03 PM | 02 Oct

The Styx from Skullmapping [#geekgirl]

The Styx from Skullmapping on Vimeo.

With ‘The Styx’, Skullmapping is venturing in a new direction. By using the technical knowledge build up in our mapping projects, we’ve decided to create an immersive multi sensoric virtual reality experience. ‘The Styx’ is being developed for ‘Leuven in Scène’ and will have it’s premiere on 11, 12 and 13 july 2014.

Spectators arrive one by one at a predetermined time at the venue. At the entrance, the spectator receives a golden coin. A guide comes to pick them up and guides them into the room. The spectator takes place on a wooden bench and puts on an Oculus Rift (Virtual Reality Headset) and headphones, holding the coin in one hand. The viewer is able to look around 360 degrees in a virtual environment. Because of stereoscopy the spectator has the feeling that they are actually in that virtual world. Not only through 3D vision and 3D sound, but also through other sensoric experiences such as smell and touch. The story we bring is based on the myth of the Styx, the river in Greek mythology that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld. The spectator sinks down into the underground and ‘awakens’ next to a pier seated in a small boat. A mysterious figure (Charon) walks down the pier and jumps into the boat. He takes the coin the spectator is holding (the action of the virtual character is mimicked by the guide). Charon starts to row down the Styx, into the Underworld. He steers through a labyrinth of caves, overcoming unexpected obstacles, such as rapids and even a mythical creature. After these dark endeavours, we finally arrive in a peaceful, heavenly world. The little boat strands on a beach, and we’ve reached the end of our journey.

http://skullmapping.com

Credits Concept / Design / Animation: Antoon Verbeeck + Filip Sterckx Sounddesign: Valentijn Steenhoudt Camera: Pierre Schreuder Commissioned by Leuven in Scène

01 PM | 17 Jul

“Real Cheese From A Lab, No Cow Necessary” [#geekgirl]

[From this article at TechCrunch] “Vegans who miss the creamy taste of real cheese, rejoice! A group of biohackers from Counter Culture Labs in Oakland, Calif., and BioCurious in Sunnyvale, Calif., are using baker’s yeast to produce the world’s first cheese that did not originate from milk in the udder of a cow.

Most vegan cheese is soy or nut-based and doesn’t taste much like cheese at all. If you’ve been vegan for awhile you may not remember the creamy, salty, delicious taste of a good sharp cheddar or the pungent stink of Limburger or Brie. That’s all about to change for you, thanks to science.”

03 PM | 14 Jul

“Vantablack: the darkest material ever made…” [#geekgirl]

[Via a Digital Journal article] “A company has produced a “strange, alien” material so black that it absorbs all but 0.035 per cent of visual light. This has set a new world record.

The new material is called ‘Vantablack’ and it has been developed by Surrey NanoSystems, based in Newhaven. The remarkable thing about the material is how dark it is; no other material has been made that absorbs so much light. The lack of light reflected back accounts for the intensity of the blackness. The “super black” material is a type of coating made of carbon nanotubes (each 10,000 times thinner than a human hair), developed onto sheets of aluminium foil.”