It’s about time for appliance and electronics makers to start keeping a small staff of artists on hand—because there are just too many fantastic products being created by artsy types that will never see the light of day. Case in point: this fantastic custom waffle maker that leaves your breakfast imprinted with the famous Louis Vuitton pattern. More »
German designer Marianna Merenmies won the second prize at last year’s International Design Awards, under the alternative fuel vehicles category. The concept at hand is the McLaren JetSet, a one-seater concept car that is designed for McLaren. Basically, Marianna Merenmies wanted a futuristic car that is lightweight and fuel-efficient. The result is a 100% electric car that features a backside outfitted with drag-reducing draped fenders. The McLaren JetSet will also use superlight carbonfibre composites in its chassis, body, suspensions and wheels. I can’t wait to drive one of these in the near future.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BlackBerry concept phone peeks at a potential QWERTY slider , Microsoft working on prototype stylus for any display,
While styluses aren’t very common these days, it looks like Microsoft’s new invention could change everything. The company is reportedly working on a prototype stylus that could, after a software upgrade, work with any existing display or device. This new stylus doesn’t work like any regular stylus – it features a tiny camera that is used to look at the display up close, and count the number of pixels it passes by to track its movement. This information is then sent wirelessly back to the computer which then turns that into instructions for moving the cursor on the screen. The camera even looks out of the side of the stylus body at an angle and takes into consideration its angle and how different pixels are in and out of focus.
According to reports online, internal reviews about the stylus have been pretty good so far, but a lot of work still needs to be done before we’ll see it on sale. Firstly the company would need to create a compact image sensor that has a resolution of 512 by 512 pixels in order to be able to track motion smoothly. Sounds like some interesting tech – hopefully it won’t take too long to arrive. Read up more at Technology Review.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft patent reveals finger and stylus gestures, Microsoft Live web services to receive makeover?,
You’ve seen many iPod nano used as a watch, but given enough time, Apple could cram a smartphone in that space – the battery size is the final frontier here. Designer Olivier Demangel has imagined what an iPhone nano would look like, and how it could be turned from what looks like an miniature phone to the most advanced phone-watch, which includes a speaker phone and webcam functionality. The best part of the design? it is too small to feature a proprietary connector, so micro-USB is the interface of choice.
The device is build using machined-aluminum and is modular enough to let users change the wrist bands (plastic, leather, metallic…) to match their desired look. Its creator doesn’t mention it, but a necklace version is totally doable as well. The screen is too small for typing, but updated versions of Apple Siri voice assistant have made the keyboard obsolete. Just like the rest of the “iFamily”, this concept features a Retina display with a Twist: it uses a trans-reflective LCD display which uses sunlight to increase the screen brightness, which makes it very readable on a sunny day. In dim situations, a small back light kicks in.
What do you think of this design? Do you think that the day will come where smartphones won’t be in our pockets and purses anymore?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple patent reveals old (and possibly scrapped) plans for an iPhone nano, Apple patent shows possible iPhone nano,
Car designer Aspid unveiled the Aspid GT-21 Invictus sports car this week, a spin-off of the Aspid Super Sport that was revealed in 2008. So, apart from its good looks that really got me drooling, the Aspid GT-21 Invictus is bigger than the Aspid Super Sport with a 2+2 seating. It is powered by a 450 horsepower 4.4L V-8 engine from BMW that delivers speeds of up to 189 mph (305 km/h). Additionally, Aspid says that the Invictus can crank from 0 to 62 miles per hour (100 km/h) in just 3 seconds, although we’d love to personally try it ourselves.
“We aim to offer a unique and unforgettable experience when a customer buys one of our sports cars,” Chief Designer and Founder Ignacio Fernandez Rodriquez said. “We believe our factory model and our relationship with each customer will be unique and set a new standard in the market. It will be more like the relationship experienced between a professional race driver and his race engineer and race team.” The company is planning to have the GT-21 Invictus sports car ready in 2014.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nissan GT-R is an undercover police car , Ford Cobra Snakehead Concept Car Is Looking Good,
The iPad’s touchscreen display is primarily designed for use with your fingers, but people have created other unique ways to interact with it— styluses, board game playing pieces, and now these adorable hand-cranked interactive music boxes created by design student Joelle Aeschlimann. More »
There’s something fascinating about being able to kiss somebody who’s miles away from you, and the number of devices that mimic such an experience is far from few. Well, it looks like we’ve got yet another one to add to the list. Called Kissenger, the device resembles an eyeless Mr. Potato Head, which could be creepy for some folks. It comes in a pair – one for you and one for your partner and works just like you would expect it to.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Drones for Peace UAV is specifically built for the masses, Marine Drone can help clean up the ocean [concept],
Yesterday we looked at a drone that’s meant to be used for peaceful purposes. We are now back to our scheduled programming. MBDA Missile Systems recently unveiled the CVS301 Vigilus system, a “suite of future strike weapons” composed of small UAVs that are deployed via a launch aircraft. Oblivion descends.
As shown in a demo video, the Vigilus system will be capable of deploying (at least) two types of UAVs from Armatus, a mothership that looks like two blimps fused together. The first UAV is Caelus, a “scout missile” meant to be used for recon and to paint a target for its big brother, the other UAV, which is called Gladius. Both have 1kg warheads, but the Gladius has enough fuel to fly for 2 hours, while the Caelus has a smaller range. The Vigilus system can be controlled either by soldiers in the battlefield or by an operator in a remote station. We’re screwedius.
What’s next, a ship with a nuclear-powered beam cannon? Zerglings? Check out the source links below for more terrifying information.
[MBDA via New Scientist via Emergent Futures]
Contrary to the Vigilus UAV from MBDA that we covered last week, this entirely different UAV is built for peace and will be released to the masses soon. A company called Rotary Robotics is now working on a project called Drones for Peace. The project aims to develop a $100 drone for aerial photography. The prototype drone can reportedly fly with speeds up to 20 to 30 knots. But due to its simple and cheap design, the drone cannot be controlled manually. Instead, it uses a smartphone app that users will use to select specific points on a map that they want to explore.
The drone is currently in its conceptual phase, but Rotary Robotics co-founder James Peverill expects to launch the drone in the near future. Peverill also expects that the consumer-ready version of the drone will be able take multiple photos around a specified point before returning to the base. “We are engineers who were working in the military UAV space for awhile. We wanted to a create an aerial surveillance aircraft that was cheap enough that it would be accessible to everyone,” Peverill said.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: No more friendly fire deaths from dones, Remora UAV weaponized drone,
What looks like an elaborate gardening implement is actually a student-designed multi-tool prototype that could serve as an entire toolbox of rescue equipment. One that can be used to free trapped survivors after a natural disaster. More »
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