Taking the risk out of getting a bad tattoo is a difficult proposition. Complicated designs are becoming commonplace for tattoo artists. Yet even the masters have trouble with work that has extra sharp details. Not to mention that you never know how it will turn out until it’s completed.

That was a problem for Loïc Zimmerman, a computer graphic artist out of France. He designed his own tattoo and wanted to see the how the 2-D sleeve and chest design would turn out. Luckily for him, he works at French video game developer Quantic Dream, where he scanned his entire body during the day. The image rendered facial movement, muscle stimulation and 3-D animation. He applied his 2-D art to the 3-D model of himself.

After reviewing the 3-D model his tattoo artist is now confident in the design. Loïc does point out that some of the major problems with extremely detailed work is that 3-D rendering doesn’t offer the ability to show how the ink will fade and blur with aging and wrinkles. Not yet, anyway.

Even though there is no substitute for flesh and blood, this software could very well push the future of the art to the next level. There will be so many more options available. You can say no to the design, no to the 3-D model, and finally you can get it done with erasable tattoo ink.

If you don’t like it in a few months just get it removed quick and painless. Less risk means more beautiful, precise artwork. Prepare for these tools to hit high end studios within the next year.

[Needled]

It’s the self-sustaining home of the future, on steroids. And all along you thought going green was for design challenged weenies?

The zeroHouse by Scott Specht is futuristic architecture that laughs in the face of ‘the man.’ This setup is made to work completely off the grid. It generates all of it’s own power by means of high-efficiency solar panels. When skies are looking gray, fully charged onboard batteries fuel it continuously for up to a week.

Rainwater is collected in a 2700 gallon reservoir and all plumbing is gravity-fed for extra efficiency. Water that’s being flushed is converted into dry compost underneath to be removed only twice each year.

All functions are controlled automatically by software that can be loaded on a simple laptop. It’s fully customizable from a weekend wonderland to a full-time pleasure palace.

Pleasure is right. Each house is outfitted with a living room, kitchen, full bath and two bedrooms. Furniture from couches in the living room to lounge chairs on the covered deck comes built-in. Thermal resistant materials are enhanced by a full climate control system.

You’re not going to be able to pick one up on the cheap just yet. On the flip side, at least now you don’t have to be a Middle Eastern sheikh to own a home with zero emissions.

[zeroHouse] via [Yanko Design]

Microchips in your head? It’s nothing to panic over, brain machine interfaces have been around for a while now. They are slowly beginning to fulfill their role as a functional tool for people with disabilities. With them, patients are able to move a computer cursor, move their wheelchair or jerkily pinch at something with a simple robotic clamp, with nothing more than the power of their minds.

Andrew Schwartz is trying to take that functionality to a new level. His research team has developed a robotic arm that is controlled by the mind of a monkey. The arm is fully functional, unlike it’s simple predecessor.

With it, the monkey can pick up food and feed itself by means of a neural implant in the motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls movement. Previous attempts have never allowed for such a wide range of motion or movement of fingers at the same time. It all looks so seamless.

This technology will also benefit individuals who suffered a massive stroke on one side of their brain. The usual result is that they are unable to move one half of their body. The implanted device will link the mind to both sides of the body, allowing them to regain control of the damaged side.

[Technology Review]

We’re all so excited to see lasers used as light sabers instead of key chain pointers. The gap between the two may actually prove to unite us against a common enemy. No, it’s not the Sith. Viruses and diseases are being targeted by groundbreaking laser research.

Currently, lasers can cause more harm than good, sometimes destroying cells and DNA. Physicists at Arizona State University have developed an improved technique that can kill viruses such as HIV and Hepatitis without harming human cells.

Using a femtosecond laser, the machine shoots out beams at extreme speeds. A femtosecond blazes by at 1 millionth of a billionth of a second. Instead of burning through the targeted cells, like lasers today, they use a process that can be compared to an opera singer breaking a glass with a high-pitched note. The vibration to the protein envelope in microorganisms is deadly.

Now the clock is ticking to find the perfect wavelengths as the vibrations need to be safe for human cells. The vast differences between the composition of protein coats in human cells and bacteria or viruses allow for the team to zero in on a specific frequency.

Although the treatment may not be available for some time, immediate uses could be to disinfect blood supplies and biomaterials. Lead researcher Kong-Thon Tsen told the BBC, “The research … could provide treatments against some of the worst, often drug-resistant, bacterial and viral pathogens.”

[BBC]

Time is fleeting, especially in the span of 1,000 years. How would you convey the passage of time over ten generations as an art piece? Greg Blonder, the former Bell Labs chief scientist has an inventive and elegant solution.

TiWalkMe is a concept design that would have a forest planted along a ribbon of land in order to project “deep-time.” It represents change, as when one section of the forest dies a “tick” of the clock will be reinforced with new trees along the progression. The aim is to bring awareness to a modern, disposable society that has sensationalized a fast and narrow view of the future.

“We must learn to think twice, and act once. TiWalkMe is a place where a thousand years can be experienced as a walk through an ever changing forest. A place to learn and share with others, to better judge and improve our plans before they drift into actions tethered to the past. A forest which is at heart an enormous clock, slowly ticking out the pace of life, resetting our own sense of time and space, with a horizon swept out to a millennia.”

This ambitious project will need to be passed down through generations in order to be a success. So naturally, a few rules are set in place to ensure that goal. It’ll need to be constantly visible and unobstructed, must adapt to future knowledge and needs, and change if it will bring perspective to its visitors.

Now, the search is on for sites and investors. This would be beautiful in an urban setting, but may not prove to be practical considering the value of real estate. Urban communities are high on the list, as the inventor believes that the project would draw in a diverse group of businesses and organizations.