Archive for Concepts

Muwi concept mower plays with it’s food

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 21st, 2008

Muwi concept mower plays with it’s foodHave you ever wished you could do something useful with the grass your lawnmower collects in the bag? Apparently someone thought long and hard on that very issue. A few someones, like South Korean students Yong Hee Cho, Yuli Sung, Jee Won Lee and Seung Hee Son. The Muwi mower will take your yard trimmings and compact them into usable shapes like a seat or a grass ball your kids can throw around.

After it figures out the size and shape of your lawn, it will start munching grass by itself and excrete fun shapes. It’s your choice whether you want to clean up the shapes, seat on them or play with them. You might even want to toss them all in your neighbors yard. It’s kind of like having a robotic goat since it munches grass and leaves droppings.

Apple Walkpod is an iPod Walkman

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 21st, 2008

Apple Walkpod is an iPod WalkmanI have no idea if this is a concept or some geek’s elaborate prank in order to get girls or something. It could be a modified cassette player, but somehow I doubt it. You would need a few AA batteries at least. All I know is that had the actual iPod and Walkman merged in the 80′s, this would be the result. I suppose it would download music off of itunes, and store it on it’s cassette hard drive. When that casette is full, insert another and begin again. Very bizarre, but a cool pic.

Ply phone is Swiss Army knife of phones

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 21st, 2008

Ply phone is Swiss Army knife of phonesThe Ply phone concept packs so many gadgets inside of it’s wood exterior, you expect to see the Swiss Army logo on it. Like it’s namesake plywood, it has layers and in each layer there resides a gadget, like a phone, game controller, photo printer, projector and more. Designer Hideo Kanbara is obviously a big fan of all-in-one. A prototype actually exists and can be seen at the KDDI Studio in Harajuku. When in Tokyo check it out. I think most of us would love to see something like this become a reality and this is probably what future phones will be like.

iBasket washing machine of the future

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 20th, 2008

iBasket washing machine of the futureWhether you have a washing machine in your home or go to the corner laundromat, doing wash is a royal pain. Especially for bloggers. I’ve had whole hours pass in the blink of an eye, sometimes whole days get eaten up in some black hole and so household chores pile up. The iBasket could really make life easier. The brainchild of Guopeng Liang, the iBasket was one of the Electrolux Design Lab ’08 finalists.

It is specifically designed to store and clean your soiled, smelly wearables easily. It’s programmed to go into a wash cycle once it reaches a ceratain weight. It even sports a built-in air refresh system removes odor, too. Once finished, the basket flashes some LEDs. We can only hope that it goes into production soon. This place is pretty messy.

T6 Volkswagen concept car is also your office

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 20th, 2008

T6 Volkswagen concept car is also your officeThe days of working only at an office are long gone. It’s getting harder and harder to stop working and leave our work behind thanks to all of our gadgets. I’m afraid the T6 concept car for workaholics doesn’t help.

Designer Alexander Zhukovsky is to blame should we all end up on the highways working our asses off. It comes complete with all the office space you and your co-workers need. Plus a nice sturdy table so you can have your coffee and get to work. The round sliding door slides up to let the next victim in and closes promptly so you won’t hear the screams.

Compose lets you record & write musical symphonies

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

Compose lets you record & write musical symphoniesImagine yourself a modern day Mozart. The only place you can clear your mind is out in the wilderness somewhere. You have the beginnings of a masterpiece in your head, but the problem is you have nothing to jot it down on. If you had the Compose Music Tablet, you could take it anywhere and get it all down. It’s only a concept for now, but surely creative types would be willing to pay for the convenience.

The pen is also a mic that you can sing into and then dock in the tablet to hear what you’ve got. You can also write music directly on the display and it holds a built-in library of classic tracks for the entire orchestra. Before you know it, you’ll be singing in a venue other then your shower.

NASA concept car spins 360 degrees

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

NASA concept car spins 360 degrees
This concept car called NASA sports an ultra cool look, but the really interesting thing about it is the car’s ability to spin a full 360 degrees on the spot. It can also drive sideways. The design comes from Czech industrial design students Marek Kedzierski and Michal Vlèek and it’s a finalist in the Škoda Auto, competition.

It gets even more interesting. NASA has no doors, the whole canopy lifts up revealing in-line seating for two. Once the passengers are inside, the cockpit closes over the passengers, fitting them snuggly around the neck and head restraint. The only problem I see is that this car capable of going in any direction keeps the driver faced in one direction. Well, that and the fact that it looks like you could be easily decapitated in a car accident.

The silent alarm clock

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

The silent alarm clockAlarm clocks usually jolt you awake leaving you dazed and angry at the coming day. But not the Silent Alarm Clock. It was designed by Johan Brengesjo and will wake you up without any sound at all. Just put on the matching wireless rubber ring that has a vibration device and you’ll get a nice vibrating alarm on your finger.

