Water cyborg

Shenu: Hydrolemic System from takram on Vimeo.

I won't go into the technology here, as the flaws would fill a very large book. What really gets my odd toed ungulate is that people will look at this video's premise that Earth is on the verge of becoming a damp version of Arrakis and nod sagely.

And they think that people getting ready for the inevitable zombie apocalypse are silly.

Welcome to the 21st century

Dark Roasted Blend has a post on people and vehicles carrying huge loads that includes these ironic photos of Third World transport of First World technology.

It's a strange thing about the modern world.  I'll never forget the first time I stuck my head into an African hut straight out of King Solomon's Mines only to come face to face with a colour television run by a bank of car batteries.

Lawyers with the instincts of commissars

Life is not worth living if somebody thinks he has authority over you.
Robert E Howard

Fluidic

DesignLibero seems to be giving Yanko Design a run for their money with this idea that combines two incompatible objects: A dish rack (Does anyone still use these?) and a pot plant.

The only question remains, how much compost do you get on you dishes before the plants die?

Quadrotor UAVs used to wirelessly deliver power

Not only are quadrotors fun, they're useful for applications like surveillance and are even showing promise inbuilding construction . Here's a practical use we hadn't thought of though - remote wireless charging. The folks from NIMBUS lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are developing a quadrotor equipped with a system that uses strongly-coupled magnetic resonances to transmit power from its batteries to the receiving device without ever needing to make physical contact. The roboticists see this as a solution for powering devices that are otherwise inaccessible to conventional electrical sources... Continue Reading Quadrotor UAVs used to wirelessly deliver power

Bat phone

Nokia has issued a bat phone.

Why?  Probably because at least one person wants one.

“Intelligent” goggles highlight obstacles for the visually impaired

Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (UC3M), Spain, have developed a pair of “intelligent” goggles that make getting around a bit easier for partly-sighted people, by providing them with Terminator-style vision. Using a pair of cameras mounted on a virtual reality headset connected to a tiny computer, the device scans the area ahead of the wearer and displays information about the scene as color-coded outlines that convey the distance and shapes of objects that are difficult to otherwise see or interpret... Continue Reading “Intelligent” goggles highlight obstacles for the visually impaired 

Cozy Dryer

Yanko Design (The DREADCO of the design world) proves that it's still on the cutting edge with this radiator that you can (drum roll) dry your clothes in front of!

Apparently, no one at Yanko has ever visited a school dorm or cheap hotel room.

Lasers used to zap weeds into submission

Weeds are pesky things. They grow everywhere and, by definition, where they’re not wanted. Whether a large-scale farmer or a weekend gardener, everyone who has tried to raise crops has wished that there was a ray gun that could just blast the wretched things out of existence. Now, thanks in part to researchers from the Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) at the Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, that frustrated daydream is closer to reality. Through the use of low-powered infrared lasers, the team has found a way to inhibit weed growth without harming neighboring plants, providing an alternative to expensive, hazardous and environmentally-damaging chemicals... Continue Reading Lasers used to zap weeds into submission

Speak clearly into the tree

Yanko Design (The DREADCO of the design world) does it again with its plan to promote tourism by bugging public places.

Because that worked so well for Intourist during the Communist regime.

NR-02

Gravity: It's not just a good idea, it's the law.

Yanko Design (The DREADCO of the design world) comes to the aid of law enforcement with the NR-02; a robotic peace officer that combines non-lethal weaponry with a complete inability to grasp the basic laws of physics.

See a need, fill a need

This is bloody brilliant.  Why waste a motion detecting dispenser on Smarties when you can use it for ammunition?

James May in your pocket

I would have thought Richard Hammond more suited, given the size.

Thanks to the digital revolution, you can now carry around a tiny Captain Slow on your smart phone.

Why anyone would wish to do so remains a mystery.

Nearly there

Nice, but it needs a 3D tank that rises up in the middle

Future card

Tacking this to a bulletin board could be tricky

Yanko Design (The DREADCO of the design world) tackles the vexing problem of all those bits of cardboard that businessmen hand each other. Their solution?  A high tech Bluetooth device that swaps electronic cards between them.

Assuming that the other guy has one.  And can be bothered to fish his out.  Tell you what, here's my card.

Bedbunker

Having a gun safe built into your bed certainly has its advantages, but I can see a few drawbacks as well:

• Getting to your weapons quickly may be difficult when it involves lifting a box spring
• Flipping the mattress is hell
• Carl the Cattle Dog now has nowhere to hide when life gets to be too much for him.

Citylight

Not so much a design concept as a political goal.

Some people won't be happy until the tiny amount of electricity we serfs are allotted is generated by treadmills.

Collapsible “Buckliball” turns failure into functionality

Taking inspiration from a toy, a team of researchers at MIT have developed a new engineering structure that is mechanically unstable, yet collapses in a way that is predictable and reversible. The structure, formed out of a single piece of rubber-like material, is fabricated so that it collapses in harmony to form a smaller structure that can then be expanded into the original shape. This structure opens up new potentials in everything from architecture to micro-medical applications... Continue Reading Collapsible “Buckliball” turns failure into functionality

Electric kettle

Yanko Design (The DREADCO of the design world) scores another bull's eye with this electric kettle notable for its Chianti-bottle shape complete with narrow neck.  Plug it in and learn first hand why kettles don't have tiny necks and what a second-degree burn feels like.

Proton gun

Goodbye, Mr Bond!

Scientists at the Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation in Livermore, California develop a table-top proton gun for treating cancer.

I've already emailed them about a special order to install the device under my desk, so I can discretely handle "inconvenient" visitors