Imagine a disco ball where each mirrored square was actually an LED screen. That’s essentially what Mitsubishi has pulled off with their OLED Geo-Cosmos globe, to be introduced at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo. Nearly 20 feet in diameter, it’s comprised of over 10,000 OLED displays.
For his final project at the Royal College of Art’s Innovation Design Engineering program, Hannes Harms wonders, “What if there was a way to make food information more visual and track all of our intake? What if there was a way to embed data directly in food?”
His answer: “NutriSmart,” a which essentially entails replacing food barcodes with RFIDs, where data—regarding provenance, nutrition, preparation, etc., not to mention allergy information—can be tracked from farm to table.
Video after the jump:
Here’s an interesting idea from Israel-based ST Microelectronics: A ring that can be used as a pointing device, switch, or control.
MicroPointing’s miniature pointing and digital control device has greater capabilities than the touchpad, while requiring only a tiny fraction of the space – approximately 1 sq. mm. This electronic tracking device can also be used as a switch or control, enabling mobile product producers to replace larger buttons and mechanical switches.
– Pointing device/mouse is the smallest of its kind currently available, with no mechanical moving parts
– Operation is user friendly, easy, comfortable and does not necessitate small fingers for accurate use
– Small footprint device can be used in several physical configurations, adjusted
While the Society for Information Display’s “Display Week 2011” doesn’t sound like the sexiest event, it was at that conference in Los Angeles that a company called Polymer Vision showed off their latest technology: A rollable flatscreen.
Polymer’s 6-inch SVGA display is 800×600 pixels and (thus far) just black-and-white, but it can be rolled into a radius of just six millimeters–meaning it would fit around a tube less than a half-inch in diameter. While integration into actual products is presumably a ways off, it’s not hard to imagine, say, scroll-shaped iPads in the future.
Europe will presumably get a look at the technology when Polymer Vision travels to LOPE-C, the upcoming Large-area Organic & Printed Electronics Conference, to be held in Frankfurt at the end of June.
via crunchgear
Sony might have lost the portable music player and smartphone war, but it’s too soon to count them out of the product design space. What they need is a hit or a killer app to put them back in the game, and since they’ve lost points on hardware, perhaps they’ll make it back in software. Take a look at “SmartAR,” the augmented reality technology they’ve been messing around with in their skunkworks:
Needless to say, the ability to photograph barcode-less items in the real world and get instant information on them could be huge, a sort of away-from-a-home-computer Google. What remains to be seen is if Sony can bring it to the masses in a palatable format and, of course, what Google will counteroffer if SmartAR takes off.
Ecco est un concept de véhicule tout électrique, pouvant être rechargé dans les stations standard. Proposant des panneaux photovoltaïques sur son toit, ce dernier peut se servir de l’énergie solaire. Une création au style futuriste avec un design, pensé par adNAU.
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Voici cette présentation qui tente de reprendre 15 faits importants du monde digital et de la consommation des médias afin d’essayer d’imaginer leurs évolutions à l’horizon 2015. Graphiquement très réussie, cette vidéo intitulé Digital Life est à découvrir dans la suite.
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You might recognize the aesthetic of this project, as Yugo Nakamura is the Tokyo-based consultant designer that was tapped by Uniqlo to do their interface design. Nakamura’s latest project (done in conjunction with Interior/Product Designer and fellow Tokyoite Yoshihiro Saitoh and Taiwan’s Om Inc. design & engineering firm) is called FRAMED.
FRAMED is a rather Apple-like project in the sense that these guys have looked at a bunch of existing technologies and figured out how to put them together to create a rich and compelling experience, with elements of it old enough to be familiar but new enough to be lustworthy. At its core, FRAMED consists of a Samsung flatscreen, a PC computer and a web interface, but to define it by its constituent parts is rather like calling an iPod a hard drive and a screen.
Dodge outdoes itself with a new take on their classic American muscle car
by Ryan McManus
Few brands are more overtly “American” than Dodge. Even when their parent group was owned by Germans (now Italians), Dodge somehow remained the embodiment of a certain Yankee style—big, loud, powerful, arrogant and completely unapologetic. A part of the U.S.A. brand as much as America is part of Dodge’s identity, the bravado that attracted us to the “Mighty Dodge” as kids continues to turn our heads as adults.
