This is a highly detailed beginner-friendly step-by-step tutorial on how to make animation from scratch in Cascadeur. It covers a complete process, starting with blocking all the way up to applying physics, including a thorough explanation of all the AutoPhysics filters and sliders 00:00 About this tutorial 01:06 Blocking 01:14 Import reference video 01:32 Creating first pose 01:47 AutoPosing issue 04:14 Creating second pose 05:31 About Invert Frame Indicator Hotkey Button 05:46 Creating the third pose 06:34 Creating the fourth pose 07:15 Creating the rest of the poses 08:49 Interpolation 08:54 Auto Interpolation 09:35 Setting Interpolation manually 10:20 IK and FK 12:00 Adding additional keys 14:44 Physics 15:55 Main Physics corrector 18:03 Rotation 19:44 Smooth trajectory 20:20 Smooth rotation 21:15 Compensation motion 22:09 Separation motion 23:13 Secondary motion 23:49 Snap the animation Learn more about Cascadeur license plans: Learn how to start using Cascadeur: Join our English-speaking community on Discord: Follow us on: Facebook / Twitter #Animation #Tutorial #gamedev #physics #pipeline #everything #you #need

FORM Brands Studio has given London’s Air Ambulance Charity a new look. Rather than transporting patients to hospital, the charity’s doctors and paramedics treat seriously injured people at the scene from its two helicopters and eight cars. It is the only organisation performing this role in London. Established in 1989, it is called to a rising number of patients across the capital every year, helping more than 2,000 people in 2024. London’s Air Ambulance Charityneeds £17m a year to operate, 96% which comes from donations. “But 60% of Londoners don’t know we’re a charity,” says LAAC’s director of fundraising and marketing, Jayne Clarke. FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity in OOH posters Its new organisational strategy is about raising awareness, enhancing fundraising efforts and strengthening its connection with London’s communities. “We’re trying to make sure the strategy is about hope and looking forward to the future,” Clarke says. To accompany this new strategy, the charity also decided to change up its visual identity. “Our previous branding was very corporate,” Clarke admits.FORM Brands Studio won the job after a pitch. Strategy director Beth Andlaw set up the east London agency in 2022 with creative director Alex Andlaw. Before that she had been in comms and PR, and had worked with LAAC on and off for about 20 years. FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity on stage FORM introduced a new wordmark, colour palette, typeface, icons, motion, creative copy, messaging, fundraising memorabilia and photography. However, the existing helicopter icon was retained. “It has a lot of love and legacy,” says Clarke. The agency’s brand idea, Propelling Promise, was inspired by the urgent, intense nature of the work carried out by LAAC’s clinical and operational crews. That was used to give structure to creative copy lines and the new tone of voice. Each lead line includes an element of “propelling” to imply urgency and momentum, and “promise” to imply warmth and hope. That resulted in lines including “Trauma doesn’t stop. Neither do we” and “Here for London. Today, tomorrow, always.” FORM brought in Peggy Nyamekye to work on the copywriting. Meanwhile, the visual identity, developed with designer Mayan Mistry, comprises a gradient design system, drawing on the rotational motion of helicopter blades. Borough names are repeated in radiating patterns and overlaid with the gradient. Red is still central to the charity’s identity, but FORM introduced the vivid orange worn by medics on-scene. “These colours blend in the gradient, creating a visual signature that speaks to urgency, action, optimism and hope,” says Alex Andlaw. With the help of motion graphics designer Matt Fowler, the agency introduced movement to the branding, to reflect the aircraft’s blades in flight. The logo’s new wordmark is in Barlow, inspired by the existing big white lettering on the helicopter tail booms. Before, the charity’s name was written lower case in a thinner font. “Now it’s bigger, bolder and more impactful,” says Alex Andlaw. FORM also redesigned the icons to have more personality but still be functional. “The icons help the team talk about quite hard subjects,” he says, such as casualties, and the designs had to balance warmth and realism. “We did quite a few hearts, some look too detailed and some too basic,” he explains. The agency also created a series of collectible badges, inspired by the embroidered badges worn by the charity’s doctors and pilots.FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity in Instagram posts Meanwhile, photographer James Pearson-Howes was briefed to capture real people, places and moments from across London. The new branding had to resonate with very different types of donors, from the charity’s collection buckets to seven-figure corporate donations, says Clarke. “And the doctors wearing the brand have very strong opinions, as do the pilots. FORM took in all these views and managed to make all those people happy.” FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity in OOH posters #form #brands #studio #elevates #londons

Vicon today announced the launch of Active Crown, a virtual production camera tracking solution that provides users with flexible tracking for cameras positioned anywhere on In-Camera Visual Effects stages.  “Virtual production teams experience a unique set of challenges due to the complexity of the various technologies we combine to create immersive virtual sets,” said Tim Doubleday, head of on-set virtual production at Dimension. “Camera tracking is a critical problem to manage, allowing for accurate presentation of the scene in real-time whilst minimizing occlusion and interference within busy stages. With Active Crown, we saw a huge improvement in rotational noise right off the bat, and the setup workflow felt very nice, especially the magnetic detachable stalks. You could tell it had been through Vicon’s thoughtful product development.” The launch comes on the heels of Vicon's markerless motion capture launch earlier this year, which allows users to instantly visualize ideas with the Vanguard markerless motion-tracking camera and new software incorporating advanced computer vision, machine learning, and algorithms. Source: Vicon Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions. #vicon #launches #active #crown #camera

A team of Purdue University students recently set a new Guinness World Record with their custom robot that solved a Rubik’s Cube in just 0.103 seconds. That was about a third of the time it took the previous record-setting bot. But the new record wasn’t achieved by simply building a robot that moves faster. The students used a combination of high-speed but low-res camera systems, a cube customized for improved strength, and a special solving technique popular among human speed cubers.The Rubik’s Cube-solving robot arms race kicked off in 2014, when a robot called Cubestormer 3 built with Lego Mindstorms parts and a Samsung Galaxy S4 solved the iconic puzzle in 3.253 seconds — faster than any human or robot could at the time.Over the course of a decade, engineers managed to reduce that record to just hundreds of milliseconds.Last May, engineers at Mitsubishi Electric in Japan claimed the world record with a robot that solved a cube in 0.305 seconds. The record stood for almost a year before the team from Purdue’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering — Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay, and Alex Berta — shattered it. Their robot has come to be known as Purdubik’s Cube. Bringing the robot record down to less than half a second required moving away from Lego and, instead, using optimized components like industrial motors. Getting it down to just 0.103 seconds, however, required the team from Purdue to find multiple new ways to shave off milliseconds.