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

Designer : Trudy Cheung

From Patrik:

The Reason Why
In Sweden, inviting friends over to one’s home for coffee is a very common social gathering. During my research, I found that people who have espresso machines don’t use them during these social coffee gatherings but serve conventional coffee instead because it’s more simple, more time efficient, allows easy refills, and it brews at a touch of a button which doesn’t take the host away from the party.

The making of an espresso beverage is a procedure that is traditionally taken with much pride and joy. Originating in Italy, espresso drinks have grown popularity all over the modern world. I wanted to create an espresso machine that will allow all participants to experience this procedure of creating their own espresso drink, rather than the host being in charge of everyone’s beverages and be left out of the conversations. And the procedure should be simple enough so that all people, regardless of knowledge of espresso making, can use and enjoy.

How It Works

Docking mode
The barista espresso machine consists of a docking station, brewing unit and five espresso cups. One of the main features with the Barista is that it allows multiple users to be in charge of their own espresso brewing, instead of just only one person in conventional espresso makers. To enhance the portability and make it easier to carry, the Barista works in two modes, carry mode (collapsed) and brewing mode (raised). The Barista is connected to the wall outlet when in docking mode, and functions as conventional espresso machine, where beans are grounded for each individual cup in the kitchen.

Portable mode
To make it portable some task are divided up to optimize the power consumption; the coffee beans gets pre-grounded in the kitchen and the water is pre-heated into a thermos at the same time to eliminate unnecessary energy consumption. Collapse the brew unit by pressing down the top part, to raise it, give the handle a push and the machine will raise by itself to brewing mode. The turning top allows the users to access the machine from all directions. Place cups on the tray and rotate the turning top part to move the nozzle over to the other cups.

Designer : Patrik Petersson

Barton explanations :
Firstly is the idea that people can have only what they need, when they need it. This is due to the distinct separation of a computer’s functions into six categories called ‘experiences’. Currently, if a user wishes to purchase a computer purely for documenting and internet they must accept that it will come with processing power and features well beyond these needs. With the Stream concept, however, users would purchase only the Connections and Documents modules as well as the Core Component to perform only these functions. The Connections module also acts as a phone, which leads to the second benefit of this system.

Many users today are faced with both an overlap of functions, content and components. In the previous example, the user’s computer would be capable of making calls through VOIP (a technology most likely to overtake traditional GSM networks), however there is no way of taking this one component of the machine with them. Instead, they must purchase another product – a phone – to fulfill this need. But now they have two devices capable of making calls, browsing the internet, emailing and taking photos as well as two interfaces to learn. Another example is how users have music on both their computer and a portable device such as an iPod. Multiply this over the abundance of consumer products we possess, and the problem worsens exponentially. However because of the Experience Modules and the adaptive nature of Stream, this issue is eradicated. The device they use at home or the office is the same device they use in the car or on the bus. All that changes is the screen size and possibly the addition of Component Modules.

The Component Modules are just as important to the system as the Experience Modules. Users who require greater processing power for activities such as gaming or high end design, still purchase the Core Component but also the necessary Component Modules to meet their needs. The Experience Modules are designed relative to their function. For example the Games and Connections modules have far more complex logic boards, capable of wireless connections to more powerful processors. This ensures that the price of the system is fair across all desired functions or experiences.

The Stream system is more portable and expandable than current systems, it offers a more natural and personal experience for the user and is more environmentally friendly in doing so. It can be an ultra-portable laptop, camera-phone, or games console. It is what the user wants it to be.

Designer : Barton Smith

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

Designer : Giulio Sbarigia

Text from the website:
Our original goal was to improve the CFL bulb, both in color and usability, but the technology to do so was not obvious. We began to explore colored filters and realized that any filter would reduce the lumen output. We then looked into adding LEDs to change the overall color output. This led us to the realization that florescent lights have huge environmental drawbacks. CFLs use ballast, which contains mercury, electronics and plastic housings. Most consumers just throw fluorescents out with the trash, even though they should be disposed of as toxic waste. CFLs are not dimmable and therefore use their maximum light output each time they’re turned on. In addition, the form and cold color of CFLs keep them from being widely accepted as a replacement to the incandescent bulb.

As our ideas began to focus on combining LEDs with a fluorescent, we sketched several forms that tried to create harmony between the two technologies. The idea of creating a separation between work and home life through the modulation of the color output drove some of our early forms. As soon as we chose to use only high-output LEDs, our forms changed significantly, rendering the old concepts no longer valid.

As designers are inclined to do, we started to create beautiful forms that revolved around the advantages of the new technology and the form factor it lent itself to. This may have been our biggest wrong turn. With LEDs, that form was flat and thin; but this would not solve the problem we had defined for ourselves. To create the biggest impact on society, this design had to keep the barriers to acceptance as low as practical—which in part meant no super-sexy, fluid designs that would only be found in high-end design stores. Any unnecessary styling would cause a rift in its mainstream acceptance.

We realized the easiest way to create acceptance was to deliver the technology in an already widely accepted form. The form of a standard light bulb was then the obvious choice. It would not ask consumers to change their form of power, their light socket or replace the lampshade attached to the bulb. And it underscored the notion that good design is about solving problems for the whole ecosystem of the product.
Designer : FrogDesign

Designer : Barry Sheehan and Gregor Timlin via DesignBoom

Designer : Country Couch via Gizmodo

Designer : Barton Smith