Festo robo penquins and air jelly.
Festo is into two very interesting robots. One swims and one flies.
Quick drying swim suits.
There’s a new bikini in town that doesn’t hold water.
The nano-tech fabric is not new but it’s application is. Called Sun Dry, each fiber of the new fabric is surrounded by an invisible barrier that allows water to pass through it rather than being absorbed into it. The swimwear can’t soak up liquid, is resistant to chlorine, and is rated SPF 50. Limited color offerings are black to maroon to red, the suits are in the $29 – $99 price range.
Producer: solestrom
[link]
Boxed water!
A new brand —and concept— Boxed Water has successfully taken the bottle out of bottled water.
A lowered carbon footprint by shipping their unfilled recyclable containers flat to the water source, keeping the cargo pollution to a minimum while maximizing the capabilities of the carton, which can be broken down again post-consumption. What took so long to think of this? Will the consumer buy into it? Will producers go from plastic to paper?
Producer: Bottled Water is Better
[LINK]
London's new bus!
The double-decker is back. Scrapped by Ken Livingston in 2005 – he also ordered articulated ( locals call it a “bendy” ) buses in 2002 but it seems no Londoner likes them.
above: co-winner foster/ aston martin design
above: co-winner capoco design ( the bulgemaster )
above: héctor serrano, miñarro garcía andjavier esteban’s otherwise sensible runner-up has Union Jack hubcaps
Boris Johnson’s competition to design an heir to the Routemaster, the double-decker, has yielded two winners, and an eccentric convoy of runners-up. Our favorite is the Foster design but the article implies that the Capoco may have been selected by the bureaucrats before the competition.
I-Lumex LED lamp for your PC.
Normally I do whatEVER it takes to nix lamps of all kinds in favor of recessed or trac.
I-Lumex ultra-modern lamp comes with its own USB port. Made of soft, tactile silicone in red, lavender, graphite and white hues, these versatile, multifunctional and user-friendly lamps are fully flexible and adjustable, literally bending over backwards to meet your lighting needs. Love LED for it’s low-power consumption and high light output. Delivers 50,000 hours of illumination. Will take exception to this little cutie.
Designer: Denis Santachiara
Producer: Antonangeli Illuminazione
New iPod shuffle.
The new Shuffle is small. Really small. Smallest music player in the world.
Apple says it the first mp3 player that talks to you. A new addition to this model is the new VoiceOver feature which compensates for the long-discussed anti-screen. You can manage multiple playlists and get song titles by voiceover at the touch of a button.
Producer: Apple( see features )
60BAGS. Gone in 60 days.
60 bags are fully biodegradable bags made from flax-viscose non-woven fabric that, when dumped in your local garden, yard, or compost pile, will break down in just two months.
They can be manufactured in a variety of styles and sizes, labeled with a store’s brand, or pretty much anything else you’d expect. As they’re made and manufactured in Poland, however, it might be a while before you see them in North America. Green Dot Award winner.
Producer: 60 bags
Stitch chair.
Stitch was selected as a Best design in the concepts category of the 2004 American International Design Review. Now we learn Cappellini has put it into production.
Fun folding chair completely manufactured with aluminum plate. Polished lacquer in white, blue, yellow, grey, red and black colors or in a multi-colored version in a fixed combination of the same colors. Feet in white polypropylene. Stitch Chair is a new typology of product for Cappellini and allows, thanks to its hinges, to have a chair that can fold up. Comes with personalized cardboard packaging.
Designer: Adam Goodrum
Producer: Cappellini
Retailer: Ponoko — Luminaire
Moof. Bicycle.
New York design brand Areaware have launched Moof, an aluminium bicycle by Dutch designer Sjoerd Smit that features built-in solar-powered lights.
Designed in Amsterdam, MOOF’s unique aluminum construction houses two solar powered lamps – one to light the way and the other to make you visible from behind.
This single speed sleek and smooth urban cruiser is both smart and conscientious.
Bike Weight: 28.5 lbs (13 kg)
Frame: 6061 Series Powder-Coated Rustproof Aluminum
Drive Train: Chain Drive
Wheels: Alloy 28″ (71 cm)
Tires: Kenda Cosmos
Lights: Solar powered LED
Brakes: Rear Coaster
Saddle: Adjustable springless leather saddle
Grip: Semi-leather
Weight Limit: 264 lbs (120 kg)
Height Limit: 5’10″ – 6’6″ (179cm – 200cm)
Available for pre-order. Approximate ship date: April 2009
Designer: Sjoerd Smit
Producer: areaware
Retailer: areaware
via dezeen
mission one. electric motorcycle.
Mission Motors builds the world’s fastest electric production motorcycle, Mission One.
Top speed is 150 MPH and an estimated range of 150 miles.
Designed for Mission Motors, the bike was unveiled at the TED 2009 conference at Long Beach, California, today.
The announcement formally debuts Mission Motors, a San Francisco-based company geared to redefine the world of performance motorcycles. The company was founded in 2007 by entrepreneurs Forrest North (CEO), Edward West (President), and Mason Cabot (VP of Engineering).
Building on their backgrounds in engineering, a desire to develop clean vehicles, and a passion for motorcycles, the Mission Motors founders developed a proprietary high energy lithium ion battery pack that could provide both the range and acceleration needed for a high performance sportbike. The company (named Hum Cycles at the time) placed second in the transportation category of the 2007 California Cleantech Open, the largest cleantech business plan competition on the West Coast.
Designer: Yves Behar of fuseproject
Producer: Mission Motors