Designlaunches

The Green Heart Gym harnesses people power into useable electricity

geetu — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:51:24 +0000

TGO Green Energy Gym Technology utilizes human power with cardio outdoor gym equipment and then changes it into useable electricity. This consequential electricity derived directly from humans can be used for lighting up the gym space during night time. The designers feel that the extra power output could be fed into local buildings and even into the national grid. Green Energy Gym is situated at Hull’s Orchard Park estate in the UK, It’s outdoor facility with the usual exercise oriented equipments like energy cross trainers; Energy hand bikes; Energy fitness bikes; Energy recumbent bikes; People Power Display Wall. It’s green, it’s shiny and it lights up at night.

Georgie Delaney, Creative Director of The Great Outdoor Gym Company aims to have Green Energy Gyms right across the UK, where people can keep fit and recycle the energy they burn off into electricity. The gym is great for your health and it generates electricity. It encourages kids and adults alike to learn about their health, energy generation and energy consumption.

[Gizmowatch]

Space Saving Rollable Phone

geetu — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:49:59 +0000

Compact Phones are a great idea. Combined are the powers of a cell phone and a PDA in one unit, letting you make calls, send e-mails, and work on documents and play games without myriad gadgets. Keeping this in mind Ciara McClean designed and built this model of a mobile phone for the 1st year modelmaking project in AUCB.

The main idea behind creating this phone with rollable touchscreen display was “space-saving”. This concept not only lets you have a larger display to make gaming and watching videos more comfortable but also fits comfortably in your pocket.

[Behance]

Cicadidae Clock chirps and awakens you; sports a Bluetooth dongle for extra connectivity

gavril — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:33:03 +0000

Cicadas are known for their chirps and cries. Drawing inspiration from these little though terribly loud insects, designer Ryan Jongwoo Choi came up with this clock design, fashioned to give you timely mornings. Sophisticated and cleverly designed with a bright display, the Cicadidae Clock is modernistic and futuristic.

Using a Bluetooth dongle, this alarm clock can also hook up to a bunch of other devices including audio devices, mobile phones, computers and smart TVs. Using a USB port to charge up, this clock is a great way to welcome a new day indeed.

[Behance]

Volkswagen Hover Car design, the new “car of the future”!

gavril — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:29:23 +0000

Volkswagen has decided to offer the world a people’s car far apart from its iconic Beetle. For one, this one sports no wheels and makes no contact with the asphalt for that matter. Part of the People’s Car Project launched by Volkswagen in China last year, this Hover Car could very well be the next best way to get around in the foreseeable future! One of 119,000 ideas submitted to the project’s website, the Hover Car seats two and spews no pollutants.

Using electromagnetic road networks to move around, the Hover Car hovers above the road and is designed to be easy to maneuver and park.

[Newlaunches]

TokyoFlash Kisai Uzumaki wristwatch

gavril — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:21:03 +0000

TokyoFlash Japan has long been the flag-bearer for unconventional and out-of-the-box timepiece designs. The Tokyoflash Design Studio Blog received a spectacular concept by Firdaus Rohman that has now turned into a reality. Called the Kisai Uzumaki, this one’s available in black or silver with a blue or green display and comes with a colorful spiralling display and a vortex shaped lens.

Complete with EL backlighting to keep an eye on the time at night, this concept watch sports a traditional second hand and digital displays to denote the hours and minutes. To be priced for a limited time for just $99, the unisex Kisai Uzumaki watch will sell for $129.

[TokyoFlash]

German designers perform thousands of tests to build the most comfortable R18 Ultra Chair

gavril — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:13:43 +0000

When Audi decides to build a concept design, the German automaker makes sure it does it right. In an attempt to build the perfect chair, Audi and a group of other German designers set up an R18 Ultra Chair made from carbon fiber and aluminum at the 18th-century Milanese palazzo and hooked this one up with stress analysis monitors to the seat, back, and legs. The designers then asked a few thousand passersby to take a seat, monitoring their posture and stress levels, using industrial monitors to record it all.

The data collected from this massive test was then put together to build the world’s most lightweight and comfortably efficient chair that will soon be unveiled at the Design Miami event this year!

[Fastcodesign]

The Piano House in China

gavril — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:09:35 +0000

Conventional home designs are slowly fading away, as architects and designers these days are stepping away from the ordinary to fashion into being structures built to shock, amaze and strike awe. Called the Piano House, this musically sound structure was built by the local government in Huainan, China in an attempt to increase tourism. Reminiscent of a giant piano with a transparent violin resting on it, the Piano House could also serve well as local college for students studying music.

That isnot all. During the darker hours, this structure lights up and turns into a magnificent spectacle unlike any other!

[EPundit]

TicTocTrac concept watch not only tells you the time but also helps you perceive it

geetu — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:44:44 +0000

Though this watch has no practical use, it seems very interesting. The TicTocTrac watch is a project from a couple of students from Cornell University that not only tells time like a regular timepiece, it also lets you measure your own perception of its passing. The TicTocTrac wristwatch, is an engineering project, has a handsome analog-faced watch with a 3D-printed case and microSD card slot. You can check the time by double-tapping its face, activating LED indicators. . When you’re enjoying, the time flies by, and when u are bored the second feels like an hour. This is achieved by first activating the watch through a double tap gesture, at which point it will briefly flash a random number between 5 and 55. This is the amount of minutes you’re supposed to estimate, and you have to double tap the watch again when you think this amount has elapsed. The gadget will tell you if you’re over or underestimated and by how much.

[The Verge]

Plug + Play charging stations allow you to shop, eat or workout while juicing your EV

gavril — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:39:59 +0000

As natural resources begin to threateningly deplete, the world needs to look to greener and better ways to powering up, especially means of transport. DesignByMany recently hosted a competition inviting designers to turn in designs for electric vehicle charging stations. Of these, the winning design christened the Plug + Play seemed most appropriate for modern-day infrastructure. These stations are to be cleverly located near areas like restaurants, gyms, shopping arcades and the like, allowing users to plug their electric cars in for juicing and go indulge in subsequent activities. Apart from the fact that the Plug + Play concept fits in pretty well with urban life, this one looks great and is an aesthetic treat in a concrete jungle to say the least.

[popupcity]

Sleek and sexy Samsung concept phone by Tolu Falope

gavril — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:39:55 +0000

Recently, Samsung seems to have grabbed the spotlight in the consumer electronics market with some pretty darned amazing smartphone designs. With the Galaxy series quickly turning into a hot favorite amongst smartphone purchasers, Samsung seems to have got it all right. Here’s a concept phone design by Birmingham-based designer Tolu Falope that could further push up Samsung amongst its competitors. An un-named smartphone concept, this one comes with a razor-sharp form-factor skipping out on Samsung’s favorite curves. With a minimal bezel and a seemingly large screen with minimal buttons along the sides, this smartphone concept could fly off store-shelves if every manufactured.

[coroflot]