Hasta La Ideas

With an output of 270W, JBL’s new Authentics series may just be the most powerful smart speaker out there. The series boasts not only a “timeless retro design” but also a groundbreaking feature: the simultaneous integration of both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

Unveiled at IFA 2023, the JBL Authentics series encompasses three distinct models — the Authentics 200, 300, and 500. Paying homage to the timeless appeal of the 1970s-era JBL L100 speaker, this series seamlessly blends nostalgia with cutting-edge technology. One of the key highlights of this series is the seamless coexistence of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Users can effortlessly engage either voice assistant by simply invoking their respective ‘hotwords’. It’s important to note that the idea of coexisting voice assistants isn’t novel, with Sonos already offering speakers that house both Google Assistant and Alexa. However, these smart assistants are restricted to responding one at a time. What sets JBL’s innovation apart is the concurrent responsiveness of both Google Assistant and Alexa. Whether it’s the intuitive Google Assistant or the efficient Alexa, users can switch between the two according to their needs and preferences.

Designer: JBL

The Authentics 300 stands out as a portable marvel, designed to accompany you on your musical journey. With a built-in handle that lets you carry it around everywhere and an impressive 8-hour battery life, this model ensures your music keeps playing wherever you go. What’s more, the consumer-replaceable battery adds a layer of convenience to ensure a longer product lifespan.

Drawing inspiration from the design of the JBL L100 speaker, the Authentics 300 features a captivating grid pattern reminiscent of the sound-proofing padding seen in audio recording setups (a feature that the L100 mimicked). The “custom synthetic leather-wrapped enclosure” enhances the speaker’s tactile appeal, while gold-colored aluminum accents give the speaker its undeniably premium appeal. Its high-flying design aside, the speaker still reflects JBL’s commitment to the environment by employing recycled plastic, fabric, and aluminum in its construction. The user-replaceable battery is also a nod to the new EU regulations that require consumer gadgets to now allow batteries to be accessed and replaced by consumers.

Designed for audiophiles, the speaker’s interface comes with dedicated controls for bass and treble, along with a play/pause button, volume control, and even a dedicated button to like tracks. The rear of the Authentics 300 (as well as the 500) features an ethernet port for a dedicated wired internet connection, along with a 3.5mm audio input, a USB-C port, and a power supply port.

As the flagship of the Authentics series, the Authentics 500 captures the essence of premium sound. With its powerful configuration, it offers three 1-inch tweeters, three 2.75-inch midrange woofers, and a 6.5-inch down-firing subwoofer. This unique arrangement results in an impressive 270 watts of 3.1-channel sound, enhanced further by Dolby Atmos technology.

The Authentics 500 also mirrors its predecessor’s design inspiration. The iconic grid pattern on the grill, reminiscent of the JBL L100, serves as a captivating nod to audio history. The flagship also comes with the synthetic leather-wrapped enclosure and aluminum accents (employing the same recycled materials as the Authentics 300), but visibly lacks the handle that the Authentics 300 had, making it less transport-friendly.

Connectivity is a breeze, with Bluetooth, aux input, and Ethernet ensuring compatibility with multiple devices. The speakers seamlessly integrate with AirPlay, Alexa Multi-Room Music, Spotify Connect, and Chromecast, with Tidal Connect on the horizon. Moreover, future firmware updates promise the ability to orchestrate stereo and multi-channel sound setups by pairing multiple JBL speakers.

Though the concept of simultaneous voice assistants might be in its infancy, the groundwork laid by JBL, Google, and Amazon is fairly promising. As we navigate this evolving landscape, the notion of both Alexa and Google Assistant coexisting on a single platform isn’t merely a fleeting experiment but a step towards a more intelligent future. Now if only my smart-speaker had ChatGPT built into it…

The post JBL Authentics: The Bonkers 270W Smart Speaker (with both Google & Alexa) Makes Waves at IFA 2023 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Installations by Mexico City-based Tatiana Bilbao Estudio and New York-based Practice for Architecture and Urbanism feature in the fourth Exhibit Columbus held in downtown Columbus, Indiana.

The annual event features art installations created by global designers, university professors and a local high school design team, exhibited throughout the city.

2023’s Exhibit Columbus features installations celebrating the architectural legacy of the city, which is famous for its high concentration of modernist architecture, including a number of buildings by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen.

The theme, Public by Design, was chosen to prompt participants as to how collaborations between designers and communities can create more equitable and attractive cities.

