Spike puts laser range finder technology in the back of a smartphone

If you have ever worked in the GIS industry; accurate, easy and portable data acquisitions system devices are the key forces that drive the industry. ikeGPS is a New Zealand based company that's been developing some really great portable GIS data acquisition hardware and software for quite some time now. Their flagship device called the 'ike' integrates a laser range finder, a camera, GPS and a 3D compass into a small portable package which made possible to measure the length or height of any geographic feature, just a matter of taking a few photographs and you have all the measurements in the palm of you hand.

With the new device called 'Spike' short for "Smart Phone ike" , the company has taken its reach to a whole new level. On the hardware side, Spike is basically a small device that piggy backs on a smartphone and converts it into a full blown accurate laser measurement device and a 3D modelling device.

Contour Crafting:The Future of Construction?

Hey guys your host Akib here, just been really busy these days, I haven't posted in a while. I will get back to posting about awesome stuff regularly in a couple of weeks. So this is just a quick post so you realize that the Blog is stills alive. I came across this awesome technology called "Counter Crafting". Though I would share with you guys.

So Counter Crafting is basically bringing 3D printing technology (Rapid Prototyping) to the Construction Industry. The brain child behind this technology is Mr. Behrokh Khoshnevis a professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering, and is the Director of the Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies (CRAFT). He is also a Director of Manufacturing Engineering Graduate Program at the University of Southern California.

So getting back to Counter Crafting well, I would say is basically printing a house just like you would print a part with a 3D printer, only difference being the proportions of things and the materials used are big and its more complicated cause you have to install electrical, piping and stuff. The 3D Printer (Counter Crafting machine) can be assembled at site. It could be put on a truck and taken to any location and its not completely autonomous like a 3D printer. It  require assistance in building a complete residable home.
The concrete used for the process is different, its called fiber reinforced plastic.