Industrial designer Marun Attia has created Cocoon Freelancer, a wooden cabin informed by Alpine houses and Japanese temples that can fit on flatbed vehicles and be used as a mobile living space.Attia used a type of timber called moon wood to construct the mobile home, which is harvested to align with the lunar cycles during the coldest months of the year.The designer says the wood, which is free from glue, plastics and chemical treatments, has many advantages over regular timber.The home is designed to fit on truck flatbeds"Moon wood, harvested during a specific lunar phase, is more durable, resistant to pests, and less prone to warping," Attia told Dezeen."Over time, it develops a beautiful grey patina resembling tree bark, providing natural and long-lasting protection, inspired by the enduring Alpine houses and Japanese temples that have stood for 500 to 1,500 years."Attia also avoided using screws on exterior surfaces, so that the wood wouldn't be susceptible to water absorption.It can also be placed on the groundThe cabin measures 185 centimetres by 320 centimetres internally, has a height of 200 centimetres and is designed to fit on vehicle flatbeds.It can either be used as a mobile home that remains on the truck, giving the user a more elevated cabin, or placed on the ground.Cocoon Freelancer is made from moon wood. Video by Attia Design"Cocoon is weight-optimized to fit standard 3.5-ton flatbed vehicles, such as Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, VW Crafter, MAN TGE, avoiding special driving licenses tolls and road limitations," Attia said."It can also be transported via trailer or placed on adjustable pillars, which are coming soon, or directly on the ground, offering flexibility for various terrains and use cases."The cabin is heated by a wood stoveThe cabin is made from thick wood and heated by a Tiny Wood Stove a compact wood-burning stove."We intentionally avoided additional insulation because our high-tech vacuum glass and approximately eight-centimetre thick solid wood walls exclusive construction feature special stabilising and breathing chambers," Attia explained.Read: IAAC creates mobile Moca dwelling with openable fabric facadesHe said this lets the wood naturally dry the facade."Traditional insulation materials could trap moisture, increasing the risk of mould and compromising durability and air quality without significantly improving insulation performance," Attia added.It has a desk that can be changed into a bedCocoon Freelancer has floor-to-ceiling windows on the side facing outwards, making it easy for users to enjoy the landscape from inside the mobile home. The glass used for this was chosen for its insulating properties."The light safety vacuum glass achieves an exceptional insulation value of 0.7 watts-per-meter-square-kelvin, matching the performance of standard 44-millimetre triple-layer glass, while being six times thinner and lighter at just 7.7 millimetres," Attia said."In practice, this design has performed exceptionally well. Even at outdoor temperatures of seven degrees Celsius, Cocoon can be heated to a comfortable 20 degrees Celsius within 30 minutes using the Tiny Wood Stove."A cooking station sits by the windowThe Cocoon Freelancer features a roof made of solar panels, which Attia said are "capable of generating over 900 watts, 37.5 volts, and 24 amps."Inside the cabin, the designer has created a compact interior with space-saving built-in features, including a desk that can be folded down and turned into part of the bed."We conducted standard research on existing cabins, but Cocoon's interior is a fully self-developed design based on practical usability needs," Attia said."A key feature is the bed-to-desk transformation, which took 18 months design iterations to perfect, ensuring maximum comfort, space efficiency, easy, light and harmonic integration."Cocoon Freelancer can be unloaded by just one personThe interior was secured with hand-tightened nuts, so that it could be disassembled without tools, and is designed for unloading by a single person.Other innovative mobile homes on Dezeen include a 1990s van with plywood furniture and a dwelling with openable fabric facades.The photography is courtesy of Attia Design.The post Marun Attia creates cabin-like mobile home from moon wood appeared first on Dezeen.

The Unity-made game uses digital graphics and hand-crafted materials.

WIREDs advice columnist cracks open the publications archive to consider past promises about AI agents, and to get some advice on how we can use automation while retaining our humanity.

The company said its Columbus plant could eventually produce tens of thousands of autonomous systems and weapons each year.

