The Rolltop, by Orkin Design, is purely a concept, an idea, a figment of imagination for now. The Rolltop features a 13-inch flexible OLED and multitouch display that can be fully ‘rolled out’ to transform into a larger 17-inch screen. It includes a detatchable stand that stores the device’s stylus, has a USB port, and functions as a power adapter. Although the Rolltop represents the future of the future of what laptop computing might be like, it sure is nice to at least witness such a cool gadget in an animated video (see above).
According to PSFK.com: “Rather than use the traditional cold forming manufacturing process all cans undergo today, Samal’s concept makes use of a forming process called impact extrusion in which aluminum is pressed at a high velocity into a mold. Besides having a unique look, the faceted sides could make the can easier to grip and would prevent the can from rolling when placed on its side.”
The Energy Aware Clock shows you the time (obviously) and your energy use by way of cool visualziations on its front display. This concept device somehow wireless connects to your power meter and shows in real-time your energy consumption fluxuate with blue spikes. Although the idea itself is interesting and could work, I feel it may cause more energy consumption, at least initially, because who won’t want to show off the awesome blue visualizations, right?
The clock is created by Swedish designers Loove Broms, Karin Ehrnberger, and Sara Llstedt Hjelm and will be shown off at Design September Brussels 2009.
“The film Nearness explores interacting without touching. With RFID [radio frequency identification] it’s proximity that matters, and actual contact isn’t necessary. Much of Timo’s work in the Touch project addresses the fictions and speculations in the technology. Here we play with the problems of invisibility and the magic of being close.”
With RFID technologies being tested in upcoming products today, be prepared to be introduced to its useful and (what will become) practical means of “interacting without touching” in the near future.
The Lexus LF-Ch concept car sports headrest mounts for iPhones.
According to the press release:
“The LF-Ch has four sport seats that feature trim lighting along the cushion’s edge for cabin illumination. Rear passengers can enjoy headrest-mounted iPhone® docking capability for audio and video entertainment. In addition, the LF-Ch has storage in the rear seat armrests for small items such as iPods®, PDAs and cell phones.”
CRISTAL, or “Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living spaces,” is very reminiscent of the Microsoft Surface in that it is controlled by touch-based gestures on a coffee table surface. It is one of the coolest concept devices I have seen put to use. CRISTAL allows you to control and manipulate various things in your living room space including TV, speakers, lights, a vacuum cleaner, and a digital picture frame. The interface displayed on the table is a digital projection of your living room; it couldn’t be made any simpler. To interact with your lights, for example, you can turn them on and off or even dim them with a sliding gesture on the table over the projected image of your actual lamp. You can access your movie collection from a media server on the table. You simply drag and drop a movie from the collection list to the table’s main interface; from there you can view the movie on the table itself, or–get this–you can drag the movie from the center of the table to the projected image of your TV and it will immediately play on your actual TV in your living room! With photos, you can view and resize them directly on the table, and you can drag them to your TV or digital picture frame to view them on those devices. And here’s my favorite feature: you can tell your miniature vacuum exactly where to go to clean up a mess by drawing a line from the vacuum to the messy destination. Neat, huh?
Stacey Scott, assistant professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, member of the project: “We wanted a social aspect to activities such as choosing what to watch on TV and we wanted to make the process easy and intuitive. “Every time you get a new device into the living room, you get a new remote with it. And instead of difficult programmable universal remotes, this offers intuitive mapping of the different devices and home.” Christian Müller-Tomfelde, an Australian table-top display researcher: “It is a clever use of the tabletop as a ‘world-in-miniature’ interface to control room elements.”
Müller-Tomfelde commented that it could take five to ten years before we see something like this be manufactured and made available for the general public. As we have witnessed with Microsoft Surface, it can be very difficult to create and promote a table-top device with a steep price tag. Scott approximated that if CRISTOL was put on the market today it would cost somewhere between $10,000-$15,000. Today’s digital living room is packed with multiple devices that all perform different tasks. A device like CRISTOL that can put the control of all those devices onto one central table-top with a user-friendly interface would be a very helpful and exciting addition to homes all around the world.
This concept table is created by Agnieszka Lasota. In his own words…
My furniture are vehicles of time, with the aid of technology they allow a journey into the past. Elements of old furniture found at random I treat as museum artifacts — I place them carefully into a glass showcase. Instead of restoring I secure them in their present state. I show them as they are now, bringing back to life their original function in a new form. Sometimes, with electric polarization, I change the glass into a frosted one, hiding contents. I use the slide of the piece in its best time. Then the projection of the picture from the past becomes sharp and readable. The furniture shines again in old glory.
The Contortionist was created by Dominic Hargreaves, a 24-year-old student from London. The idea to make a collapsable bike came easy to him: “I couldn’t find a folding bicycle I liked. I wanted something that could take a bit of punishment and that you could have fun with. So I made one myself.” He is in talks with manufacturers about getting this concept idea onto shelves in the near future. Check out the video above to see how it works.
Designed by Seungkyun Woo & Junyi Heo, the Leaf was inspired by our good friend, photosynthesis. The concept is simple, and genius. Where ever you are outdoors, your cell phone is charging. The Leaf contains solar cells on its front panel, allowing the sun to keep the battery at full levels on a consistent basis. And of course, if it happens to be a dark and gloomy day, you can use a trusty electric source to charge the phone in a more traditional way. The phone itself is very basic; it does calls, messages, and that’s it, really. And yes, it is made of flexible materials so it can bend to your wrist. However, the main objective of the phone does not lie in its functionality; its aim is to “remind people that they can contribute to energy efficiency.”
Blind people cannot see. Without the sense of sight, it is particularly difficult to pour a glass of water or a mug coffee. It is even more trying to pour an exactamount of liquid into a container. Enter ‘The “Braun” Bell Mug’ concept by Sang-hoon Lee and Yong-bum Lim. This concept mug “has 3 indicative levels on the handle and liquid-level sensors within the mug” that allow blind people (or those with extremely poor vision) to pour precise amounts of liquid into a mug. The mug handle has three rigid buttons on its surface; all a person has to do is select one of the three levels and pour away. Once you have poured the desired amount, the mug emits a bell sound. Neat, huh? This is surely a product worthy to pass as a final, tangible item to be manufactured. Check out the gallery of images below for some concept product shots and directions.
This here is the concept design of The Smart Measure Cup by Ryan Eder & Chris Daniels of Priority Designs. This is a product that I would totally use (if I were ever in the kitchen, measuring stuff). This is no ordinary measuring cup. From one angle it may seem like one with the usual markings and labels; it’s the LCD screen on the handle that makes this the measuring cup of the future. The backlit LCD display reads out the precise measurements of liquid poured into the cup; it is set at an angle, thus removing the difficulties of eye strain and the like; it provides pre-set measurement ingredient amounts for common recipies; and it even does unit conversions for all you math-hates out there. Also, the cup itself slips out of the casing for cleaning.
And here’s the best news: This clearly futuristic product is being transformed from concept to a tangible product thanks to Taylor Kitchenware picking it to be manufactured this fall. Check out more images of the concept design and an image of the final product coming to stores soon. Unfortunately the final design does not match the modern sleekness of its concept counterpart, though, it’ll do.
