The E-bike has been designed with airless tires, robust tubular construction and shaft drive, ensuring durability, while the luminated front bar and dazzling graphics increase the visibility and safety for the rider. E-bikes have designed to be folded quickly and intuitively by the user and deposit it into the storage modules after arriving to a transit hub. RFID technology has been utilized to charge the users on their Oystercard according to the amount of E-bike rental time. When docked, E-bikes act as hub seating and get charged for the next renter.

Transit hubs optimize the traveler’s transitional experience between renting bike schedule called Bikeshare and boarding on a bus. The hubs provide real time transit schedule by allowing access to the Bikeshare. The Ionic modular design provides the concept with distinctive architectural identifiers all through the cityspace, increasing both the desirability and visibility of city public transit. During the time passengers board on a bus, its ultracapacitors get charged until next stop via a small arm extended from the hub. The busses collect and disperse E-bikes according to demand, effectively diminishing the need of third party distributors.

The electrical modular buses aim to optimize the needs of next generation commuters by providing ultimate convenience for public transit. The specialized interior space addresses the diverse needs of passengers. The compact and ergonomically bended seating arrangement provides a safer environment for seat occupiers and the standing passengers downstairs for short distant travel. On the other hand, long-distance travelers and tourists will be able to enjoy the city from panoramic second floor.

Designer : Gabriel Wartofsky

But it may have become the harbinger of future mobile phone concept developments. With Pilotfish, a new development in the concept of phone music editing was born. The Ondo combines the touch screen ability with a back that lithely twists and turns to allow for fast and comprehensive editing of desired music on the phone.

This new concept according to Pilotfish is a bid to lessen the burden of mobile phone manipulation especially for those who find it hard to even understand the features and also make music enthusiasts happy. Of course we can not conclusively judge the efficiency of this designed concept but the need for a classy easy to use music editor has always been in the heart of mobile phone music lovers who want a calling phone with an Ipod like concept among its features.

[Press Release]
Pilotfish Launches Ondo Music Editing Phone Concept

Play it, mix it, rock out to it! Ondo enables a more flexible and physical experience in mobile phones

MUNICH, Germany – April 20, 2009 — Pilotfish, a progressive industrial design and product development studio based in Munich, Amsterdam and Taipei, today introduced Ondo, a dedicated music editing phone concept. The Ondo concept enables OEMs to visualize a new form of user interaction for mobile phones. User The target user for “Ondo” is the music enthusiast who seeks to interactively capture and edit sounds. Going beyond software-based solutions of other products, it is specifically designed to effectively collect pure sounds and is specially constructed to create a tactile sound editing experience.

Music Editing
Made from form-sensitive flexible materials, “Ondo” allows the user to modify recorded sounds by physically twisting and bending the device. Like a guitarist pulling on a whammy bar, users can feel and hear the musical effects as they create them.

Jamming
Another innovative feature of “Ondo” are the three removable display ”sticks”. In their normal state, the “sticks” act as a unified touch display for the mobile device. When removed, each can be separately clipped onto a musical instrument or person to capture live sound. Like a portable recording studio, “Ondo” makes mixing tracks easy, because each “stick” picks up isolated sounds from each individual instrument. The recordings can be immediately sent via MMS (Multimedia Messaging) around the globe allowing musicians at different geographical locations to jam together.

Mixing
In party mode, “Ondo” works as a digital mixer enabling the user to create seamless transitions between songs. This is made easy with interactive touch functions combined with integrated software support.

Market Opportunities
The advantage of such a device is that a range of services and accessories can accompany it in order to enhance the sound capturing and editing experience. From a business perspective, most of the players in the mobile world can benefit: for example, content creators – by providing sound libraries or musical games for download; operators – by facilitating increased user interaction; and device manufacturers – by producing accessories such as input devices, Bluetooth instruments, etc.

Freedom Phone is a small pre-paid phone for travelers who cannot use their usual mobile phones while being abroad, or it could be a solution for those users who just don’t need all the fancy features a last-generation phone has to offer, that is unique in design and unique in out it works. Upon arriving into the new country, you have the option of purchasing the Freedom Phone with 60, 100 or 200 minutes. There’s no fuss remembering Roaming tariffs, no extra prefixes to remember when being abroad, you have complete Freedom when calling home.

No SIM card needed – no roaming charges and in 10 short minutes, the Freedom Phone is charged. The phone number, important service and other information are located on the back of the Freedom Phone. Best of all, the Freedom Phone is so tiny; there won’t be the frustration of lagging the phone around with you on your trip. The bottom line, Freedom Phone, is a perfect and new solution to your traveling needs.

