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Photography Science

Tag Along with Mars Rovers as They Explore the Red Planet in a New 4K Video

Although many of us will never step foot on the red planet, a new compilation captured by Mars rovers walks through the rocky, sandy terrain in stunning detail. Throughout the video of 4K imagery, the rovers explore the wide-open plains and candy-colored stretches of the Martian landscape. As the narrator notes, getting actual footage of Mars currently is impossible, as even the most technologically advanced rovers like Curiosity still are limited to extremely slow data-transmission speeds back to Earth. Watch the full compilation on YouTube, check out this 1.8 billion pixel panorama taken by Curiosity. (via Twister Sifter)

 

Design

Cut and Paste Your Surroundings into Photoshop with Amazing New AR Prototype

Say goodbye to the tedious process of taking a photo, importing it, and placing it in its final position. The Paris-based designer and artist Cyril Diagne recently launched a new image editing program that circumvents the traditional method using a single app.

When users take a photograph with AR Cut & Paste, the software finds distinct objects and automatically removes their backgrounds. In a video below, Diagne shows how a plant is captured on a mobile device before being snipped from the surrounding image. Once he hovers over the computer screen, the cut-out plant is placed directly into Photoshop.

AR Cut & Paste only works with the Adobe products currently, although Diagne says it may pair with others in the future. To try out the inventive software, download it for yourself from GitHub.

Update: Diagne announced an AR Copy Paste app for Android and iOS.

Design

Rippling Waves of Bricks Formed Through Groundbreaking New Augmented Bricklaying Technique

The teams at Gramazio Kohler Research and Incon.Ai recently collaborated on an architectural project that merges digital savvy with traditional craftsmanship to create a skillful new building technique. Completed in 2019, “Augmented Bricklaying” relies on digital markers to instruct bricklayers about where to spread mortar, how thick to layer it, and what the position of the next stone should be.

A custom-designed guidance system, the hybrid technique combats the limitations of both traditional and innovative digital approaches: robotic arms have restricted mobility and difficulty with pliable materials like mortar, while physical templates can be cumbersome and less accurate for masons. The new model “combines the advantages of computational design with the dexterity of humans, supporting an entirely new way of fabrication,” the Zurich-based team said in a statement.

To create the 225 square-meter structure, masons assembled 13,596 locally sourced bricks in varying rows. The differentiated mortar heights range from five to 30 millimeters and help to determine each brick’s rotation that spans -20° to +20°. “That way mortar, usually treated as secondary material in the design of fair-faced brick walls, became a defining element in the appearance of the facade,” the team said.

Because of the differed construction, the porous exterior appears as a wave or ripple. The patterned facade provides ventilation and allows sunlight to stream into the building, which produces an array of circles that shifts based on the time of day.  It will house KITRVS Winery’s processing and storage facility. The Greek vineyard overlooks the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea at the base of Mount Olympus.

Gramazio Kohler Research is the ETH Zurich’s chair of architecture and digital fabrication, and Incon.Ai is a subsidiary of the organization’s robotic systems labs. Keep up with Gramazio Kohler’s inventive projects on Instagram and Vimeo. (via designboom)

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Photography Science

Explore Curiosity’s New 1.8-Billion-Pixel Panorama of Mars

While many Americans were enjoying a few days off of work for the Thanksgiving holiday, Curiosity Mars Rover (previously) was busy taking more than 1,000 photographs of the Red Planet. Capturing the Glen Torridon region on the side of Mount Sharp, the rover shot enough images to create a composite that totals 1.8 billion pixels and provides its most expansive view to date of Mars’ landscape.

NASA released a video that points out the various landmarks and proves just how impressive the shot is, like the incredible detail that’s visible on a three-mile wide crater at least twenty miles away. The rover shot the panorama using a camera attached to its mast that has both telephoto and medium-angle lenses. In order to ensure lighting consistency, it only took images between 12 and 2 p.m. each day. Explore the panorama for yourself on NASA’s site. (via Uncrate)

Art Design

Undulating Kinetic Sculpture by Julia Nizamutdinova Mimics Intertwined Infinity Signs

Artist and designer Julia Nizamutdinova has created a kinetic sculpture that rotates, twists, and turns in a mesmerizing and hypnotic fashion. Made of plastic, aluminum, and steel, INFI is modeled after the infinity sign in its form and movement, constantly crisscrossing and repeating. When illuminated with an LED light, the edges stand out against the sculpture’s fish-shaped body, and the rhythmic, undulating movements become more clear.

Nizamutdinova tells Colossal that her creation is part of a larger project she calls Cyberflora. “They contain a meditative therapeutic effect from the contemplation of smooth hypnotic movements and the beauty of futuristic forms,” she writes. To see more of Nizamutdinova’s work that falls at the intersection of technology, art, and design, head to YouTube and Instagram.

Art Design

Kinetic Artwork Attempts to Get a ‘Little Piece of Privacy’ with Mechanized Curtain

Berlin-based artist Niklas Roy isn’t just concerned about his privacy and protection online. To stop passersby from peeping into his workshop, he strung up a white, lace curtain stretching only partially across his window. Titled “My Little Piece of Privacy,” the ironic project from 2010 was established to offer seclusion to the artist, while recording those who walked past his space. Each outside movement triggers a motor to position the thin fabric in front of the person attempting to look inside. The resulting footage shows various strategies people use⁠—think rapid arm waving and hopping from one spot to another⁠—to try to trick the mechanism tracking their positions. They never succeed for more than a second, though. You can find more of Roy’s projects interested in humor and technology on YouTube.