Gadgetlite 360

Eco Drive Monorail The Sustainable Rail Service Solution Concept For Future

2011-12-14T00:59:00.001-08:00

Eco Drive Monorail concept must be the most effective way as of now to take out the most from the existing rail infrastructure, while ensuring adequate and space efficient rail transportation solution for future generation. High demand in peak commuter hours will never be an issue to bother for passengers because the same old train track will be accommodating three trains including the old one, and two more on the monorail. The most amazing thing is the EDM concept features two trains actually, that can obviously run in the same direction, but most surprisingly, they can run in opposite directions as well on the same monorail. The monorail is deigned to build over the existing rail network which will reduce the cost of building particular stations for them, while keeping the productivity of the old rail system unaffected, increasing rail transportation capacity.
Designer : Philip Pauley

Question of the Coat

2011-12-04T23:20:00.001-08:00

Mumbai, my hometown is famous for its harsh monsoons and I have seen people come up with ingenious ideas to protect themselves from the rain-wrath. But trust me nothing beats the Umbrella Coat Raincoat concept. Simply put, it’s a clever combination of a raincoat, waterproof trousers and an umbrella. The biggest plus being that it leaves your hands free to carry or do other stuff. Something that is completely not possible with an umbrella.

Ideal for the Mumbai Police who brave the rains to control the horrid traffic snarls!
Designer: Athanasia Leivaditou

Disposable Bowls Look Too Good

2011-12-04T23:19:00.004-08:00

Food delivery containers are usually made of paper, plastic or foam. They’re quick to make, cheap to produce and provide very little incentive to reuse. The Eco Bowls are designed to quick assemble down into separate components to be easier for disposal. They also happen to look good enough to keep and reuse so my question is, why wouldn’t you?

Designer : Jongduck Park

Meter Pen

2011-12-04T23:19:00.002-08:00

Electronic Pen steps up the game for pens that measure as you use them. Not only does include a sexy display that is powered by kinetic means, it also features a specialized design to prevent the display from getting damaged. I like the simple thought process behind the design; surely makes rulers a thing of the past!

Designer: Jang Hyung-jin

The Take Wherever Lamp

2011-12-04T23:19:00.000-08:00

Nothing better than curling up in your favorite nook with a cuppa delight and a good book! Stay rooted to the spot regardless of nightfall, thanks to the PAL (Personal Access Lamp) Lamp + Table. A convenient table and LED task lamp combo that relies on induction charging and is cordless. A mix of 15 warm and cool LEDs provide optimal reading light that also cuts down on energy use. On a full charge you can expect 8 hours of cordless illumination! Fantastic!

Designer: Maria Pitallano

This Watch has Balls

2011-12-04T23:18:00.001-08:00

The limited edition Ringen watch by designer Marc Tran was inspired by the perfect roundness of balls and automotive shapes. The watch is composed mostly of white gold, but the blue disc that represents the hours is made of brushed, anodized aluminum and adds a touch of youth to the overall design. A blue ball is moved along a horizontal progression of black slats that each represent 2 minutes. An additional blue ball orbits the face to display seconds. Anything but ordinary!
Designer: Marc Tran

Santa’s New Ride

2011-12-04T23:17:00.007-08:00

As you might have guessed by the name, the Polar concept utility vehicle was designed especially to meet the demands of long distance, rugged roads and the cold weather of icy North Pole area. For the most part, functional parts are exposed for easy repair and emergency part changes in frigid weather. Designed to move snowmobiles, the adjustable wheels adapt to the terrain and a snow-plow can even be attached to the front to ease transport.
Designer: Juha-Pekka Rautio

Intricate Installation

2011-12-04T23:17:00.005-08:00

Designer Tamer Nakışçı’s Intersection is an exploration of the connections between different times, techniques, dimensions and people; and how they actually come together. The installation combines simple lighting techniques with the complexity of water and is constructed using 1.6km of elastic. It will leave you wondering whether you’re looking at a digital projection or a tangible, intricate web.
Designer: Tamer Nakışçı

Tha Business Self Defense Kit

2011-12-04T23:17:00.001-08:00

Tha Business is a self defense kit designed for those who find themselves in sticky situations. “I thought it’d be pretty knarly to design a deck of self defense cards. Things such as brass knuckles, pepper spray, pocket knives & whistles to name a few,” says the designers. All this from a few inspiring trips thru San Francisco’s sketchier neighborhoods. I don’t advocate violence even in self defense (ahem – brass knuckles) but these are slick and unassuming self defense weapons.