“Each robot that previous world record-holders has done has kind of focused on one new thing,” Patrohay tells The Verge. When MIT grad students broke the record in 2018, they opted for industrial hardware that outperformed what previous record-holders had used. Mitsubishi Electric chose electric motors that were better suited for the specific task of spinning each side of the cube, instead of just hardware that moved faster.However, the first thing the Purdue students improved was actually the speed that their robot could visualize the scrambled cube. Human speed cubing competitors are allowed to study a Rubik’s Cube before their timer starts, but the robot record includes the time it takes it to determine the location of all the colored squares. The students used a pair of high-speed machine vision cameras from Flir, with a resolution of just 720x540 pixels, pointed at opposing corners of the cube. Each camera can see three sides simultaneously during exposures that lasted as little as 10 microseconds.The Purdubik’s Cube’s high-speed Flir cameras use wide-angle lenses, and the Rubik’s Cube appears in only a very small region of their field of view. The color detection system relies on low-resolution images of the puzzle, which speeds up processing times. Photo: Matthew Patrohay / Purdue UniversityAlthough it may seem instantaneous, it takes time for a camera to process the data coming from a sensor and turn it into a digital picture. The Purdubik’s Cube uses a custom image detection system that skips image processing altogether. It also only focuses on a very small area of what each camera’s sensor sees — a cropped region that’s just 128x124 pixels in size — to reduce the amount of data being moved around.Raw data from the sensors is sent straight to a high-speed color detection system that uses the RGB measurements from even smaller sample areas on each square to determine their color faster than other approaches — even AI.“It’s sometimes slightly less reliable,” Patrohay admits, “but even if it’s 90 percent consistent, that’s good enough as long as it’s fast. We really want that speed.”Despite a lot of the hardware on Purdue’s robot being custom-made, the team chose to go with existing software when it came to figuring out the fastest way to solve a scrambled cube. They used Elias Frantar’s Rob-Twophase, which is a cube-solving algorithm that takes into account the unique capabilities of robots, like being able to spin two sides of a cube simultaneously.The team also took advantage of a Rubik’s Cube-solving technique called corner cutting where you can start to turn one side of the cube before you’ve finished turning another side that’s perpendicular to it. The advantage to this technique is that you’re not waiting for one side to completely finish its rotation before starting another. For a brief moment, there’s overlap between the movements of the two sides that can result in a significant amount of time saved when you’re chasing a world record.High-speed footage of the Purdubik’s Cube reveals how it uses the corner-cutting technique to overlap movements and reduce the time it takes to solve the Rubik’s Cube. Photo: Matthew Patrohay / Purdue UniversityThe challenge with corner cutting is that if you use too much forceand don’t time things perfectly, you can physically break or even completely destroy a Rubik’s Cube. In addition to perfecting the timing of the robot’s movements and the acceleration of its motors, the students had to customize the cube itself.Guinness World Records follows the guidelines of the World Cube Association, which has a long list of regulations that need to be followed before a record will be recognized. It allows competitors to modify their cube, so long as it twists and turns like a standard Rubik’s Cube and has nine colored squares on each of its six sides, with each side a different color. Materials other than plastic can be used, but the color parts all need to have the same texture. To improve its durability, the Purdue team upgraded the internal structure of their cubes with a custom 3D-printed version made from stronger SLS nylon plastic. The WCA also allows the use of lubricants to help make cubes spin more freely, but here it’s used for a different reason.“The cube we use for the record is tensioned incredibly tight, like almost hilariously tight,” says Patrohay. “The one that we modified is very difficult to turn. Not impossible, but you can’t turn it with your fingers. You have to really get your wrist into it.” When solving the cube at high speeds, the lubricant helps to smooth out its movements while the increased tension reduces overturns and improves control so time-saving tricks like corner cutting can be used.Each of the robot’s six servo motors connect to the Rubik’s Cube center squares using a custom-made metal shaft that spins each side. Photo: Matthew Patrohay / Purdue UniversityFaster servo motors do help to reduce solving times, but it’s not as simple as maxing out their speed and hoping for the best. The Purdubik’s Cube uses six motors attached to metal shafts that slot into the center of each side of the cube. After testing several different approaches the team settled on a trapezoidal motion profile where the servos accelerate at speeds of up to 12,000,000 degrees/s2, but decelerate much slower, closer to 3,000,000 degrees/s2, so the robot can more accurately position each side as it comes to a stop.Could the Purdubik’s Cube break the record again? Patrohay believes it’s possible, but it would need a stronger cube made out of something other than plastic. “If you were to make a completely application-specific Rubik’s Cube out of some sort of carbon fiber composite, then I could imagine you being able to survive at higher speeds, and just being able to survive at higher speeds would then allow you to bring the time down.”See More: #how #college #students #built #fastest

Transparent design is the intentional use of see-through or translucent materials and visual strategies to evoke openness, honesty, and fluidity in both spatial and product design. It enhances light flow, visibility, and interaction, blurring boundaries between spaces or revealing inner layers of products. In interiors, this manifests through glass walls, acrylic dividers, and open layouts that invite natural light and visual connection. Transparency in product design often exposes internal mechanisms in products, fostering trust and curiosity by making functions visible. It focuses on simplicity, clarity, and minimalist form, creating seamless connections between objects and their environments. Let’s now explore how transparency shapes the function, experience, and emotional impact of spatial and product design. Transparent Spatial Design Transparency in spatial design serves as a powerful architectural language that transcends mere material choice, creating profound connections between spaces and their inhabitants. By employing translucent or clear elements, designers can dissolve traditional boundaries, allowing light to penetrate deeply into interiors while establishing visual relationships between previously separated areas. This permeability creates a dynamic spatial experience where environments flow into one another, expanding perceived dimensions and fostering a sense of openness. The strategic use of transparent elements – whether through glass partitions, open floor plans, or permeable screens – transforms rigid spatial hierarchies into fluid, interconnected zones that respond to contemporary needs for flexibility and connection with both surrounding spaces and natural environments. Beyond its physical manifestations, transparency embodies deeper philosophical principles in design, representing honesty, clarity, and accessibility. It democratizes space by removing visual barriers that traditionally signaled exclusion or privacy, instead promoting inclusivity and shared experience. In public buildings, transparent features invite engagement and participation, while in residential contexts, they nurture connection to nature and enhance wellbeing through abundant natural light. This approach challenges designers to thoughtfully balance openness with necessary privacy, creating nuanced spatial sequences that can reveal or conceal as needed. When skillfully implemented, transparency becomes more than an aesthetic choice, it becomes a fundamental design strategy that shapes how we experience, navigate, and emotionally respond to our built environment. 