Cutaway illustration of Lytro’s “focus-later” light field camera, which allows the photographer to change the focal point after a photo is taken. This is achieved with a light field sensor that measures the color, intensity and vector direction of light rays.

Augmented Reality, or AR, is a general term for manipulating our experience of the world around us with technology. Today it means pointing your smartphone camera at a restaurant and getting reviews. Tomorrow it might mean complete immersion into a customizable version of reality via 3D stereoscopic camera/video headsets.

An ongoing project with the Union of Concerned Scientists just got a write up on the New York Times’ auto blog.

The organization’s Model E crossover is conceived as a platform that can accommodate any one of four propulsion systems. The same body would be expected to house a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen fuel-cell or purely electric powertrain. [...] The union plans to add a family car, a compact and a pickup to the Model E lineup. Each vehicle would be relatively inexpensive to build, buy and operate, encouraging wide adoption, according to the group.

More on this as the project wraps up!

Illustration of a do-it-yourself space (or technically, ‘near-space’) balloon. $150 in components gets you photos that are out of this world—17.8 miles or 28 kilometers. For Make: Magazine, AD Daniel Carter.

Spot illustrations depicting a variety of green and energy-efficient home upgrades.
For GreenBuilder Magazine, AD Edwin Malstrom.