Winner of a 2010 Red Dot Design award, the SEIL (Safe Enjoy Interact Light) bag concept was created by Lee Myung Su to provide a safer way for cyclists to signal. Technically when signaling with their hands a cyclist is only riding their bike with the other hand, which can be dangerous. So the SEIL fixes that problem with an LED-equipped backpack and a detachable wireless remote which can be mounted on the handlebars. And besides signaling your turning intentions, the SEIL bag can also be used to let others on the road know when you’re about to slam on the brakes, or even if there is an emergency.
Yeah, I know. While we try to avoid concepts here as much as possible, every once in a while I come across a fairly convincing rendered product shot that gives faux credibility to an idea that will probably never come to fruition. Such is the Vertrax treaded skateboard. It looks incredibly cool, I’ll give designer Bryson Lovett credit there, but I see a host of issues that will ensure this probably never replaces the traditional skateboard. From anything and everything getting caught up in the rear-wheel mechanism, to the inability to grind on any surface. It also appeals to reduce cube gleaming by about 35%. According to the ’specs’ it would be electric powered and whisper quiet though, but since it’s just a concept, the designer can really claim it could do anything.
Currently up for a much deserved James Dyson Award, David Graham’s Move-it concept consists of a set of self-adhesive cardboard parts that turns any box, up to 45 lbs in weight, into an easy to transport rolling trolley. The cardboard parts include a set of wheels and two different types of handles depending on the box’s shape and size, and when you’re finished moving whatever’s in the box the parts can be re-used elsewhere, or just recycled, including the glue which is a specially designed repulpable contact adhesive that disperses harmlessly in water.
Basically the success of this concept all comes down to the price. If I can buy a set of wheels and a handle for any cardboard box for less than $5, I may never have to lift anything ever again!
Any parent who lives near a mall with a Build-a-Bear Workshop will recognize the Dream Machine as looking almost just like the rig that stuffs bears, dogs, and all manner of animals for kids. Those overprices stuffed animals are crammed with fluff that spins around in a big red machine very similar to the Dream Machine.
The big difference is that rather than stuffing a dog for a kid, the Dream Machine stuffs fluffy pillows. The idea behind the machine is to let the user customize their own pillow. The system starts with the buyer telling the machine how they like to sleep.
The buyer then selects their firmness and a custom embroidery message. The machine then fills their pillow, sews it, and spits it out right there for the buyer to take home. A bag of smelly stuff can also be sewn inside. The pillows would reportedly sell for between $129 and $149.
This sweet concept phone designed by Du Jun carries the Sony Ericsson brand. I am sure it officially has nothing to do with Sony Ericsson, if for no other reason that it’s too cool for the brand. The concept phone looks normal enough when closed.
The coolness starts when the phone is opened up in any of several ways. The phone can flips up or swivel out. It has dual screens inside that allow the user to watch video with both screens pushed together.
The concept can be taken apart for what appears to be an intercom function. That would be cool for keeping up with the wife when she goes shoe shopping at the mall while I am looking at stuff that doesn’t suck. This concept is one of those really cool designs that will probably never see the real world.
If you’ve got an apartment that has more than one bedroom, or it’s anything bigger than a studio, then you probably won’t need this (unless it just interests you that much). But, if you’ve got a cramped place you call home, then perhaps putting all of your appliances into one is exactly what you need to save on some space. That’s where Moshi’s kitchenette comes in. Designed for the smaller apartments out there, it’s specifically created to bring together all of your most-used appliances.
The kitchenette features a dishwasher, induction cooking hub, washing machine (yes, a washing machine), a sink, and refrigerator. All in one, compact unit. What makes it that much more futuristic, is the fact that you won’t be using those ancient knobs and dials anymore. No, no, you’ll be able to control all of these appliances with a fancy touchscreen. Obviously, this is just a concept, and there’s no way to tell if it will ever become something more, but maybe if we all start wishing hard enough, we can make something happen. Would anyone out there really want something like this?
We all get caught out in the rain on occasion and have to break out the umbrella. I know at my house when the umbrella is all wet we leave them on the front porch. The downside is that with the thunderstorms here in Texas often packing high winds I frequently have to trek through the field next door searching for the umbrella when it blows away.
A new concept called the Swan umbrella dryer is one of those things I wonder why we haven’t seen before. It has a tube that sort of looks like a urinal for the space station. You close your umbrella and then slip it into the Swan where it dries.
The device also stores all that water in a container below that you can empty when needed. This is an interesting concept and would be welcome in wet areas. Check out the vide below of the dryer in action.
At the beginning of the year, we showed you a concept for a new keyboard, called the Miniguru. With plenty of features to make typing purists out there happy, we were pretty excited about the possibilities it brought to the table. But, alas, today we are reminded all too well that a concept is just a concept, and they can come to an end all too quickly. Just months after its debut, it looks like the Miniguru keyboard isn’t coming.
Guru’board, the intelligent folks behind the customizable keyboard, have declared that they have essentially lost faith in the idea that they will be able to sell the initial production line. Because of that, they’ve decided to scrap the project altogether, thus putting an end to the Miniguru. The keyboard itself consisted of mechanical key switches so that it made that familiar typing sound that most touch-typists enjoy so much. The keyboard itself was completely customizable, built to keep your fingers on the home row at all times. We wish we would have been able to see this come to market, but everything happens for a reason. Right?
Have you ever purchased some clothing online? Have you ever purchased clothing online that you had never tried on before? If so, or if not, then you probably know that it can be a bit tricky, considering you don’t get to see how it looks on you, or if it will even fit in general. So, what should you do? We’d say that you should look at Fits.me, the shape-shifting mannequin, but . . . It’s a shape-shifting mannequin.
Basically, Fits.me is a robotic torso that features flexible panels that can shift into thousands of different variations of sizes and shapes. You’ll get the full effect, from small to extra large, just by changing the very shape of the mannequin’s torso. You’ll be at your favorite clothing store’s website, and you’ll enter in your exact measurements (no cheating, now; would defeat the purpose, after all), and the retailer on the other end of the transaction will be able to fit your new outfit to the mannequin, which is acting as you by proxy, and then you can see how it looks through pictures. No word on when this might actually start getting used, but we’ll go ahead and say that if this ever gains a head and starts thinking for itself, we’re in for a world of hurt.
When you get married, you want everything to be special for you and your partner. And while the dress may be unique, the wedding itself may be just like someone else’s in the past. Especially when it comes to rings. For the most part, there seem to be only so many different variations you can have out there, unless you start thinking outside of the box, that is. For one man, he definitely thought out of the box, and managed to design a ring that’s probably one of the coolest little gadgets we’ve seen in a long time.
The designer, a man named Luke Jerram, worked with a jeweler Tamrakar to create the projector ring. It’s a wedding ring that features a built-in lens and a transparent slide that has an imago of himself and his bride. What makes it better, though, is when you shine a light through it. As you might imagine, that’s where the whole “projector” part comes into play.
And to make it better, the image can be replaced with another, so Jerram can keep his memories alive right there in his ring. Unfortunately, the projector ring is a one of a kind item, and the designers have no plans to create another one for anyone else. In fact, the designer goes as far as to say, “…I’m afraid you’ll have to make your own unique ring for your own unique partner!” If that’s not dedication, we don’t know what is. And at least Jerram has something that’s truly unique, almost as much as his wife.
