Datum 2014
Taste Simulator Adds
Flavor to Virtual
Worlds
then sends the image to the phone
via Bluetooth and the companion
app.
The camera can also be placed on a
An electrode able to simu-
surface or clipped to an object and
late different tastes when held to
the smartphone used as a remote
the tongue could have implications in
shutter control to capture images be-
both gaming and healthcare.
yond self-portraits.
The device is equipped with
a silver electrode that is held to the
tip of the tongue by the user. Slight
changes in the alternating current
Bloom Floating Farm
Designed to Reduce
CO2 Levels
and temperature controlled by semiconductor elements generate the pri-
The Bloom floating farm was de-
mary tastes of salty, sweet, bitter and
signed to grow plankton (which help
sour. Currently the electrode has to
to remove carbon dioxide from the
be physically held to the tongue to
air) while it monitors sea levels, cre-
operate, but the developers hope to
ates fresh water and sends tsunami
create a wireless version that can be
alerts when appropriate.
used with the mouth closed.
One of the five finalists in the
Along with allowing the user
“Architecture+Weather” category of
to ‘taste’ foods in games and cooking
Architizer A+ Awards, the Bloom was
shows, the team also envisions the
conceived by Sitbon Architectes of
device being used in healthcare to
Paris. The large, floating structure
help chemotherapy patients regener-
would be equipped with aquariums
ate their diminished sense of taste or
of photoplankton, tiny sea-creatures
allow diabetics to enjoy the taste of
that play a key role in removing CO2
sugar without actually ingesting any.
from the air. The semi-submersible
Tiny Take Yourself
Camera Designed for
Self-Portraits
Bloom would be tethered to the
ocean floor with a series of cables,
and could be moved to ‘dead areas’
of the ocean to help increase the water’s oxygen levels.
The tiny Take Yourself cam-
The Bloom would also filter sea wa-
era pairs with a smartphone to pro-
ter to create drinking water, and its
vide an easier and more creative way
sensitivity to sea vibrations would
to take self-portraits.
make it an excellent source of early
tsunami warnings.
The Take Yourself camera
can be held easily in one hand, which
makes it a bit more fluid to operate
GIRINATH .V
than some smartphone cameras. It
B.Sc IT - IV
uses the smartphone’s screen to display the image being captured, and
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