1. Expands Perception of Space Transparency in spatial design enhances how people perceive space by blurring the boundaries between rooms and creating a seamless connection between the indoors and the outdoors. Materials like glass and acrylic create visual continuity, making interiors feel larger, more open, and seamlessly integrated. This approach encourages a fluid transition between spaces, eliminates confinement, and promotes spatial freedom. As a result, transparent design contributes to an inviting atmosphere while maximising natural views and light penetration throughout the environment. Nestled in St. Donat near Montreal, the Apple Tree House by ACDF Architecture is a striking example of transparent design rooted in emotional memory. Wrapped around a central courtyard with a symbolic apple tree, the low-slung home features expansive glass walls that create continuous visual access to nature. The transparent layout not only blurs the boundaries between indoors and outdoors but also transforms the apple tree into a living focal point and is visible from multiple angles and spaces within the house. This thoughtful transparency allows natural light to flood the interiors while connecting the home’s occupants with the changing seasons outside. The home’s square-shaped plan includes three black-clad volumes that house bedrooms, a lounge, and service areas. Despite the openness, privacy is preserved through deliberate wall placements. Wooden ceilings and concrete floors add warmth and texture, but it’s the full-height glazing that defines the home that frames nature as a permanent, ever-evolving artwork at its heart. 2. Enhances the Feeling of Openness One of the core benefits of transparent design is its ability to harness natural light, transforming enclosed areas into luminous, uplifting environments. By using translucent or clear materials, designers reduce the need for artificial lighting and minimize visual barriers. This not only improves energy efficiency but also fosters emotional well-being by connecting occupants to daylight and exterior views. Ultimately, transparency promotes a feeling of openness and calm, aligning with minimalist and modern architectural principles. The Living O’Pod by UN10 Design Studio is a transparent, two-story pod designed as a minimalist retreat that fully immerses its occupants in nature. Built with a steel frame and glass panels all around, this glass bubble offers uninterrupted panoramic views of the Finnish wilderness. Its remote location provides the privacy needed to embrace transparency, allowing residents to enjoy stunning sunrises, sunsets, and starry nights from within. The open design blurs the line between indoors and outdoors, creating a unique connection with the environment. Located in Repovesi, Finland, the pod’s interiors feature warm plywood floors and walls that complement the natural setting. A standout feature is its 360° rotation, which allows the entire structure to turn and capture optimal light and views throughout the day. Equipped with thermal insulation and heating, the Living O’Pod ensures comfort year-round and builds a harmonious relationship between people and nature. 3. Encourages Interaction Transparent design reimagines interiors as active participants in the user experience, rather than passive backgrounds. Open sightlines and clear partitions encourage movement, visibility, and spontaneous interaction among occupants. This layout strategy fosters social connectivity, enhances spatial navigation, and aligns with contemporary needs for collaboration and flexibility. Whether in residential, commercial, or public spaces, transparency supports an intuitive spatial flow that strengthens the emotional and functional relationship between people and their environment. The Beach Cabin on the Baltic Sea, designed by Peter Kuczia, is a striking architectural piece located near Gdansk in northern Poland. This small gastronomy facility combines simplicity with bold design, harmoniously fitting into the beach environment while standing out through its innovative form. The structure is composed of two distinct parts: an enclosed space and an expansive open living and dining area that maximizes natural light and offers shelter. This dual arrangement creates a balanced yet dynamic architectural composition that respects the surrounding landscape. A defining feature of the cabin is its open dining area, which is divided into two sections—one traditional cabin-style and the other constructed entirely of glass. The transparent glass facade provides uninterrupted panoramic views of the Baltic Sea, the shoreline, and the sky, enhancing the connection between interior and nature. Elevated on stilts, the building appears to float above the sand, minimizing environmental impact and contributing to its ethereal, dreamlike quality. Transparent Product Design In product design, transparency serves as both a functional strategy and a powerful communicative tool that transforms the relationship between users and objects. By revealing internal components and operational mechanisms through clear or translucent materials, designers create an immediate visual understanding of how products function, demystifying technology and inviting engagement. This design approach establishes an honest dialogue with consumers, building trust through visibility rather than concealment. Beyond mere aesthetics, transparent design celebrates the beauty of engineering, turning circuit boards, gears, and mechanical elements into intentional visual features that tell the product’s story. From the nostalgic appeal of see-through gaming consoles to modern tech accessories, this approach satisfies our innate curiosity about how things work while creating a more informed user experience. The psychological impact of transparency in products extends beyond functional clarity to create deeper emotional connections. When users can observe a product’s inner workings, they develop increased confidence in its quality and craftsmanship, fostering a sense of reliability that opaque designs often struggle to convey. This visibility also democratizes understanding, making complex technologies more accessible and less intimidating to diverse users. Transparent design elements can evoke powerful nostalgic associations while simultaneously appearing futuristic and innovative, creating a timeless appeal that transcends trends. By embracing transparency, designers reject the notion that complexity should be hidden, instead celebrating the intricate engineering that powers our everyday objects. This philosophy aligns perfectly with contemporary values of authenticity and mindful consumption, where users increasingly seek products that communicate honesty in both form and function. 