AutoCAD WS is available! iPhone and iPad included.

AutoCAD WS is fully available now on www.autocadws.com and they are also releasing compatible applications to be installed on iPhone and iPad  to synchronise all information across devices in what was called before Project Butterfly. With this application you can share blueprints, plans,

layouts, drawings,... make annotations on-site and directly show them online to all people collaborating in the project. This is something really useful that will surely make a positive impact on the way we work on-site and how we share live information with others. Technology has finally created a breach to spread like a virus in the construction industry. All innovations are welcome, let´s hope the rest of Autodesk applications also jump into it in the near future and more brands bring a necessary competitivity to shape things up... More info on: AutoCAD WS Blog

"Straddling" bus. New chinese invention to improve traffic congestion

A new type of bus has been presented to apparently solve the traffic problems found in Beijing, China. "The Straddling bus", "The 3D fast bus", or "The Stereo Bus", as they call it, consists of an elevated carriage which moves above cars driving underneath, and guided by two rails on its sides. The bus stops would be

elevated platforms on the pavement sides at the same height of the carriage. Seems like a mix of the concept of normal buses, subway, and light-rail systems, and incorporates also green energy concepts, as it is powered by electricity and solar energy, achieving zero carbon emissions. It has been proposed by Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment Co. and it´s not just an innovative idea, as they are already building a prototype to use in Beijing Mentougou District. Reportedly costing only 50 million yuan to build every car in just 1 year and 500 million to make 40 km of the whole system, a 10% of the cost of creating a subway covering the same distance.



You can find more info and a video explainint it on China Hush and Beijing News

Real to Virtual. 3D Scanner. Easy and Free Technology

We have spent endless times trying to make real all our digital ambitions, designs, projects,... well this is basically the opposite! I have discovered a new way of modelling 3D objects much easier than spending hours playing trial and error with complicated applications. Here is David Laser Scanner. It´s a method of virtualising real life objects into 3D files, that we can later use in our projects, designs or just for helping our creative minds concentrate on better things than create a 3D pet. To make it work you just need a line-laser, a webcam, and a computer with the "David-LaserScanner" application installed.

It has been used by Universities, Museums and Large Corporations,... More info: http://www.david-laserscanner.com/

Wireless Electricity: Witricity

Another hit in technology history I just came across on the same day. Witricity is a revolutionary discovery from a group of MIT Physicists who were able to transfer power over distance, basically they were able to light up a normal bulb over a 2 m. distance gap.



If you want to see the TED Talk expalining it, here



And here the website of the company, which has already made a huge progress and has the biggests companies around the world building a partnership to agree a common standard for it.

Interactive Online Video - The future of videos online

I just discovered the new invention from a cool Spanish company creating a revolution in the new techonlogies sector. This company is Madpixel, and what they have just launched is the Interactive Online Video, basically a video you can pause at any moment and search interactively through its content. You can click on information about the people that appear in the video, or clothes, objects,... endless joy.



You can see the work they have done for the Principe de Asturias Foundation here in Spanish and also a Demo of a Sex & The City Episode here. And the company website: www.madpixel.es





I think this will become quite common everywhere on the internet and we will be lucky to have youtube videos packed with commercial information, where we can spend endless hours without even realising what the content of the video is about. This is a true success, so I hope the marketing gurus are responsible enough not to ruin our lives with it, and let us watch a video in peace.