DIY Isomorphic Keyboard Makes Awesome Music

Most conventional electronic keyboards feature a classical piano-like arrangement of keys. While this sort of design makes the transition from traditional piano playing easier, it can limit some of the possibilities that an electronic keyboard can accomplish. Piano layouts are arranged in that way because each key corresponds to hammers that strike string, but an electronic keyboard doesn't necessarily need to take any specific form.

Taking this theory to a whole new level, two Louisville Soundbuilder designers created an isomorphic keyboard with a dramatically different layout. Featuring 192 different keys, this keyboard produces a plethora of different sounds. The keys are also velocity sensitive, meaning sounds become louder as the keyboard strokes are harder.

Isomorphic Keyboard

Although the current construction looks a bit confusing with hundreds of computer keyboard keys, the designers hope to create custom color-coded hexagonal keys for future models. Check out the above video to see the creators' explanation on the construction, layout and abilities of this innovative keyboard device.

Robot Hand Draws Sloppy, Creepy Portraits

Artist creates robot arm that draws portraits like a human.

If you were lucky enough to have Paul, the portrait-drawing robot honor you with a portrait, first you may be impressed by the fact that a disembodied arm is drawing a portrait of you, and then you might be unimpressed by the somewhat messy and borderline demented piece of art that is produced. That is until you are told by engineering scientist turned artist Patrick Tresset that it's "working as intended".

So why create a robot that is intentionally lacking precision and grace? Well that's because most humans lack the precision and grace required to draw wonderfully accurate portraits. Tresset told FastCoDesign, "I try to make robotic installations that touch people. I believe that a robot that slightly fails is more interesting, more 

Scientists Develop Paper Phone

Roel Vertegaal has its way, we all will be using paper tablets and paper phones before this decade ends.

Vertegaal, director of the human media lab, will be showcasing a paper phone prototype at CHI2011 in Vancouver this week.

The device uses a bendable 3.7-inch e-ink touchscreen, which was developed by researchers at Arizona State University. All electronic circuits are printed to the backside of the device. There are also five 2-inch sensors that can detect if a user bends the display at its corners and edges. The display is limited to showing grey-shades at a resolution of up to 150 dpi. According to Vertegaal, the phone is powered by E Ink's Broadsheet Kit, while a notebook that is connected via a cable to the phone is used to store the phone software as well as MP3 playback and reader applications.

"This computer looks, feels and operates like a small sheet of interactive paper," Vertegaal says. "You interact with it by bending it into a cell phone, flipping the corner to turn pages, or writing on it with a pen." It even features gesture recognition capability.

Vertegaal envisions other applications such as tablet-sized screens. "The paperless office is here," Vertegaal stated. "Everything can be stored digitally and you can place these computers on top of each other just like a stack of paper." He added that paper computers do not require power when not in use.

According to Vertegaal, paper computer could be commercially available within five years.

New fashionable Face makeup tips

It is true that with the passage of time the range of products available in the market have also increased which has reduced the difficulty to enhance the beauty with the help of makeup techniques. Although there are some basic tips before you apply makeup. First and foremost you need to wash your face before you apply any thing on the makeup. After this you need to moisturize your skin well. To start up the make up first you should go with the eye make up.

Then apply makeup to your face. This shall give you a cleaner look. And another thing that cannot be missed is that you also apply the same tone of foundation to the neck portion as it will give you an even look. And make sure you do not apply too much of make up that make you more like a dummy. All these tips will surely make you good and confident.

It's a way for a women to take a step back, and truly pink about what is important to them. I believe that make up should be fun simple and expressive, it not should be rocket science it's about finding what works best for you and then experimenting from there and hoping that make up will inspered woman to embracce thier own inner confident so that they shine from within.

Goodbye Soil: Researchers Grow Crops on Thin Films

Japanese researchers at Mebiol have discovered an innovative new way to grow plants and crops. Substituting traditional soils with ultra thin films made of hydrogel, the scientists have been able to successfully block out unwanted bacteria and viruses in soil that can be harmful for plants. Essentially removing dirt from the equation, plant roots grow alongside the thin membrane of the hydrogel, a substance that is commonly found in diapers.

The method isn't exactly a perfect replacement to traditional growing methods, since water is absorbed at a much slower rate. This means plant sizes are limited and only the healthiest and strongest varieties of plants can survive on the hydrogel. Despite this limitation, the researchers have been able to successfully grow tomatoes, spinach, and melons with the film. The researchers are hoping to one day make the film strong enough to support the growth of trees. Check out the video below to see the hydrogel in action.

South Korean Scientists Create Glowing Dog

Genetically modified beagle glows in uv lighting.

On Wednesday, Scientists from Seoul National University in South Korea announced that they have created a glowing dog while utilizing a cloning technique designed to find cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Pictured about is the team's genetically modified female beagle, Tegon, which was born in 2009 and was found to glow in a fluorescent green color while under ultraviolet light.

After two years of testing, the research team has found that the glowing ability is triggered by a doxycycline antibiotic and can be turned on or off by adding or removing certain drugs to the dog's food.

"The creation of Tegon opens new horizons since the gene injected to make the dog glow can be substituted with genes that trigger fatal human diseases," explained lead researcher Lee Byeong-chun. He went on to state that humans and dogs have 268 common diseases, and that creating dogs with artificial symptoms could help in the treatment of these deadly diseases that affect humans.

The scientists in the project created Tegon utilizing the same somatic cell nuclear transfer technology that they used in creating the world's first cloned dog, Snuppy back in 2005. Although the researchers are only hoping to assist in treating or curing lethal human diseases, cloning itself is already a controversial topic. We're guessing PETA might not be too happy about creating dogs with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases.

The Robot Elephant Made of Recycled Materials

Truth be told, the only robotic thing about the "Great Elephant" are its mechanically articulated trunk and legs. And the latter don't even hold the elephant up, a task that falls on three set of struts with wheels. But the contraption is still massive, measuring 12 meters high and 8 meters wide. The nozzle even blows out smoke for a more compelling illusion.

Better yet, the Great Elephant was made from 45 tons of recycled materials, meaning some artist's fancy wasn't responsible for creating more junk. The elephant's size also means it  can carry up to 49 passengers. It's just too bad the Great Elephant isn't more autonomous in movement, but who knows? Perhaps future versions will feature better legs, and we can stop enslaving real elephants for entertainment purposes.