And the Academy Award goes to… a 3D printer

This year at the 82nd annual Academy Awards (3/7), movie stars will be sharing the spotlight with breakthrough technology.

Avatar, nominated for best picture – along with art direction and visual effects – and Coraline, nominated for best animated feature film, were brought to the big screen thanks to innovative 3D printing (or rapid prototyping) technology by Objet Geometries.

For Avatar, James Cameron relied on Objet-created models to plan how his characters fit in Pandora’s lush environment. With 3D printing, the production company Legacy Effects made detailed figurines of each blue-skinned humanoid to test lighting for every camera shot in the movie. The company also used the technology to create a Transformer-like, walking battle armor complete with cockpit.

For Coraline, LAIKA productions used Objet to create thousands of models ranging from cars to doorknobs and food spreads. The technology helped the movie break new ground in stop-motion animation, allowing the character Coraline to exhibit well over 208,000 facial expressions – an extremely significant jump compared to the 800 possible expressions in one of the last stop-motion films to generate buzz, The Nightmare Before Christmas, created in 1993 by the same director.

A leader and innovator in the rapid prototyping industry, Objet printers are changing the way the films we love are made.

3D Printing for Melbourne Theatre Building

Early 2009 saw the opening of the new building housing the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC). The building is somewhat of a visual extravaganza on the Melbourne Southbank Boulevard. You simply cannot miss its unique lines, design and impact on the area.

The architects responsible for the design were Ashton Raggatt McDougall (ARM) claim they could only have achieved such an architectural feat with the assistance of unique new 3D printing technology.

They selected ARRK to create a 3d model of the building. The company has been using the Objet Connex500 for some time and has become invaluable part of their process in deploying this most advanced 3D printing technology available to many of their architecture clients.

Mr. Raggatt from ARM was quoted, "The new technology allows us to print multiple materials simultaneously using the Objet Connex500™ 3D Printer. The design for the Melbourne theatre company building involved an optical illusion that relies on the contrast of materials; we can now reproduce the impact of this affect with rapid prototyping at a scale and level of detail otherwise impossible.

In the past architects would use their trusted pens and paper to create their designs and then wait weeks or months to receive their (often times expensive) 3D model of their design. Now it's possible to use Rapid Prototyping* technologies such as those offered by ARRK, to create instant 3D Prints of models from CAD systems in minutes.

Telecom Towers around the Globe

Mer Telecom provides Wireless Turnkey Solutions at the cutting edge - from network planning, design, manufacture, to site construction, installation and maintenance. Mer telecom towers presents superior solutions, a combination of cost effectiveness,

short lead times, customer service excellence and breakthrough engineering techniques - delivered with a strong commitment to client satisfaction. Mer Telecom prides its strong global presence, particularaly in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and other regions.

Effective Marketing Israel

EFFM - Effective Marketing Israel

Effective Marketing Specializes in Creating Measureable Marketing Strategies to reach International Markets Profitably. We develop effective strategies for businesses to ensure that in the fastest time possible eyeballs are identified, targeted and delivered to the new web asset. In line with our mission to work as partners with our clients we strive to develop online marketing tactics alongside the emergence of the new business and the development of the accompanying website.

New Social Network for CleanTech Launches: GreenGrassVC

GreenGrassVC claims to be the first virtual community for the CleanTech Industry.

The CleanTech Social Network aims to bring together the smartest minds, most creative thinkers and innovative investors. GGVC is a social marketplace where the community can make the future happen with a clearer, cleaner and cost effective path.

LIMS News - STARLIMS acquired by Abbot

In another sign of the upswing in prosperity, the American pharma giant Abbott Laboratories is acquiring Israeli software company Starlims, at a 47% premium over its market cap in Tel Aviv.

Starlims specializes in data management software for laboratories (LIMS). Abbott has agreed to buy it for $14 per share, reflecting a value of $123 million, which is 47% above Starlims' market cap on Nasdaq.

Superenalotto Jackpot

Lottery fever is hitting the internet again. Italy's superenalotto has hit the €100 million jackpot mark means the lottery is again currently the biggest jackpot in Europe

The top prize is bigger than any other available prize in the world. The same as in August this year, weeks have passed without a winner which has pushed the jackpot ever higher. Tight now it Italy, lottery fever is threatening to take over country.

It was just a few months ago that we saw the jackpot rose above over €130 million last time. It was not just Italy but the entire world that went crazy for the jackpot as internet websites that have the technology to sell lotto tickets were rushed day and night for weeks as eager players tried their luck to become SuperEnalotto millionaires.