WeTopia is a free-to-play Facebook game where players can create villages and help their neighbors. By doing so, they produce “joy,” a currency which can be converted to contributions for nonprofits that provide children and families with basic needs, healthcare, and education in the real world.
Lexington, Ky.-based Sojo Studios has lined up an impressive number of partners, including a variety of children’s charities, as well as celebrity partners such as Ellen DeGeneres.
Players can track their contributions inside the game through pictures, videos, blogs and posts in-game. The goal is to combine fun and tangible help, so that rewards in games are more than just a collection of points
from venturebeat
Star trek style automatic opening/closing door in this fellow’s kitchen, with behind the scenes clips- powered by arduino :)
(by shakosonic2)
An unusual contest- $100,000 for a person 45+, who has lived outside of Pittsburgh for the past 10 years but be willing to move here by Dec. 2012. You have to have some dream you want to accomplish. The winner gets $50k for their dream and $50k for a charitable fund in their name. Oh, and it helps if you’ve previously accomplished things in your life- “experienced dreamers” they are calling it.
What an interesting idea to bring people, and ideas, back to the city!
This time they’re offering 7 computer science courses & and two entrepreneurship courses.
This week saw the 19th International Robot Exhibition (IREX) held at Tokyo Big Sight displaying the world’s most advanced, innovative and sometimes plain bizarre robots. Over 270 different companies and organizations joined this year’s theme of “Robot Technology, Making a Future with Robot”. Amongst the technologies on show were singing robots, climbing robots, industrial robots and even a robotic bear like pillow aimed at stoping snoring.
“Dr Kabe’s Jukusuri-Kun works through the person asleep wearing a similarly cute pulse-oxygen meter attached to the hand which sends readings of the amount of oxygen in the blood to a terminal running a program with the persons vital statistics pre-programmed in. To eliminate the intrusion of wires preventing a good sleep the team also developed a cordless technology which uses the human bodies natural conductive properties to communicate with a conductive sheet that lies under the bed sheet. The pillow itself also houses a microphone which analyses the decibel level of the snorer. When the oxygen level decreases in the patient resulting in the snore level increasing it triggers the bear-pillow’s hand to move towards the sleepers face. Gently brushing the face causes the person to then turn from lying on their back to moving onto their side, a more conducive postion for a sound, snoreless nights sleep.”
(via Robotic Bear Helps Quieten Snorers)
Dad takes his 5 year old daughter to a game jam and produces a charming game based on her vision, drawings, and voice. Adorable and inspiring.
Evelyn Evelyn “Have You Seen My Sister Evelyn” Music Video (by Amanda Palmer)
Actually- this makes a lot of sense.
Paying with plastic now has a double meaning in Canada. The central bank has introduced a polymer-based $100 bill as our northern neighbor moves away from paper currency. The thin, shiny, high-tech, recyclable bill, released Monday by the Bank of Canada, is reportedly almost impossible to rip and thought to be nearly counterfeit-proof, according to the bank and news reports. Security features include holographic elements and a metallic strip running through a transparent window.