1. Reveals Functionality Transparent product design exposes internal components like wiring, gears, or circuits, turning functional parts into visual features. This approach demystifies the object, inviting users to understand how it works rather than hiding its complexity. It fosters appreciation for craftsmanship and engineering while encouraging educational curiosity. By showcasing what lies beneath the surface, designers build an honest relationship with consumers that is based on clarity, trust, and visible function. Packing a backpack often means tossing everything in and hoping for the best—until you need something fast. This transparent modular backpack concept reimagines that daily hassle with a clear, compartmentalized design that lets you see all your gear at a glance. No more digging through a dark abyss—every item has its visible place. The bag features four detachable, differently sized boxes that snap together with straps, letting you customize what you carry. Grab just the tech module or gym gear block and go—simple, efficient, and streamlined. Unlike traditional organizers that hide contents in pouches, the transparent material keeps everything in plain sight, saving time and frustration. While it raises valid concerns around privacy and security, the clarity and convenience it offers make it ideal for fast-paced, on-the-go lifestyles. With form meeting function, this concept shows how transparent design can transform not just how a bag looks, but how it works. 2. Enhances User Engagement When users can see how a product operates, they feel more confident using it. Transparent casings invite interaction by reducing uncertainty about internal processes. This visible clarity reassures users about the product’s integrity and quality, creating a psychological sense of openness and reliability. Especially in tech and appliances, this strategy deepens user trust and adds emotional value by allowing a more intimate connection with the design’s purpose and construction. The transparent Sony Glass Blue WF-C710N earbuds represent something more meaningful than a mere aesthetic choice, embodying a refreshing philosophy of technological honesty. While most devices conceal their inner workings behind opaque shells, Sony’s decision to reveal the intricate circuitry and precision components celebrates the engineering artistry that makes these tiny audio marvels possible. As you catch glimpses of copper coils and circuit boards through the crystal-clear housing, there’s a renewed appreciation for the invisible complexity that delivers your favorite music, serving as a visual reminder that sometimes the most beautiful designs are those that have nothing to hide. 3. Celebrates Aesthetic Engineering Transparency turns utilitarian details into design features, allowing users to visually experience the beauty of inner mechanisms. This trend, seen in everything from vintage electronics to modern gadgets and watches, values technical artistry as much as outer form. Transparent design redefines aesthetics by focusing on the raw, mechanical truth of a product. It appeals to minimalism and industrial design lovers, offering visual depth and storytelling through exposed structure rather than decorative surface embellishment. DAB Motors’ 1α Transparent Edition brings retro tech flair into modern mobility with its striking transparent bodywork. Inspired by the see-through gadgets of the ”90s—like the Game Boy Color and clear Nintendo controllers—this electric motorcycle reveals its inner mechanics with style. The semi-translucent panels offer a rare peek at the bike’s intricate engineering, blending nostalgia with innovation. Carbon fiber elements, sourced from repurposed Airbus materials, complement the lightweight transparency, creating a visual experience that’s both futuristic and rooted in classic design aesthetics. The see-through design isn’t just for looks—it enhances the connection between rider and machine. Exposed components like the integrated LCD dashboard, lenticular headlight, and visible frame structure emphasize function and precision. This openness aligns with a broader transparent design philosophy, where clarity and honesty in construction are celebrated. The DAB 1α turns heads not by hiding complexity, but by proudly displaying it, making every ride a statement in motion. Beyond just materials, transparent design also reflects a deeper design philosophy that values clarity in purpose, function, and sustainability. It supports minimalist thinking by focusing on what’s essential, reducing visual clutter, and making spaces or products easier to understand and engage with. Whether in interiors or objects, transparency helps create a more honest, functional, and connected user experienceThe post Transparent Design: How See-Through Materials Are Revolutionizing Architecture & Product Design first appeared on Yanko Design. #transparent #design #how #seethrough #materials

Tools have long been evaluated solely on their utilitarian merits, how efficiently they perform their designated task, how long they last, and how comfortable they feel during extended use. This sterile approach has dominated tool design for generations, yet for those who appreciate the subtle harmony between form and function, it’s simply not enough. There exists a profound hollowness when using tools that assist the hand but leave the mind unmoved, tools that accomplish their purpose without elevating the experience of craftsmanship itself. The Fusion Driver transcends these limitations, transforming the humble screwdriver from a mere implement into an object of desire that commands attention and inspires creativity. Conceived at the intersection of industrial design and functional art, this exquisite tool redefines what a screwdriver can be: a sensory experience that, quite literally, turns the mundane act of driving a screw, into a moment of genuine pleasure. A brief communion between craftsman, tool, and material that elevates the entire process of creation. Designer: Daniel Fajkis Click Here to Buy Now: Hurry, only few left! The tactile experience begins the moment your fingers wrap around the Fusion Driver’s meticulously crafted body. Unlike conventional screwdrivers that prioritize principle at the expense of sensory pleasure, this masterpiece features surfaces that engage your fingertips with subtle variations in texture and haptics. Necessary are such attributes when evolving the average into an obsession, leaving addicted hands defiant to return the tool once a task has been completed. In terms of feel, it’s simply divine. Precision engineering reveals itself in the Fusion Driver’s perfectly tapered weight distribution. The shaft’s mass and center of gravity have been perfectly refined, creating an implement that translates even the slightest wrist movement into efficient rotational force. This linear power transfer lets you feel every subtle variation in resistance as threads engage, providing lossless feedback when precise torque is most important. An experience akin to driving a finely tuned sports car, where every nuance of the road transmits directly to your fingertips. Material selection for the Fusion Driver reflects uncompromising commitment to excellence that would satisfy even the most discerning of collectors. The stainless steel shaft connects to the brass crown via a full-ceramic alumina bearing, each component perfectly balanced and leveled by hand, creating a rotation so smooth it’s bound to be addictive. Interchangeable bits are secured by an N-52 neodymium magnet, providing a connection that feels both secure and trustworthy. This