MacworldRecently, I found that one of our home security cameras that supports Apples HomeKit framework and HomeKit Secure Video for iCloud clip storage had started to flip on and off the local network. I would often see dozens of [name] is offline and [name] is online messages scroll across notifications every day. Sometimes it would remain offline for hours at a time, even though it is within line of sight to a router in the same room and had functioned for months at a time without a problem. Because the camera is inexpensive and a few years old, I purchased a replacement to test whether the original was dyingthe new camera immediately exhibited the same connection issues in the same location.Was the hardware failing? Turns out it was a Wi-Fi connection issue.FoundryThere was a solution. A few months ago, our HomeKit-enabled smart thermostat refused to reconnect to Wi-Fi after a local power outage. I figured out the solution there by configuring a different option on my router. I tested out this solution on both the old and replacement cameras, and it worked. I created a distinct Wi-Fi network to which I connect all smart devices that can be configured to join a specific Wi-Fi network. To explain why and how that works, lets start with a refresher on Wi-Fi.Wi-Fi hits the wallWi-Fi was launched in the late 1990s on the unlicensed 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band, a range of frequencies divided into narrow, overlapping channels that anyone can use but which isnt guaranteed to be free of other users (unlike cellular frequencies, which are licensed and exclusive to each carrier).This worked well enough for the initial low maximum speed of 11Mbps. As Wi-Fi improved, it expanded into a much larger area of unlicensed spectrum at 5GHz and, more recently, 6GHz. These higher-frequency bands have shorter wavelengths (a function of the number of cycles per second they vibrate at) and have wider channels, which together allow vastly higher data throughput. Modern Wi-Fi in the 5GHz and 6GHz bands can exceed 1Gbps.Those shorter wavelengths, however, have greater trouble passing through walls, ceilings, furniture, and other objects. The longer 2.4GHz wavelengths do a better job of getting through without as much absorption, meaning more signalthus more datareaches a greater distance across rooms and floors. The 2.4GHz band maxes out at about half of 5GHz and 6GHzs top rates, and typically delivers only in the high tens and low hundreds of megabytes per second of data. However, thats enough for smart devices, which often pass very little information. Even a 4K security camera has a datastream that fits comfortably inside 2.4GHzs window.You likely never noticed the performance difference between frequency bands because all modern routers are dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz or tri-band 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz and your devices always strive to pick the fastest data rate, regardless of band. Router makers kept 2.4GHz in their Wi-Fi base stations originally for backward compatibility because possibly hundreds of millions of computers, phones, and other devices had been sold with just 2.4GHz built in (some percentage of those remain in use). But it also helps with range when a router is placed in an area in which 5GHz or 6GHz signals are absorbed a room or more away.HomeKit and other smart devices often include only a low-power Wi-Fi radio, particularly if theyre battery-powered. Many are stuck in the past by only supporting 2.4GHz, too, as that reduces the cost and power consumption.How can you leverage your router and 2.4GHz to improve smart device connections? Set up a separate guest 2.4GHz on a router (or routers) near your smart equipment.Separate networks improve consistencyWhen you set up a Wi-Fi network in your house, you may have a single router or several, or have opted for a mesh network (like that created by where you add nodes that self-configure with other nodes.In most cases, the default configuration has all bands and all routers using the same network name and Wi-Fi password. This allows seamless roaming across your home. However, each of your devices picks which router and band it connects to based on logic built into the device. If your iPhone or security camera selects a weak, distant routers 5GHz broadcast, you cant force it to switch.The way to pick a band and router is to name networks distinctly. Nearly all routers sold in the last decade provide a couple of options for this:You can set a separate name and password for your 2.4GHz and 5GHz (or 5GHz/6GHz) networks.You can enable a guest network in one or more bands with its own name and password, though with some extra configuration needed to work with HomeKit.The first is less useful, as it can affect roaming. Using a guest network makes more sense, as it leaves your main network untouched but gives you the advantage of selection. If you have routers around your house, you may even be able to set up each routers guest networks 2.4GHz radio with a unique name (the password can be identical).For instance, on the router closest to my smart home devices, a NetGear Nighthawk, I have enabled the guest network, set its SSID or network name to broadcast (making it selectable from a menu), and checked Allow guests to see each other and access my local network. That last item is very important: without guests seeing your local network, your smart home devices will be unable to reach your HomeKit hub. The language will vary by router manufacturer and sometimes even among models made by the same company, but there should always be a switch you can set to turn off guest isolation or turn on see devices on the local network.This configuration on a NetGear router locks connected devices to a strong, nearby signal while also letting them interact with the primary network.FoundryOnce I had that network set up, I used the app for cameras, both Eufy models. While they are HomeKit compatible, Eufy also more details configuration and other options within its own app, including updating firmware. Its there that I was able to select the guest 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network and the offline/online toggling immediately stopped.Months earlier, I had used the physical interface on my smart thermostat and a corresponding app to connect to that guest 2.4GHz network. That was more involved: I had to put the thermostat into a special connection mode from its panel, connect to its short-range private Wi-Fi configuration network, and use the thermostats app to select the new 2.4GHz network.Your mileage will varyNot all HomeKit devices can have their Wi-Fi networks changed: some are locked to the network on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac when you add them as an accessory. But those with apps or interfaces may let you pick a Wi-Fi network without disrupting their association with your HomeKit hub and defined home in the Home app.Ask Mac 911Weve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently, along with answers and links to columns: read our super FAQ to see if your question is covered. If not, were always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com, including screen captures as appropriate and whether you want your full name used. Not every question will be answered; we dont reply to emails, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice.