Tatiana Bilbao Estudio encouraged guests to design public space by offering a “library of things” such as furniture, objects and sports equipment.

Objects such as chairs, baskets, tables, shovels, mats and soccer balls were encased in an oversized blue bookshelf that spans the entry to a local library and an adjoining oversized staircase of the same blue hue.

Participants can gather the objects to make a public space of their own in order to “express their desires and intentions”.

At a major crossroads in the city’s downtown, Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) created a white, ballooning canopy for civic engagement and celebratory purposes.

Capped at the same height as the neighbouring buildings, the canopy spans the intersection and draws from diverse forms – from the Pantheon in Athens to the wigwam, a dwelling typical to Indigenous people of what is now the eastern United States and Canada.

Lights were installed in each corner to cast a variety of colours on the underside of the canopy at night.

In nearby Mill Race Park, New York’s Studio Zewde installed a sweeping red structure made of bamboo poles and crossbeams, shaped in a sloping semi-circle.

The spine-like installation was modelled after the hill opposite and placed in a festival field as an homage to the community’s strong ties to the two topographical landmarks.

On the same site, PORT planted a band of native plants that follow the same arc as a community centre building in the park.

It is subdivided into 12 distinct plots of varying plant species that act as “rewilding experiments”, some mown and others left to grow wild, bookmarked by lines of wildflowers.

Brightly coloured observation decks and survey poles were arranged along the edge of the project.

Also, a series of trellises and seating created by a team of high school students used moveable furniture to encourage guests to create a community space of their own, not unlike Bilbao’s installation.

Made with 1,000 linear feet of steel tubing, the structure spans sixty-four feet and features brightly coloured awnings and Lego-like blocks for seating.

An installation created by full-time university professors Halina Steiner, Tameka Baba, Forbes Lipschitz and Shelby Doyle of The Ohio State University and Iowa State University College of Design encourages conversations about urban waterways with a brightly coloured model of subterranean water infrastructure.

A sound installation by Deborah Garcia of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was programmed to transform a building’s structural rumblings into a therapeutic melody.

The curatorial team included designers and city officials. Exhibit Columbus will host an ongoing series of activities, installations and talks throughout the remainder of the exhibition.

In 2020, Dezeen teamed up with Exhibit Columbus to host four talks exploring the future of cities in the centre of the USA and in 2019, SO-IL wrapped 130 trees in a colourful hammock for the event.

The photography is by Hadley Fruits.

Exhibit Columbus will be on show throughout Columbus, Indiana until 26 November, 2023. For more exhibitions, events and talks in architecture and design, visit the Dezeen Events Guide.

The post Works by Tatiana Bilbao and PAU among installations at Exhibit Columbus appeared first on Dezeen.

The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features Cristóbal Palma photographs of a Buenos Aires slum before its redevelopment. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

Chilean photographer Palma photographed a slum in Buenos Aires before a project to redevelop the area has begun. Palma’s images of the community, which is home to more than 40,000 residents, showcased the ad-hoc buildings and dense streetscapes.

Commenters were intrigued, with one labelling Palma’s work “architectural photography at its very best”. Another described the photographic documentation as an “excellent and ambitious” project.

Other stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included an opinion piece that discusses the design profession’s role in the “wildfire problem”, a grey stucco house in Houston by O’Neill McVoy Architects and a hotel in Rome by Ian Schrager’s The Edition group.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

The post Dezeen Debate features “excellent and ambitious” photographs of Buenos Aires slum before redevelopment appeared first on Dezeen.

SwitchBot’s latest release at IFA 2023 isn’t just another entry in the growing market of home automation. The S10 Floor Cleaning Robot robot takes a step forward by integrating features that make it not just autonomous, but also self-reliant.

The S10 joins SwitchBot’s growing roster of home automation systems. While SwitchBot’s most popular products are its most creative ones too (like the autonomous curtain robot or the ‘button pusher’), the company’s cultivated an entire ecosystem of smart-home tech that build on each other’s capabilities. The S10 does so too, with a combination of advanced navigation, cleaning, and even intelligent water management. The smart floor cleaner navigates your home, cleaning each corner, but also automatically refills its water tanks and drains out the dirty water in the process. Once done, the S10 heads back to its charging dock where it auto-dries its mop head, and if that wasn’t enough, the robot can even refill your humidifier for you. After all, it takes more than a clean floor to make a house feel comfortable!

