Tag Archives: design
New Minnesota Vikings stadium design is indeed a new stadium design
The Minnesota Vikings have unveiled prospective images of their new stadium, and, in the spirit of similarly asymmetrical and eye-snagging designs like the new Atlanta Falcons design, it’s pretty darn striking.
Designed by HKS Sports and Entertainment, the stadium will seat 65,000, and can seat as much as 73,000 for a Super Bowl (which, of course, is always the goal). Since a retractable roof was too expensive, the stadium will have a clear roof to let in some of that sweet, sweet natural sunlight.
The venue will be configurable for all sorts of events, including concerts, baseball and NCAA basketball, just in case. And there promises to be a manicured plaza that will give Vikings fans something pretty to stare at if Christian Ponder throws the team out of the postseason.
The stadium’s shape made us feel something … something we hadn’t felt in a long, long time. But it took the fine folks at Kissing Suzy Kolber to nail it:
The Vikings hope to start work on the giant immobile Sandcrawler this fall.
VW debuts 503-hp Design Vision GTI at Wörthersee
Filed under: Concept Cars, Performance, Hatchback, Volkswagen, Misc. Auto Shows
As is the case every year, Volkswagen engineers have built and brought a new toy to their fans at the annual Wörthersee festival in Reifnitz, Austria. Called the Design Vision GTI, this track toy is a Golf that’s been widened, lowered and given an injection of twin-turbo V6 steroids.
The powerplant providing motivation is a 3.0-liter V6 paired with two turbochargers to produce 503 horsepower and up to 413 pound-feet of torque. With all-wheel drive and Volkswagen’s famous DSG gearbox (the gear count is unknown), the Design Vision GTI can erase what’s between you and 62 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds, as well as a reach a terminal velocity of 186 mph. Carbon ceramic brakes, 20-inch wheels and a specially tuned chassis round out the hardware upgrades, while engineers compressed the car’s dimensions to be shorter, wider and lower than a stock GTI.
The exterior of the Design Vision GTI is meant to evoke the future of GTI styling, which is fine by us as we especially like how the car’s iconic C-pillar is pulled away from the body and flows into the significantly flared rear fenders. It looks like the reflection of a GTI in a circus mirror with menace-making bends. The interior, meanwhile, is an exercise in editing, with switches, knobs and all manner of unnecessary controls removed, and the center console more severely oriented towards the driver. The rear seats have been replaced by an X-shaped crossbar, and red straps appear where door handles used to be (à la Porsche). There’s even a camera embedded in the A-pillar that can shoot either the track ahead or the driver at work.
While not as stout in the power or performance departments as the 2007 GTI W12 Concept, the Design Vision GTI looks even more the business than that King of Golfs. For now we only have renderings, but we’ll update this post with live images of the Design Vision GTI as soon as they’re available.
Continue reading VW debuts 503-hp Design Vision GTI at Wörthersee
VW debuts 503-hp Design Vision GTI at Wörthersee originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 May 2013 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Valve experiments with players’ sweat response, eye-tracking controls for future game design
Valve has a surprisingly varied staff roster. Mike Ambinder is the company’s very own experimental psychologist and he’s been outlining some of Valve’s work with biofeedback technology, including eye-motion controls for Portal 2 and perspiration-based gaming adjustments on Left 4 Dead. Mentioning these developments at the NeuroGaming Conference last week, Ambinder notes that both are still at an experimental stage, but that “there is potential on both sides of the equation, both for using physiological signals to quantify an emotion [and] what you can do when you incorporate physiological signals into the gameplay itself.”
