Nov 29
Herman Miller’s classic Collection series of furniture is getting a new addition straight from London design firm Industrial Facility. Meet the Picnic Sofa, a simple, beautiful, wire-supported couch. More »
Nov 29
Imagine walking on a road that’s made up of a trampoline. All you’ll have to do is to jump up and down until you arrive at your desired destination. That might sound absurd and a little hard to implement, but design firm Salto is doing it anyway. Designers Maarja Kask, Karli Luik, and Ralf Lõoke unveiled a 170-foot or 51 meter trampoline called “Fast track” at the 2012 Archstoyanie festival in Nikola-Lenivets, Russia.
In case you didn’t know, Archstoyanie is basically an annual creative festival held in the forest of Nikola-Lenivets, Russia. Fast track, according to the designers, is an “attempt to create an intelligent infrastructure that is emotional and can correspond to the local context, giving the user a different experience of moving and perceiving the environment.” Salto’s 170-foot trampoline could pave the way for modern-day commuting. But it’s important to note that it is just a concept for now.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: ADzero bamboo smartphone gets further detailed, M-Phone is an elegant concept phone with adjustable dual display,
Nov 29
Apparently, the hottest way to travel these days is via trampoline. Remember the trampoline bridge concept that made crossing the river fun again? Well, now you’re about to see a 170-foot-long trampoline pathway that makes commuting fun again.
It’s called Fast Track, and while it looks pretty exciting, the whole concept seems a bit outrageous. For one, I don’t know anyone who can manage to jump all the way across 170 feet of trampoline without falling off (or heaving) at least once or twice. Second, it’s going to multiply travel time by a couple of factors because it’ll obviously take longer to bounce erratically to your destination instead of just walking towards it.
Somehow, I get the feeling that getting people to where they want to go isn’t really the point of this trampoline anyhow, as you can see from this video clip:
According to design firm Salto who are behind the concept:
“Fast Track” is an attempt to create intelligent infrastructure that is emotional and corresponds to the local context. It gives the user a different experience of moving and percieving the environment.
The Fast Track trampoline was on exhibit at the recent Archstoyanie festival in the forest of Nikola-Lenivets, Russia.
[via NOTCOT and KNSTRCT via Colossal Art+Design]
Nov 29
I’ve gotten so used to Tokyoflash having a corner on the cool digital watch market, that I’m always pleasantly surprised when another company comes along with a nifty LCD watch. Up until now, the guys over at Ziiiro have focused on analog designs (and putting too many ‘i’s in the name of their company.) Now, they’ve released a slick digital watch that can keep up with the best of what Japan has to offer.
The new Ziiiro Saturn tells time using a set of concentric circles. The 12 longer segments on the outer ring indicate hours, while the 60 smaller slivers on the inner ring tell minutes. The watch uses LCD tech for its display and offers a cool electroluminescent backlight for nighttime viewing as well.
The Saturn is available in black, gunmetal or chrome finishes, all made from stainless steel. You can pre-order the Saturn now over at Watchismo for $229.99(USD), and they expect to ship the watches this December.
Nov 28
After you’ve grown tired of your Nintendo controller and VHS tape coffee tables, what’s next? Well if you’re moving your way through the evolution of consumer electronics, then your next move might be this 3.5″ floppy disk table.
The FloppyTable is made by Axel van Exel and Marian Neulant of Neuland van Exel, and looks just like a giant-sized version of the classic storage medium. Of course, since this version is made from hot-rolled steel instead of plastic, it’s bound to weigh a bit more. The table measures 27.56″ width x 25.59″ height x 17.72″ depth, making it roughly… a crap-ton bigger than an actual floppy disk.
It’s also got a nifty storage compartment inside, that’s revealed by sliding the metal disk cover to the side. Inside, you can stash your remote controls, or if you still expect it to store data, you can keep a bunch of USB flash drives in there.
For more info on the FloppyTable, head on over to the project’s website.
And when the 3.5″ floppy table has worn out its welcome in your living room, then it’s time to move on to the iPhone table, right?
[via Core77 via Laughing Squid]
Nov 28
How’d you like it if you could fold up your entire house and store it in a shipping container? Well, that’s basically what artist/architect Adam Kalkin recently did with the creation of his Push Button House. It’s like a Transformer, but in shipping container form.
