Mint: Intelligent Floor Cleaning Robot

Mint: Intelligent Floor Cleaning Robot

[CES 2010] Today, Evolution Robotics announced Mint, a new type of floor cleaner robot. Unlike the popular Roomba from iRobot, Mint has a square form factor and is over 3 inches smaller, sitting at under 10 inches wide, making it possible to clean into tight spaces, between chair legs for example. Another major difference with the Roomba is the Evolution's own cleaning navigation system, NorthStar technology: using an IR projector and integrating information from three different on-board positioning systems, it allows Mint to map the room, plan areas for cleaning and detect any spots not covered on the first pass. In comparison, the Roomba acts like a 'blind' device, bumping into obstacles and navigating randomly in the room for hours.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Magnetic Stoov Heats Your Stuff Up

Magnetic Stoov Heats Your Stuff Up

Want something that is easy for you to take around to heat stuff up? Well, that’s the Stoov! Designed by Mathieu Baele, this concept device sports an internal battery, robust shape for travel, touch-screen activation and even electromagnets, meaning you’ll be able to attach the a couple of Stoovs to the side of your pot to heat stuff up. If such a this were to become a reality, it would seem that you could have some fun playing practical jokes on people with this, such as heating up the sides of their car or something.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

VW Breathe: Transportation Of The Future?

VW Breathe: Transportation Of The Future?

According to designer Chansong Park, the VW Breathe will be the vehicle of choice in the year 2038. Its goal will be to provide quick, light, delivery service, public transportation and also as a personal commuter. Aimed at metropolis cities, the Breathe will sport GPS and 2 modes: human transporting and good delivering. With its advanced material design, the Breathe will be able to transform its body shape and proportion. Do you think we’ll be driving these types of cars in the year 2038?

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Futuristic Looking Landrover Santa Sleigh

Futuristic Looking Landrover Santa Sleigh

Back in the days before we had planes and helicopters, Santa used to use flying reindeer and his sleigh to deliver presents to kids who have been good. Fast forward to the future and Santa could be driving this Land Rover concept design, which could allow him to ditch his traditional sleigh. Of course, based on the picture, you can see that he still needs Rudolf (or some random reindeer) to pilot his new ‘sleigh’. Maybe advertising firms should replace Santa’s traditional sleighs in their ads and use this instead, eh?

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Zero-emission concept yacht

Zero-emission concept yacht

The rich and famous have their yachts to sail around all the party places in the world, but those aren't exactly the greenest mode of transport, eh? Not if the zero-emission concept yacht becomes reality. Dubbed the Leviathan concept yacht, it is the brainchild of industrial designer Adam Valmassoi, who claims that the sun and wind ought to be enough to power your next cruise. You get a couple of electric jet pump engines with this, where they receive juice from wind turbines and solar panels on board the yacht. The large solar panels that make up both decks are strong and rigid enough to support the weight of multiple passengers, while a large, multi-direction turbine will lower and become flush when the yacht is completely charged and not in use. You'll need plenty of green in your bank account to go green, it seems.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Ondo device goes green

Ondo device goes green

The Ondo which you see here is one strange looking cellphone, where it not only boasts the ability to record music but edit music as well. To make it all the more special, editing of music can be performed directly on the Ondo itself without having to go through a third party machine like another computer. Editing is really simple thanks to its simplistic controls as well as interactive twists and turns which can easily turn you into an edit maestro overnight.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Zoomla bike helps you get around with ease

Zoomla bike helps you get around with ease

If you're living up the green lifestyle and want to zip from place to place without having to go through rush hour traffic, might we suggest the Zoomla bike? It is certainly far from conventional where the design is concerned, especially since it boasts a single-pivot fold for superior portability. Apart from that, the Zoomla will utilize a system known as TorqSteer, helping eliminate the hassle of a steering tube. Zoomla relies on an internal drive system even though it is also equipped with a couple of orange pedals better known as the Pedaldeck.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

