Tomorrow Daily 120: An Oculus movie studio, a Lego digital design kit and more
On today's show, scientists figure out how to use lasers to make a level surface water repellant.
Oculus is opening a studio to make virtual reality movies.
And there's, and there's like a lot of information.
We're all gonna look like this.
And, And, a really cool piece of software transfers any kind of building block, like a Lego into a digital modeling kit.
Oh.
Yeah, it's exciting.
Tomorrow Daily.
[MUSIC]
Greetings citizens of the internet, welcome to Tomorrow Daily, the best geek talk show in the known universe.
I like that you are, like are you playing a piano now?
Is that Keyboard Cat?
It is.
All right, good.
I'm your host.
Ashley Esqueda.
Joining me as always, Cale Anonymous, the keyboard cat of your dreams.
I am excited about this Oculus news.
I know, there's so [INAUDIBLE]
Because like, with the, with the holo, when, when the hololens came out, everyone's like VR's dead, suckers.
Oh, but they are.
And now, virtual reality's like, ,.
Hey guys,
What up?
We haven't even gotten our chance.
This is the conversation that happened.
We're in there both crushing beer cans on their head.
It was like, it was like that fight in West Side Story where they just like snap their fingers at each other.
Snap.
yeah, Sharks versus Jets, that's what it is.
so, let's not waste any more time.
Let's hit the headlines.
[MUSIC]
Okay.
So, water repellant stuff.
We've seen it.
It's out there.
Yes.
Nonstick pans.
Ducks.
[LAUGH]
Ducks.
Nonstick, okay.
So, water repellant stuff is generally made with a coating, like, Teflon.
So you see that with, like nonstick pans and stuff.
But the problem with that is that over time, you need to either reapply that Teflon, it's a coating so it wears off.
Mm-hm.
Or you could damage it.
So that's why they say like if you have non-stick pans you're not supposed to use metal utensils.
Well this is awesome, so check this out.
This is from the University of Rochester.
This is a surface, a metal surface that they were able to make hydrophobic without coating using lasers.
[INAUDIBLE]
So it'll never come off.
They, they, basically it would take a very, very, very, very long time for this to wear down.
Cuz it's metal.
So the point of this is so this is a one by one, it's one inch by one inch.
But look it, it's just bouncing off.
Like literally.
Whoa!
bouncing off of the metal.
It's just like boink, boink, boink, goodbye.
Like see, look at that, that's amazing.
So the laser etches a pattern of micro and nanoscale structures on the surface of the metal.
And then ,. It can also absorb light.
So it can repel water and absorb light as well, cuz it's really, really, really dark.
So the neat thing about this is, is that in most things that are made of like, that have a Teflon coating or some sort of hydrophobic coating.
You actually have to tilt it.
So if you have a pan and you put water in it, you have to tilt it.
Not with this.
It's like, it literally, you put water and it slides right off.
Like it, you don't have to tilt it, or, or otherwise manipulate it.
Just slides right off, which is kind of neat.
That's kind of, yeah.
That was kind of, like, porn, just watching that bounce off.
You're just like, oh yeah.
for anybody who's really into hydrophobic video, so that's what it looks like when you do use like a teflon pan, okay, so this is totally different.
What else are they hoping to use it on besides pans?
Okay, so the whole point of this is that, they're saying there could be sanitation applications.
So there they are like tilting it, oh, and it barely goes, and then there's still some water left over, residue.
Completely not the case with this, see it just slides right off.
It's crazy.
So sanitation applications, they're saying that you could do things like making latrines out of this material and then they way they're easier to clean.
What about that on walls?
And they take less water.
Would that.
So, they, the, the really important thing about this is that it's self kind of self-cleaning because of the surface being so so waterproof.
That if, they took a vacuum bag full of dust and like, poured it onto that surface and then put water on it.
And then they said it took, I think it was like, 12 drops of water to clean up all of the dust.
Wow.
It just like, slid it right off.
So, they were saying that for ,. Cleanliness or for any kind of sanitation application this would be great.
Efficiency in developing regions where collecting rain water is vital to survival, so rain rain water is kind of what, one of the main sources of water this could be really good.
And then, also solar thermal collectors, because it can absorb energy, or it can absorb light and then.
These guys are gonna be millionaires.
It's pretty cool.
So, but the problem is, is that they're gonna be millionaires, but I don't know when.
Because they're only, it took a long time for them to make that one inch by one inch metal plate, to like etch the laser pattern in there.
