As related in my subject interest page, the implementation of rendering software is one area that interests me.  The difficulties in rendering a life like image are becoming less pronounced with the advent of newer software and more powerful computers. These are some examples of products I have rendered, either partially or fully (click on thumbnail for full size image):

1. Lang's Planetarium: Designed as a 100th anniversary model that never materialized:   
   

2. Fire Syringe: Designed to create "fire" from compressed air and tissue:
    

3. Slider assembly for a class project::
   

     Another design problem interest area would be the medical implant/replacement subject area. While great strides are being made in areas such as bionics, I often wonder if any of this technology will ever be inexpensive enough to translate to the "common" person. Examples of this being the IBOT that I featured in my introduction of the Good Design list. While this wheelchair is a breakthrough design, it's hardly affordable given its retail cost of about $26,000.

    A second example of this is the recent adaptation and advancement of bionic technologies to use on amputees. A recent Washington Post article detailed the research of physicians and engineers working at the Rehabilitation institute in Chicago, whom are working on a bionic arm. They have spent millions of dollars on their projects and are a long way from a commercial version of their prototypes.  These bionic arms are controlled by thoughts, and not muscle movements so the effect is more "natural". There have been four people that have received bionic arms, and Claudia Mitchell (pictured to the right) was the first woman to receive one in September. Unfortunately, hundreds of service men and women have lost appendages in the ongoing Iraq "war", and making this type of technology affordable to those and others is an area something that would interest to me.

    Changing gears, another area that could use more research is the computer control (driving ) of automobiles, termed "smart cars". Presently there are some systems in the works, and that some precursor features, such as autonomous cruise control are already being used in some high end vehicles such as Audi's, BMW's, and Lexus. Autonomous cruise control limits the distance between your car and the one in front of you. Some systems will also brake in the event that a collision is imminent. Smart cars will eventually (though maybe not in my useful lifetime) be able to completely control the vehicle from entering the vehicle to parking it at the destination. There is continuing research in this area, but it is unlikely that it will ever see the light of day in the reasonable future. Most present research is occuring in Europe in the countries of Italy and the Netherlands.

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