In Left 4 Dead, test subjects had their sweat monitored, with values assigned to how much they were responding to the action. This data was fed back into the game, where designers attempted to modify (and improve) the experience. In a test where players had four minutes to shoot 100 enemies, calmer participants would progress normally, but if they got nervous, the game would speed up and they would have less time to shoot. When it came to the eye-tracking iteration of Portal 2, the new controls apparently worked well, but also necessitated separating aiming and viewpoint to ensure it worked. With Valve already involving itself in wearable computing, it should make both notions easier to accomplish if it decides to bring either experiment to fans. Venture Beat managed to record Ambinder’s opening address at the conference — we’ve added it after the break.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: Venture Beat
NASA invites students to design future Moonbuggy prototypes [w/video]
Filed under: Concept Cars, Etc., Videos
There are a lot of awards handed out at the Great Moonbuggy Race, from ‘Most Improved’ to ‘Crash and Burn,’ but the one every team wants is the first-place trophy. This year was the 20th year of the annual event, held at the US Space & Rocket Center under the auspices of NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Aerojet, and it was two teams from Puerto Rico that took first in both high school and college divisions.
The race tested proof-of-concept vehicles created by 89 teams of high school and college students from around the world. Teams of six competitors include one male and one female driver and they have to design a buggy that, disassembled , fits into a 4x4x4 space. When the clock starts, the teams have to build their buggies and run them over a half-mile course that mimics the moonscape; whichever team has the shortest combined time wins. The winning time from Teodoro Aguilar Moro Vocational High School (pictured) was 3:24, while the collegiate entry from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao won with a time of 3:32.
There’s a press release below with more details and a list of all the winners, plus a video from NASA Television on last year’s race.
Continue reading NASA invites students to design future Moonbuggy prototypes [w/video]
NASA invites students to design future Moonbuggy prototypes [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 04 May 2013 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Local Motors picks first-ever winner of motorcycle design challenge [w/video]
Filed under: Concept Cars, Etc., Videos, Motorcycle, Design/Style
Local Motors, the company behind the Rally Fighter, briefly took its four wheels off the dirt and put two on the road for a crowd-sourced motorcycle project. Working with fellow Arizona company DP Custom Cycles, Local Motors invited its community to design a motorbike based on the Harley-Davidson Sportster. More than 200 entries from ten countries were received, and the winner has been chosen in the DP Racer by Andre Costa of Portugal. Second place was the NASCAR-inspired Talledega by Italy’s well-known Oberdan Bezzi, third place went to Marc Senger of the US for his NASA-themed DP Customs Lander.
DP Custom Cycles will build Costa’s Racer, but hasn’t said how many of them will be produced. Serial Number 0001 is already taken, though, having been auctioned off to the Local Motors community. You can watch the selection process in the video and read about the contest and finalists in the press release below, and check out the top ten entries in the high-res gallery above.
Continue reading Local Motors picks first-ever winner of motorcycle design challenge [w/video]
Local Motors picks first-ever winner of motorcycle design challenge [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 May 2013 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Girl Scouts of greater Los Angeles to offer a video game design patch
The Girl Scouts offer a number of different patches that scouts can earn for completing various tasks. The Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles have announced that they have teamed up with Women in Games International to create a new patch that scouts can earn. The new patch is earned when Girl Scouts learn to design video games.
To earn the patch the scouts will use E-line’s game design software called Gamestar Mechanic. The program for earning the video game design patch is being designed to meet Girl Scout patch requirements and the focus on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math academic initiative. The Girl Scouts isn’t the only scouting program that offers merit badges to help encourage children to design video games.
Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts of America announced a merit badge for game design. That particular merit badge was officially unveiled at the SXSW Gaming Expo in Austin, Texas. The Boy Scout badge allows kids to design not only video games, but board games, dice, and card games as well.
The Girl Scouts and Women in Games International believe that creating a patch in video game design will help get young girls excited about technology and science. There’s no indication at this time of exactly when scouts will be able to earn the video game design patch. However, it does appear that the Girl Scouts’patch will be specifically for video game design unlike the Boy Scout merit badge, which allows the design of board games and more.