Designers: Hoang Nguyen and Anh Nguyen for CreativeSession

Unofficial Nooka Concept and We Like It

2011-12-04T23:16:00.005-08:00

Whenever a concept comes into our box, I can usually make a quick decision as to whether or not it’ll make it to the blog by giving it a once-over. But when it’s a concept inspired by and designed for an international brand, my immediate response will either be harsh or laboriously complimentary. Fortunately this concept falls into the latter. I know Nooka and its head henchman Matt Waldman so I can say with certainty, this concept watch takes the Nooka DNA and twists it into something new. Kudos.

Nooka is a dichotomy with their minimalist aesthetics accompanied by some of the most complicated time faces. It’s a place where art, design and logic meet. If you don’t have an affinity for at least two of those pre-requisites, you’re never going to understand Nooka. Designer Mario Troise does. This watch is minimalist, elegant, futuristic, easy to make and forces you to think of time yet in another visual way – this time made of up twelve boxes each made of up single pixels. Love or hate, I think it’s definitely Nooka.
Designer: Mario Troise

Bulb Reinvented!

2011-12-04T23:16:00.001-08:00

The Eco Light is an EL coated bulb made out of paper. This simple and minimal design removes the burden of packaging and disposal of used bulbs for a better environment. Their kitsch looks up the glam quotient and make them a trendy display. As the designer puts it, “once the paper bulb is no longer useable, consumers can simply change a new paper bulb for their lamp and the old one can be recycled.”

Eco Light is a 2011 Liteon Awards winning entry.
Designer: Tien-Ho Hsu

Beware the Steamy Robot

2011-12-04T23:15:00.001-08:00

The adorable Alianoid is a humidifier guised as an alien robot that keeps venting steam in anger! With stubby legs and rotund demeanor, this babe from space is bound to captivate your attention. Simple controls in the form of a dial indicate the water levels and input. Please Lee, put me up in your list as prospective buyers, I so want this!

Size: H510xW330xD330
Color: Black / Gray
Material: Plastic
Designer: Minwoo Lee

The Microbial Home

2011-11-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Microbial Home is viewed as a cyclical biological machine where wastes like sewage, effluent, garbage, wastewater are filtered, processed and recycled to be used as inputs for the various home functions. The project includes various aspects like a Bio Digester Island and Larder in the kitchen, Urban Beehive, Bio-light, Apothecary, Filtering Squatting Toilet and Paternoster Plastic Waste Up-cycler.

Designer: Philips Design

Bio Digester Island

Central hub in the Microbial Home system.
Consists of a methane digester, which converts bathroom waste solids and vegetable trimmings into methane gas that is used to power a series of functions in the home.
The hub is designed as a repositionable kitchen island, including a chopping surface with vegetable waste grinder, a gas cooking range, a glass tank that shows energy reserves and glass elements showing pressure, volume and readiness of compost sludge.
Materials used in the design are copper, cast iron, glass and bamboo.
‘Bio-gas’ is produced by developing a culture of suitable bacteria living on organic waste material from the home.
The gas from the methane digester is fed to a cooking range and gas mantle lights.
Water pipes are preheated by the digester and channeled to other components.
The digester needs a constant supply of waste material and water.
The dehydrated sludge residue from the digester can be safely removed and used as compost.

Larder

The larder is a system designed to keep ‘living food’ fresh, by using natural processes (as opposed to dead food in the refrigerator).
The larder consists of an evaporative cooler and vegetable storage system built into a dining table.
Twin-walled terra cotta evaporative cooler is at its center, the compartments and chambers vary in wall thicknesses and volumes, and are designed to keep different types of food at different optimal temperatures.
The outer surface of the cooler is warmed by hot water pipes, which have been pre-heated by the methane digester in the Microbial Home system.
Above the table is a ceramic garden and larder where vegetable groups are grown and stored on the basis of their symbiotic chemistry.
The table is made from reclaimed wood, supported by a cast iron structure that consists of water and gas pipes.

Urban Beehive

The urban beehive is a concept for keeping bees at home.
The beehive is designed to allow us a glimpse into the world of these industrious creatures and to harvest the honey that they produce.
It consists of two parts: entry passage and flower pot outside, and glass vessel containing an array of honeycomb frames, inside.
The glass shell filters light to let through the orange wavelength which bees use for sight.
The frames are provided with a honeycomb texture for bees to build their wax cells on.
Smoke can be released into the hive to calm the bees before it is opened, in keeping with established practice.