If you want to snooze, just shake your hand, and it will deliver a tingle to wake you again every few minutes until you are good and ready to meet the day. It’s always better to have someone nudge you then to have a loud squawking alarm startle you.

The Sfera spherical washing machine

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 17th, 2008

The Sfera spherical washing machineWashing machines are big and bulky. They always have been. Therefore they could use a radical new design. The Sfera spherical washing machine is shaped like…Well a sphere. It’s small enough to take up residence in your bathroom somewhere and though it will save space, you won’t be able to do any big loads of laundry.

With that in mind, it would probably be good for the single midget bachelor, but not many others. The entire ball spins to get your clothes clean, you’ll just have to do laundry all day. And that’s the problem with small washing machines. About the only way to solve it is to put a washing machine above your toilet or in your bathroom wall.

Concept toothbrush doesn’t have bristles

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 15th, 2008

Concept toothbrush doesn’t have bristlesFabio Dabori’s sponge-loaded toothbrush acts more like a buffing or waxing machine for your teeth. It kinda makes sense. Bristles can be uncomfortable. And you wouldn’t take a bristled brush to your car finish right? The Giro Sponge concept is an electric teeth cleaner that features a soft, round head that is gentle for babies and grown-ups with sensitive teeth and gums. Apparently Dabori has patents on the idea and is hoping to get it on store shelves soon so you can get a good shine on those pearly whites.

Lotus concept Ice Vehicle perfect for Bond villains

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 14th, 2008

Lotus concept Ice Vehicle perfect for Bond villainsThis concept ice vehicle from Lotus would be perfect for some Bond villain from one of the old movies. But it wasn’t developed by a madman wanting to take over the world, it was developed for Antarctica on the Moon Regan TransAntarctic Expedition. It can run on snow and ice, sitting on three skis like a snow mobile.

The vehicle gets it’s power from biofuel, but is propeller-driven and even sports an ice penetrating radar that is capable of detecting potentially dangerous crevasses. It was tested in Sweden so that it can withstand the harsh polar elements. I don’t care what they built it for, it would be hard not to beat up on this thing joyriding across the arctic.

The Deep Home Computer concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 13th, 2008

The Deep Home Computer concept
Deep Home. Sounds kinda sinister doesn’t it? Sounds like a subterranean bunker. The specifications are pretty similar to what you can find from most PC manufacturers. It’s the external design that makes it stand out in an interesting way. The Deep Home Computer is ideal for most homes, since it hides the LCD display when not in use, so you can take it with you as you move between rooms, very easily.

It remains a concept at the moment so don’t expect it to see it on store shelves anytime soon. It’s just another dream designers are dreaming and you’ve wandered into that dream. Just breath regularly. Soon you’ll wake up and go read the ‘Brick for real. Deep regular breaths. That’s it. The ‘Brick. The ‘Brick.

Interzone phone lets you check the air quality

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 12th, 2008

Interzone phone lets you check the air qualityYou know how it is, sometimes you just want to check the air quality immediately around your personal space. Happens all the time, I’m sure. We’ve all been there. Whether someone let one rip, or you suspect foul chemicals in the air.(They’re kinda the same thing) Anyway, soon you may be able to check your airspace by using your phone as the Interzone is designed by Alistair Bramley to do just that. The idea is that it would be an add-on for phones.

The Interzone would let you know when you can breath easy and when you should be wearing a Haz-Mat suit. As with all technology it can be used for good or evil and in between. And by in between, I mean that a room containing two morons who might normally light their farts will now consult their phones to see which one of them is more silent but deadly.

Give the homeless a cart & let them sleep in it

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 11th, 2008

Give the homeless a cart & let them sleep in it
You know the old saying, If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em? Apparently this Shelter Cart concept by Gregor Timlin is a lot like that, If you can’t solve the problem at least give them a cart to collect recyclable cans and sleep in. The problem being homelessness. The goal of the project was to design a tool for those homeless people who collect cans and bottles and make money by taking them to the recycling plant.

The idea was that it would raise awareness regarding the homeless issue. And it’s a brilliant design too, allowing them to collect by day and sleep at night. Though it does seem counterproductive to focus on something like this while the main problem of homelessness remains.

The Sun Fold Bike concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on August 11th, 2008

Sun Fold Bike concept
This one was conceived as a green and portable commuter transport. What we have here is a fold-up bike that runs on solar power obviously. The name says it all. Power is stored in a battery that you can use at night, and you can even power your other gadgets, like your iPod.

It looks kinda cool in bike form, but when you fold it up it resembles an alien egg that appears to be sending signals to it’s home world. In fact it’s not sending signals, but it’s pointed upward so that it can track the sun’s movements in order to maximize the power it’s sucking down. Even so, it’s still creepy. One day it might get it in it’s head that you belong in that egg so it will keep you there as it points toward the sun, warming you in your egg, so that you can hatch out as a new lifeform.