Asus's Master Thunderbolt 5 Dock brings multi-display support, high-speed connectivity, and SSD storage to Mac users who want to upgrade their workspace.Master Thunderbolt 5 DockAsus has introduced the Master Thunderbolt 5 Dock DC510, a versatile 13-in-1 docking station aimed at creators and professionals who need high-performance multitasking. The dock supports dual 8K or triple 4K displays.With 80Gbps transfer speeds and 140-watt pass-through charging, it's ideal for fast file handling and efficient device support. Connectivity features include three Thunderbolt 5 ports, four USB-A ports, a 2.5G Ethernet port, dual memory card readers, and an audio combo jack. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

The All New Liquid Splash Addon easily brings stunning, realistic water and liquid effects to your blender scenes. Perfect for creating dynamic animations, product visuals, and artistic scenes. Now Available for 25% OFF: https://blendermarket.com/products/li...#Blender3D #LiquidEffects #3DAnimation #BlenderAddons(Feed generated with FetchRSS)

Its a packed year of games, and while many draw attention for their narratives, premises, and unique gameplay mechanics, graphics are also an essential factor. Call the pursuit of photorealism a fruitless endeavor, but some of the worlds and settings that these upcoming games showcase with the power of contemporary game engines are hard to ignore. Check out 30 of the most graphically intensive games launching in 2025.Grand Theft Auto 6Forget a new trailer a higher-quality version of the first is all the reminder we need that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be one of the morestunningtitles of the year. Whether its the NPC variety and detail, down to the skin textures, or the gorgeous lighting adorning Vice Citys sky, Rockstar is cooking up a visual feast for Fall 2025.

