reflected to a specific point you aim it at – like your living room window.

Each Sunflower is handmade in Concord, Massachusetts by One Sunny Home, and sells for $299(USD) over on their Etsy shop.