Design
Bike-pack: the bicycle that folds into a backpack
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This entry from Taiwan's International Bike Design Competition tickled our fancy; it's a smooth looking city bike that tucks and folds itself into a 5.5kg backpack or a nifty hand trolley so you don't have to leave it locked up anywhere.
BMW's GINA concept car features a flexible skin instead of solid body panels
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What if the exterior of a car wasn't made of heavy, rigid metal? What if it was made from flexible fabric stretched over a moveable structural subframe? Based on a 2-seater roadster platform, BMW's future-focused GINA (Geometry and Functions in 'N' Adaptations) Light Visionary concept explores the design possibilities opened up when the traditional body panel approach is dropped to make a car's exterior completely flexible - from variable lines to hingeless doors to eyelid headlights. It's one of the most fascinating design studies we've seen in years.
Expandable dining in perfect symmetry
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April 30, 2008 The benefits of dual-mode dining tables are well established - a compact unit that saves space for everyday use becomes an entertaining centerpiece when guests arrive. But when it comes to round tables, most expandable designs introduce a square extension into the centre, meaning the symmetry of your circular dining experience goes out the window. Not so with this unique fold-out table created by French designer Philippe Braun which uses a patented mechanism to keep the table circular in its expanded form via extension leafs on every side that integrate into the tray of the table when not in use.
The Scroll: left-of-center hand-held electronics design
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April 18, 2008 The last decade has seen a meteoric explosion in the shape, size and functionality of hand-held electronic devices with all sorts of innovations from sliding keyboards to touch screen interfaces thrown at the feet of the consumer. Proof that we haven't yet seen it all, The Scroll is a blue-sky design concept that takes a format used by medieval town criers, turns it sideways and shoe-horns it into the 21st century by incorporating a mobile phone, hand-held computer, camcorder and sliding LCD screen.
A football table for the 21st century
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April 10, 2008 Table football is a game for all ages and one which continues to stand the test of time despite the advent of complex computer graphics and increasingly sophisticated game-playing interfaces. Now a collaboration between GRO design and Tim modelmakers has resulted in an overhaul of the design that aims to inject new life into the game and transform the football table from a bulky eye-sore into an attractive object d' art that complements modern interior spaces. Known as "11- the beautiful game", the strongly sculpted table incorporates minimalist design, a subtle use of light an dazzling white and chrome materials on the playing surface contrasting the dark exterior in an effort to bring the dynamics and drama of the game to the fore.
New design proposed for T-REX three-wheel street racer
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Young industrial designer Johnathan Côté has proposed this slick re-design for the legendary T-REX 3-wheeler, retaining an updated variation of the distinctive recessed headlights and above seat air in-takes, dropping the exposed roll-bars and adding a heavily sculpted feel to the vehicle's low-slung aerodynamic profile. With the the first prototype released in 1994, the T-REX is a pioneer in the rapidly expanding world of modern 3-wheeled transport that has now spawned such exotic gems as the Can-Am Spyder, Brudeli's Three-Wheel Leanster, TriRod's F3 Adrenaline and the upcoming ZAP Alias highway electric car.
OLED - the art of interior lighting
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April 8, 2008 We've previously discussed the potential of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology to transform the nature of interior lighting products - walls, furniture and even abstract art can now be vehicles for the introduction of these versatile and energy efficient light sources into the home. The striking “Early Future” table light from celebrated lighting designer Ingo Maurer is the latest example to cross our desk.
Mercedes-Benz bionic car: automotive design meets modern art
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February 25, 2008 One of the stand-out automotive design concepts from back in 2005 has re-emerged in the guise of modern art. With a highly-aerodynamic design based on what at first seems an unlikely candidate - the tropical sea-dwelling boxfish - the Mercedes-Benz bionic concept car is appearing as part of the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
RoboTrac: pre-programmable, semi-autonomous tractor concept
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February 14, 2008 Designed to perform a range of pre-programmed agricultural tasks in vineyards, coffee farms, orchards and nurseries, this futuristic driver-less tractor concept aims to boost efficiency, minimize crop damage and remove humans for hazardous environments using GPS and Internet to track its location. The Valtra RoboTrac from 25 year old Estonian industrial designer Hannes Seeberg - whose portfolio also includes an intriguing Skylift self-propelled boarding aircraft boarding system - combines an 85 hp engine diesel engine and rear-wheel steering in either a two or four wheel drive configuration with the remotely programmable computerized navigation system to enable anything from tilling and plowing to planting and spraying.
Phillippe Starck designed Voxan Cafe Racer Super Naked
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February 13, 2008 French designer Phillippe Starck has created this striking minimalist Cafe Racer Super Naked around Voxan's 1200cc engine. Weighing in at 180kg and putting out 140hp, the Cafe Racer Super Naked prototype is just that at the moment - here's hoping it makes the showroom floor.
Electrolux launches 2008 Design Lab competition
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February 12, 2008, Electrolux have announced the opening of their annual design competition for 2008. Aimed at industrial design students from all over the world, this year's theme is “Designs for the Internet Generation” and the brief is to design an innovative, cutting-edge product that addresses food storage, cooking, and/or washing with a view 2 to 3 years into the future.
Jaguar and Land Rover moving to virtual 3D vehicle prototyping
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January 29, 2008 Prototyping and modeling chew up a large amount of time in the automotive design process, which is why Jaguar and Land Rover have decided to invest US$4 million in a state-of-the-art, immersive 360-degree virtual reality 'CAVE' that will allow designers to present their CAD designs in full 3D glory. This virtual prototyping system will allow unprecedented access to the designs, letting viewers experience the cars from all angles, inside and out, trialling colour schemes and switching parts on the fly or making body panels transparent. Overseen by 3D gurus Holovis International, the system promises to significantly reduce development times – and on top of that, it's ridiculously cool.