E-cart is green

E-cart is green

The e-cart concept ought to be realized in supermarkets and grocery shops the world over. Why do we say that? Well, it comes with wheels that will harness kinetic energy generated whenever it is in motion. This energy will then be stored to the main power storage unit whenever the cart is docked within. Line up one e-cart after another and you can form a pretty decent power chain to help relieve the store's operating costs where electricity is concerned, and in turn, it will allow the store to slash its prices to keep you happier.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Transparent Nokia Phone Features a Touchscreen, Looks Great

Transparent Nokia Phone Features a Touchscreen, Looks Great

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.We’ve seen quite a bunch of transparent phone designs lately, but none of them had the Nokia brand on. Luckily, designer Juan Carlos Garzon created one such Nokia concept, with a touchscreen interface and a transparent display.

The lower side of the handset includes the battery, most of the hardware, incorporates the on/off button (front side) and a 5 megapixel camera (at the back). This Nokia concept’s display also emits light, allowing for better usage during night time.

A stunning design and a great idea!

(Via Concept Phones.)

Medicine Management System Concept

Medicine Management System Concept

Do you constantly have problems remembering to take your pills? Well, this concept Medicine Management System for elderly people might be handy to folks of all ages. It provides an interactive system and electronic pill boxes. If it’s time for you to take your medicine, the system can prompt you via voice or vibration. You’ll also be able to browse information related to the medication directly from the system. Quite handy, wouldn’t you think? Check it out here.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Swap intuitive cellphone for a ‘touching’ response

Swap intuitive cellphone for a ‘touching’ response

Conceived by Dutch designer Menno Kroezen, the ‘Swap’ by Stefan Dzisiewski Smith is an intuitive device that lets you use the mobile phone in a more natural, ‘touching’ manner than ever. The cellphone exchanges information with a simple swap, so the users could interact with the gadget through gestures as we do in our day-to-day life. Designed for 3 Mobile, the touchphone allows the user answer a call as a spontaneously response by squeezing the sides of the phone. While the conductive sides exchange your information as soon as you puts in new contacts in the phone memory.

Urban Folding Bike, crazy fun in design

Urban Folding Bike, crazy fun in design

Most of the folding bikes on the market are engineer driven with very little focus on design, making them unattractive and obsolete. However, the latest collapsing bike by Chicago-based designer Ryan Mather has the proportions and aesthetics of a standard sized bike, which collapses to half its original size with minimal steps involved. Ideal for short city commutes, the urban folding bike can be taken anywhere and is easy to store and transport. A collapsing function makes it easier place into a car or store by the seat if riding a train or bus.

Keep That Baby Swaddled

Keep That Baby Swaddled

So you’ve got a new baby, right? What are you going to do?! I don’t know! You might be in trouble! But you’ve got to buckle down. You’re a parent now. You’d better put that child in a buggy. You’d better put that baby in the ‘Smart Baby Case.’ It’s kind of like a Matrix robot nanny pod sort of thing.

It’s got several doors! The top door is just a little too small to pull the baby out of, but just large enough for parents to easily access the baby. The main door is the big one, the one that lets the baby get in and out. And of course, the Safety Breath doors: except when the air purification unit is on, these doors allow for safe breathing and they automatically shut when the pressure is too low!

Inside you’ll find the communication unit and LED screen. You can look at the baby and the baby can look at you, too! This screen is also near several airblowing units. On the top of this screen unit there’s an orange LED light in the form of the Samsonite logo which shows the quality of the air inside the pod.

Inside you’ll also notice the auto rocking unit operated by a small servo unit located between the wells. Auto Diaper around the bottom of the baby has a moisture sensor which gently flushes away waste with water, the same with solid waste, all flushed away with tubes to the waste storage unit at the front of the case.

Anatomi Paths as their called are custom fitted around the unique child. These are the foam-looking pads you see in the picture(s) below. They’re made of extremely soft, flexible material to support the baby’s body, especially the head and spine. The skull area is protected by liquid filled pads to prevent damage, sweating, and deformation.

The entire unit is powered by rechargeable batteries, alternatively it can be plugged right into the wall.

Designer: Pouyan Mokhtarani

(Via Yanko Design.)