Bio-light

The bio-light uses different biological technologies to create ambient light effects.
The concept explores the use of bioluminescent bacteria, which are fed with methane and composted material (drawn from the methane digester in the Microbial Home system).
Alternatively the cellular light array can be filled with fluorescent proteins that emit different frequencies of light.
The design concept shown in this Probe is a wall of glass cells containing a live bacterial culture that emits soft green light by bioluminescence.
It has been created using a technique where individual cells are hand-blown into a steel frame which is freestanding or hung on the wall.
Each cell is connected via silicon tubes to the food source, (which is drawn from a reservoir at the base) creating a closed loop system for the living material.
The food source could potentially be drawn out of the sludge from the methane digester that forms the centerpiece of the kitchen in the Microbial Home.

Apothecary

A concept for home-centered health monitoring and diagnosis, with the focus on early warning and prevention of disease.
Analytical functions are designed into the bathroom, where cutting-edge technology analyzes your body constantly and non-invasively, looking for trends in your health, symptoms of wellness and disease, giving advice and warnings where necessary.
Sensors behind the bathroom mirror that observe the condition of your skin, eyes and retina.
Breath falling on the mirror is analyzed for chemicals than indicate gum disease, tooth decay, dietary problems, alcohol and drug misuse.
Brushing your teeth can reveal evidence contained in oral microbiota, saliva and tooth plaque.
The urine and feces that you deposit into the lavatory are analyzed.
Showering can reveal the condition of your skin (including its microbiota population), hair and sweat.
Evidence collected from these multiple sources will be integrated and analyzed. An intelligent wall-mirror-screen can project back at you a bodily health map, highlighting areas where changes are occurring or attention is needed and suggesting solutions.

Filtering Squatting Toilet

A waste separating squatting toilet that filters effluent while channeling excreta to a methane digester in the Microbial Home system.
The filter array, comprised of charcoal, sand and ceramic filters, supports a range of plants to clean effluent.
The flush mechanism is based on the 1 litre flush toilet technique developed by the Sulabh Foundation in India.

Paternoster Plastic Waste Up-cycler

A concept for a domestic plastic waste up-cycler that uses mycelium to break down plastic packaging waste.
The paternoster waste up-cycler concept utilizes the properties of fungi that have powerful enzymes and decomposing power.
A mycelium attached to plastic, would have the ability to decompose and metabolize the plastic.
In this concept the plastics are ground into small chips and mixed with a fungal starter culture in a glass canister, which is slotted into a compartment of the ‘paternoster’ system.
A hand-cranked conveyor moves the canisters along a circuit within a dark cavity. Each week plastic grounds are mixed with mycelium.
It takes several weeks to break down the plastic or other waste material.
At late stages in the cycle the contents are exposed to daylight (via an aperture) and air allowing the mycelium to sprout delicious mushroom fruit, ready to eat. The decomposing waste can be molded into shapes.
The paternoster is made out of plywood and copper, and uses off the shelf bottles and containment canisters.

The Dog Tag Nooka

2011-11-04T13:52:00.003-07:00

The thing about Nooka watches is that they are constantly evolving and setting new trends in the way people wear their timepieces and read time. Using this as an inspiration, we have here the Xon, a kitsch version of how we can carry our Nooka: with keys, carabiner, dog tags, lanyard, necklace and more! Superb fun!

Designer: Jaineel Shah

Inconspicuous Megayacht

2011-11-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

The Dune 90 strays from the common “wedding cake” stacking style of the current yacht market and instead boasts monolithic approach inspired by stealth frigates and rippling sand dunes. The result is a crisp, lean, and classy look that still maintains the modern luxuries you’d expect from a yacht of this size; including 10 guest cabins, swimming pool, berths for a submarine or wave-runners, and like any good megayacht- a helipad.
Designer: Arman Fisette

For the Curious Coffee Lover

2011-11-04T13:51:00.003-07:00

The idea behind the Brothers in Arms espresso set was to express a sense of unity between objects within in the series. Using embedded magnets as connectors, each set of cup, saucer, and spoon becomes a conjoined false single piece. A clever design sure to catch the curiosity of each new user.
Designer: André Gouveia & Gonçalo Pimenta

Equilibrium in a Light

2011-11-04T13:50:00.001-07:00

Gotta love Iva Dinulovic’s bare-bones design: the Antithesis lamp. With all elements exposed, the aim of this design was to achieve equilibrium within a moving structure- to do this, the unique floor lamp uses a counterweight to balance between different positions. The light can change tilting positions up to 45 degrees, can be rotated 360 degrees, and also stand in a completely upright position.
Designer: Iva Dinulovic

Don’t Answer That Knock!

