This Guy and His Partner Play Good Cop, Super Terrifying Robot Bad Cop [Concepts]
This is artist Jamie Martin's Cybernetic Autonomous Remote Barricade police robot, equipped with armor, impulse cannons, and smoke screens. If that sounds like a bad idea, Martin's one step ahead of you; he made this video of it going rogue: More
How Much Fancier Can This Palindromic, Kinetic Museum Sign Get? [Design]
Yeh, your local museum may think they're pretty fancy with their glowing Helvetica sign, but does it have revolving parts that turn into a mirrored palindrome? London's V&A museum is scoffing in the face of yours. More
The Mind Behind the Flying Car’s Design [Flying Cars]
As strange as it is to say, we really do live in a world with a flying car. And a few decades from now, when we're all ditching gridlock for the open skies, we can partly thank Jens Martin Skibsted. More
Some Say He Can Fly. All We Know Is, He’s Called The Stig Copter!
Here’s something you might have missed if you’re not in the UK. Top Gear is one of the most popular television programs in the world. With over 350 million viewers, it’s actually fairly surprising that there aren’t more licensed products out there. I guess James May could have his own line of “Captain Slow” sweaters, Hammond could sell hair products, and Clarkson.. Well, Clarkson could sell the Prius or something. At any rate, The Stig is one of the most popular (and enigmatic) cast members, and he’s finally got his own product.
Meet the Stig-Copter. Mini-helicopters are quite fun, and this product looks to be a pretty high tech version of the breed. The heli is based around an aluminum frame, it’s rechargeable, and it gives you about 8-15 minutes of flight time per charge. The body is based on the design of The Stig’s helmet, giving the helicopter almost supernatural cornering, and the ability to translate Morse code. Now for the bad news; you’ll have to order from the UK, and it’ll cost you about $60, before shipping.
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Some Say He Can Fly. All We Know Is, He’s Called The Stig Copter!
QingTing: Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Not content just to “kind of” look like Apple devices, QingTing AKA Dragonfly has basically ripped off Apple wholesale, stealing the design of three of its “flagship products” – shown here is the Q Pro – as well as their web design. Who says China can’t compete in the marketplace of stolen ideas?
You can check these morons out right here if only to get a “More gorgeous appearance” with a “more fashionable feeling.”
Their iMac knock-off costs about $450, which isn’t too shabby, and they even sell something called the QPad which, oddly enough, runs either the Q OS or the QT os, depending on who you ask. After all, who doesn’t want to “enjoy the new playing methods of computers?”
Continued here:
QingTing: Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
I Love This Tool Box
Sure, it doesn’t have nearly as many sizes of this and that as your regular suitcase-sized tool box, but it makes up for that in cuteness. I think you could still fit a few more in there, though. And a tape measure, too. Designed by Tim Oelker.
[via NotCot]
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I Love This Tool Box
Panasonic’s Headphones Packaging Trumps Even Apple’s [Design]
Must not buy these Panasonic RP-HJE 130 headphones for the packaging alone. Must...not...buy...headphones...[Coloribus via Scary Ideas via OhGizmo] More
Fluid Faucets Uses Penguins, Rainbows and Violins as Sinkspiration [Faucets]
We're no stranger to well-designed faucets here, but usually they're in homage to a Henry Moore sculpture or B&O design. Fluid Faucets is inspired by a completely different kettle of objects—as shown below in their comparison photos. More
Bone Black Jordan V.2 Grown Sneakers Unveiled
Just about everyone -- yes, even geeks -- should sport a nice pair of sneakers, whether it be for an outdoor activity or just going out with friends, and the bone black Jordan V.2 Grown fits the bill. Featuring "a clean, muted design, features a canvas-based upper and white vulcanized sole." By the end of September, you'll be able to pick these up in five different colors. Click here for more pictures of the bone black color and more. Video review after the break.
Within the design, the shoe salutes the original Air Jordan line without compromising its look. The foxing contains elements of the Air Jordan XX3, while an elephant print is seen on the shoes gum rubber outsole.
[via Solecollector]
Teaching kids electronics using wooden blocks
My friend Paul Marlier has a pretty fun gig at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. His job as a workshop specialist is to come up with new ways to teach science to children (and their parents!). Recently, he took a few minutes to explain his latest prototype, which is a set of wooden blocks with electronics on them that museum visitors can connect up in any way they like. The idea is that they can learn by trying out different things to see what happens. The blocks themselves are nothing more than squares of plywood with different components stuck to them, and finishing nails for binding posts that can be connected to using alligator clips. To run the activity, he sets them out on the table without instructions, and participants are invited to hook things up and see what happens.
Paul explained that he chose this simple design over commercial products because he wanted to emphasize that these are just parts that anyone could find and put together. So far, the blocks have met with great success, with some interesting results. His favorite moment of discovery was when an inquisitive child hooked a motor up to a battery, through a speaker- the result was an amplified version of the noise that the motor makes when running!
He's certainly not the first person to construct a setup like this, however I like the homebrew way in which it is made. I'm also a huge fan of the radically different switches that all do basically the same thing.
Have you ever built something similar? Have any tips for how to improve the design, or suggestions for cool components to include? There are more photos of the setup in my Flickr stream.