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Pulse Urban Bike from Teague

TheFuture — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:51:52 +0000

Pulse is an innovative urban bike concept formed to meet all the standard necessities of bike commute. This bike features electric turn signals, located both on the edge of each handle and at the rear indicator light, that can be controlled form the handlebars and a glowing frame that lights up when the rider needs it. The specially designed caged pedals of this bike always remain in a “right way round” manner, which allows the rider not to suffer from having to clip into inconvenient conventional upside down pedals. Pulse, with its compact design and efficient functionalities, would be an ultimate transportation solution that is synchronized with the urban denizen needs.

Designer : Teague via Core77

Mini Giant Concept Printer : No More Ink Cartridges and Ribbons

TheFuture — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:42:14 +0000

Mini Giant is a robotic printer concept that self-drives itself over a ZINK Paper sheet of any size in order to create a print. The main benefit of the ZINK technology is, it doesn’t require ribbons and ink cartridges. The designer has replaced the ink cartridges and ribbons with a heating system that can radically change its shape. Instead of using large scale paper into the printer, this concept brings this special type of paper laid on any smooth and hard surface. Mini giant is placed on the up left corner of a selected image and it will automatically move slowly on the paper surface. The back side heating place heats the portion it comes over and thus activates the ZINK paper’s crystals. With this small gadget, you can have a large format poster printer right in the palm of your hand.

Designer : Paula Adina Sumalan via Core77

ATNMBL Concept Car for The Freedom of A Ride

TheFuture — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:39:15 +0000

The recent car business is focusing more on style and speed, whereas, a car that can go 120 mph is being used in an area where it is mostly running at a moderate speed of around 60-70 mph and is waiting in traffic. In this situation, ATNMBL, a brilliantly designed concept car, can be an alternative that has been designed aiming to redefine the term ‘performance’.

This concept has been driven from the need for zero-pollution, efficient and affordable cars for the future community and enjoying the freedom of a ride. The ATNMBL is designed as a self-driving car with artificial intelligence which arrive to you with just a phone call. The standing-height entrance has an electric sliding glass door and upon entering, you will be asked for your desired destination. The comprehensive and innovative voice recognition system of this vehicle along with a touch screen remote and slide up display, it can offer a wide range of tour planning, detailed performance setting and enjoyable ride sharing.

The overall arrangement of the interior of ATNMBL is very much familiar with conventional living room sitting including side chair, a couch and a low table. Up to seven passengers can sit towards each other and can see outside through large floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides. From outside, this vehicle looks like micro-architecture with a large window, pitched room and asymmetrical shape from every view without any reference to past automobile designs.

A considerable amount of typical car space is blocked with the engine and drive train, while, the mechanical components of ATNMBL are simplified and densely packed, providing more interior space. Each wheel contains electric motors which provide all-wheel drive. The power storing mechanism is located beneath the floor; moreover, alternative solar energy can be obtained from the roof-top solar panels. The front and rear end contains an array of tail lights, headlights and sensors.

Designer : Mike and Maaike via Core77

G9 Mobile Phone by Ichiro Iwasaki

TheFuture — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:40:49 +0000

G9 is the latest mobile by iida with the feature of being the first mobile that can be used anywhere all over the world which is not only a superior quality tool, but also is easy to use. G9 includes a true sense of uniqueness with various useful features and a gorgeous shape that educes style for all range of users. This ultimate sliding phone features exchangeable stainless steel frame with three different finish, slanted keys and exquisite palm fit shape. The phone is equipped with a large, minimalist and sophisticated LCD screen that can realign your thoughts about great quality display.

Designer : Ichiro Iwasaki via [Core77]

Design Bugs Out : Medical Devices from Design Council UK

TheFuture — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:38:46 +0000

The UK Design Council has recently commissioned a series of useful medical equipment concepts aiming to diminish the spread of germs. Under this initiative, the council has designed various products such as a easy to clean, durable, comfortable and cleverly usable porter’s chair that will definitely reduce the number of user ‘touchpoints’ where germs can be spread. Another product is an ‘intelligent’ mattress that can change color when it comes with the contact of body fluids. A patient bedside arrangement, featuring bedside storage along with an easy to clean over-bed table made of scratch-proof materials. The 21st century portable commode is another useful product that will eliminate the potential of spreading out the germs and can be cleaned easily. A smart canella is another helpful equipment by the council that can tell the staff when it is time to change the intravenous lines.

The main goal of these useful and innovative designs for hospital furniture and apparatuses is to help fight against healthcare associated infections such as MRSA and HCAIs. The prototypes have used cutting edge techniques in order to reshape the patient transport, bedside environment and usual medical equipments keeping easy clean in mind. The design also influences staff and patient behavior to lessen the probability of exposure to HCAIs.

Designer : Design Council via Core77

EyeStops : Futuristic Bus Stops from SENSEable City Lab of MIT

TheFuture — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:03:29 +0000

EyeStops is a concept device for bus stops which will allow the passengers to do a lot more activities than just sitting idle and wait. The SENSEable City Lab of MIT has designed this solar-powered booth that are outfitted with touchscreen displays that will show necessary information like bus schedules or the shortest route for a certain destination. Even more, you will be able to browse the web, check the air quality, see the exact location of your desired bus, interact with a mobile device and use the booth as a community message board to post announcements and ads. On top of that, this booth will surely change the appearance of a traditional bus stop.

[Press Release]

MIT unveils EyeStop: an iPhone‐like interactive bus stop for the City of Florence

May 14, 2009. MIT architects and engineers have unveiled EyeStop, an interactive bus stop designed for the city of Florence. On Saturday 16 May the project will be presented officially at the Genio Fiorentino by the President of the Province of Florence Matteo Renzi (dubbed ‘The Italian Obama’ by TIME Magazine).

