Air Pollution Vacuum

A million lines of code, an air pollution vacuum, NIGO for Uniqlo UT and more in our weekly look at the web

Dutch artist and designer Daan Roosegaarde has developed a “vacuum cleaner” which uses copper coils to generate an electromagnetic field which would pull airborne particles in smog down to earth for cleaning and disposal. The device is not a cure-all answer however, as Roosegaarde says he designed the tool to help draw attention to air pollution in general, and to encourage others to think creatively …

Google + Pixar

A million lines of code, an air pollution vacuum, NIGO for Uniqlo UT and more in our weekly look at the web

Can your smartphone draw you into a story? The technology inside our phones rivals high-end game consoles like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and yet even though we are increasingly dependent on our phones, our relationship with them is restricted and almost primitive. Google’s Motorola division hired a team from Pixar (including the co-director of “Ratatouille”) to create the interactive narrative “Windy Day” that appears …

Inmate Coders

A million lines of code, an air pollution vacuum, NIGO for Uniqlo UT and more in our weekly look at the web

Two convicted felons at an Oklahoma prison (a murderer and a sex offender) have written a software program that could save the prison—and entire state of Oklahoma—millions of dollars by increasing efficiency in the food system. By tracking prisoners as they move through dining halls along with incoming shipments of food, the software records and looks for patterns in dietary habits and pricing data. Already …