WOW this is awesome. Eighteen-year-old Chris Rieger, an engineering student at Australia's University of Queensland, has developed a wireless LED light that floats. The damn thing levitates, it's not physically connected to anything. Before I go any further, you must have a look:
So how does it work? The short answer is magnets; the long, scientific answer with supporting links is here.
For inspiration Rieger credits the work of the Discovery Channel's Jeff Lieberman, the pioneer who did something similar in the mid-2000s and paved the way for others to improve upon it; the levitation work of mad scientist and tinkerer Eirik Taylor; and the wireless power transfer work of a Croatian tinkerer going by the handle Marko.
by: Gizmodo , 2012-07-07 01:52:36 UTC
Vancouver hotel hopes guests will appreciate making calls with no roaming fees on hotel-provided iPhones instead of those things called landlines.
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-07-05 18:43:53 UTC
Unplugged is an office work station of the future concept that envisions powering your electronic devices via energy collected off the human body. The prototype was created by Swedish designer Eddi Törnberg as part of his final year thesis at Beckmans College of Design, in Stockholm, and you will be pleased to know that it doesn’t mean you'd be required to pedal away while you work. In fact all you would have to do is move about your office as normal, sit in your chair and let the heat of your body do the rest. .. Continue Reading Self-fueled work station concept generates energy while you sit
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-07-05 20:47:18 UTC
Ontario's Green Sun Rising has launched a Solar Bench that provides some welcome relief from the heat of the sun for mobile device users, while also offering to keep batteries topped up via flexible solar panels installed on the roof... Continue Reading Grab some shade and charge your tech under a Solar Bench
When Hulger launched a designer CFL called the Plumen, most of the design world went crazy for the product. So perhaps it will be with the new Nature LED bulb by JUSTLED. The bulb was on display at Dwell on Design, to the excitement of certain design blogs, and presents what could be the best way to go naked (or exposed) with a LED light bulb.
The award-winning Nature bulb is dimmable, outputs 300 lumens, and uses 4.5 watts of energy. It’s the equivalent of something less bright than a 40-watt incandescent, though the estimated life is expected to be around 40,000 hours (~40x the life of an incandescent).
I’ve emailed JUSTLED for more information including pricing and potential availability of the LED bulb in the United States. Upon hearing back from them, I’ll update this article.
Meet Evan Krāchman, a Sony marketing manager who wanted to try his hand at a bit of engineering--and was given the green light from management to do so.
Evan Krāchman is the marketing manager for surgical products and new business development for Sony. Despite being far removed from Sony’s engineering division, Krāchman spotted a need for a low-cost telemedicine solution in hospitals and nursing facilities, inspired by his own conversations in the field with health care professionals. He developed Sony’s MD2GO Remote HD IP Camera System, which launched in 2011 and is currently being used in a pilot study in a Wisconsin nursing facility not easily accessible to the area’s doctors.
FAST COMPANY How’d you come up with the idea for MD2GO?
EVAN KRACHMAN: I was exhibiting Sony technology for the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. One of our other divisions had developed a pan/tilt/zoom camera that looked interesting, so I brought it to show it off. The surgeons came and were amazed at the image quality and ease of use, and I started to think, “How do I bring this into the hospital?” I decided, if you could put it on a stand, basically you could bring it into any room. I made a messy, hand-built prototype in my cubicle. I took it to a hospital, and the chief of surgery loved it.
You’re a marketing guy, not an engineer. With parts strewn around your cubicle, did anyone ever say to you, “Evan, that’s not your job?”
Traditionally we rely on Japan to build our products. I’m always looking for ways to improve workflow in the operating room. If you improve workflow, you improve patient care. It’s not a traditional role. Nobody said, “Why don’t you go do this?” I just went and did it because I thought it was a great idea, and I got support from the upper management to go for it. I created a PowerPoint presentation incorporating the feedback I had on the device from the field, and everyone understood this was an important device for Sony to move forward with.
As a marketing guy you spend a lot of time interacting with Sony’s customers. Did that give you a unique perspective into what they needed and wanted in a product?
It’s important to listen to the customer, to take their ideas, and to see if we can implement them in future products. Steve Jobs was very anti- the voice of the consumer. But in the medical world, with the doctors and nurses--I’m going to make a joke here--you have to make something easy enough for a doctor to use. I think that being in the field, being in the OR, watching how the product is actually used, does make a big difference for us. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in an operating room talking to surgeons, and I’ll scratch my head and say, “Why are you using this system when this other system is superior?” And the surgeon will turn around and say, “The nurses can’t figure it out. They want the most simple, easy-to-use system.” We keep that in mind. If you come up with the greatest idea, but it’s hard to use, it’ll get stuck in the closet.