EyeStop, developed by MIT’s SENSEable City Lab, is an exploration into the next generation of smart urban furniture; it aims to enrich the city with state of the art sensing technologies, interactive services, community information and entertainment. The project is partially covered with touch sensitive e‐INK and screens, so that it can deliver information to people seamlessly. Users can plan a bus trip on an interactive map, exchange community‐relevant information on a digital message board, surf the web, monitor their real time exposure to pollutants and use their mobile devices as an interface with the bus shelter. “Interacting with EyeStop could change the access to urban information in a similar way to how the iPhone has changed our mobile life” commented Carlo Ratti, Head of the SENSEable City Lab at MIT.

At the touch of a finger users can indicate their desired destination; the system will then display the shortest bus route from where they are and the position of all relevant buses real‐time. The EyeStop will glow at different levels of intensity to signal the distance of an approaching bus. Riders and passers‐by can also post ads and community announcements to an electronic bulletin board placed on the bus stop, enhancing its functionality as a public space ‐ a place to gather and exchange community relevant information.

In addition to displaying information, the bus stop also acts as an active environmental sensing node, powering itself through sunlight and collecting real time information about air quality and the urban environment. “EyeStop is an experiment into urban computing: it may be considered an “info‐tape” that snakes through the city, rising up like a pole or cropping out of the sidewalk like a shelter. It senses information about the environment and distributes it in a form accessible to all citizens” – commented project leader Giovanni de Niederhousern.

A generative parametric model produces a unique design for each bus stop, providing both optimal sheltering for users and maximum sunlight exposure for direct photovoltaic powering. Unlike the typical mass‐produced bus stop, EyeStop is designed to fit the physical characteristics of its surroundings, with each unit being slightly different from the others. Furthermore, simple materials like shiny steel, extra clear glass and gray local stone (pietra serena), together with its minimalist design, serve to optimize how it blends into the historic urban fabric of Florence.

“Since the Renaissance, there has been an interplay between the physical form of the city (urb) and its citizenship (civitas),” added Carlo Ratti. “Today’s technologies are adding new possibilities to that age‐long relationship, thanks to the addition of digital information to physical space. It is as if a new materiality were emerging in architecture, with the seamless blending of bits and atoms…”

EyeStop was developed at the SENSEable City Laboratory by Giovanni de Niederhousern, Shaocong Zhou, Assaf Biderman and Carlo Ratti, in collaboration with the Province of Florence and the local public transportation authority ATAF.

Designer : Giovanni de Niederhousern, Shaocong Zhou, Assaf Biderman and Carlo Ratti via Core77

Philips Master LED Bulb

TheFuture — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:38:41 +0000

The Master LED bulb from Philips has the same form as an old-fashioned one, making it simple to use for the people and feel comfortable about using it. Even though the bulb draws 7 watts only, it gives off light equal to a 40 watt bulb and lasts around 45,000 hours which about 30x the length of a normal bulb. This Master LED bulb is available in Europe already and should reach the North American shores before July.

Designer : Philips via [Gizmodo and Core77]

sunLight, a Scaleable Gadget that Generates Power from Solar Energy

TheFuture — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:53:01 +0000

The unique product called sunLight is a concept that utilizes the natural energy both for its usage and storage. It is one unit that has all the aspects in one device like generating, storing and consuming the electrical energy. The device designed for a long lifecycle with the same components and no replacement of spares, and even if, there is a need for replacement of spares due to any malfunction, the same can be done without much of an effort and cost. Thus it’s not just environment friendly but quite cost effective as well. All that sunLight needs to work is solar energy – you simply unfold it so that solar cell film is exposed to the sun and the energy will recharge the batteries. Received power can be used in different ways, as a flashlight or for loading up connected gadgets (mobile phones or music players, for example).

sunLight is scaleable. The standard configuration embeds 6 modules, each of which consists of an LED unit and 2 AAAA rechargeable batteries. Furthermore, one of modules holds a charge controller. For more or less luminance/capacity, the size of solar cell film and with it the number of LED-battery modules can be varied proportionally. A low number of components reduces the production costs; production of different sizes requires just one new tool for the base material. Except for the batteries, all parts could be made of recyclable polymers.

Designer : Hermann Eske via GreenerGadgets Competition

Solar Pot Can Charge Your Battery Under The Sun

TheFuture — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:43:01 +0000

With environment friendly issues being the prime concern for all designers so is this new charging device. This new battery charging device or Solar Pot makes use of solar energy to charge itself. All one has to do is to place the discharged cell inside the stem of this charging device and then the place the charging device in the sun. The device then takes up the solar energy and thereby charges the battery. This device helps in recycling the dry cells the natural way, which otherwise is one of the biggest environmental hazard. Quite an eco friendly way to save environment!

Designer : Jangho Kim via [Core77]

CompostAll as An Alternative to Garbage Disposing System by Frog Design

TheFuture — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:03:39 +0000

This garbage disposing system is surely an appropriate alternative to the regular home sink in garbage which ensures that the food waste is composted rather than be sent down the drain. The device has been named as CompostAll, is placed under the sink and thereby it is a pretty convenient, discreet and odor free location for storing waste food with an alert light which indicates when the container is full and it also has easy carry and disposing of waste contents to the bigger container outside. There is not much change that one has to do when placing this device in the kitchen as everything stays the same except the wastage manner. Thus it’s an eco friendly way of saying you care!

Designer : FrogDesign via [IGreenSpot and Core77]