harmonious marriage of premium materials ensures not just durability, but a sensory richness that mass-produced tools simply cannot achieve. The accompanying base transforms storage into a display worthy of the tool itself. Machined from a solid block of stainless steel with twelve powerful N52 neodymium magnets concealed within, it firmly holds up to six 1/4″ hex bits while presenting the Fusion Driver as the objet d’art it truly is. The velvet felt underside protects delicate surfaces, and adds another layer of tactile luxury to the experience. This equally luxurious accessory transforms the Fusion Driver from merely a tool into a statement piece that deserves prominent placement in your workspace. The true value of the Fusion Driver lies not in its ability to perform a task that countless other tools can accomplish, but in how it transforms the task into an experience. Like a fine writing instrument that makes you eager to put pen to paper, the Fusion Driver creates anticipation for work that would otherwise feel mundane. It represents a philosophy that the objects we interact with daily deserve thoughtful design and exquisite execution, and that even the most utilitarian items in our lives can and should bring moments of genuine pleasure and satisfaction. For the discerning collector who understands that true luxury lies in the details, the Fusion Driver represents the pinnacle of design, acknowledging that we are sensory beings who deserve more from our tools than mere functionality. It creates a connection between craftsman and craft that transforms work into pleasure and utility into art, making it an essential addition to any collection of exceptional objects that enhance our experience of the world. Click Here to Buy Now: Hurry, only few left!The post Fusion Driver: The Luxurious Screwdriver Blending Craftsmanship, Beauty and Utility first appeared on Yanko Design. #fusion #driver #luxurious #screwdriver #blending

Best of the rest Research roundup: 7 stories we almost missed Also: drumming chimpanzees, picking styles of two jazz greats, and an ancient underground city's soundscape Jennifer Ouellette – May 31, 2025 5:37 pm | 4 Time lapse photos show a new ping-pong-playing robot performing a top spin. Credit: David Nguyen, Kendrick Cancio and Sangbae Kim Time lapse photos show a new ping-pong-playing robot performing a top spin. Credit: David Nguyen, Kendrick Cancio and Sangbae Kim Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more It's a regrettable reality that there is never time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across each month. In the past, we've featured year-end roundups of cool science stories wemissed. This year, we're experimenting with a monthly collection. May's list includes a nifty experiment to make a predicted effect of special relativity visible; a ping-pong playing robot that can return hits with 88 percent accuracy; and the discovery of the rare genetic mutation that makes orange cats orange, among other highlights. Special relativity made visible Credit: TU Wien Perhaps the most well-known feature of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity is time dilation and length contraction. In 1959, two physicists predicted another feature of relativistic motion: an object moving near the speed of light should also appear to be rotated. It's not been possible to demonstrate this experimentally, however—until now. Physicists at the Vienna University of Technology figured out how to reproduce this rotational effect in the lab using laser pulses and precision cameras, according to a paper published in the journal Communications Physics. They found their inspiration in art, specifically an earlier collaboration with an artist named Enar de Dios Rodriguez, who collaborated with VUT and the University of Vienna on a project involving ultra-fast photography and slow light. For this latest research, they used objects shaped like a cube and a sphere and moved them around the lab while zapping them with ultrashort laser pulses, recording the flashes with a high-speed camera. Getting the timing just right effectively yields similar results to a light speed of 2 m/s. After photographing the objects many times using this method, the team then combined the still images into a single image. The results: the cube looked twisted and the sphere's North Pole was in a different location—a demonstration of the rotational effect predicted back in 1959. DOI: Communications Physics, 2025. 10.1038/s42005-025-02003-6  . Drumming chimpanzees A chimpanzee feeling the rhythm. Credit: Current Biology/Eleuteri et al., 2025. Chimpanzees are known to "drum" on the roots of trees as a means of communication, often combining that action with what are known as "pant-hoot" vocalizations. Scientists have found that the chimps' drumming exhibits key elements of musical rhythm much like humans, according to  a paper published in the journal Current Biology—specifically non-random timing and isochrony. And chimps from different geographical regions have different drumming rhythms. Back in 2022, the same team observed that individual chimps had unique styles of "buttress drumming," which served as a kind of communication, letting others in the same group know their identity, location, and activity. This time around they wanted to know if this was also true of chimps living in different groups and whether their drumming was rhythmic in nature. So they collected video footage of the drumming behavior among 11 chimpanzee communities across six populations in East Africaand West Africa, amounting to 371 drumming bouts. Their analysis of the drum patterns confirmed their hypothesis. The western chimps drummed in regularly spaced hits, used faster tempos, and started drumming earlier during their pant-hoot vocalizations. Eastern chimps would alternate between shorter and longer spaced hits. Since this kind of rhythmic percussion is one of the earliest evolved forms of human musical expression and is ubiquitous across cultures, findings such as this could shed light on how our love of rhythm evolved. DOI: Current Biology, 2025. 10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019  . Distinctive styles of two jazz greats Jazz lovers likely need no introduction to Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery, 20th century guitarists who influenced generations of jazz musicians with their innovative techniques. Montgomery, for instance, didn't use a pick, preferring to pluck the strings with his thumb—a method he developed because he practiced at night after working all day as a machinist and didn't want to wake his children or neighbors. Pass developed his own range of picking techniques, including fingerpicking, hybrid picking, and "flat picking." Chirag Gokani and Preston Wilson, both with Applied Research Laboratories and the University of Texas, Austin, greatly admired both Pass and Montgomery and decided to explore the underlying the acoustics of their distinctive playing, modeling the interactions of the thumb, fingers, and pick with a guitar string. They described their research during a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in New Orleans, LA. Among their findings: Montgomery achieved his warm tone by playing closer to the bridge and mostly plucking at the string. Pass's rich tone arose from a combination of using a pick and playing closer to the guitar neck. There were also differences in how much a thumb, finger, and pick slip off the string:  use of the thumbproduced more of a "pluck" compared to the pick, which produced more of a "strike." Gokani and Wilson think their model could be used to synthesize digital guitars with a more realistic sound, as well as helping guitarists better emulate Pass and Montgomery. Sounds of an ancient underground city Credit: Sezin Nas Turkey is home to the underground city Derinkuyu, originally carved out inside soft volcanic rock around the 8th century BCE. It was later expanded to include four main ventilation channelsserving seven levels, which could be closed off from the inside with a large rolling stone. The city could hold up to 20,000 people and it  was connected to another underground city, Kaymakli, via tunnels. Derinkuyu helped protect Arab Muslims during the Arab-Byzantine wars, served as a refuge from the Ottomans in the 14th century, and as a haven for Armenians escaping persecution in the early 20th century, among other functions. The tunnels were rediscovered in the 1960s and about half of the city has been open to visitors since 2016. The site is naturally of great archaeological interest, but there has been little to no research on the acoustics of the site, particularly the ventilation channels—one of Derinkuyu's most unique features, according to Sezin Nas, an architectural acoustician at Istanbul Galata University in Turkey.  