The 8-foot-wide, 20-foot-long house has 5 rooms inside of it, and starts out looking like an ordinary shipping container. But with the push of a button, the house comes to life, with a complete kitchen, dining room, bedroom, living room and library hiding inside.
A series of complicated hydraulics and carefully placed objects ensure the house and its contents fold up perfectly into itself.
The interior is all done up in a shiny white lacquer finish for show, but I suppose it could be built out with any design. This is actually the second Push Button House designed by Kalkin, and is much more complex and advanced than the original.
The home was recently shown in an exhibition for Italian coffee company illy caffè. Here’s a video from SPACEStv showing off the build process and engineering behind the Push Button House. If you just want to jump to the transforming house part, skip to about 10:40 in the video. (Note that there is some NSFW language in the video clip.)
Gotta love the part at the end where Kalkin admits he doesn’t even know what a Transformer is, despite the fact that he just built one.
Sure, the concept is pretty impractical and anything that’s not glued or bolted down would immediately fall all over the place when its folded up, but it’s still an impressive design.
Nov 28
Getting enough hydration while you’re in the middle of some strenuous workout or physical activity is important. However, a lot of people I know find having to carry a water bottle a hassle, since they also have to bring their keys, cash, cards, and other essentials with them.
A neat solution? The Kangaroo water bottle.
It looks like a regular old water bottle, but it’s actually got this handy plastic ‘pouch’ that pops open to reveal a secret compartment where you can store all your other essentials. There isn’t that much space, but it’s big enough to store the stuff that you absolutely have to take with you if your bottle is all you’re going to carry – like when you go running or something. There’s definitely enough room for a key some cash and a credit card or ID, plus 24 ounces or H2O, of course.
Kangaroo bottles are available online from Contigo for $12.99 each.
[via Gizmag]
Nov 28
I’ve never really tried to customize the back of my iPhone, since I use cases, but if you use a pouch or have your iPhone naked, then this back cover has got some interesting design elements that might catch your eye by dressing your iPhone in a little black lacy thing.
The Lace iPhone cover was designed by textile artist Anne Marie Jackson, and it’s a thin, but durable wood back cover for the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5. The case features a laser-embossed lace texture that’s been finished with in black to make it stand out from the woodgrain underneath. You just peel and stick it on the back. It’s supposed to be easy to remove without leaving any residue or damage. It’s also designed to work with the Apple bumper. I guess that together these act like a full-on case.
The Lace back cover is available from LazerWood for $30(USD), including a free screen protector.
[via GadgetFlow]
Nov 27
Tokyoflash Kisai Polygon LCD Watch: Telling Time with Triangles (and Hexagons)
Posted in: Today's ChiliIf you’ve followed Technabob for a while, you know that we’ve always enjoyed the cool and offbeat modern watch designs coming out of Tokyoflash Japan. The latest digital model to find its way from the watchmaker is no exception.
The new Kisai Polygon features an unusual display which uses a series of triangles and other polygons to indicate the current time. The triangles around the outer edge point to the current hour, while the next ring of triangles indicates 10 minute intervals of time. Then the large, hexagonal digit in the middle of the watch indicates individual minutes. It takes a minute to understand the display, but once you get used to it, it’s actually pretty straightforward. Plus, it’s definitely unique.
If you’re still confused, check out the video demo below, and it’ll make perfect sense:
The display of the watch is an LCD, which comes in a black, mirror, blue or pink color schemes. It’s also got EL backlighting for easy reading in the dark.
You can order the Kisai Polygon now in black or silver stainless steel with your choice of display color over at Tokyoflash now. If you order by Thursday, 11/29 at 4pm Japan time (2AM Eastern time), you can get the watch for an introductory price of $99(USD) – after which point the price goes up to $129.
Nov 27
Keyboards are every computer user’s best friend. For one, you can’t really do much on your laptop or computer without one. And if you happen to have a tablet, you’ll have to endure the pains and inconveniences of a virtual keyboard if you don’t have a physical one.
I do a lot of work on my computer and I often get hungry in the middle of work. Eating in front of my computer (and getting crumbs all over the keyboard?) Guilty as charged.
It’s a situation that Dutch designer Hella Jongerius knows all too well, which is why he came up with this ultra-interesting concept for a keyboard. As you can see, it’s not just a keyboard. It’s a keyboard with an actual plate, right smack in the middle.
It’s a ridiculous concept that probably won’t get made in reality, but it’s still a pretty fun one at that.
[via Buzzfeed]
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