Archive for Concepts

iPod Shuffle Bracelet concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 19th, 2008

iPod Shuffle Bracelet conceptHere’s a followup to the iPod Touch Nano concept that’s wearable and even fashionable. Once again, it’s from designer Isamu Sanada. It’s an iPod Shuffle Bracelet with integrated Bluetooth connectivity, dock connector, and a rugged casing.

It even sports a built-in rechargeable battery for 16-hours of continuous playback. Hey, why not? As long as we are playing make believe. This is actually something that the ladies would love, in fashionable pastels. Who knows, one day Apple may get behind it. But we aren’t holding our breath.

iPod Touch Nano with removable game controller

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 18th, 2008

iPod Touch Nano with removable game controllerThis is what an iPod Touch Nano might look like should Apple release one. It’s designed by Isamu Sanada and the iPod Touch Nano features a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, 3.5mm headphone jack, dual dock connectors, and would come in a variety of colorful cases. Probably the coolest thing about the design is the removable game controller for when the accelerometer and touchscreen aren’t enough. Maybe it’s just me, but this is probably the one feature that the iPod Touch could use in the real world. Pretty sweet design.

Helios Off-Roader inspired by the Jurassic era

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 6th, 2008

Helios Off-Roader inspired by the Jurassic eraHelios was clearly inspired by the Jurassic era, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Helios is a concept design for an off-road electric solar-powered vehicle. When you take a break from your off-roading and stop the vehicle, the car will spread its “wings” which are made of photovolatic panels, in order to capture the sun’s rays and charge up the battery.

You’ve seen the concept in nature, where some animals have stretchable skin that absorb heat and light. A lizard might stop on a rock to take a breather and as he does, he opens up his extra skin and recharges. Same thing here. The Helios Concept won the Best Use of Technology at the Interior Motives Design Awards 2008. Pretty awesome.

LED Bath Light does it all

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 6th, 2008

LED Bath Light does it allThe LED Bath Light seems to do it all and then some. This device functions as a flashlight, a candle, a rave machine (For when you have company in the tub and are sucking on pacifiers?), and it’s smart enough to pull thermometer duty as well so you won’t burn yourself accidentally in the bath.

But thats not all. It also comes with an LED light to make your bath time soothing and relaxing. It has several modes to suit any situation, so if you want to use it for other things you can. It’s just a concept, but damn if I don’t want to bath with this thing now.

Flat Light Bulbs are not bulbs at all

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 5th, 2008

Flat Light Bulbs are not bulbs at allLight bulbs are…well bulbous. They take up way too much room, are a pain to store due to their shape, etc. Those newer corkscrew deals are no better. It’s an old design for an old world. That’s why Joonhuyn Kim’s concept makes sense. Flat bulbs take up less space and make them easier to stack, store and transport. My only concern is that the odd shape would somehow make the light all weird on the wall. Great idea even if it is a bit late to the lighting arena.

Voting Booths of the future

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 3rd, 2008

Voting Booths of the futureTomorrow is the big election and we will soon find out whether Obama or McCain will become president. And while we are waiting to vote, Core77 just held a contest that featured redesigned voting booths for the future. Some were serious, while others are more playful. The winner was “Voting Tree” shown above, by vinishree. Voting tree makes voting a more organic, less rushed, grounded experience. After you vote, you stick a leaf on the tree, which adds a feeling of community participation. Interesting concept. Hit the link to see the rest. There are some very interesting ideas.

“Tinkling”: Smart Wind Chimes concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 2nd, 2008

“Tinkling”: Smart Wind Chimes conceptMost people either find wind chimes charming or annoying. You either love them or you hate them. Well, I’m not sure if this update to the classic noisemaker makes things better or worse. Korean designer Lufdesign has a new spin on chimes. The concept is called Tinkling, not to be confused with your favorite bathroom pastime. No, this tinkling is different. The chimes aren’t set off by the wind, but when you receive a digital message via email, voicemail or SMS. It’s blowing tail will change color and a message is displayed across the embedded screen.

Obviously, they would need to be wireless for this to work and you would place this inside as opposed to outside. Or both. Why not annoy the birds every time you get an email? I suppose the idea is that you can wander inside and outside of your home, while never missing that important message. I personally like this a whole lot better then chimes activated by wind. At least you can turn these off.

JVC’s Sound Garden concept is a modular speaker system

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 31st, 2008

JVC’s Sound Garden concept is a modular speaker systemJVC’s Sound Garden concept blends tree-hugging with design. It’s a full hi-fi speaker system with bass-reflex ports and little pot areas for your plants. (Which don’t have that much room.) And it’s all made of some wonder material called “eco-plastic”. If you want, you can connect a whole bunch together for massive sound and massive plant life. Just a concept right now, but rest assured they are working on more music/plant tech as I type this.