She gave a talk at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in New Orleans, LA, about her work on the site's acoustic environment. Nas analyzed a church, a living area, and a kitchen, measuring sound sources and reverberation patterns, among other factors, to create a 3D virtual soundscape. The hope is that a better understanding of this aspect of Derinkuyu could improve the design of future underground urban spaces—as well as one day using her virtual soundscape to enable visitors to experience the sounds of the city themselves. MIT's latest ping-pong robot Robots playing ping-pong have been a thing since the 1980s, of particular interest to scientists because it requires the robot to combine the slow, precise ability to grasp and pick up objects with dynamic, adaptable locomotion. Such robots need high-speed machine vision, fast motors and actuators, precise control, and the ability to make accurate predictions in real time, not to mention being able to develop a game strategy. More recent designs use AI techniques to allow the robots to "learn" from prior data to improve their performance. MIT researchers have built their own version of a ping-pong playing robot, incorporating a lightweight design and the ability to precisely return shots. They built on prior work developing the Humanoid, a small bipedal two-armed robot—specifically, modifying the Humanoid's arm by adding an extra degree of freedom to the wrist so the robot could control a ping-pong paddle. They tested their robot by mounting it on a ping-pong table and lobbing 150 balls at it from the other side of the table, capturing the action with high-speed cameras. The new bot can execute three different swing typesand during the trial runs it returned the ball with impressive accuracy across all three types: 88.4 percent, 89.2 percent, and 87.5 percent, respectively. Subsequent tweaks to theirrystem brought the robot's strike speed up to 19 meters per second, close to the 12 to 25 meters per second of advanced human players. The addition of control algorithms gave the robot the ability to aim. The robot still has limited mobility and reach because it has to be fixed to the ping-pong table but the MIT researchers plan to rig it to a gantry or wheeled platform in the future to address that shortcoming. Why orange cats are orange Credit: Astropulse/CC BY-SA 3.0 Cat lovers know orange cats are special for more than their unique coloring, but that's the quality that has intrigued scientists for almost a century. Sure, lots of animals have orange, ginger, or yellow hues, like tigers, orangutans, and golden retrievers. But in domestic cats that color is specifically linked to sex. Almost all orange cats are male. Scientists have now identified the genetic mutation responsible and it appears to be unique to cats, according to a paper published in the journal Current Biology. Prior work had narrowed down the region on the X chromosome most likely to contain the relevant mutation. The scientists knew that females usually have just one copy of the mutation and in that case have tortoiseshellcoloring, although in rare cases, a female cat will be orange if both X chromosomes have the mutation. Over the last five to ten years, there has been an explosion in genome resourcesfor cats which greatly aided the team's research, along with taking additional DNA samples from cats at spay and neuter clinics. From an initial pool of 51 candidate variants, the scientists narrowed it down to three genes, only one of which was likely to play any role in gene regulation: Arhgap36. It wasn't known to play any role in pigment cells in humans, mice, or non-orange cats. But orange cats are special; their mutationturns on Arhgap36 expression in pigment cells, thereby interfering with the molecular pathway that controls coat color in other orange-shaded mammals. The scientists suggest that this is an example of how genes can acquire new functions, thereby enabling species to better adapt and evolve. DOI: Current Biology, 2025. 10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.075  . Not a Roman "massacre" after all Credit: Martin Smith In 1936, archaeologists excavating the Iron Age hill fort Maiden Castle in the UK unearthed dozens of human skeletons, all showing signs of lethal injuries to the head and upper body—likely inflicted with weaponry. At the time, this was interpreted as evidence of a pitched battle between the Britons of the local Durotriges tribe and invading Romans. The Romans slaughtered the native inhabitants, thereby bringing a sudden violent end to the Iron Age. At least that's the popular narrative that has prevailed ever since in countless popular articles, books, and documentaries. But a paper published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology calls that narrative into question. Archaeologists at Bournemouth University have re-analyzed those burials, incorporating radiocarbon dating into their efforts. They concluded that those individuals didn't die in a single brutal battle. Rather, it was Britons killing other Britons over multiple generations between the first century BCE and the first century CE—most likely in periodic localized outbursts of violence in the lead-up to the Roman conquest of Britain. It's possible there are still many human remains waiting to be discovered at the site, which could shed further light on what happened at Maiden Castle. DOI: Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2025. 10.1111/ojoa.12324  . Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 4 Comments #research #roundup #stories #almost #missed

Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Supports macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Windows Intuitive, modern user interface Flexible pricing Cons Mac client doesn’t offer features like cloud sync, AI chatbot, OCR, or file conversion Account deletion requires customer support Overpriced monthly plan is Our Verdict SwifDoo is free to download and use, but Apple’s built-in Preview app performs most of the tasks offered, including proper PDF editing, which SwifDoo doesn’t do. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Swifdoo PDF for Mac Retailer Price SwifDoo PDF For Mac Free View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket PDF editors are essential for Mac users living the paperless lifestyle. While macOS can view, annotate, and sign PDFs natively, the OS provides little control over the files’ core content. So, those wishing to tweak the text or images of a certain PDF document will have to rely on third-party solutions. With so many apps out there, however, finding the right pick may be tricky. SwifDoo PDF for Mac is one of the options you may come across when hunting for an editor. Is it any good, though? Pricing and availability SwifDoo PDF supports macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, and Android. Notably, however, the feature sets differ depending on the platform you’re using. So, for example, the Windows app packs distinct capabilities unavailable on macOS or the mobile clients. Similarly, the price differs based on the OS you’re running it on. In this review, we will be evaluating SwifDoo PDF for macOS specifically. The rating, pros, cons, and overall specifications only apply to this particular client. SwifDoo PDF for macOS is available to install and use as a document viewer for free. However, the paid version is required to unlock its core features, such as editing and annotation. At the time of writing, the monthly plan costs while the annual one goes for Alternatively, you could avoid the recurring subscription by paying a one-time fee of or to own a lifetime license for one or two Macs. Before committing to the purchase, you can create an account to claim a 7-day free trial and evaluate the service. Unfortunately, if you decide not to proceed, you’ll need to contact the company’s customer support to have them delete your account and its data. See our round-ups of of the best PDF editors for Mac and our best free PDF editors for Mac. Features Foundry While SwifDoo PDF was designed for Intel Macs and seemingly hasn’t been optimized for Apple silicon chips, it runs pretty smoothly on my MacBook Air M2. It features a clutter-free main page where you can interact with recently viewed files or open a different PDF via Finder. Once you load a document, you can tweak it using the standard annotation tools if you’re using the paid version. These include highlighting, inserting notes, underlining, striking through, drawing, adding text boxes and shapes, stamping, and more. Other SwifDoo PDF perks include page rotation, printing, and an auto-generated index that lets you quickly jump between document sections based on their headings. Beyond the basics, SwifDoo PDF supports simple document manipulation. The software provides full control over PDF files’ core content, letting you intuitively adjust the existing text’s font, alignment, and spacing. Similarly, you get to resize, crop, move, and rotate original images or insert new ones. If you’re handling sensitive files, SwifDoo PDF also enables you to protect documents with a password to prevent unauthorized viewing, editing, or copying. Notably, unlike the Windows client and other rival Mac apps, SwifDoo PDF for macOS doesn’t include an AI chatbot for assistance, optical character recognition, batch processing, file format conversion, cloud sync, etc. Foundry Should you use SwifDoo PDF? If you’re planning to use the free version of SwifDoo PDF, then the software is not worth it. Given that even annotation tools are now paywalled, you may want to rely on the built-in Apple Preview app instead. After all, macOS’ native solution requires no additional app installation and offers both viewing and annotation features for free. If you have short-term PDF editing needs and plan to subscribe to the service for just a few months, then you may want to look into alternative PDF editors for the Mac. At the steep price of /month, you can find more feature-rich solutions that support the excluded tools mentioned in the previous section. Otherwise, if your PDF editing workflows are limited to basic image and text manipulation, then the software is reliable and may be worth it when opting for the more reasonably priced annual or lifetime licenses. Update: This review has been revised to reflect the latest features and changes in the SwifDoo PDF app for macOS. #swifdoo #pdf #mac #review #basic

When it comes to bedding that’s soft and supple, the best silk sheets are hard to beat. Unlike other materials like a textured linen or crisp percale, these have a glossy look and feel that you won’t quite find in another set. What’s more, they are just as versatile as they are stylish. Silk of the highest quality is characterized as a hypoallergenic, naturally breathable fabric, which is great for hot sleepers and sleepers with sensitive skin. Plus, many sets come in neutral and bright colorways to play off of your bedroom’s design.To get a real feel for the best sets out there, our editors got to work by sleeping in on our favorite sets on the market. And since top-tier silk sheets tend to be pricey, we’ve also sprinkled in some affordable alternative options like satin and bamboo. They might trick you into thinking they’re the real thing. Here, find all of our favorites to enhance your sleep experience and self-care routine.Our Top Picks for the Best Silk Sheets:Best Overall Silk Sheets: Quince Mulberry Silk Sheet Set, Best Splurge: Clementine Sleepwear Atelier Medica Organic Silk Fitted Base Sheet, A Sustainable Set: Lunya Quintessential Bedding Set, Best Silk Alternative: Ettitude CleanBamboo Sheet Set, Most Affordable: Bedsure Satin Sheets, For Hot Sleepers: Luxome Luxury Sheet Set, Browse by CategoryFor consistency, all prices reflect queen sizes in this story.The Best Silk Sheets, OverallQuince Mulberry Silk Sheet SetUpsides & DownsidesUpsides: Affordable, machine washable, made of 100% mulberry silkDownsides: Only available in a few neutral colorsSpecsMaterial: 100% mulberry silkSizes: Queen, kingColors: 3Includes: Fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 2 pillowcasesCare instructions: Machine washable, air-dry recommendedQuince is already one of our favorite destinations for luxury-on-a-budget sleep essentials. While you’ll find an affordable price point here too, the quality of these 100% mulberry silk sheets isn’t something to skip over. Senior commerce editor Nashia Baker keeps these high-quality sheets in rotation since they’re both durable and easy to care for. They are machine washable—she just keeps them with like colors for safe measure, though. From there, an air-dry gets the sheets back to their best condition. Even if you don't notice an immediate change from tumble drying, the brand says this practice can weaken the silk. As someone whose skin has gotten more sensitive over time, she appreciates the hypoallergenic, temperature-regulating material that feels soothing to sink into each night.These sheets have a 22 momme count. We dive into this more in our FAQ section, but this count essentially indicates a durable weave, and Baker says they've held up well without tears or color fading in sight.Best SplurgeClementine Atelier Medica Silk Fitted SheetUpsides & DownsidesUpsides: No off-gassing, tester says the deep hue pairs well with neutral bedding, infused with ingredients like hyaluronic acidDownsides: PriceySpecsMaterial: 100% GOTS certified organic silk beddingSizes: Twin, full, queen, kingColors: 2Includes: Fitted sheetCare instructions: Machine wash on the most delicate setting in a “silk-only” load with mild detergent. Or, hand wash with a mild detergent and gently massage the fabric for one minute to remove dirt and let it soak for the next four minutes. Rinse in fresh cold water. Do not use bleach or a fabric softener. Hang in a shady spot away from the sun to air-dry.Calling them “extremely soft and rich-feeling,” commerce writer Julia Harrison coats her bed with this silk set and adds that they’re the “kind of splurge that just feels like self-care every time you slip into it.” While they’re steeper in price, the brand notes that these sheets boast infused with ingredients like hyaluronic acid designed to leave skin feeling dewy and soothed. Harrison says she