Slow Motion Video Booth

You may have seen this video as it has been getting quite a bit of coverage on the web but we love the idea of a slow motion video booth at a celebration like a wedding.

The booth was created as a one off by Seattle based viral video production company Super Frog Saves Tokyo for a friends wedding but the finished result has got so much attention that they even have put together a how to video on their site.  If you want to check out the tutorial go the the this link on their page and down the right hand side is the video tutorial.  Nice.

New lithium-ion battery design that’s 2,000 times more powerful, recharges 1,000 times faster | ExtremeTech

In a previous post we discussed how current battery technology was now often the stumbling block to the development of more powerful and smaller consumer devices and how the wonder material, Graphene might provide the solution to this problem.  

The University of Illinois has now weighed in with a new technology that can make existing lithium-ion battery design 2000 times more powerful and recharges 1000 time faster.  Check out the article in Extreme Tech for more details on the tech and the potential uses for it.

Ambify App for controlling LED lighting

You may have seen our earlier post on a new LED lighting product by Philips called “Hue”. Hue is a smart LED light fitting that allows the control of its light colour and dimming level by software on your iPhone.  

Now some bright spark (pun intended) has come up with an app called Ambify that takes the possibilities of the Hue system a step further.   It is a virtual jukebox that links your hue system to your iPhone or iPad’s iTunes library.  Instant home dance party!  Check out the video. 

Graphene Super Capacitor

The graphene super capacitor.

Not a term most of us have come across but it could be one of the most important scientific discoveries of the century.  The reason - for decades the scientific and business communities have been searching to find a more efficient battery.  With so many of the devices that we require to conduct our everyday lives now running on batteries and these devices getting more power hungry and smaller, the ability to charge these devices is becoming the limiting factor in their design.  So imagine a high energy storage device that could charge and discharge between 100 - 1000 times faster than a conventional battery and is not made from toxic metals!

Enter scientists Richard Kaner and Maher El-Kady who had been investigating how to produce the wonder material graphene more efficiently and accidentally discovered something ground breaking.  Check out the video for more…

Filabot - Plastic recycling for 3D printer media

Here at VisionSmiths we love the exciting opportunities 3D printing represents for the design and maker communities.  However, one little reservation has been the sustainable aspect of producing lots more plastic items that can’t, or don’t get recycled.  

The “Filabot” aims to address this issue by providing the means to turn various types of plastic and old 3D printed models into plastic filament - the media used by most 3D printers.  

Started as a Kickstarter project its was fully funded in January 2012 and is going to be launched to the public very soon.