An Audi for your Wet Dreams

In my opinion, Audi exemplifies the essence of German minimalist elegance. Never known for pretentious or over the top designs, the Ingolstadt, Germany company has stuck to their “Vorsprung durch Technik” or “Advantage through Technology” philosophy since day one. Designer Markus Klug used Audi’s minimalist approach to automotive design to create this cross-over water yacht concept. In his words: “I wanted my design to be clear and direct, but also luxurious and sport…It has to captivate the onlooker at first glance, in precisely the same way that the cars do” The 25-year-old student said that he drew his inspiration from his passion for sailing with the Audi MedCup, a regatta series in the Mediterranean for TP52 yachts. Measuring in at 15 metres in length, with a mast of 21 metres high and a draught of between 1.5 and 2.5 metres, this ultra-yacht has sex appeal measuring off the charts.

Designer: Markus Klug [ Via: Carscoop ]

Dyson Energy Bracelet

Dyson Energy Bracelet is a gadget that uses Seebeck effect to harness energy and power your mobile phones for a few precious minutes more, when you desperately need it. Lemme explain a bit: The thermoelectric effect is the direct conversion of temperature differences to electric voltage and vice versa. This typically includes three separately identified effects, the Seebeck effect, the Peltier effect, and the Thomson effect. This is coz three different guys discovered it around the same time, however Peltier–Seebeck and Thomson effects are reversible and Joule heating is not.

The designers explain:

Thanks to the Seebeck effect, the temperature difference between the surface which touch the skin and the other which is in the ambient air allows to produce electricity that is stocked in a battery. When the user needs to recharge a mobile device, he plugs it into the Dyson Energy through a micro-USB port (universal connector imposed to constructors in 2012) and can have some additional minutes in use.

Firstly, we have tested the Peltier element in its most common use: i.e. the creation of heat and coldness on the same component (Seebeck effect), and we have noticed that there was electricity production. We have met an engineer who allowed us to evolve on our project while explaining us that there was not possible to plug the elements serially. Therefore, we chose to work with only one element. As a result of many calculations, we have validated this technology payoff regarding our concept. For instance, some hours are sufficient to power its cellphone for a dozen minutes of communication.

Designers: Mathieu Servais, Camille Lefer, Clément Faydi & Mickaël Denié

“Linos” a portable record player

The majority may be hooked to their digital players but there plenty of old-schoolers who hang on to their vinyl for dear life. Trying to appease this segment is “Linos”, a portable record player. Ditching the traditional full platter configuration for modern sensibilities, this player takes into consideration the space demands and limited mobility of regular turntables. Simply load the record to the lower spindle element and lock it into place from above. Pushing down on the power icon then releases the tonearm and spins up the record. Hook up the player to your comp via micro USB for sound and powering or use the USB power adapter with standard stereo jack output.

Designer: Charles Pyott

TERRENA : Next Generation Concept Vehicle

TERRENA is a next generation concept vehicle aimed to go through several terrains of America. The exclusive tire mechanism of this car adapts the wheel’s dimensions to the various types of roads, allowing the user to drive the car safely in various conditions. To ensure better functionality, this vehicle is designed in a larger wheel diameter and reduced width along with an enhanced car height. The integrated sensors are able to provide signals about a road condition and if they found a good road condition signal, the wheels turn wide and the car height decreases to provide the required stability and control to run faster. The car’s exterior is covered with flexible materials that would soak up the deformation of potential impacts.

Designer : Marcos Madia

Touchphone For The Blind People

The B-Touch mobile phone takes the iPhone touchscreen revolution a step ahead by incorporating innovate features to make a touchscreen cellphone for the blind. Limitation of senses does not hinder the sensitivity of this phone coz it combines technologies of blind-touch screen (Braille), voice systems and programs to function as regular phone, navi-system, book reader and object recognizer. Take a look at the video after the jump to understand it better.

Designer: Zhenwei You

Magic Cube lamp, alarm clock, radio and charger

Green-freaks here’s the Magic Cube that can pep up your bedside manners! A combination of a lamp, alarm clock, radio and charger, this green-gadget sports a solar panel at its bottom, to soak up the goodness of the sun. The top of the cube indicates how much juice is left till you sun-bathe it for recharging. Going the by the current trends of eco-consciousness, the Magic Cube ranks forth for cleverly incorporating many features into one, thereby reducing clutter and footprint.