sleeps easily with these sheets and felt like they were ready for use out of the box with little to no off-gassing.All that aside, these sheets can instantly dress up a moody or minimalist bedroom at any given moment with the pearl white and navy blue hues. Although Harrison has a bohemian-meets-Danish design style in her space, she found the navy blue color to be surprisingly subtle. “It wasn’t screaming: silk sheets, or even worse: navy blue sheets,” she says. “I tucked it under my white duvet and it gave a really interesting contrast.”A Sustainable SetPhoto: Nashia BakerPhoto: Nashia BakerLunya Quintessential Bedding SetUpsides & DownsidesUpsides: Made of natural wood tencel fibers, soft, durable materialDownsides: Duvet and sheet set are sold separatelySpecsMaterial: 100% tencelSizes: Queen, king, California kingColors: WhiteIncludes: Fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 2 pillowcasesCare instructions: Machine wash cold and tumble dry low.Take it from Baker: Lunya’s silky sheets are a dream. At first glance, she mistook these as mulberry silk because of their glossy look. In actuality, these sheets are made of a natural fiber called tencel, which is a wood-based material. The brand notes that the bedding is biodegradable and created using an earth-friendly, closed-loop process that uses recycled materials. These are naturally breathable while also boasting a softness that she hasn’t quite felt in a standard silk set. “I wouldn’t consider myself a hot sleeper, but since NYC weather is constantly up and down, I like something that’s both airy and soft,” she says. “I sleep under the top sheet and duvet with no problem; the set keeps me comfortable during in-between spring weather that hits around the 50s and 60s.”While the duvet is sold separately, it's a plus to pair with the sheet set since it's just as durable. “I’ve had the same textured comforter with yellow embroidery for years now, and I feared that the design would show through the duvet cover since the only color Lunya has as of now is white,” Baker says. “I was pleasantly surprised to see that the duvet covered it all without any color peeking through.”Best Silk AlternativeEttitude CleanBamboo Sheet SetUpsides & DownsidesUpsides: 8 colors available, Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified, hypoallergenicDownsides: Some colors sell out quicklySpecsMaterial: 100% CleanBamboo LyocellSizes: Twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California kingColors: 8Includes: 1 fitted sheet, 1 flat sheet, 2 pillowcase. Full and queen sizes include 2 standard pillowcases; King and California king include 2 king-size pillowcases, twin and twin XL include 1 standard pillowcase.Care instructions: Wash on cold with mild detergent and like fabrics in a gentle or delicate setting. Line dry or tumble dry low. Don't use bleach or fabric softener."These sheets are buttery—pun intended,” says Baker, who has this set in the butter colorway. These are made from a patented CleanBamboo fabric that leaves the sheets with a silky sateen finish. She says they have gotten noticeably softer over time with a routine wash and dry. Plus, they are a bit thinner in a good way than other bamboo-like sets, as Baker says it leaves them with an airier feel. If trendy pastel yellow isn’t your preference, these sheets also come in several neutral and vibrant hues like sage and saffron.Most AffordableBedsure Satin SheetsUpsides & DownsidesUpsides: Affordable alternative, smooth feel, easy careDownsides: Some color might bleed on pillows after the first couple of usesSpecsMaterial: 100% polyester satinSizes: Twin, full, queen, king, California kingColors: 22Includes: Fitted sheet, flat sheet, and 2 pillowcasesCare instructions: Machine washable in cold water. Tumble dry on low.Another alternative to add to cart, these satin sheets have a smooth texture and come in nearly two dozen colors to match your bedroom. And coming in at just they have more of an approachable price tag while still boasting the overall look of silk. The sheets are more slippery than a standard silk set, but the appearance itself doesn't give that away. Baker has these in burgundy and says the rich hue really shows through in person. She did notice some color bleeding on her pillows after the first couple of uses, so something to be mindful of if you opt for a deep color.For Hot SleepersPhoto: Nashia BakerLuxome Luxury Sheet SetUpsides & DownsidesUpsides: Unique colors available, deep pockets, breathableDownsides: The brand recommends washing alone on the delicate cycleSpecsMaterial: 100% Viscose from BambooSizes: Twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king, and split kingColors: 12Includes: 1 fitted sheet, 1 flat sheet, 2 pillowcase. Full, queen, king, California king, and split king sizes include 2 pillowcases; twin and twin XL include 1 standard pillowcase.Care instructions: Machine wash in cold water on a delicate cycle with a mild, liquid detergent. Don't use bleach, fabric softener, stain removers, or scent boosters. Tumble dry with low heat.These are our favorite cooling sheets for those seeking a glam aesthetic. Baker says this bamboo set is great for people like her who crave something cool-to-the-touch without sacrificing style. “These sheets have the same appearance to me as a high-end set of silk or satin without the cost,” she says, adding that they have dramatic drape. “These are even more unique because of the jewel tones, like sapphire, that are hard to find with other brands,” she says. Baker keeps her bedscape full with a mattress topper and protector, and she says these deep-pocket sheets fit easily over it all. While she says she’s generally a cold sleeper, the bamboo material is perfectly breathable for hot NYC days.How We TestedFrom bamboo to linen sheets, our testing process for sheets is one in the same at AD: Just like fellow shoppers, our editors bring sets in their homes to see if they really hold up for routine use. We had these silk and silk alternative sheets in our homes for about a month, if not more, to go through the process of washing and sleeping on them. Here areMaterial: There are several silk and silk alternative fabrics to choose from, but our list consists of pure mulberry silk, bamboo varieties, and satin that all have a similar look and feel. When shopping for pure silk, be sure look for bedding labels that note 100% mulberry silk, also known as natural silk. If you're looking for options that mirror the look of silk, 100% viscose from bamboo is typically durable and has less strict care instructions, especially tumble drying. Satin tends to be slightly more slippery in texture, but these usually still offer a silky look.Care: For streamlined care, we tested a variety of options that span hand washing to machine washing, as well as tumble drying and air-drying. Since pure silk can sometimes weaken from abrasive wash and dry cycles, it's typically recommended to hand wash and air-dry.FAQsAre Silk Sheets Really Worth It?While 100% mulberry sheets tend to be an investment price-wise, we think it's worthwhile. These can act as cooling sheets, as the material is naturally breathable for a good night's rest. And because of their smooth nature, they can leave a polished aesthetic in any bedroom. With the right care—typically machine washing on a delicate cycle or hand washing and air drying—the best silk sheets can last for years.What’s a Momme Count?A momme count is the measurement that reflects the weight of silk. Typically, the higher the momme count, the denser the fabric. Any momme count above 20 momme, like our Quince pick, is pretty standard and ensures the material is sturdy and designed to last. #best #silk #sheets #tested #editors