1337 (Leet) Phone with a numeric calculator keypad

1337 (Leet) Phone with a numeric calculator keypad

Paying homage to the HP 25 calculator, MS DOS and the good old numeric keypad, Australian designer Shane Crozier has come up with a retro mobile handset that literally relives the communication tools of the Stone Age, if not beyond. Entitled unusually ‘1337 (Leet)’ like its design, the square cellphone removes almost all modern features of the contemporary handsets and just includes Navigation controls and a Pong game interface. In addition, the 1337 phone is capable of standard texting as well as binary texting. The retro cellphone also has the option of two built-in ringtones, the Generic 80’s computer game music, and the sci-fi Theremin theme. While we are using the services of the 4G on our mobile phones, the 1337 (Leet) Phone other than its slim and compact size hasn’t anything to share with its contemporaries.

Nova DSLR camera concept

Nova DSLR camera concept: "

I am a big fan of camera concepts - in previous posts you can see a Leica S5 concept, Nikon 3M Coolpix concept, Nikon Coolpix 360 and another Coolpix concept. Keep in mind that those concept are created by designers and have nothing to do with real life camera manufacturers (but  they are still so cool). Today I present to you the Nova DSLR camera concept by Erin Fong:

(Via Photo Rumors.)

T3 Notebook Of The Future

T3 Notebook Of The Future

Based on a quick glance at the picture above, would you want it? It’s a design of what T3 considering the next generation portable computer, or ‘Netpad’ as they call it. Truth be told, it looks like a tablet computer with a stand at the back to keep it upright. Granted, it looks futuristic and certainly alluring, and so we certainly wouldn’t mind seeing such a product become a reality. Will we all be ditching the keyboard a few years down the road?

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

Melted Clock concept

Melted Clock concept

Love the feeling of just sinking down on a soft, fluffy bed with satin sheets? Well, the look of satin is duplicated with the Melted Clock concept - a haptic, touch-sensitive alarm that is accompanied by speakers and controls embedded within the sheet itself, where you are able to set the radio frequency and alarm among others, letting you 'feel' your way through the system. Hopefully there is some sort of fail-safe system just in case one rolls over the controls and screw up the settings in the middle of the night.

(Via UberGizmo, the Gadgets News Blog.)

iPetals Solar Charger Will Juice up Your iPhone; a Mac Funamizu Design

iPetals Solar Charger Will Juice up Your iPhone; a Mac Funamizu DesignNote: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.Designer Mac Funamizu has had his works showcased on our site a bunch of times and now he’s back for some more glory, thanks to the iPetals iPhone charger. This device also serves as a dock and its design is inspired from the personal solar charger created by Fandy Meng and dubbed Sunny Flower.

Mac Funamizu’s latest work uses solar energy to juice your iPhone and you can use it as a stand for the phone. It’s a sustainable product we’re dealing with and it integrates colored petals, mimicking a flower in bloom during the day and contracting in order to dock the iPhone.

[via The Design Blog and Petitinvention]

Dolly gives a new identity to the salt and pepper shakers

Dolly gives a new identity to the salt and pepper shakers

Made of porcelain, the ‘Dolly’ by designer Ross McBride is a cruet set which gives a whole new design and identity to the salt and pepper shaker lying on the dining table in an average home. Designed for Normann Copenhagen, the container features a rounded U-shaped design, which is divided into two parts within to separate the salt and pepper chambers. Looking more like a sculpture, the Dolly presents an organic form to decorate your dining table.

SPHINX: Mid-engine super car for smooth and swift ride

SPHINX: Mid-engine super car for smooth and swift ride

Ancient creatures or species have been a great source of inspiration for modern designers. Motivated by stone creatures of Perspolis, an ancient palace in Shiraz, Iranian industrial designer Behzad Hormoz has come up with a car concept dubbed ‘SPHINX,’ a mix of several animals, which generates power from middle engine for a smooth and swift ride. Featuring the scissor-like doors that open like the wings of an eagle, the single-seater touts glass roof which slides back to let the driver in with ease. The body of the super car is finished in aluminum that makes it lightweight, while the strength comes from carbon fiber chassis.

[Thanks Behzad]