5 things to know about google glass sale.
5 things to know about google glass sale. google is briefly opening the doors to its google glass explorers program to any u.s. adult with a shipping address. via washington post [RK]
james 2025. volkswagen virtual cockpit of the future.
Volkswagen has provided the first specific design concept for an autonomous car. It allows for traditional driving or passenger mode and is called James 2025. Shown at CeBit, the European electronic convention in Hannover, the system changes at the touch of a button. Steering wheel and instruments swing away and the driver’s seat shifts to passenger mode.
bleepbleeps. meet sammy screamer and master bates.
At first glance I thought these were toys. Well, for some they are toys – adult gifts to keep tabs on each other. Originally designed for parents, bleepbleeps are also for seniors and special needs. Very smart and cute. Here’s what bleepbleeps say about Sammy Screamer: ‘This is Sammy Screamer, a movement sensor that connects to the bleepbleeps app. Place Sammy on an item that you want to monitor – could be a door, a bag or a stroller. Get a notification on your phone if the item moves – i.e. the door opens, the bag gets tampered with or the stroller gets moved. Use the bleepbleeps app to set Sammy’s sensitivity and choose how loud you want him to scream.’
sammy screamer
sammy screamer app
ultra stan | ultrasound pregnancy scanner, seriously
olivia p sticks | ovulation tester, obviously stan and olivia know each other
master bates | male fertility tester, omg!
lilly loco | gps device
bleepbleeps reached their goal for sammy screamer on [ kickstarter ] and the family has grown thanks to stan, olivia and mr. bates.
the bleepbleeps | very connected devices
wearable computer a hit with execs at the container store.
wearable computer a hit with execs at the container store. currently testing some unique new wearable tech designed to improve communication within its stores. via cio [RK]
2014 cadillac elr offers a better design.
Cadillac’s electric car, the ELR, is not as spectacular a performer as the Tesla Model S but it is arguably a better design. The Caddy could have ended up as mundane as the Chevrolet Volt, whose basic mechanism it shares. Instead, the so-called extended range electric, which includes batteries but also a supplementary gasoline engine, has been given a very cleverly shaped body. Outside, the wedge shaped body plays all sorts of visual tricks to make a chunky shape dynamic. Inside, overlapping layers of materials, including a suede texture, carbon fiber, leather and wood frame a high tech instrument panel.
17 percent of americans still love the landline.
17 percent of americans still love the landline. cellphone use 90% from 53% in 2000. story comments not supportive. via washington post [RK]
the future of the 3d printing industry.
the future of the 3d printing industry. 3D printing is changing the way designers and engineers are and making things. via the science museum [RK]
belated birthday wishes to 30-year-old mac.
Mac turned 30 on 24 January. Few recall or know the rocky start that changed computing. The first public words from the Mac itself: ‘Never trust a computer you can’t lift.’ [ more ]
in the making. barber & osgerby and the design museum.
above> aluminum front of a london underground train at the entrance to the in the making exhibition
The Design Museum in London, presents “In the Making” an exhibition curated by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. An interesting theme is the capturing in various and unfinished states of the production process of 24 objects. The curators comment ‘We have always been fascinated by the making process as it is an integral part of our work. We have curated an exhibition that will provide a platform to capture and reveal a frozen moment in the manufacturing process and unveils an everyday object in its unfinished state. Often the object is as beautiful, if not more so, than the finished product!’
derwent pencils in the making |unfinished swarovski crystal / photography györgy kőrössy
coke can | charles sofa designed by antonio citerio for b&b italia / photography györgy kőrössy
Most of the pieces are everyday objects – we see forks, pencils, tennis balls and a Coke can. There are indeed B&O objects. The 2012 Olympic torch. My favorite is indeed a B&O creation for Italian furniture producer Vitra, the Tip Ton Chair. The chair is made of made of polypropylene and is manufactured from a single mould without the use of mechanical components. This makes it extremely durable and up to 100% recyclable and defines a whole new chair typology: the solid plastic chair with forward-tilt action. The chair still may need to prove that its ‘half-rock’ feature is both good for the back and blood circulation. Tip Ton is also a candidate for iconic object with its innovative and proprietary profile.
the 2012 olympic torch manufacturing process
tip ton
An important underlying idea in the installation is a glance at the ongoing dialogue between designers and manufacturing through the making process. ‘This perspective is distinctive to their practice: throughout their careers, Edward and Jay have had a curiosity about the way things are made.’ Though there are several videos of the manufacturing process the ‘in the making’ theme presented an opportunity to go a little deeper into the ‘dialogue’ idea, a unique difference maker with some of the more function-driven, innovation-driven and design-driven objects in this show and like-kind successful objects in general. After all, how do certain products fulfill a need the best or become become iconic in their form and sensitivity. If you indeed get into what’s going on here, prepare to be educated, entertained and maybe even inspired. And discover in London that many of the most advanced techniques for the production of furniture were born right in the Bel Paese.
The exhibition opened on the 22 January and goes until 4 May 2014.
edward barber, jay osgerby
[ barber & osgerby ] [ design museum ] @designmuseum #designmuseum
3d printer that can build a 2,500-sq-ft home in 20 hours.
Architects and designers are very excited about the potential of 3D printing and expecting big things when the right people master it. Most everyone thinks of creating products and not bigger objects that would fall into the realm of architecture. A story making the media rounds right now is in fact ten years old. At the University of Southern California, Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering, has been developing a process called [ Contour Crafting ] a robotic extruding system that could efficiently print habitats. Below is a video taken at a TED talk in Ojai, California in 2012.