Thursday, January 16th, 2025Posted by Jim ThackerChaos releases V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4Dhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Chaos has released V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D, the next major version of the production renderer.The update adds support for rendering 3D Gaussian Splats, native OpenPBR support, and improvements to V-Ray GPU, the V-Ray Frame Buffer and Chaos Scatter.Cinema 4D becomes the third DCC application to get an integration for V-Ray 7, following last years releases of V-Ray 7 for 3ds Max and V-Ray 7 for SketchUp.Native support for rendering 3DGS scan dataNew features in V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D include support for 3D Gaussian Splats (3DGS).A new 3D scanning method, 3D Gaussian Splatting generates high-quality reconstructions of real-world objects or scenes from source photos or video.Although there are free third-party add-ons for rendering 3DGS data in Blender, Unity and Unreal Engine, V-Ray is one of the first CG applications to support the technology natively.Chaos tells us that it expects the functionality to appeal to both architectural visualization and VFX studios, particularly as a way of creating detailed background environments.You can read a good overview of how 3D Gaussian Splats work, and the pros and cons of workflows based around them in this post on Chaoss blog.Lighting and rendering: V-Ray Luminaires and updates to V-Ray Sun and SkyChanges to lighting and rendering in V-Ray 7 include support for luminaires.Users can now import baked lighting data for real-world light fittings in V-Rays .vlw format, making it possible to recreate the illumination they create more accurately in interior scenes.In addition, the V-Ray Sun and Sky system has been updated to support the PRG Clear Sky model used in Corona, Chaoss other major production renderer.According to Chaos, it generates more realistic lighting effects than the previous model, particularly at sunrise and sunset, and when rendering the sky from greater altitudes.The firefly removal algorithm, for removing bright flecks in renders, has also been updated.V-Ray GPU: initial support for causticsV-Ray GPU, V-Rays hybrid CPU and GPU renderer, gets initial support for rendering caustics, bringing it closer to feature parity with the main CPU render engine.You can see a list of the remaining features not supported in V-Ray GPU here.V-Ray GPU also now supports Apples Metal API, which should improve performance on macOS: Chaos says that rendering is up to 3x faster on MacBooks with current M4 processors.VFB: vignetting and freeform render regionsThe V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB), for viewing and editing images rendered in V-Ray, gets a new Vignette Layer, making it possible to apply vignetting effects to renders.The VFB also now supports freeform region rendering, making it possible to specify render regions of arbitrary shape to help resolve key areas of an image more quickly.It is also now possible to denoise LightMix render elements, used to relight scenes in the VFB.Updates to Chaos ScatterChaos Scatter, the object scattering system introduced in V-Ray 6, also gets an update.New features include Edge Trimming, to help confine instances to the required part of a scene, and support for random distribution pattern presets.Export times for scenes that make heavy use of scattering have been reduced, as have the size of the .vrscene files generated, although Chaos doesnt put a figure on improvements.Support for the new OpenPBR material standardV-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D also introduces support for the new OpenPBR open material standard, with the standard V-Ray Material now including an OpenPBR mode.Overseen by the Academy Software Foundation, OpenPBR is intended to streamline look development for VFX, with materials developed for one application displaying near-identically in others that support it.Currently, the main applications that support OpenPBR are 3ds Max and Maya, and OpenPBR support is also due in the upcoming V-Ray 7 for Maya, currently in beta. Other pipeline integration improvementsThe release also improves interoperability with other renderers, including Maxons Redshift, the full version of which is now included in all Cinema 4D subscriptions.V-Ray users can now render Redshift lights, and export textures from Redshift Dome Lights.The update also introduces support for the Substance Archive (.sbsar) format, making it possible to render materials created in Substance 3D Designer, or downloaded from online libraries.Updates to Chaos Cloud and Chaos CosmosOutside the core application, cloud rendering service Chaos Cloud gets a new set of collaboration tools.Artists can now upload images directly from the VFB to the cloud for review, with clients and supervisors able to comment on or mark up the images.There is also new functionality for creating virtual tours of 3D environments, complete with floor plans and minimaps.Users can place Hotspots to act as navigation points in the environment for the viewer, and Highlights to provide text or image annotations for key details.Chaos Cosmos, the online asset library available with all V-Ray subscriptions, now supports asset variants, making it possible to switch between variant looks for an asset without having to re-import it into the scene.The variant system is initially being used for seasonal changes to trees and plants.Subscription prices up since V-Ray 6Chaos has also raised the price of V-Ray subscriptions since the previous release.V-Ray Solo subscriptions now cost $84.90/month or $514.80/year, up $5/month or $48/year, and V-Ray Premium subscriptions cost $119.90/month or $718.80/year, up $24/year.V-Ray Enterprise subscriptions are unaffected.Price and system requirementsV-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D is compatible with Cinema 4D R21+, running on Windows 10+ and macOS 10.14+. The software is rental-only: you can find current pricing details in the story above.Read an overview of the new features in V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D on Chaoss websiteRead a full list of new features in V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsChaos releases V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4DCheck out the new features in the renderer, including native OpenPBR and 3D Gaussian Splatting support, and improvements to V-Ray GPU.Thursday, January 16th, 2025These simple free tools convert Maya shaders to BlenderVFX artist Robert Rioux's handy open-source tools convert the aiStandardSurface shader to Blender's Principled BSDF.Wednesday, January 15th, 2025Get 75+ free modular shop assets for Unreal EngineGet CropCraft Studios' Modular Bakery Shop pack of 3D assets for creating a shop and cafe for free for two weeks on the Fab marketplace.Wednesday, January 15th, 2025Adobe releases Substance 3D Designer 14.1Check out the new features in the material authoring software, including updates to the Spline tools and node graph.Wednesday, January 15th, 2025Adobe unveils Live Co-Editing in PhotoshopNew beta feature lets multiple artists collaborate on the same Photoshop file simultaneously, speeding up asset reviews.Tuesday, January 14th, 2025Free tool: Hair Cinematic Tool for Unreal Engine 5Argentum Studio's in-house tool gives access to Unreal Engine 5's internal settings to improve the look of hair and fur in your renders.Tuesday, January 14th, 2025More NewsMaster World Building using Blender and PhotoshopGet 6 free smoke and fire effects sequences from FX BackPackGet modular Maya character rig builder Mansur-Rig for freeSuperSpat 1.13 plays back animated '4D Gaussian Splats'Adobe releases Substance 3D Modeler 1.18Getty Images and Shutterstock to merge to create $3.7 billion firmDownload free Houdini tools from Project GrotNVIDIA unveils GeForce RTX 5090, 5080, 5070 Ti and 5070 GPUsMaxon buys LaubwerkTik Manager 4 is a lightweight, robust open-source pipeline toolFree add-on Paint System 'turns Blender into Photoshop'Photoshop render compositing add-on Post Manager is now freeOlder Posts

