Hasta La Ideas

Mide’s Shape Memory Alloy Starter Kit is targeted at universities and product design labs. The kit contains “invaluable theoretical and product design information the engineers at Mide have developed over a number of years of working with SMA,” along with SMA sheets, wires and tools to manipulate them.

So what are Shape Memory Alloys, or SMA?

Shape memory alloys are a unique class of materials that possess the ability to dramatically alter their shapes based on heat stimulus.

Imagine a future where the only tool in an auto body shop was a hair dryer! Or a damaged mail box could pop back into shape on a sunny day. A future where safety relief valves, such as sprinkler systems, would work every time. And a future of morphing surfaces, where submarines and aircraft could alter their shapes to improve performance over varying flight conditions. All of these scenarios are possible due to the amazing ability of shape memory alloys (SMA) to alter their state.

The stuff sounds cool, but these guys definitely need a better PR crew–the promotional video is a bit underwhelming:

Um…wow. Anyone wanna see paint dry?

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Stockholm Design Week 09: Swedish designer Monica Förster has created an installation called Ominous, on show at Nordic Light Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden, this week. (more…)

Awesome

–> Gizmodo

Published by the Humble Arts Foundation, The Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography features up-and-coming photographers from all around the world, who were chosen by the foundation for their work’s aesthetic and intellectual integrity. The variety of the selected photographs makes the book not only a fascinating anthology of photos, but also a great source for finding artists who speak to your interests.

The comprehensive guide showcases over 160 international contemporary photographers, including French artist Boru O’Brien O’Connell (below right), Mexican photo-sculptor Alejandra Laviada, American Angie Smith (above right), and South Korean Jeongmee Yoon (below left). From portraits to landscapes to curiously arranged still-lifes, the range of subjects varies as much as the artists themselves.

A “crossroads of art and commerce,” 100 copies of The Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography are available for purchase from the Humble Arts Foundation’s website for $50.

All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

As winter continues to pound the northern half of the country, it is a great time to head out and enjoy some fun in the snow. My daughter and I have been taking advantage of the snow by building snowmen (one of our creations is pictured immediately at right). She has enjoyed it quite a bit, especially when we use Hershey kisses for eyes, a baby carrot for the nose, and a bunch of yarn puff balls for its mouth and buttons. 

I have since learned that my daughter’s snowmen-building experience could have been much more sterile and manufactured had we used an incredibly ridiculous snowman kit. The one pictured includes everything you need — even a plastic carrot and plastic branches! (Multiple kits will be needed for multiple snowmen.)

Running around the house looking for items for the snowman was pretty fun for my daughter, but if you don’t have an imagination and want to trample on your child’s fun, then the snowman kit may be for you!