Not all the manufacturers have realized that there’s a huge market out there for people who are just interested in making and receiving phone calls, no need for advanced and complicated devices, which are used only at 5% of what they could really offer. There’s also a huge market comprised of elderly users, not at all the tech-savvy type, for which producers should remember to keep things simple, as simple as possible.

This concept simply grants you a phone that is used for nothing more than making and receiving calls. Its design focuses on ease of use and practicality.

Designer : Vadim Kibardin

[Press Release]
Honda FC Sport Design Study Suggests Hydrogen Sports Car Future

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19, 2008 – Honda today revealed the Honda FC Sport design study model, a hydrogen-powered, three-seat sports car concept, at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The FC Sport emphasizes the design flexibility and potential of Honda’s V Flow fuel cell technology – already deployed in the Honda FCX Clarity sedan – and reconfigures it into a lightweight sports car design with an ultra-low center of gravity, powerful electric motor performance and zero-emissions. The design study concept is inspired by supercar levels of performance through low weight and a high-performance, electrically driven fuel cell powertrain.

“The Honda FC Sport explores how to satisfy automotive performance enthusiasts in a world beyond petroleum,” said Dan Bonawitz, vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “People who love sports cars will still have a reason to love in a hydrogen-powered future.”

The high-output Honda fuel cell powertrain and a sleek, aerodynamic body contribute to the vehicle’s performance potential. A modular approach to fuel cell component packaging and the electric drivetrain contribute to the FC Sport’s low center of gravity with the majority of vehicle mass distributed between the axles, creating the balanced weight distribution sought after in sports cars.

The ideal placement of the Honda V-Flow fuel cell stack and related components demonstrates the benefits of a platform-specific, hydrogen-powered fuel cell powertrain. The FC Sport is configured to accommodate a custom-formed high-power fuel cell stack, located between the rear seats, and a battery pack placed low in the middle of the vehicle. The electric motor resides just forward of the rear axle. Two fuel storage tanks, visible from above, are located above the rear axle.

The optimal placement of fuel cell components for performance also allows for a relatively large passenger cabin by conventional supercar standards with enough space for three seating positions. The interior layout focuses primarily on the driver with a racecar-like center driving position. The enclosed canopy opens upward from the rear to allow for entry and exit. Two rear passenger seats flank the driver’s left and right side.

The sleek, low-profile body is designed to convey a high-technology appearance with sculpting that combines angular shapes in the front of the vehicle that taper into geometric, hex forms in the rear. The rear hex forms house cooling radiators for the fuel cell. Formula 1-style barge boards behind the front wheels enhance high speed aerodynamics and convey the vehicle’s racing pedigree. The hydrogen storage tanks, visible from the rear deck, showcase the FC Sports fuel cell technology in much the same way that a “naked bike” motorcycle showcases its engineering technology.

The glacier white body color conveys the FC Sport’s clean environmental aspirations while the dark wheels and deeply tinted glass provide a symbolic contrast befitting of the vehicle’s unique combination of clean power and high performance. Green construction techniques further contribute to a reduced carbon footprint. An organic, bio-structure theme is carried through to the body construction where exterior panels are intended to use plant-derived bio-plastics.

The Advanced Design Studio of Honda R&D Americas, in Pasadena, California, developed the FC Sport design study with the primary objective of using existing fuel cell technology as the basis for an ultimate Honda sports car. Designer Jason Wilbur led the design efforts.

Honda R&D Americas, Inc. began its operations in California in 1975 with local market research activities and has steadily grown its capabilities over the past 33 years to include all aspects of new vehicle design and development. Recent development efforts include trend-setting products such as the Honda Pilot, Ridgeline, Element, Civic Coupe and Civic Si.

In 2008, the company opened two new design centers in Southern California: the Acura Design Studio (Torrance), for the research and design of new Acura products; and the Advanced Design Studio (Pasadena), for the exploration and development of advanced design themes for both Honda and Acura.

The company operates 11 major R&D facilities in North America, including a full vehicle development center in Raymond, Ohio, and three design studios in Southern California. Honda R&D designers, engineers and support personnel are engaged in the development of Honda and Acura automobiles, powersports products, and power equipment for North America and global markets. The company’s main centers of operation include the Los Angeles Center (Torrance, California), responsible for market research, concept development and styling design; the Ohio Center (Raymond, Ohio), responsible for complete product development, testing, and support of North American supplier and manufacturing operations; and a dynamic test facility in Cantil, California.

Designer : Barry Sheehan and Gregor Timlin via DesignBoom

Designer : Isay Winefield

Designer : Country Couch via Gizmodo

From the website :

Passion
The Napkin PC aims to bring out the creative passion of the user both individually and in group sessions. It encourages spreading out and allows for multiple creative workflows that can interact or just as easily stay independent. It encourages group interaction and collaboration by allowing any number of interfaces that can be passed around or pinned up, but which all communicate with a central network.