Do you have an engineering background? How does a marketing guy come up with product ideas?
I’ve always been a tinkerer. My dad was an optometrist, and I developed a video preview system for him, back in the days of reel-to-reel black-and-white video tape. When you’re trying on glasses, you can’t see what you look like, so I convinced him to buy a system so patients could record themselves and then play back what they look like trying on glasses. I’ve always liked developing things to help people.
Does your cubicle still look like a workshop?
It sort of does. We’re in development of version two of MD2GO, based on customer feedback.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
For more from the Fast Talk interview series, click here. Know someone who'd make a good Fast Talk subject? Mention it to David Zax.
by: Ecofriend, 2012-07-05 09:50:34 UTC
Asmita Prasad:
Recycled shipping containers are one of the most popular choices for people who want to incorporate green elements in their pre-fab homes and offices. However, not a lot of people have tried sticking a shipping container on top of a truck chassis. Neither have a lot of people tried to make the strange combo work as a mobile pizza joint! And that is precisely why the Del Popolo mobile pizzeria garners such kudos from us. Custom designed by, er, restaurant owner Jon Darsky, the mobile pizza joint turns the food truck business classy and eco friendly.
Stunning mobile pizzeria made from recycled shipping
The mobile pizza place is fashioned using a truck and a 20-foot transatlantic shipping container which has been modified and repurposed with a kitchen. The stunning food joint also features a stunning glass wall on one side that allows customers and the general public to peep inside Del Popolo. The stylish pizza truck also features an Italian-made traditional wood-fired oven weighing over 5,000 lbs since Darsky wanted to bring the taste of authentic Neapolitan-inspired rustic pizza to customers on the street. It took Darsky $180,000 to build Del Popolo.
Stunning mobile pizzeria made from recycled shipping
The oven reaches temperatures around 800 degrees and is situated in the second level in the restaurant on wheels. The lower level features a special rack from which the pies are delivered to the customers and also a place for the cashier to accept charges for the fresh-baked pizzas. The rustic oven bakes pies in a mere 60 seconds.
Stunning mobile pizzeria made from recycled shipping
Currently, Del Popolo offers a choice of three pizzas- a braised rapini, spicy salami, red onion, chili oil and Mozzarella pizza costing $14; a grana padano, basil, ricotta and fresh mozzarella pie costing $11; and a basil, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, fresh mozzarella and tomato pizza costing $10.
Stunning mobile pizzeria made from recycled shipping
We’re not sure where environmental authorities in Naples stand on the emission created by wood-fired pizza oven and how much fossil fuel the mobile pizza joint burns while making food runs in the city, but the super-green joint appears to be committed to keeping their operations as clean and organic as possible. For now, Del Popolo sources its ingredients from smaller, generational producers in the area which means their pizza offers one of the most authentic flavors in the area.
Stunning mobile pizzeria made from recycled shipping
by: Ecofriend, 2012-07-06 12:45:58 UTC
Asmita Prasad:
For residents of third world countries, access to regular water and grid electricity remains sporadic. Even though the supply of clean drinking water has improved greatly with people tapping into ground water using bore wells, the supply of constant electricity remains elusive and many people are doomed to fight the dark of the night using oil-lit lamps or use the limited power a battery backup can provide. For the underprivileged population in places like Africa, designer Ryan Jongwoo Choi has designed the ES Pipe Waterwheel concept which has the ability to turn regular plumbing into a mini hydroelectric generator.
ES Pipe Waterwheel concept
ES Pipe Waterwheel concept
One of the finalists at the 2012 IDEA award (International Design Excellence Award), the concept calls for a special intermediate plumbing fixture that can be attached to regular plumbing pipes.
ES Pipe Waterwheel concept
Each time the tap is turned on, the flow of water through the pipe passes through the installed waterwheel which turns the Kinect energy from the flowing water into electricity that can be used to power light bulbs.
ES Pipe Waterwheel concept
The installation generates clean power and only utilizes the energy created by the flow of water which is otherwise untapped. The easy to install and easy to detach waterwheel stores the power in a battery and the user can easily detach the gizmo and use the portable light wherever it is needed.
ES Pipe Waterwheel concept
The ES Pipe Waterwheel concept can also be used with hoses to make the process of installing and uninstalling more convenient.
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2012-07-03 12:15:00 UTC the chair easily transforms from chair to table, or bed, perfect for relaxation, entertainment and recreation. read more
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You’re a marketing guy, not an engineer. With parts strewn around your cubicle, did anyone ever say to you, “Evan, that’s not your job?”
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