[via Polygon]
Girl Scouts of greater Los Angeles to offer a video game design patch is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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Google Play rolls out new design and simpler check-out
As expected, Google has issued a redesign to the Google Play store, and it’s starting to roll out now to Android smartphones and tablets running Android 2.2 Froyo and higher. Google says that the redesign is much more simple and clean this time around, and the new design also helps users find the things they want in a faster manner.
The new design is more heavily image based than before, which means that content will feature bigger images that “jump off the page,” not only making it appealing to look at, but to also make it easier to spot the content you’re looking for. Themed items are also grouped together, such as magazines, books, apps, games, etc.
Recommended content is definitely not absent from the redesign. Google has made sure that you’ll always see recommended content on the home page. As you scroll down, new recommendations will continue to appear, since “there is always more to see and explore.” However, for someone like me who can’t be bothered with such content, it may only come as a distraction.
However, Google says they simplified the check-out process, making apps, games, books, movies, etc. much quicker and easier to purchase. Google says they want users to start enjoying their purchase as soon as possible, but we can’t ignore the fact that a quicker check-out process is a great way for buyers to think less about putting the item back on the shelf. Android users in the US should see the update at some point today, while international users will get the redesign in the coming weeks.
Google Play rolls out new design and simpler check-out is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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WRX Concept gets walkaround with Subaru design boss Osamu Namba
Filed under: Concept Cars, New York Auto Show, Sedan, Performance, Videos, Subaru, Design/Style
The Subaru WRX Concept was the only concept car to be mentioned among our Editors’ Choice favorites for New York Auto Show debuts this year – snagging the No. 3 spot nonetheless – due to what it could mean to the future of Subaru if it indeed becomes a reality. Now that we’ve caught our breath from walking countless miles through the Javits Center, Subaru has released a brief video of design boss Osamu Namba describing some of the exterior styling elements of the sporty concept sedan.
While this video is just your basic walkaround that gives no mention of the concept’s inspiration or what we can expect from the next-generation WRX, it is still fun to watch Namba explain many of the car’s design elements including the more aggressive face, the quadruple exhaust outlets and the signature flared wheel arches and side outlet fender vents. If you liked the WRX Concept as much as we did, scroll down to watch this short video.
Continue reading WRX Concept gets walkaround with Subaru design boss Osamu Namba
WRX Concept gets walkaround with Subaru design boss Osamu Namba originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
BMW unveils Concept X4 Sports Activity Coupe design
BMW has unveiled the Concept X4, a sports activity coupe touted as being “the future of the BMW X family.” This snazzy-looking car is boasted as being a mixture of high performance/driving dynamics and eye-catching, with highly detailed design that is a mixture of sophisticated and beastly. Prduction is slated to start in early 2014, although no definite date was provided.
The BMW X4 will be manufactured at the BMW Plant Spartanburg, which is located in the United States. The car features 21-inch alloy wheels, round LED headlights, a kidney grille, and a high-gloss frame. The entire vehicle is designed to be highly dynamic, with carefully positioned air intake vents, milled bars, and chrome edges. This results in contrasts that work together to help form a complete design that is both appealing and functional.
The side of the BMW X4 shows off the vehicle’s long wheelbase and bonnet, as well as short overhangs and wedged-shaped flanks. The sweeping downward roof is designed to make the car seem long. BMW says the car’s “visual center of gravity” has been lowered over other vehicles in the line, something that gives it more of a sporty look. There are swage lines above a concave area to draw emphasis to the wheels.
And then, moving on to the rear of the Concept X4, the design puts emphasis on horizontal elements, which is amplified by slim LED lights pushed outwards towards the maximum edges of the car’s back, amplifying the sportscar look. Combinations of light/dark colors and horizontal design elements are meant to make the car seem shorter, and the most obvious, eye-catching feature is said to be the rear apron with two tailpipes and a swooping design fading out towards the tires.
Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out the gallery below.
[via BMW]
BMW unveils Concept X4 Sports Activity Coupe design is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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Apple patent filing shows experimental iPhone design with no buttons, ‘wraparound’ screen
BGR
