Amazing advancements have been made in 3D-printing technology, but designer Sebastian Bertram has taken it a step further, expanding the capabilities of 3D printing to large-scale 3D building. The Contour aims to keep up with demand for housing in urban areas with aconstruction method that combines industrial production and the technique of rapid prototyping. The robot “prints” contours of a building shell layer by layer using fast-drying concrete. Within just a couple of weeks, an entire estate could be produced.
Not that airline food is all that great, but I was amused to see the kind of meal selection they offered on an international travel. Some of the diet plans were unheard of! So this brings me to the segment of society who fusses about the organic details of the produce like being genetically modified. I suppose they’d really value a tool like the Elephant Nose, a device that identifies genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as ‘super tomatoes’ and genetically modified salmon.
Like the designer explains, “Many people are concerned about the health effects associated with the consumption of GMOs. Elephant Nose was designed to identify the state of foods (GMO/natural, fresh/stale, and so on) using artificial nose technology. Information about the food is displayed on the device’s LCD panel. Elephant Nose is portable and can thus be used at the grocery store or market, as well as at home.”
Thus far the analog and digital combo has looked super slick in timepieces, and iida intends to notch it up to the super-sexy category with this Fusion Concept. Playfully coined as “Fusion of elegance and technology. Fusion of analog and digital.” The phone is designed by Jaime Hayon and focuses on bringing an emotional connect to the myriad features of current smartphones. I totally dig the colorful rubber trimmings, which offer an anti-slip grip.
ITRI MediRobot by Pilotfish is a robotic assistant that can lift and transfer patients with limited mobility and assist their caregiver. Traditional lifters have their drawbacks and have to be used in combination with wheelchairs etc. This servo-controlled MediRobot not only helps in transferring the patient from bed to the bathroom (or help in walking) but also displays information like weight and blood pressure collected via sensors on the sling.
The robot allows the caregiver to fully focus on the task of transporting the patient, without the physical strain. It also serves as an infotainment terminal for the patient. This project was conducted in collaboration with Taipei Municipal Yan Ming Home for the Disabled.
Halo is a simple, yet technologically advanced solution for cutting the inefficiency of business cards and the vast amount of paper waste they produce each year. Using Bluetooth technology, the digital card makes it possible for users to trade cards in one simple selection on the touch-sensitive screen. The transferred “card” can even have its own unique style, just like a regular paper card. There’s also money to be saved in the long run as the user no longer has to purchase replacement cards!
Halo is a simple, yet technologically advanced solution for cutting the inefficiency of business cards and the vast amount of paper waste they produce each year. Using Bluetooth technology, the digital card makes it possible for users to trade cards in one simple selection on the touch-sensitive screen. The transferred “card” can even have its own unique style, just like a regular paper card. There’s also money to be saved in the long run as the user no longer has to purchase replacement cards!
The whole world still revolves around the writing tool – don’t you ever forget it. Designer Matej Korytar hasn’t forgotten it, taking the WACOM brand of digital writing instruments to a new level with the WACOM REALISM project: a pen with many abilities. This pen, an advanced stylus as it were, has the ability not only to instantly scan any real-world color and output it to your display and writing app of your choice – it’s got green power abilities as well.
This stylus has the ability to take the heat from your human hand and convert it into enough energy to keep the pen powered for its relatively low energy needs. With wireless connections unnamed as of yet, we must assume that some tech-forward Bluetooth or Wi-fi bond will be used to get the pen’s knowledge of colors to the tablet, Wacom pad, or computer of your choice.
The following project is a tablet made to fold into many different forms and sit nicely inside the Fujitsu brand. It’s important to note that this project was only designed to look nice inside the Fujitsu brand scheme, and is not an official project – that said, it does look so futuristic and tablet fantastic, we wouldn’t be surprised if Fujitsu’s eyebrows weren’t raised when they lay their eyes upon it. Behold the Breathebook.
Here you’ll find a tablet which transcends what you already know about tablets and allows you to relax with the form of it all. You’ve got a flexible display (not all the far off from reality now if you ask Samsung), as well as the ability to work with a set of two cameras as well as inductive charging. The idea that our future tablets will be folding over the side of our leg is a real one, folks – expect this sooner than later!
Tangram’s Smart Dot, set to be released this month, is a genius little device that acts as both a stylus and a laser pointer. Simply plug the small pointer component into the 3.5mm audio jack on your iPhone and download the free app to start using the laser pointer! The “appcessory” will also sync wirelessly with your computer and let you use your iPhone as a trackpad to effortlessly navigate through presentations. Pure genius!
Urging us to take flight to a new dimension in sound are the chirpy Wrenz Speakers! Delightfully crafted as tiny birds, a bunch of them are good enough to make your place look swanky and entertain with quality sound playback. There’s more to these portable speakers, just after the jump.
