How brilliant is this phone?!? Okay, brilliantly genius or brilliantly impossible - that's for you to decide but designer Seunghan Song does a good job at wetting my desire. Ewww. It's true. I digress.
DARPA is probably the only department within the military I'd be interested in working for. Their latest creation is a robotic hummingbird done that spies better than Cheaters. Mastering flight with such precious is incredibly difficult which is why the prototype isn't as nimble as the real thing but all in due time. Pretty soon that pretty little bird fluttering outside your window may be more than meets the eye.
Social Security cards are one of 3 important documents in the United States you have to hold on to and protect. Identity theft is on the rise so it's about time those all important 9 digit numbers get a huge upgrade. Frog Design's proposal utilizes a number of ink, paper, plastic, and digital tech to keep our identities safe and secure.
"Of the three forms of identification we have in the states--the other two being the passport and driver's license--[the Social Security card is] the one that unlocks your life," says Frog designer Laura Richardson. To that end the design firm presents the Troika, an aluminum SS card with a multifunctional screen.
"By combining the familiarity and proportions of a standard ID card with the durability of a water-resistant, flexible screen and the security of biometrics, [a card like this] could revolutionize the future of identification," says Richardson.
If Microsoft ruled the world (literally), this is what life would be like by 2019. I want to live in it now. Sorry Apple, I love you but this just looks too damn amazing. Too bad real Microsoft products are no where near cool, useful, or stable.
While NASA is busy redesigning their aging shuttle fleet, Japan's national space agency is well on their way to creating a diaper like space toilet. The Astronaut never takes it off and whenever the urge to go "loo" arises, mechanisms automatically remove waste and clean the "important" parts leaving his/her bum squeaky clean.
via Ubergizmo
Talk about a wimpy remote. Panasonic's Gel Remote concept might feel familiar to dildo connoisseurs because it's flesh-like material is designed to engage users with something more tactile and like themselves.
Constructed of a soft, flesh-like gel, the remote appears cold when off. Once turned on, however, it seems to come to life. A soft light emanates somewhere from within as the center of the device begins to slowly rise and fall, mimicking the tranquil motions of breath. Left undisturbed, the remote will slumber peacefully. Buth should a human hand approach, sensors inside alert it to the imminent touch. It stops breathing, grows rigid - the light from within is extinguished. A remote is the ideal meaphor for the disturbance electronic distration poses to life. If we had to interrupt its life before it could interrupt ours, we may think twice before picking it up.
The Torus watch concept by Nicolas Meiresonne eschews numeric delineations for colors. In the mornings you'll see blue and green. Yellow and orange are for mid-day (or fast food), and red and purple are for night. You can even set a timer/alarm by tapping the corresponding color on the touchscreen surface. How snazzy!
via Ubergizmo
I love love love this house presented in an exhibition alongside 5 other homes called "House of the Future" presented by Xenian Livinglight. Each home showcases sustainable design using clay, concrete, cardboard, glass, and steel. Even the gardens work as organic purification systems.
I chose this house in particular because I love how the roof drops to become a deck connecting the two wings of the home together. It almost makes the roof climbable; would make the perfect practice rock climbing wall.
More pics after the jump.
Mobile phones are getting so thin, they're almost ignoring every rule of handheld ergonomics. Designer Heikki Juvonen decided to backtrack and redesign a futuristic mobile complete with all modern accoutrements but with realistic ergonomics in mind. The end result is a phone he believes is perfectly balanced in the hand placing the heavy components towards the bottom. The unique profile shape also helps it sit better in the hand providing multiple surface areas to grip.
This is one of those DUH moments where I say, "damn why didn't I think of that!" The Febot is a windmill like gadget you suction cup to any surface facing the wind. A propellor collects wind energy to drive a motor that converts those kinetics into electrical energy thus promptly charging your AA battery. Hell you don't even need wind. Just place your hyperactive children next to them and make it a game. Whoever spins the most Febots the fastest gets a cookie!
via Yanko Design
The Oracle Watch by designer Andy Kurovets not only tells time but digitizes the ancient Chinese philosophy of charting chance events called I-Ching. Need help navigating life? Press a button 6 times to generate a hexagram that correlates to a fortune cookie like prediction.
via Yanko Design
I remember growing up watching Bob Ross painting happy little trees and thinking to myself, "hey that looks easy!" No, it's not easy so to save my ego I went back to my paint by numbers chart. Thanks to modern technology kids today (and adults) have the Virtuo, a computer screen with digitized paint, paint brushes, and colors. It teaches you how to paint "happy little trees" without having to waste materials during your "trial and error" period. It's just a concept but DO WANT!
via Yanko Design
Thin is in!