Hasta La Gadget!

Check out this paper airplane folding and launching machine that a group of engineers built. Great. Yet another machine taking our jobs. This time they are putting kids and bored office workers out of business.

Sure, they aren’t the best planes ever and they aren’t folded that sharply, but they do manage to fly a few feet. A machine did that. I bet the T-800 can’t make a paper plane this good.

We already have a machine that will twiddle your thumbs for you. What’s next? A machine that throws pencils up to stick into the ceiling? It will probably be a human’s job to get them down so the machine can do it again. Damn paper pushers. And folders. Do not let this in your office.

[via Geeks are Sexy via Geekologie]

The problem with a lot of personal vehicles is that they are too bulky. You just can’t get them on a bus or a train for instance, even if it is convenient otherwise. The URB-E has been specifically designed to be able to quickly fold and unfold. And you can easily carry it with you.

This folding electric bike has top speed of 15mph, a 20 mile range on a single charge, and it folds down small enough to fit next to you on a train or bus, which is a big plus.

Folks who live in large cities are going to love the freedom that this bike offers. It is quick to deploy and put away and small enough to take it anywhere.

The URB-E project is on the Indiegogo crowdfunding website right now looking to raise enough to go from concept to production. Prices for the bike range from $799 to $1599(USD), depending on if you want one made overseas or handmade in the U.S.

[via Geeky-Gadgets]

What makes traveling costly aside from airplane tickets and transport is the price you have to pay in order to get decent accommodations. One possible solution lies in the Fold Inn.

As its name suggests, it’s a bedroom that you can set up wherever you might need accommodations, so you can unfold it and get ready for bed when you’re ready to turn in for the night.

When it’s fully expanded, the Fold Inn is about the size of an average elevator. Packed inside is a bed and cushy bedding so you rest easy and snooze comfortably. Additionally, the walls are made from sturdy wood so your privacy is assured.

While it’s not something you’d probably carry around with you, it’s an innovative idea for reconfiguring spaces into sleeping quarters on an as-needed basis – such as when companies are bringing in workers from remote locations.

The Fold Inn was designed by Lieke Jildou de Jong and Alei Verspoor. It was on display this past October at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

[via Pop Up City]

Foldable boats were invented to be convenient — a boat when you want one, a strangely-shaped lump in your garage when you don’t. But the convenience is lost when you have to spend the best part of a perfect fishing day trying to assemble the dumb thing. Enter the aptly named Quickboat, which goes from scattered to seaworthy in three minutes if you’re working by yourself, and under a minute with a helper.

Read more…

For the casual seafarer with space constraints, Better Outdoors has come up with a creative, if perhaps terrifying, solution to a problem most of us never knew we had in the first place. Say hello to the Transporter: a box-like boat that conveniently folds into a box-like box for your space-saving, travel needs. More »