the WIRED way

This past weekend in Los Angeles was WIRED NextFest, a convention geared toward exposing the public to the up-and-coming technologies that’ll change our way of living, whether that be an uber sweet kung fu video game (think: you do a roundhouse kick, the virtual you onscreen does a roundhouse kick 12 feet in the air, knocking the virtual opponent out cold) or a vein-pattern-reading identifier system (think: you swipe your index finger rather than an ATM card). For those who weren’t able to attend, check out the following links for a few highlights.

• Brainball – The object of this game is to relax, so that your EEG waves are lower than your opponents, so that the ball on the table moves into his/her circle, so that you win. When watching this game, one can’t help but note the Jedi-mind-trick feel.
• WineM (pictured above) – Store your wine with the ultimate smart organizer. RFIDs attached to bottles are used to display which wines are which using LED backlights behind the bottles.
• d3o – It’s the real Spidey suit! Sort of. The folks at d3o have engineered a material that can be put inside suits (think muscular-looking wetsuit) that, while completely pliable/soft normally, instantly hardens to protect the body upon impact.

Technorati tags: WIRED NextFest, hi tech, d3o, smart wine rack, brainball

Photo credit: seanbonner