Today Philips announced Hue — “the world’s smartest web-enabled LED home lighting system.” The new LED lighting system is available exclusively from Apple, both online and in stores, starting on October 30, 2012, and requires an iOS or Android app and a home Wi-Fi router. It can handle up to 50 light bulbs, each of which output 600 lumens and use about 8.5 watts of energy.
These are the Edison-type screw-in LED light bulbs, so they’ll work in most sockets where you already have similar bulbs. Hue can control lights remotely, turn on lights gradually as an alarm, or establish ambience with the colors of the rainbow.
Hue’s wireless connection is provided by the open ZigBee Light Link standard, said Philips, so the system can integrate with other ZigBee certified systems.
Hue comes in an introduction pack with the Hue bridge and three light bulbs for the luxurious price of $199. After that, one can add a bulb for an investment of $59 each, according to a Philips statement.
Other efforts in the field of residential smart LEDs include the recent Kickstarter project LIFX, Google’s smart LED from LSG, and a dimmable bulb called Insteon. Of the foregoing, only Insteon is on the market right now.
Umbrellas have plenty of weaknesses, but the one that really galls is that they seem to be designed for only a very particular style of rain--drops that fall straight down on your head. Rain, as it turns out, is often accompanied by wind. So the drops will flank you, finding a way under your protective shield, while gusts of wind constantly threaten to turn it awkwardly, shamefully inside-out. In the middle of a windy Chicago thunderstorm, I often find myself trudging to the store like Captain America facing a barrage of bullets, perpetually fearful of losing my last line of defense against wetness.
Rain Shield, a Red Dot award winner designed by students Lin Min-Wei and Liu Li-Hsiang, is an attempt to solve these age-old problems by acknowledging the way rain really works. It’s an umbrella with no sharp parts to stab fellow pedestrians, and no “bones” or joints for gusts to invert. And you can aim its extended flat panel directly at the rain to protect you from several aquatic attacks at once.
The Rain Shield’s most enticing proposition, however, may be that it reimagines the whole folding and unfolding process. While most umbrellas slide along a pole to be lifted into position, the Rain Shield pops out like a family-friendly tent. Notably, this means that you won’t be forced to carry around a metal stick all day. Instead, your umbrella folds into a cloth plate that you can stow flat in a purse or briefcase, a bit larger than your ultra-portable umbrella but definitely smaller than the mighty walking stick umbrellas out there.
As of today, Rain Shield doesn’t exist beyond the concept mock-ups you see here, but the duo of Taiwanese designers are currently forming a studio to realize a series of new products. We wish them well.
Toys amuse. They sometimes teach. But they rarely contribute something useful to domestic life. As wonderful as a Lego pirate ship may be, it’s not setting the table or vacuuming the living room.
Dough Globe, by Mint Digital, was conceived as “a toy that has a reason to exist." It’s a sourdough-filled ball that connects to a computer. And while a child rotates and spins the ball as part of a video game, inside, a yeast culture is folded again and again into wet dough.
The dough starts typically, with flour, yeast and water.
“As just a physical object, it’s a smart vessel for sourdough cultures,” creative director Utku Can tells Co.Design. “With the game layer, it’s something entirely different.”
The Dough Globe is pretty intelligent in its own right. The ball uses ethanol sensors to measure the overall health of the sourdough culture (an indicator that Mint Digital found to be superior to pH, temperature, or weight), and via Bluetooth and an Arduino, this data can be streamed to a computer. It’s in this digital realm that a hunk of dough--maybe not the most exciting prospect to a kid--becomes a character in a series of minigames played out in a living world that thrives or struggles depending on the health of the dough.
“It’s somewhere between a pet rock and a cat,” Can says. “Mostly, the purpose is just to have fun. But it does teach kids to look after a living thing and the responsibility of that.”
Device charging via USB.
How many hours have we wasted to Tamagotchi and even Pokemon? Clearly, these digital pets strike a chord in us, capitalizing on some inner nurturing instinct that transcends even the compulsions of gaming. So now that we’ve so successfully nailed the formula, why not anchor those characters back to the analog realm in a way that actually makes the world around us better? (Especially if it involves delicious, crusty carbs.)
As of today, Dough Globe is just a working prototype. But don’t be shocked to spot it on Kickstarter soon.
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-10-26 20:34:12 UTC
Often, when people talk about children and the psychological effects of playing video games, it’s nothing good – there are certainly plenty of individuals who maintain that if a child spends too much time blowing away virtual enemies, they will become more aggressive, antisocial people in the real world. A new game developed at Boston Children's Hospital, however, is intended to do just the opposite. It helps children with anger problems to control their temper, so they’ll get along better with other people... Continue Reading Biofeedback-augmented video game helps children curb their anger
The dense metropolis of Singapore is now home to the world’s first commercial vertical farm! Built by Sky Greens Farms, the rising steel structure will help the city grow more food locally, reducing dependence on imported produce. The new farm is able to produce 1 ton of fresh veggies every other day, which are sold in local supermarkets.
Natural disasters are physically, socially, and psychologically devastating to a town. It can be extremely difficult to rebuild civic infrastructures and restore the lives of residents. Where do individuals, families, organizations and governments begin to look for help? Are there processes, policies, or protocols in place for dealing with the unthinkable? The Sustainable Disaster Recovery Conference brings together organizations from many different sectors in a collaborative effort to address these types of questions. The Sustainable Disaster Recovery Conference aims to spread awareness of “green” options available to help disaster-stricken towns not just reconstruct their cities, but to rebuild efficient, livable communities that are healthier and stronger than ever before. The groundbreaking conference, brought together by The Center for Sustainability, Greensburg GreenTown and GreenTown Joplin, will be held at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri from Monday, October 29, 2012 through Tuesday, October 30, 2012 ! Find out how you can attend ahead — Inhabitat readers will receive a special discount at registration!
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-12 17:57:28 UTC
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by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-11 06:15:59 UTC
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Despite its groundbreaking premise, the Sugar & Spice hasn’t been the roaring success that Patagonia had hoped it would be. The first—and so far, only—shoe ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-08 17:12:04 UTC
Lush sells vintage fabric to Knot-Wrapping their products, which are sold, in most cases, unpacked.
Knot-wrap scarves can then be re-used again and ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-04 15:55:51 UTC
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h1. Magical; didn't we always think we need energy to amplify music?
AirCurve Play is based on some very advanced technology, indeed; and when you ...
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