Users’ Culture & Lifestyle
The primary users are creative professionals including those in any field of design, but also expanding to include business and marketing professionals who use creative thinking to come up with business plans or marketing campaigns.

Their primary need is to have a simple system to help keep their creativity moving and maintain good collaborative communication. They want to drink a cup of coffee, pick up a pen and let their creativity flow, without having to sit down later to actually document and organize the information later.

The Napkin PC is a continuously additive system, where each new idea is already documented and organized with references and connections to related ideas. In addition each Napkin interface is an instant portal to the entire network giving quick and easy access and sharing of ideas and reference material.

Market Viability
The design appeals to business professionals. It is ideal for work groups of around 6 people (a typical brainstorming meeting) although the system is easily expandable for larger business.

The viable markets are any business that works with creative professionals. Any company that relies on brainstorming and group collaboration would benefit from using a Napkin PC.

A secondary market is creative professionals who work alone or in smaller groups, but who want the same ability to spread out and use multiple workflows.

Size
See page titled “Dimensions”

Napkin interface: 180mm x 180mm x 2mm
Pen stylus: 140mm x 9mm x 10mm
Base station: 160mm x 150mm x 150mm
Mobile station: 45mm x 36mm x 15 mm

Overview of Design
The Napkin PC is innovative because of its multi-flexibility. It can have multiple users, multiple interfaces, and multiple configurations. It breaks the PC down to only the interface— a pen and a space— and then gives you a multitude of both so you can let your creativity run wild.

User & Context
The users are creative professionals who work in collaborative groups. The PC is designed to be used for brainstorming, ideation, meetings, think tanks, etc. — anywhere where creativity is the driving force.

Scenarios of Use
There are two new usage scenarios delivered by the PC. First is the brainstorming workflow. Creativity that normally starts on paper and whiteboards goes instead directly into the PC without the user changing their behavior. This creativity is richer because of the innumerable software tools and resources available on every Napkin interface. It can also be shared, compiled, and compared instantly for a smooth, speedy workflow.

The second scenario is a replacement for printing. Instead of ever putting ink on paper, the interfaces themselves instantly become “prints” when power is removed. They would then be used just like a print, pinned up, handed around, reviewed, etc. When the print is no longer needed the interface is simply returned to the base station as a fresh Napkin.

User Interface
The interface consists of any number of Napkins and one of the Pens. When powered by the Pen, the Napkin is a multi-touch input display which responds to human touch as well as the Pen. The intuitive use of a pen and paper is exploited by the design, making it very easy to use. Also the ability to work on multiple interfaces in parallel, instead of shuffling through windows on a single interface, makes multitasking much easier.

Aesthetics
The Base station is designed to interact like a napkin holder. The user can grab an interface from the stack in the middle of the table. The computer itself is somewhat hidden in the Napkin holder, its only reminder being the OLED status display on the front. The user only really interacts with the Napkins and the Pens. This helps them maintain hands-on, creative freedom. The square Napkin form is used because it is modular, but also because it conveys the idea of being one of many. This helps the user stay relaxed and open minded because less importance is put on a single interface.

Technical Aspects
The key technologies are full color e-Paper, multi-touch input, Inductive power circuits, and high speed RF wireless connections. The e-Paper is key because of its low power consumption, thinness and flexibility, and ability to retain an image without power. Multi-touch is simply the future of intuitive input that makes the PC fun, fast, and easy to use. The inductive power circuits are crucial because they allow wireless power transfer and make the interface Napkin simple and inexpensive enough to be used in large numbers. High speed RF continues to keep everything wireless and intuitively seamless.

Ecology
The environmental sustainability of the PC is most innovative with the Napkin interface. It is the most numerous component and the one most likely to need replacing due to wear over a few years. Therefore it is beneficial to make it easy to recycle which is accomplished by powering it with an inductive circuit. This eliminates a hard-to-recycle internal battery.

The second, and likely more impactful, innovation is the use of the interface as an instant “print.” This eliminates the need for printers, paper, and ink, which are used in large amounts during the creative process.

Manufacturability
The focus of the design is really in the interface – the Napkin and the Pen. Both have very limited actual function because they only relay information between the user and the base station. The Napkins are manufactured by adhering the layers of touch input, display, and power/communication circuit, between a protective plastic cover. The pens have a similar induction circuit and communication antenna set up along with a rechargeable battery to send power to the interface. The Base Station holds the actual PC, which is compact but powerful enough to handle multiple users.

Source : Next-Gen PC Design

Too bad that this phone is just a concept phone, hopefully we can see this green mobiles in the market soon.

Source : inhabitat

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