Category: Concepts


MIT’s Food Printer

Filed under: Concepts, Green, Other by Jerry Chen — Leave a comment
July 22, 2010

sustainable design, green design, MIT, digital food printer, no waste, cooking, 3d printer, Cornucopia, well balanced meals

Ever wanted to print whatever you wanted to eat out of a printer? Marcelo Coelho and Amit Zoran of MIT have come up with a way to make that a reality with the “Cornucopia”.  Mixing the digital world with the real world of cooking, this 3-D printer concept makes food by “storing, precisely mixing, depositing, and cooking layers of ingredients with no waste.”

The printing process is all powered by various food canisters that mix to cook the food of choice. Real-time parameters like calorie and carbohydrate content can also be changed. Once the food is all dispensed, it is then cooked through heating and cooling tools on the printing head.

This concept makes eating greener and more sustainable, all while keeping a good look. This is no Cooking Mama. [via Inhabitat]

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Nintendo Patents Disk-Free Hard Drive Solution for the Wii

Filed under: Concepts, News by Jerry Chen — Leave a comment
July 7, 2010

The Wii currently has a measly 512 mb of onboard storage. That may soon change with a new patent recently filed by Nintendo that shows a system that allows games to be loaded directly from the hard drive after being inserted into the Wii. Once a game disk has been loaded, it will be copied to the hard drive, and can then be selected through a cover-flow type interface where each game’s box art is shown.

If this is going to happen, Nintendo is showing that the next iteration of the Wii is going to have a much better hard drive. Also, hit the jump for a flow chart of how this system is going to work. [via Silliconera]

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Stationary That looks Like Email Icons

Filed under: Concepts, Other by Jerry Chen — Leave a comment
June 12, 2010

This playful stationary, designed by Brigada Creativa, looks like computer icons.

Now you’ll feel digital while sending snail mail. [via Brigada Creativa]

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Out of the Box Concept Allows for Easier to Follow Gadget Manuals

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June 1, 2010

As smartphones get increasingly more advanced and gain new features, the learning curve becomes higher. This concept designed by Clara Gaggero in collaboration with Adrian Westaway and Jaakko Tuomivara dubbed “Out of the Box” hopes to solve that problem. Essentially, there is a cutout in the middle of the instruction booklet where the phone is placed. The instructions provide insight on the functions and there are arrows pointed to which part of the phone to press.

Granted, this isn’t as eco-friendly as a virtual manual, but it sure is user-friendly. [via Clara Gaggero]

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Using a Smartphone to Unlock Your Hotel Room Will Be the Future

Filed under: Concepts, News by Jerry Chen — Leave a comment
May 27, 2010

Holiday Inn hotels at two cities are experimenting with a system that allows guests to unlock their rooms using their smartphone. The system eliminates checking in at the front desk and losing your keycard. After you check in online, the system sends you an encrypted audio code that can unlock your door and texts you your room number.

Currently available for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry phones, the system is called “OpenWays” and can change the future of checking in to hotels. Although the system isn’t widespread yet, it has potential in the future. [via USA Today Travel]

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Loftbox 101: Foldable Furniture

Filed under: Concepts by Jerry Chen — 1 Comment
May 10, 2010

The Loftbox 101 is a concept from designer Rainer Graff. It begins with a simple looking, cube-shaped ottoman that transforms into couches and a coffee table. It also comes with a monitor for viewing pleasure.

It’s a great idea to save space in small apartments in areas like New York City and Hong Kong, if it ever makes it past the concept stage.

For a full photo gallery, visit Trend Hunter.

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Paper-Thin Solar Cells

Filed under: Concepts, News by Jerry Chen — 3 Comments
May 5, 2010

MIT researchers have found a way to make solar cells that are thin enough to be put on a sheet of paper, using a device that is similar to an inject printer. At this point, the cells aren’t as efficient, at just under 2% efficiency at converting sunlight into usable electricity, compared to rates that can exceed 20% for your typical rooftop solar cells.

This concept seems like a promising start to cheaper ways to be energy-efficient though. If solar cells can be thin enough to be pasted on a piece of paper, can’t we put some on everything? Covering a car or an electronic device with this photovoltaic film, it might not be as efficient as your standard solar panel but you might just stay on the road a little longer or use your phone a little bit more.

For more information, head to CNET.

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Yum! Fruit-Shaped Sticky Notes

Filed under: Concepts by Jerry Chen — 2 Comments
May 4, 2010

These post-it notes were created by Japanese designers at D-Bros. Shaped like a pear, they put aesthetics over productivity, but still look awesome!

Currently this is only a concept.

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