On This Day in HistoryIvan the Terrible, the Czar and Grand Prince of Russia, Wouldnt Earn His Violent Nickname Until Years After His ReignWe all know Ivan IVs sobriquet, but the story is more complicated than it might seemThe OprichnikibyNikolai Nevrev(1888). The painting shows the last minutes of one of the aristocratic elite taken out by Ivan IV. Wikimedia CommonsIvan IV Vasilyevich was just a teenager when he was crowned czar and grand prince of all Russia on January 16, 1547. Today, Ivan is better known as Ivan the Terrible, though the name wouldnt be attached to him until much later.Ivan ruled as Russias first-ever czar for nearly four decades. He transformed Russia, centralizing it administratively and culturally. Early on, Ivan instituted several reforms, strengthening the church and reorganizing the military. And during his reign, the Russian Army also successfully secured the Volga River, and thereby the trade route to the Caspian Sea.However, Ivans policies would also cost many lives, and he brought Russia to economic crisis through an unsuccessful war before setting it up for the Times of Troubles.A large part of what earned Ivan his brutal reputationand later his nicknamewas his bloody oprichnina, which he wouldnt enact until relatively late in his reign. The oprichnina was the creation of a state within a state under Ivans direct control. Theoprichniki,members of the new court largely picked from the lower, carried out the executions of thousands of people, a violent act on the upper echelons of the aristocracy of the time. Their brutal actions, meted out under Ivan's direction. were meant to quash dissent in the country, allowing the czar to remain in control. Ivans use of mass terror against his own people lasted from 1565 to 1572. During the period he drowned Russia, or Muscovite Rus as it was then known, in blood, as historian Michael Khodarkovsky tells How Stuff Works.Despite his well-known nickname, Ivan did not take on the terrible moniker during his lifetime. Indeed, historian Edward Keenan notes that it took until almost two centuries after his death in 1584 for the name to stick, though even by the early 17th century Ivan is well-established in native sources as an unpleasant fellow.The retrospective nickname grew out of the convergence of this dynamic with several others, writes Keenan, including an anti-Ivan bent in sensationalist 16th-century pamphlets and the 18th-century practice of assigning bynames to dynasts.Though Ivan has become commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, there has never been total agreement about his legacy. Some argue that the moniker is not as derogatory as it would seem, since the original Russian word translated as terrible comes closer to meaning inspiring awe or fear.Either way, writes historian Charles J. Halperin, who has authored three books about the sovereign, Ivan was the most controversial ruler in Russian history, surpassing Peter the Great, Lenin, even Stalin.Not long after his death, some held a positive impression of his rule, thinking of him as a just ruler who allied himself with the people rather than the aristocracy. Joseph Stalin lauded Ivan as a strong ruler, which he used to justify his own harsh policies. Not long ago, the debate sprang back up again when the Russian town of Oryol erected a statue of Ivan in 2016 though there was significant backlash. The decision to erect the statue could convey as much about the current regimes views of national power and state control, observers suggested at the time.His reign was politicized in his own time and has been ever since, Halperin writes.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.