Sci-Tech

Undoing the Past

Imran H. Khan

I love Microsoft Word. My favorite button combinations are 'ctrl+Z'. With the simple touch of a button, you can undo all your mistakes. Imagine this along the line of obnoxious tattoos, ones which you cannot remove. Now a has been developed to help those hapless bikers to try a tattoo before they buy the tattoo. The remarkable idea came from computer graphics artist Loic Zimmermann who has developed a programme that will allow users to get a look at what a complex design might look like on a 3D figure. If this technology catches on, the possibilities for pushing the art form are obvious. From now on, you don't have to worry about your friends dragging you to be permanently inked as what you see is exactly what you will get. Now on the topic of hi-tech, check out the Sorapot Teapot. Some tea connoisseurs are calling the Sorapot the "sexyiest teapot ever," but frankly it's just downright architectural. There's function behind that form, too, where the arched handle is supposed to act as a heat sink to keep the tea from over-steeping. All this stainless steel and glass and design overload isn't quite available yet, but when/if it is I will surely let you know.

A team of medical researchers have spent the last six years working on a remarkable "4D" hologram system called CAVEman. Combining data from CT scans, X-rays, biopsies and other medical tests, it creates a gigantic, realistic model of a patient's body. I bet this will surely show them the bigger picture as they will have ample resources in gigantic proportions to diagnose from. In a word, it's awesome. But they've got even bigger plans brewing. The next step for CAVEman is to allow doctors to actually reach inside of the holograms and actually feel the tissues and compare densities. Imagine someone reaching into your (holographic) heart and pumping it. Cool. I am especially looking forward to it because they will also add organ sounds. Squish. The main idea is to create a patient-specific model to help explain things visually to the patients. I just can't wait until this technology finds its way to the gaming world. Imagine mess one could make while killing the Ogres in The World of Warcraft! Ok, I'm moving too fast. Excuse me while I take a step back from technological advancements to ponder on that thought.

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