Designer: SwitchBot

Flagship-level Cleaning Robot with 6500Pa High Suction

The S10 follows SwitchBot’s company ethos of ‘delegating physical tasks to robots’ by being an expert floor cleaner that also auto-maintains itself after every cleaning cycle. 6500Pa high suction ensures the S10 grabs every single particle of dust off the floor or even embedded within your carpet. While on the floor, the S10 scrubs, washes, and cleans with its new roller mop system. However, the second it finds itself on a carpet, the S10 stops the water-spray and auto-lifts the mop-head to ensure your carpet doesn’t get wet at all. Meanwhile, it also self-cleans its mop-head 300 times a minute.

Industry-first Auto Water Refill and Drain System

The most eye-catching feature of the S10 is undoubtedly its auto water refill and drain system. While robotic vacuums have been around for a while, the S10 takes it a step further. It’s capable of autonomously refilling its water tank when needed and draining it after use. This is accomplished through a connection to existing plumbing in your home—be it in the kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room.

The real advantage here is the convenience and time-saving aspect. Imagine not having to interrupt your day to refill or empty a water tank. The S10 essentially takes the manual labor out of floor cleaning, allowing you to focus on your day-to-day activities without any disruptions.

Charging Dock with Spacious 4L Dust Tank

Designed to be the place where the S10 goes for a quick pit stop, the charging dock also empties out the S10’s dust tank and dries the mop-head while charging the robot. The highly automated process requires no human intervention as the S10 autonomously makes its way to the dock when it needs to charge or empty its dust tank. The spacious 4-liter dust tank also has you covered for weeks, and requires replacing every 70 days.

The 4L dust tank is accessible from the top of the charging dock

Hey SwitchBot, Fill the Humidifier!

Is a product really a SwitchBot product if it isn’t eliminating human intervention altogether? The company is championing what they call the world of IoRT, or Internet of Robot Things, in an effort to make human life more comfortable. The idea started with a simple button that pushes switches at home and has now blossomed into a floor-cleaning robot that will occasionally even fill the humidifier in your house. Designed to work with the SwitchBot Humidifier 2 (available as a standalone device), the S10 can transport water from the Water Station directly to your humidifier, filling it up so you don’t need to.

Smart Sensors: The Brain Behind the Brawn

The S10 comes equipped with smart LiDAR sensors that are the real workhorses behind its effective cleaning. These sensors map out your living space, detect obstacles, and even adapt to different types of flooring. Whether your home has tile, hardwood, or carpet, the S10 adjusts its cleaning mode accordingly, ensuring smear-free cleaning on floors, and moreover, keeping your carpet pristine and dry. The smart AI also avoids obstacles and ventures away from no-go zones, giving you reliable cleaning based exactly on your requirements.

The SwitchBot S10 is scheduled to release on Kickstarter in October with a $1199.99 price tag. The S10 bot joins SwitchBot’s army of IoRT devices designed to help automate life and leave the chores to robots and the living to humans. An app powers the S10, which lets you set routines, delineate no-go zones, and access other functions/stats. SwitchBot is currently displaying the S10 floor cleaning robot along with other devices at IFA 2023 in Berlin.

The post Switchbot S10: A Surprisingly Clever Home Robot Cleaner that can even Refill your Humidifier first appeared on Yanko Design.

“I was extremely curious about how to solve various common problems using standard materials,” writes Industrial designer Manuel Golub, who’s based in Argentina. “I used to collect discarded materials to reuse, which allowed me to make mistakes and gain experience without having to buy them.”

Golub came across a dumpster outside of a building renovation in Mar del Plata. Among the finds were joint compound buckets, which had a feature that called out to him: “I chose one of the constructive resolutions of the injection-molded bucket, specifically the ribs on the top where a hermetic seal and the handle anchor are placed. These ribs are highly resistant and provide structural strength to the bucket in that area.”

With the goal of turning these discarded buckets into rolling stools, Golub designed two-piece legs that could sandwich the bucket, register against the ribs and be joined with two M6 Allen screws. The Tachoseat was born.

“With the first prototype, I was able to draw initial conclusions. It was necessary to make some structural adjustments, such as moving the pivot axis of the wheels outside the outer face of the bucket. This change generates better stability and solidity in movement.”

“As a final product, the tachoseat allows the user to move effortlessly in all directions through space. During testing, I found it to be particularly useful for navigating within my studio-workshop.”

“Regarding aesthetics, different models could be created by changing the colors of the standard bucket or the 3D printed [legs].”