Yeah.
So they were saying that they, basically the goal at this point, now that they've actually created a surface is to make it so where they can
It's an actual
Make larger pieces quickly, so we'll see how that goes but nice job University of [UNKNOWN]
Way to go, yeah, you are going to be millionaires.
You guys are gonna be rich, okay tell me about Oculus
Oculus
Speaking of people who are now rich, who are currently rich.
Oculus has announced.
They are going to be making a studio to create movies for a VR space.
Now, goodbye, world.
This was announced at Sundance.
They, they said they're going to be, producing their movies with an oculus headsets, basically a movie experience.
They showed it off with a four minute animated short called Lost.
Now, the cool thing is they're, they're promising-
[INAUDIBLE].
they're, they're promising that they're going to have guest directors come in and make.
Oh I like that.
And make these movies as well as the fact that they already have ten people on their team.
On their starting team.
Some of them are from Pixar and Lucasarts.
So.
I mean.
That's pretty cool.
Those are big names.
Yeah so I mean I don't think we really have an idea when the when we're gonna start seeing these.
Mm-hm.
But obviously making fully interactive oh yeah and also they're hoping to make it so.
That you can actually sometimes interact in the movie.
Ooh, I like that.
But basically to sum it up, their goal, there's always a goal.
Always a goal.
We like the goal.
So the goal is to produce movies that allow first person experience movies and even possible ability to interact in the future.
I like it.
So we've already seen an app where you can sit in a movie theater and watch a movie.
Yeah with the Occulus Cinema right?
Yeah.
You sit in a movie theater and you can change seats and.
But you're like, alone by the way.
[CROSSTALK] That's really like, frustrating that you're alone in the theater.
But, yeah.
now they're hoping that you're just in the movie.
What do you mean?
Alone in the movie is the best.
It's like your own mystery science theater.
So you can go, oh no you didn't.
Yes.
but, I've actually already been inside a simulated movie.
Okay.
There's this, I forgot the name of the movie, I forgot the director.
But this guy was nominated for an Oscar.
I, I don't think he won, but he was nominated for an Oscar and then he made this one, and basically you're in it was like, Fallujah or something like that.
Oh.
And it was these Marines raiding, so you're like, going with them.
I think I saw this.
And, and I actually, I actually did it though.
And then you're like, looking around and-
Was it super intense?
Yeah, it was loud.
Like, you hear gunfire over on the corner and stuff like that.
That'd freak me out a little bit.
That was pretty cool.
And we also, if you didn't know, we also did the ,. Interstellar experience.
Yeah, that was awesome.
So we went through the ship from Interstellar.
ANd that was really cool, so yeah, I'm looking forward to this seeing what, what we get out of this.
And that was the thing, with AR it adds to your life, but VR, you're stepping into a completely different world.
Yeah.
We cannot say which one is better.
Right.
Surely, one is better at some things.
One is better at others.
I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of stories unravel and what people want to do.
Don't you think we should ask other people what, what they would say.
I think we should.
So I think we should make the hashtag of the day TDVRFilm.
And we should ask people to pitch their idea for a movie for virtual reality.
Mm-hm.
Can I do one?
Yeah.
Okay.
Here's my pitch.
Alright, give it.
Oh.
Run, Lola, Run, but with VR, or if you wanna work with an intellectual property that already exists- C|net
Let's go Mirror's Edge.
Oh I like it.
So you can, but again that could just be a game.
But Mirror's Edge, but you do like a live action Mirror's Edge.
All of mine, cuz all of mine exist in you're embodying the person.
Obviously the one that I tried, you weren't necessarily embodying someone, you were following people.
Yeah.
But yeah.
Embodying.
You embody someone who's doing like parkour and stuff like that.
You?
I'd like to see, I'd like to see a short film based on 2001: A Space Odyssey and like visiting the obelisk.
Oh.
Yeah.
Like I, just short film, kind of narrative, someone come up with a narrative.
Like I'm sure there are smarter people out there than I but.
Some kind of narrative, some kind of cool narrative that takes us back to the [UNKNOWN].
That sounds intense.
[CROSSTALK].
Something cool.
[CROSSTALK].
I think the virtual reality for me, like the most exciting thing for me is going to a place that i'm not going to be able to go at least until i'm very old and rich and i'm like Oprah.
But, space.
Like I mean it's, you can go anywhere in the world and it won't cost you nearly as much as it will cost to go to space.
