DARPA Makes Progress with Programmable Matter

Thanks PSFK for this.... wild stuff and the mind boggles at the applications...

April 22, 2009

Clean Technica reports that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been making headway with their exciting programmable matter project. In a nutshell, programmable matter is a way to create and disassemble solid objects on command - a kind of miracle material that can be instantly molded into anything.

From the DARPA press release:

The five research teams are pursuing a variety of scientific approaches. The Harvard University team of researchers led by Professor George Whitesides is developing a sort of “generalized Rubik’s Cube” that acts as a central organizer to encode information and assemble matter. Professor David R. Liu’s Harvard team is relying on DNA base pairing as a sort of molecular Velcro to program the assembly or disassembly of “smart” materials. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Daniela Rus has created an innovative computational origami of two- and three-dimensional functional structures, through the “folding” of matter. Also based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Neil Gershenfeld’s team is pursuing a concept called “milli-biology,” in which digital components are employed to engineer mesoscale analogs of biological structure and function. At Cornell University, Associate Professor Hod Lipson’s team is using jamming to create extreme strength in materials that are assembled using enzyme-mimetic building blocks of matter.

Clean Technica: “DARPA Passes Key Programmable Matter Milestone”

Cars, twitter and a new adserving model

Thansk Contagious and Adage for these posts on who some auto manufactueres are tapping into microblogging

First this overview from Contagious

Volvo's Multi-Purpose Banner Ad

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21/04/2009

Swedish Automaker Volvo, has taught the old banner ad a few new tricks thanks to a campaign masterminded by Euro RSCG Worldwide. The new multi-purpose ad not only measures a whopping 950 x 250 pixels but also contains photos, videos, an advergame and regular Twitter

www.thevolvotwitterad.com

The initiative is in promotion of the new automatic braking or 'city safety' feature on Volvo's latest XC60 sports utility vehicle - a system which is being debuted at the New York Auto Show, from which the brand is providing constant Twitter updates that get displayed in the banner.This Twitter feed has been enabled thanks to Google's DoubleClick technology, which relays the 'Tweets' via an RSS feed. The most recent update is displayed, although users can scroll down to catch up on previous news. The brand launched its Twitter profile 3 months ago and currently has over 1200 followers.

www.thecarthatstopsitself.com

As the very best 'must-see' viral adverts have shown (think Cadbury's Gorilla) when content is engaging enough, its consumption can become something of an event. By squeezing its campaign into one banner ad, Volvo has streamlined this process for the user. Furthermore, the inclusion of a Twitter feed not only keeps it up to date, but also gives the initiative a human voice that should set it apart from the more standard intrusive banner ad.

In other automotive Twitter news this week, Tata-owned brand Land Rover has also been documenting its presence at the New York Auto Show using a Twitter hashtag, #LRNY, which filters conversations, aggregating chat and information about the brand.

updates.

During the lead up to the auto show, these tags were seeded in trade press publications, through online media channels and outdoors on billboards, taxis etc. Also, the brand enlisted (via direct-marketing firm Wunderman) the help of Twittad - a US-based Twitter advertising specialist which payed a selection of 15 popular users (typically with an excess of 3000 followers each) to feature extensive branding on their profile pages. James Eliason, CEO of Twittad reported that in total the effort was Twittered to more than 300,000 followers.

www.twittad.com

Then, this more in-depth piece of the LandRover work from AdAge

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Land Rover Taps Twitter as Campaign Cornerstone

'Hashtags,' Fledgling Ad Network Help Get the Word out Across Microblogging Site

by Jeremy Mullman

Published: April 20, 2009

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Land Rover last week became the first national brand to execute a national Twitter campaign in a bid to promote its newest models' debuts at the New York Auto Show.

While brands as diverse as Southwest Airlines and Smirnoff vodka have been tweeting and accumulating followers for months, Land Rover attempted to use the burgeoning social-media platform in a more ambitious way, seeding so-called hashtags (words used in tweets that make it easier to follow an ongoing conversation via online searches) on billboards, taxi TVs and other out-of-home venues; spreading word of the Twitter effort through auto-obsessed blogs and online publications eager for a peek at its latest bells and whistles; and paying a fledgling Twitter ad network to spread the word among its army of compensated, heavily followed Twitter users, all of whom wallpapered their Twitter profiles with Land Rover branding.

While it's too early to know what sort of return Land Rover will receive for its efforts, "it cost us virtually nothing," said Keith Rhodes, VP and account director at WPP-owned direct-marketing firm Wunderman, which orchestrated the effort.

Mr. Rhodes said he was particularly encouraged by the Twitter-fueled traffic to a blog post he wrote about Land Rover's initiative. Posts on his site typically draw about 30 views; this one grabbed more than 200,000 views.

Land Rover is not likely to remain the only national marketer doing this for long, said James Eliason, CEO of Twittad, the Des Moines-based "social-media affinity network" Wunderman tapped to boost Land Rover's launch.

Mr. Eliason said the next national effort using Twittad's roster of 4,500 Tweeters, whom it pays to post on topics and brand their profile pages, with nearly 5 million followers, will be for Elations, a glucosamine-enhanced beverage from the makers of Sunny Delight targeted at women over 40.

Twitter machine
All told, the Land Rover effort was Twittered to more than 300,000 followers, Mr. Eliason said. Twittad used 15 different Tweeters with at least 5,000 followers, although the majority had between 2,000 and 4,000 followers.

Most won't get rich doing this anytime soon. One paid Tweeter, willconley777, wrote on his blog that he was paid $2.50 for letting Land Rover sponsor his profile page for seven days. Mr. Conley has 1,160 followers. Still, for those few Twitter users with huge reach, real money might one day be possible. The most-followed Land Rover campaign participant, queenoftheclick, boasts nearly 25,000 followers and was paid an amount "in the hundreds" for her participation, Mr. Eliason said.

Other larger-scale marketers are also eyeing Twittad, which is in talks with Sears.

The appeal to marketers is obvious: It's a cheap way to reach people through their trusted contacts. And Twittad's technology is able to sort its users by geography, demographics and interests, which can both lead to more targeted appeals and, perhaps, prevent Twitter users from feeling under siege by advertisers, a major concern.

"We were worried it would be considered spam, but we didn't get a single complaint [about Land Rover]," Mr. Eliason said. "What that tells me is that our connectors have influence."

Less clear is whether the model is sustainable. Mr. Eliason, who launched Twittad eight months ago, said he expects it to break even by the end of its first year. He said he has contacted Twitter about a revenue-sharing agreement but has yet to hear back.

Zappos Launches Realtime Ordering Map

Thanks psfk for this post on Zappos real time visulaisation of what's happening in the online ordering system. Dunno why, but i really love this. Less shoe fetish but more a transparency thing...

April 16, 2009

Want to know what shoes people are buying in Montpelier, Vermont? Then just watch the realtime map on the Zappos website long enough and you just might find out. With this new feature, the popular online retailer is giving consumers even more reason to keep up with the Joneses, as users are granted the ability to zero in on their home towns and wait to see what items pop up. Currently, monitoring a specific location requires a bit too much active participation to be a worthwhile endeavor - the map continuously scrolls as new orders are being placed - but down the road we suspect Zappos will offer a static view for members wanting to make sure they don’t miss out on the latest trends in their area.