WIRED NextFest Open in Chicago September 27th

WIRED NextFest is a showcase of technology, featuring prototypes, new projects, and some technology that's on the market today. There are 40 exhibits in a tent at the south end of Millenium Park. Well, maybe 39, because one of the features is a lawn-mowing robot sheep that spends time on the grass outside the tent. The sheep stays in place for a couple minutes, and then it walks and makes a little "baa'ing" noise. A kid that walked by noticed the sheep has 6 legs, but it is a lot less bothersome than the lawn services that overrun my neighborhood on Tuesdays.

The "maglev" chair, called "Hoverit" is a clear plastic lounge chair that rests on four large manufactured magnets. The magnets are made in China. The chair could technically hover, but is has two connector to its base to prevent it from shooting forward or backward, because the magnets are so powerful. According to spokesman Keith Dixon, they only lose 2% of their power over 20 years, and then they don't lose any more power. At about $11,000, I will not be rearranging my living room to accomodate one of these. Another thing about the chair, is that these are not electro-magnets, so they can't be turned on or off, making it a little difficult to get in and out of the chair. It was very restful once you got settled.

Over at the Xerox booth, there were two prototypes which are useful and "green" at the same time. Scott Elrod, a researcher at Xerox Parc showed me erasable paper. The printer for this paper will look like an inkjet, but it will print with light, not ink. The paper will be reuseable (10 to 20 uses) and they aim to price it a bit more than regular paper, but not much more. It should be a real product in a couple of years. The paper is yellow, like a legal pad, so it won't get exposed (printed on) by accident. Scott said Xerox is working on e-paper, but the flexibility issue is a big problem, and e=paper will be much more expensive than the erasable paper. Xerox's other product was a "green" favorite of mine -- solid printer ink. The ink feels like a crayon, but is an irregular cube. Barbara Basney from Xerox said the cubes are non-toxic, need minimal packaging, and they don't leave any waste. When they are gone, they are gone. You can see the ink tree display at the Xerox booth.

A crowd-pleaser, especially because the video that went with the device was shot in Chicago, was Toyota's iReal personal mobility device, a sort of combination wheelchair, segway, and high end theater seat, with social networking. You might need to see it to believe it. This is along the lines of a golf cart, in terms of short trips and doesn't take much fuel, but way cooler. So cool, that I wondered if people's legs might atrophy if the iReals become widely available. They would be a boon to those who can't walk.

There was one fellow there, Cameron Clapp, who lost his arm and both legs in a train accident. He was modeling prosthetic devices made by Otto Bock company. Tom Doherty explained that they work with Walter Reed and other veterans groups, but you can't just buy the prosthetics retail. Clayton looked like he was happy with his devices, and Doherty says he doesn't need help getting them on and off. The devices have lithium batteries, and so they are charged up at night.

The Brain ball will be a hit when the Fest opens to public on Saturday and in the weeks after. You put on a headband that measures your alpha waves. Think "yoga." The more relaxed you are, the better you will do at the game. Your opponent straps on their headgear, and faces you. When you press the button, a small rubber ball rolls to the center of the game table, and then with your mind, you attempt to move the ball to the opponents side of the table. I tried against the guy from Brain ball, and I did not do very well. There is a screen where you can see your brainwaves, and so you could use that to train yourself to win the game. The Naval Academy has purchased one of these games.

There is plastic made from citrus oil and CO2, biofuel from micro algae, a personal carbon print and health monitoring system, cool low footprint lighting, and lots of robots which I didn't check out too closely, since my kind of robot is more like "roomba" than "Robbie." Nextfest runs from Saturday, September 27 - Sunday, October 12, 2008. You can check the exhibit hours and look for some of the special events, like the Brain Bowl party on Oct. 8.