So for me, it's, that's like the exciting thing for me is that someday, I might be able to put on a Hollow Lens, or put on an Occulus Rift and go to Mars and be able to see it right in front of me as if it were there, from the comfort of my living room.
I like that.
Yeah.
That's what, that's what, you know, VR is supposed to represent.
That's what it's all about.
Yeah.
So what it's all about.
So pitch us your movie ideas.
Short film, long, long movies, whatever.
Mm.
And, I don't know, we, should we pick a favorite or something tomorrow?
I guess we'll pick a favorite.
Yeah, we'll each pick a favorite.
We'll each pick a favorite, alright.
You pick a favorite, I pick a favorite.
So, let's talk about digital legos, because this is awesome.
Everybody loves legos, unless you step on them, which, in which case, everyone hates them.
Yeah.
But this London studio called Gravity, it's, I think it's like for graduate students, they designed Lego X, which is a- Software system that lets you build things with blocks, and then as you're building, it creates a digital render of it, like, in real time on your computer or your iPad.
So, this is kind of incredible.
Like, I'm super impressed with this.
So you can see, they're moving the block around in the video, and I, you, it like, it knows exactly with, where and how you're moving them around.
It uses location mapping and gyroscopic sensors to plot the position and orientation of the blocks.
They're using Duplo blocks here, by the way.
Like, I, those look a little large to be Legos.
Yeah, they're Duplo blocks.
The gravity, so, it uses Duplo blocks now, because it's easy, but look at this.
So, that's what it's rendering.
So it's actually rendering a real room.
Oh.
Like a 3D room.
It doesn't look like a LEGO, it doesn't look like a LEGO build.
Yeah.
Your kid will be an architect is what your saying.
So see how it's got, like, these big arrays?
So when it, it says, oh, you have a whole bunch of blocks together, it recognizes that needs to make it one piece.
So that's why you saw just a simple wall going like this.
Yeah.
As opposed to a whole bunch of little blocks.
How are they capturing it?
So they, they have a whole like, system set up for this.
And it uses location sense, like location mapping and gyroscopic sensors that are.
They have it, like if we go back to the video, if Logan can like, show a little bit more of this.
When they're putting them down on the.
There's like a plate that they're putting, they're like, laying everything down on.
And they were saying that.
You'd be able to sort of put things together in, with these blocks and then export them to your favorite 3D printer software as a file and then you'd be able to 3D print whatever that was.
So this could really revolutionize things like architecture.
So they could build something with Legos.
Like, hypothetically, you build a whole thing out of Legos, which we've seen some amazing Lego builds, and then you would be able to get that 3D printed and, like, show people exactly what your vision is.
Like, a 3D printed, like, mockup of a building.
Mega model.
[CROSSTALK] Alright, cool, that's been kind of my dream as a. Kids.
Yeah.
I mean, I think this is awesome, and I. Like, they do other cool stuff, this team, Gravity.
They're they do some other stuff with digital design.
And also they do some VR development, so they have some things going on with Oculus, as well.
I was like, looking through their website.
Who doesn't?
I was totally stalking you guys, Gravity.
But yeah, it was I'm just really fascinated by this.
And I think this is a really neat sort of step towards being able to sort of use the things that are in your house, like Lego's, or Lincoln Logs, or whatever it is, like you know, kids toys.
Being able to use those to design something that you can then get 3-D printed and sent to your house.
That's like, that's insane.
It's like-
Yeah, because I mean honestly, not everybody has the tech savviness to build something in a virtual space.
And cash, yeah.
and, and really or model something, so.
Right.
Yeah.
But everybody knows how to use Lego's.
So it's, that seems like a really accessible way to build something incredible and this is software sort of takes.
what you're building, and, and smooths it out.
And you could actually use this software as well, to like smooth over edges, or, it recognizes when you want an arch, like in stuff, like, it automatically will adjust to that.
That's pretty cool.
Neat!
I'm gonna build my next house in Legos, this is what I'm learning today.
I think that's really, that's the goal, right?
Is that
I love that they also combine the 3D printing element, I'm just putting that out there.
Really neat.
So, export your 3D file, and then you'll get it 3D printed.
It's awesome.
So we're gonna take a quick break.
We're gonna be right back we have an awesome mod this week, for Mod Squad And then we also have your user feedback and our phonetographer for the day.
So don't click away.
It's Tomorrow Daily.
[MUSIC]
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