We recently had the opportunity to test drive the new 2011 Charger R/T and from the moment we stepped into the Charger, it became apparent that the designers and engineers have done their homework, elevating these new cars over the outgoing models. The Charger has always been a blast to drive, and as we pulled out of Manhattan traffic and cruised up the West Side Highway it was clear that this year’s model is no different. Dodge continues to mine its rich heritage for design cues, and it’s nice to see classic Mopar (Chrysler parts) muscle-car looks appear on newer models. While the Challenger may be the purest expression of that design language, the Charger benefits from some trickle-down style.
Our model was an all-black version at the top end of an exasperatingly divided model range (topped next year by the insane Charger SRT8). The R/Ts feature a brawny 5.7-liter V8 Hemi putting out 370 horsepower. This makes for spirited merges, and as we cruised along the Saw Mill Parkway, it was almost impossible not to gun the throttle and feel the big V8 push us back into our seats. (Be warned: the Charger tends to attract the attention of local law enforcement.) Around town the steering can feel a little sluggish, which speaks to the Charger’s “go fast in a straight line” heritage that a tightened feeling could easily overcome.
But, nowhere is this new ride more successful than in its the new rear end. The integrated, body-spanning tail light, ringed with 164 bright red LEDs, stunningly upgrades the previous model.
The results are less successful on the front end. In a bid to make an already aggressive face even more bad ass, the grill of the Charger bulges forward snout-like from the squinting headlights. That, coupled with some overt new sheet-metal creases near the front wheels give the Charger a slightly over-muscled look. Put it this way, if the 2010 was Vin Diesel, the 2011 is a pissed-off Rock.
Inside, the Charger is decidedly more subdued (unless of course you opt for the red leather), and a welcome upgrade from the plastic-parts-bin feel of older models. Every surface you touch is supple. The dash is built around an eight-inch touchscreen display that acts as control for the stereo, climate and Bluetooth interface with the option for GPS navigation. Amenities like heated seats, dual-zone climate control and heated or chilled cup holders make for a more comfortable ride overall.
In a class led by cars like the Nissan Maxima and Ford Taurus, the Dodge Charger remains a refreshing reminder that a large sedan can still be a fun drive, and more importantly, that a big car doesn’t have to be boring. While other cars might offer better value or better quality, the Charger continues to be a potent alternative to the mainstream.
Design-driven gear from a new brand founded by outdoor industry vets
Smart, simple and functional design drives Boreas Gear, the outdoor gear startup set to officially launch this fall. Although the company is just getting started, the guys behind the scenes all hail from some of the biggest names in the biz (The North Face, Timbuk2, Eastern Mountain Sports, etc.). The team found themselves bored with a market made stale by the overabundance of complicated, tech-driven, as if we all planned on scaling Mount Everest every weekend—call it the SUV effect. Setting out to make something more practical, Boreas started with the premise that solid packs don’t need to be elaborate to be comfortable, focusing on proven materials and simple design to save weight and keep prices reasonable. As a result, Boreas will soon offer a full line of functional packs that will hold up in extreme conditions, but are better suited for the everyday outdoorsman.
We recently got a chance to check out their Muir Woods 20 pack, the second smallest and lightest in the lineup. Offered in 20- and 30-liter sizes, it’s just the right size for a day hike or weekend escapade. Its main structure, made of extremely lightweight, silicone-injected 210D ripstop nylon, adds the kind of minimalist detail that defines the brand. By using silicone rather than the standard polyurethane, the pack gains waterproofing without compromising fabric strength (as PU coating eventually causes fabric to become brittle).
What seems to be the only complicated feature on the pack, a molded foam back panel, is actually relatively simple due to mindful design. By being both corrugated and perforated, the panel allows air to flow though in multiple directions as it’s thrust between back and pack during movement. Simple but functional, it’s the company mantra put to work.
Self-proclaimed “design nerds”, Boreas will launch a full line of bags ranging from a 15-liter sport pack all the way up to 60-liter trekking packs for extended adventures. Packs will be selling in the extremely reasonable price range of $90-200. Keep an eye on their site for to-be-announced dealers and an online store coming this fall, and an extended equipment line soon after.
For a closer look at the details and a peek at other Boreas packs check out the gallery.
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