LEGO security bracelet for kids

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 30th, 2008

LEGO security bracelet for kidsThis concept security bracelet for kids comes from a project led by Rodrigo Torres. The idea is that if you combine a security bracelet with LEGO, kids will be more apt to wear it and be tracked for safety reasons. It’s got several features that will get your kid to keep it with him/her.

First off, they can design it the way they like with LEGO bricks. Throw in some games, photos, speaker and the a Lego man in front, and your kid is suckered into being tracked while having a fun device of their own. Heck, I want one myself. I don’t care if it’s tracking me. Sadly, it remains but a concept at the moment.

Electrolux Soft-Refrigerator concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 30th, 2008

Electrolux Soft-Refrigerator conceptCheck out this collapsible Soft-Refrigerator concept by Electrolux. It proves once again that an accordion design works great. Through the use of a heat-insulating membranes and modular shelving, this fridge can actually be collapsed and optimized for size. Because sometimes you don’t have a lot of food or you need more room in the kitchen.

When you collapse the fridge there’s less space inside that needs to be cooled, thereby reducing your energy use. Plus it looks kinda futuristic. Who wouldn’t want a collapsible fridge? Let’s say you go shopping on Monday. By Friday,you fridge is waist high again.

Biopod Automated Tripod: Robo-Paparazzi for short people

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 29th, 2008

Biopod Automated Tripod: Robo-Paparazzi for short peopleThe Biopod automated tripod is a concept at the moment, so we don’t have to worry about Robo-Tripods following us around and selling pics to tabloids just yet. But one day soon that is exactly what will happen.

This little guy crawls about 3 inches off of the ground and can’t even grip walls to get it’s shot. So given it’s size and adherence to the ground, this thing will be stalking little people and snapping upskirt pics only. Until it hovers, that’s all it has career-wise. You gotta start somewhere. I suppose it could always catalog footwear and sidewalk pot-holes.

E-note concept saves paper

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 27th, 2008

E-note concept saves paperThe Post-it note is pretty handy. It’s something that everyone has used at one point or another. Just imagine how many trees it takes to keep us in Post-it notes every year. Whatever the number is, the E-note concept from Sequoia Studio can keep those trees firmly in the ground. It uses tactile and flexible electronic paper technology, and can be stuck and unstuck easily thanks to a “Gecko” glue.

Whether it picks up hair and dirt and becomes useless, we aren’t sure. The E-note is solar powered, giving it enough juice to take care of your message and reminders across before it runs out. It even has a visual alarm, an organizer and the ability to change between 8 different colors. We want this on our desks ASAP.

The grass is greener on the Lawn PC

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 26th, 2008

The grass is greener on the Lawn PCDesigner David Veldkamp created this futuristic concept PC he calls the LawnPC. The device would create all the power it needs from solar cells embedded in the grass that sits on top of the PC. The grass isn’t real grass, it’s actually made from natural cotton fabric that carries inkjet printed solar cells. The use of cotton makes the blades biodegradable, just like real grass. The idea is that hundreds of these blades can generate all the power the system needs at about 60 Watts per hour. The blades transfer energy to the battery plug-in at the bottom of each blade. The Lawn PC is also completely wireless.

All the electricity is generated by the machine. Which doesn’t even require a cooling fan. The natural air flow in between the lawn is enough to cool the system. All you have to worry about is placing the system near a window or a vent, where it can get all the light and air it needs. The lawn is removable, so it will also power your other electronic devices. Those devices will look like they do now, just with a blade of grass sticking out of them like an organic antenna.

Man builds world’s sweetest tailgate party trailer

Posted in Concepts by Shane McGlaun on October 24th, 2008

Ultiamte Tailgate TrailerI’m from Texas and we take grillin’ pretty seriously around here. In fact, I once saw a man beat down for overcooking a T-Bone and let me tell you Grandpa is fast with the meat thermometer now. It seems at least some folks in Florida take grilling pretty seriously as well.

Michael Seville has built the ultimate tailgating trailer that was started life as a massive grill on wheels used for a family catering business. The trailer has been converted to a sports bar and packs more electronics than most living rooms.

The Apple iPod Capsule

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 23rd, 2008

The Apple iPod CapsuleAs our devices get smaller and smaller, the idea of a capsule-sized gadget looks more and more likely. This capsule may be one of your next iPods one day soon. Though I’m not sure anyone will be able to use the buttons. Luckily, there’s only one button on it called ‘Home’ where users can touch it and browse the same way they do on the iPhone.

When the capsule is docked to the mini speaker cradle, data in the iPod capsule can be sent and received from the cradle at the same time. The speaker cradle also functions as iPod docking speakers and a charger. After this thing, the next step will be to swallow the player and somehow manipulate it using thought sent to your stomach acids.