Designer: Kai Yu

Futuristic Dining Table

The two things that I see common regarding perception of futuristic technology is that products are going to be compact and well integrated. Take for example this futuristic dining table, its designed with all the modern convenience integrated within its belly. Once you sit down, you needn’t get up to make a toast or fetch the coffee, get an apple from the fridge or even wash your dishes. It’s all integrated into the table.

The Form:

- A circular five-seater table with retractable chairs that fit flush with the frame of the table when not in use.
- A part of the table used to refrigerate food and is divided into 2 separate sections with a total volume capacity of 203 liters.
- At the touch of a button, the black glass top becomes transparent allowing a complete view of the fridge contents beneath it.
- The food is stored in bins where it is divided into groups (dairy products, smoked meat, vegetables, fruits etc).
- This is where a rotating storage compartment is located with a volume capacity of 98 liters, designed to store small groceries.
- The second part of the refrigerator is integrated into the center of the table and chills your bottles.
- The shelves of the bottle fridge feature punched with holes minimizing the escape of cold air when the refrigerator is lifted. This section has a volume capacity of 105 liters.
- Two buttons help you to use this second fridge: One for Pulling up the fridge, the other for rotating the stand for easy selection.
- Small appliances are located inside a stainless steel inter-circular compartment that is manually rotatable and can store up to 8 different electrical appliances. These appliances are easily replaceable.
- The appliances integrated include a mini-dishwasher, toaster, coffee machine, boiling kettle, cold water dispenser, a freezer, mini-microwave and cutlery holder.
- The top layer of the table is a touch display screen, allowing access to the internet. It displays daily press (newspaper, magazines), allows search for recipes and enables communications.
- The table top display can be changed to accommodate soothing views or even fun games.

The Systems Used:

- Touch OLED display screens that change from complete shade of black to fully transparent to expose content of the refrigerator.
- Nanotechnology surface (for better cleaning).
- Pneumatic system (pistons for hoisting electrical appliance), servomotors and electronics.
- The materials used are glass, plastic (or synthetic stone) and stainless steel.
- The table is securely anchored to the floor and connected to a source of electricity, water supply, the internet and the waste.

Designer: Petr Kubik

The Sound Bulb Speaker

Not to be confused with the conceptual SoundBulb that we so admired, The Sound Bulb Speaker seen here is a speaker shaped like your typical light bulb. Basically we are talking about a LED light bulb that hosts a transformer, a speaker, and a wireless receiver to stream music from your iPod, PC, mobile phone, etc. Featuring a standard Edison thread you can screw this on to almost any holder. It also consists of a protective wire mesh or hood and a translucent frosted plastic shell to support the work-dynamics. Neat idea, but I don’t this I’d be using them in my expensive cut-glass chandelier.

Designer: Armada

Portable Iron

Hotel irons generally suck unless you’re staying in some 4-5 star palace, so weary travelers usually bring their own irons. They’re becoming smaller, thinner, and lighter but the simply and aptly named Portable Iron unfolds from a slim boxed inclosure by rail mechanism. It don’t get more portable than this. The double heating plates are spring loaded between them perfect to slip collars and cuffs into. It’s battery powered for true mobility too. Now argue amongst yourselves about the feasibility of this concept.

Designer: Apostol Tnokovski

Personal Transport Vehicle called “ROCK! & ROLL”

Okay kiddies, this is a tough one. Very little is known about this mystery machine, but here is what we can figure out so far. It’s a personal transport vehicle called “ROCK!” by Designer: Alberico J. Camacho. That’s it! Actually we also suspect it has some ability to play music in some fun, unique way, but that has not been 100% confirmed.

We basically like the shape and that its shiny, and has what appears to be a NISSAN badge on it. Maybe its a hybrid combo of the SONY “ROLLY” speakers and the VW RABBIT “FAST” toy…either way, it sure is pretty.

Designer: Alberico J. Camacho