Hasta La Gadget!

We see plenty of sweet concept designs ’round here (not to mention some downright bizarre ones) so we’re all pretty acquainted with wanting things that we can’t have. That said, there are a couple of these Future Routers — designed by a firm called TalkTalk in conjunction with Goldsmiths, University of London — that inspire some serious techno-lust. Route O’Clock, for instance, not only keeps tabs on your bandwidth utilization, but it displays the info on the clock face itself — and looks good doing it. Also quite eye-pleasing is the Hybrid, a model that passes itself off as a hardwood side table. On the slightly more bizarre end of the spectrum is the aptly name Jellyfish, which apparently takes up a lot of space and gives off a creepy blue glow (not one for those of you in one bedroom / studio apartments). Last but not least, the Energy Saver doubles as a key holder, with the dubious benefit of shutting itself off when the last key is picked up. The rationale behind this one is that when everyone leaves the flat, no one will be using the Internets — we guess these guys have never heard of bit.torrent. Get a better look in the gallery below, and don’t forget to check out the video after the break.

Gallery: Future Routers concepts

[Via SlashGear]

Continue reading Future Routers pass themselves off as common household items: clocks, tables, jellyfish

Filed under: Household, Networking

Future Routers pass themselves off as common household items: clocks, tables, jellyfish originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Any big city bicyclist knows that being small and silent on the street is a deadly combination. Drivers of 2-ton cages are simply immune to anything but the sights and sounds of combustion engines riding four on the floor. This issue affects silent-running hybrids and compact electrics too, something Japan’s government is taking seriously in a new government review that could result in a mandate for the inclusion of “a sound making function” in their future eco-rides. Safety aside, we presume Japanese manufacturers would choose a sound that’s as tasteful and unassuming as their locally brewed hybrids. Imagine if GM was to make a similar decision… oh, right.

Filed under: Transportation

Japan considers adding noise pollution to hybrids originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apparently not content to simply build a hybrid vehicle that’s both energy-efficient and luxurious, Mercedes has now gone the extra mile with its new 2009 S-Class ESF concept, which packs more than a dozen different safety features including airbags inside and out. That latter outside-the-car airbag is actually a giant braking bag that deploys under the car when it “senses an imminent crash,” which not only creates some added friction to slow the car down, but lifts the front of the car up about 80mm to compensate for brake dive. Other uncommon safety features include curtain airbags between the seats, airbags in the seatbelts, reflective tires, and “inflatable metal structures” throughout the vehicle, which apparently both saves space and increases crash protection. Unfortunately, there’s no word on any further improvements to the hybrid side of things, but Mercedes’ existing S400 Hybrid isn’t exactly too shabby of a place to begin with.

[Via Autoblog]

Filed under: Transportation

Mercedes debuts airbag-laden S-Class ESF hybrid concept originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And the big ship begins to turn. Following an announcement on Monday that Ford plans to accelerate its hybrid and plug-in car development comes word that the automaker is investing $550 million to convert the Michigan Assembly Plant–formerly known as the Michigan Truck Plant–from truck and SUV production to a modern, flexible small car plant.

Following the transformation, the plant will produce both the next-generation Ford Focus as well as a zero-emissions, battery electric version of the car. The latter is being
developed in partnership with Magna International, and will showcase a
high-voltage electric motor powered by a lithium ion battery pack–one that can be charged simply by plugging in to a 110-volt or 220-volt outlet.

The company said in a statement that the $550 million investment will help support 3,200 manufacturing jobs. It also said it hopes to rub off some of the plant’s former high-profit magic during the 1990s SUV boom onto smaller, greener vehicle production throughout the next decade.

A while back, there was some buzz about how hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius are silent and therefore dangerous to pedestrians, who can’t hear them coming as well as regular gasoline or diesel-powered cars.

To combat this problem, Lotus Cars and Harman have joined forces to create Electronic Sound Synthesis (ESS), a technology with two purposes: one, to funnel fake engine nose outside the car using front and rear-mounted speakers, so that people on foot can hear it when it’s approaching at low speeds, and two, to generate fake engine noise inside the car through the vehicle’s in-car entertainment system, in order to make it sound more like a regular vehicle when accelerating.

The agreement will also let the two companies work together in the other direction and further develop Lotus’s Road Noise Cancellation and Engine Order Cancellation technologies to quiet down cabin noise. All of this sounds like it adds up to a net result of zero, but I’ll take their word for it.