The EyeWriter was created to enable graffiti artist Tony Quan, aka Tempt One, to continue to write graffiti despite the fact that he is completely physically paralyzed due to ALS.  DIY EyeWriter instructions were released in November by the team.  Right after Powderly and Lieberman presented, magician Marco Tempest presented a live augmented reality magic performance.

Tempest wore an eyeglass rig similar to Tony Quan’s and created the augmented reality software through collaboration with Zach Lieberman and Theo Watson from openFrameworks.  What struck me most, besides the truly inspiring story of Tony Quan, was how interesting to see one set of open source tools used for two such different purposes.   Previous similar open source releases like L.A.S.E.R. Tag were made by artists for artists to entertain audiences whereas the eyeWriter is actually using these same creative technologies to fill a social need.

Comprehensive eyeWriter documentation can be found at www.eyewriter.org.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the huge Schematic touchwall, and this week I found on Crunch Gear an interesting product at the other end of the spectrum. Demand Evolution, based in San Francisco, is selling what they call “The Kit” directly from their website.

As the name implies, it’s basically a DIY multitouch kit that can be used to quickly and cheaply deploy a decent table-sized (50″ diagonal) multitouch display. That’s small compared to a wall, but large compared to, say,  Microsoft Surface. You can get it with an (optional) stand, as shown above, that will allow you to orient it as a whiteboard, as a table, or as a kiosk like in the picture.

One of the major benefits of Surface, as we wrote back then, has been the relatively affordable price ($13,000) of the system. The Kit, at under $2,000, decidedly lowers the bar, potentially bringing the range within the budgets of students, tinkerers and the like. The Kit does not include a computer or a projector, so the all-in hardware cost of a system could be more like $5,000. Then again, depending on your project, a computer and a decent projector can always be useful for other things once it’s over. And even at $5,000 it’s still a lot cheaper than Surface.

Of course, it’s not well suited for public venue setups since it is not contained. But it’s extremely portable. The Kit also does not rely on any proprietary hardware, but instead embraces the many open-source tools that have been developed by the community. These features make this kit a natural choice for academics, artists, and anyone who wants to just play around with multitouch systems. As far as personal computing, there is still no “killer app” for multitouch screens that is going to drive them to the tipping point and make them ubiquitous. That means there’s plenty of room for visionaries and entrepreneurs to be developing the next generation of software on these tables. The availability of software like this can only broaden that field.

Mother’s Day is an opportunity to express your love and respect for the mothers in your life. This participatory website experience allows people to share their appreciation through the creation of a personalized video news clip that announces Mother of the Year. Watch this . The application allows you to “Make your favorite Mom(s) a star” by entering their name which becomes content for the news video.

By using dynamic Flash video overlays, the mother’s name is intelligently sprinkled throughout the piece to provide a convincing personal touch. The fictitious segment served from fictitious news website are either originally produced or edited out of context (President Obama) allowing them to be slightly vague  so they can work for every mother. There is a real element of humor in the original footage that reminds me of Weekend Update on SNL. Making fun of 52 hour work days and lack of showering makes this experience a 10 out of 10 for authenticity.  The sponsor who paid for the campaign, MomsRising.org is a perfect fit for this type of viral interactive that brings awareness to their cause and brand.

where they select one of four languages to explorer. Once selected (I choose Chinese) a language coach walks you through pronouncing a few basic phases which are recorded by a video camera and microphone. This 1st part of the activity is about 3 minutes and is fulfilling enough to stand on its own, but there is more. When you leave the booth a large projection screen allows curious onlooker to watch the final end product which is a combination of your recording and prerecord footage of another character. The system edits together a two way conversation between a character (a Chinese woman) and the your recorded segments, allowing the final product to become dialog. This conversational payoff adds contextual relevance to the recently learned words and leaves a lasting impression that helps reinforce the objectives of this activity.

Since it’s Christmas day, I figured I would blog about one of my favorite interactive campaigns of the season. It’s been a big viral hit, so you’ve probably seen it. I guess it’s the Elf Yourself of 2008. (I would link to our previous blog post here, but that reference pre-dates this blog – it was 2006. The site is still around, though it’s been jazzed up a bit since the original…) I’m talking, of course, about Beware of the Doghouse, the hilarious microsite created to sell diamonds from the jewlery store at JCPenney. Which, to be honest, seems like kind of an unlikely candidate for a hip, funny, forward-thinking interactive campaign. But there it is.

The site and the premise are both pretty simple. Both mostly revolve around the above video, which envisions a world where men who give thoughtless or inappropriate gifts are sent literally to “the doghouse” – a subterrainian bunker from which they can only escape by (surprise, surprise!) giving diamonds. It’s a good idea, executed well, and the video itself is quite funny.

Of course video is a passive observation experience, but the site adds in some contributory interactivity that makes the experience more engaging. Which wins my approval, because it too is well implemented. Basically the site contains a gallery of people who are “in the doghouse.” Users of the site can submit a name and photo of someone, which of course sends them a suggestion of what diamonds they should buy for you. You can do this directly by using a form to input the information and upload a photo. But there’s also a Facebook integration feature that lets you choose someone from your friend list. The Facebook feature also pushes news feed items, which may help explain the sites viral success. Because that exposes many more people to the experience than whatever people you opt to put into the dog house.

All-in-all, the Doghouse is good holiday fun. We hope to see more campaigns like this, that utilize Facebook and other contributory methods of expanding the experience to your social networks. Happy holidays everyone. And remember, don’t be a dual-bag…