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Here at The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis we run a simple dashboard view of the weather in London. The background of the dashboard changes colour to a variety of pantone shades according to temperature. Via our CEDE project we are starting to experiment with the Philips Hue Wifi Lighting System. With the ability to connect the bulbs to a network and select colours according to a hex colour –  the logical link was to link the bulbs to the weather data, allowing the lighting to change according to the external temperature and in sync with the web dashboard.

Once the bulbs are connected to the network there are a variety of third party services that can be used to control the bulbs, either as a group or individually. One of our current favourites here at CASA is IF This Then That (IFTTT), IFTTT is a service that allows the creation of simple ‘recipes’, linking popular online systems via a series of rules. Among the services linked on IFTTT is the Netatmo Weather Station and the Philips Hue.

We are using the Netatmo in CASA as part of our forthcoming office data dashboard, it monitors internal temperature, humidity, sound levels and carbon dioxide with an external unit providing temperature and humidity readings.

Our Colours Weather Dashboard changes its background every 5 degrees centigrade, as such via IFTTT it is possible to create a series of recipes using the same colour range and link it to a temperature reading from the external Netatmo unit.

IFTTT is an emerging service, as such it does have a number of limitations. We had to create a recipe for each temperature change, rather than combining it into one logical statement. IFTTT also only checks the readings from external services every 15 minutes, making it unsuitable for rapidly changing data. Finally, there do seem to be a few bugs, the hex colour does not seem to create a direct match to the Hue light, so a few tweaks are required to gain the correct colour output.

Despite a few limitations it does open up a number of possibilities, the next steps are to look into how to link in other data feeds. This is arguably where the power of IFTTT comes into play, its ability to link a number of services and then control external hardware makes it a perfect opening into linking data to the Internet of Things.

The whole system could arguably be built using an Arduino  board / Raspberry Pi linked to LED’s at a much lower cost. The linking of consumer grade units to data is however perhaps a step towards smart objects for everyone. The whole set up took  under two hours to get up and running, including the setting up of the IFTTT recipes and linking to the Philips Hue. Edit (20/2/2014) – the light is now installed inside an old Ships Lamp with the colour changing according to the outside temperature.

It is probably a niche market, but the linking of data to lighting is an intriguing development. From making the lights blink when carbon dioxide levels in the office rise through to changing colours according to a twitter or rss feed, we are excited by the possibilities.

The web based weather dashboard can be viewed at http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/weather/colours.html data updates every 3 seconds. We will be mounting the ‘weather bulb’ in a small globe and placing it in the corner of the office. The Philips Hue starter pack comes with three bulbs, 50 lights can be linked to each bridge. With the ability to link each bulb, or a group of bulbs, to almost any data feed, the office is about to become a colourful place…

 

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I just look at the pictures.
Via

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As anyone with a Facebook account that’s over the age of 25 will tell you, 3D ultrasounds of fetuses are all the rage these days, with ultrasound pictures of the unborn recently taking the leap from black and white blobs to 3D – and 4D – images. With the advent of 3D printers, the inevitable has happened. Now you can order a 3D print of your yet-to-be-born progeny.

The company behind this – 3D Babies – takes 3D ultrasound data from weeks 24-32 and turns it into a 3D model. The printed 3D models sell for $800 for the full size version, $400 for a half-size version, and $200 for a quarter size version. It appears the 3D ultrasound data is simply wrapped around a pre-defined mesh, so while the resulting print may come out looking like your spawn, it’s still not a physical copy of the 3D/4D ultrasound data.

Despite the ‘creepy’ factor of these little bundles of plastic, we’re wondering why we haven’t seen anything like this before. Are there any obstetricians/radiologists/ultrasound techs out there that have experience with importing 3D ultrasound data into an editor of some sort? Notwithstanding any HIPAA violations, it seems it would be rather easy to turn this sort of 3D data into a printed object. 3D printing CT scans models can’t be the only other instance of this type of thing.

Thanks [Will] for the nightmares

Filed under: 3d Printer hacks

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“Floppy ear, hiccups, the name BISCUIT! The cuteness is strong with this one!” — StuntManGv3

Whenever snow is in the forecast, kids all over the country are crossing their fingers and hoping for a day off.

But how much snow does it really take to get that cancellation?

A new map from Reddit user Alexandr Trubetskoy (atrubetskoy) gives us a visual.

We first saw this map on The Atlantic, which reports,

Using data "taken from hundreds of various points from user responses...interpolated using NOAA's average annual snowfall days map," Trubetskoy made a map showing how much snow it typically takes to close schools in the U.S. and Canada.

Notice that for much of the southern U.S., all it takes is "any snow" to shut schools down. For the Upper Midwest and Canada, two feet of snow are required for a closure.

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A man launched a website to ask the Internet to name his upcoming baby girl, which should enter the world on April 2nd, 2014. The current winning name? Cthulhu All-Spark McLaughin. You can also check some of the other awesome combinations above.

Hi, My name is Stephen and much to the disbelief of my wife, I have decided to let the internet name* my daughter.

Yeah that is an asterisk, Unfortunately internet I know better than to trust you. We will ultimately be making the final decision, Alas my daughter shall not be named WackyTaco692. Sorry guys the wife wouldn’t go for a free for all.

[Name My Daughter]

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Driving with limited visibility in Detroit

[Arbroath]

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