2011-11-04T13:48:00.001-07:00

When redesigning my house front door, we actually went through the discussion of peephole placement. While most of my family members are tall enough for standard placement, my mother-in-law and daughter are not. I wish I had chanced upon this creatively designed “Who is out there” peephole back then! It is such a simple solution to the age-old problem of how children or adults can safely open the door by seeing who is on the other side.

Designer: Hyun-june Yang

Creative Photography

2011-11-04T13:47:00.003-07:00

To up the creativity quotient in photography, we have here the Digimo Camera Concept. It is a modular set of multiple cameras that can be placed in any position and be controlled wirelessly from a considerable distance. The thought behind the concept is to encourage originality and give flexibility to the photographer, so that he can capture natural stills from different angles at the same time. I love its simple form and outstanding controls. One of those concepts that we wish was live now!

Designer: Sangik Lee

Stealthy Kayak

2011-11-04T13:47:00.001-07:00

Freestyle kayaking is a relatively young offshoot of the canoe sport, where athletes perform maneuvers similar to those of skaters, snowboarders or surfers. This freestyle kayak design by David Laudert aims to improve upon the ergonomics, appearance, and overall user connection to the kayak. The athlete “fuses” with the hull and is fully supported within the interior without the use of straps that normally hold an athlete in place, relieving the fear of getting stuck under the boat in the event that it turns over and simultaneously enhancing the adrenaline-pumping experience.
Designer: David Laudert

The Future Fridge

2011-11-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

The goal of the In My Fridge project is to simplify the process of food management by focusing on the technical & communicative aspects of the refrigerator. Using new RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology, the fridge is equipped with readers that collect data about quality, quantity, expiration date, & even recipes & presents it on a unique touch-screen interactive display. The user experience is quite uncommon & even has a 3D feature that allows the user to see the contents of the fridge without opening the door!
Designers: Fabian Kreuzer & Markus Lorenz Schilling
In MY Fridge from fabian kreuzer on Vimeo.

Interactive Pavilion

2011-11-02T00:27:00.003-07:00

Michael Jantzen’s Web-Shaped Pavilion is a conceptual design proposal for a large, solar-powered, interactive, public gathering place. The 130 foot tall structure is clad with motored, hinged panels that can be manipulated over the internet by people from around the world. Visitors can climb to any of the 7 levels via the central spiral staircase to get a first-hand glimpse of the pavilion’s transformation.
Designer: Michael Jantzen

My Coffee Wall

2011-11-02T00:27:00.001-07:00

We love our coffee so much that we are doing two posts on it today! Plus I am totally intrigued by the Black Luk, a wall mounted coffee machine that dispenses a cuppa java at a time. It is quite a radical form and I have never seen anything quite like it. Sadly the specs are unavailable and not much info is forthcoming. All I can say that anything that dispenses coffee is already on my favorite list.

Designer: Song Ah Lee

Better Water Management

2011-11-02T00:26:00.001-07:00

In simple terms the Water Elevator is a bottle or water canister redesign. One that sports a flexible body, much like an accordion. Due to its flexible form, pouring out water is much easier, plus it has the added benefit of an integrated measuring system. So if your cooking requires 2 cups or precisely 4 oz water, you can pour out just that amount without any hassle. My only concern will be of cleaning the system….

Water Elevator is a 2011 Spark Awards entry.
Designer: Gyei Yong Lee

Because I Love to Scan

2011-11-02T00:25:00.001-07:00

I love the idea of taking the scanner to the book rather than the other way around. Let me explain, my children have to often scan and print images and information for school projects. Many a times the books are these heavy encyclopedias (downloading from the internet is not the same as hardcopy books), and trying to scan fat books is troublesome. The concept Scan Board offers an easy solution; it captures the image of the page and transfers it to the computer via USB. Easy and no trouble at all!

Designers: Jo Jae-hwan and Shin Se-hwa