Jonathan Fincher
Solar power may provide a clean, abundant source of energy, but we know the sun's rays are capable of much, much more. Aside from generating electricity, we've seen solar energy harnessed to produce drinkable water as well, so why not combine the two processes into one system? That's what IBM and its collaborators are hoping to do with an affordable High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system that uses cooling technology from supercomputers to harvest solar energy more efficiently and produce purified water at the same time. Read More
If you've ever perused the rubber stamp section of a crafts store, then you know how pricey it would be to purchase just a handful of stamps, which could only print a limited number of images. That's why some intrepid designers at Quirky developed the Pixit, a reusable rubber stamp kit that allows you to create your own design and then change it to a completely different one whenever you want. Read More
Over the years, we've seen a number of worthy attempts at turning our clothes into electronic instruments, from drum kits built into shirts and pants to a motion-activated MIDI controller concealed in a jacket. The latest addition to the wearable instrument ensemble is "Drop The Beat" from industrial design student Wesley Chau, a vest outfitted with pads for a drum kit that musicians can rearrange and reprogram to their liking. Read More
3D printers have been a hit with consumers for several years now, but designing anything for them still requires some basic knowledge of 3D modeling software. Otherwise, you're stuck just building whatever designs you can find online. With Doodle3D, you can draw simple 2D sketches on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, and then send them to a 3D printer to turn them into physical objects. Read More
Sending messages in bottles has been around since at least the Ancient Greeks, but it's doubtful that anyone back then sent out a bottle quite like this. As part of a promotional campaign, Solo, a soft drink company based in Norway, recently built an 8-meter (26-foot) tall replica soda bottle outfitted with solar panels, a camera, and tracking technology and set it adrift in the ocean. Read More
When it comes to eReaders, Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble's Nook tend to get the most attention, but Kobo has put out a fair share of impressive e-book readers as well. The company recently revealed its latest device, the Aura HD, which features a 1440 x 1080 resolution on a 265 dpi screen, making it the highest resolution eReader available. Read More
If you spend long hours in front of a computer on a regular basis, chances are your head has found a not-so-comfortable resting place on the keyboard at some point. Now Italian design group, ZO_loft, has devised a keyboard especially for relaxing that won't leave an imprint on your face or your screen filled with gibberish. The QWERTY sofa concept is modeled after a computer keyboard and can be customized by adjusting each "key's" height. Read More
PowerWINDows aims to rethink the wind turbine
Wind farms may be hitting the big time, but that hasn't deterred inventors and technologists from tinkering, or even reinventing, the turbine itself. In the past few months we've seen wind energy systems that use discs attached to hydraulics and even charged water droplets, but how about skyscrapers outfitted with rotating window panels? This is the idea behind the University of Wollongong's PowerWINDows concept, a modular wind turbine designed to have less of an impact on the surrounding environment. Read More
Heineken is introducing a new twist on the ordinary beer bottle with the Heineken Ignite, which uses LEDs and wireless sensors to light up when two bottles are clinked together and flashes in time with music. Read More
For the most part, printing out an image on an inkjet printer is a pretty mundane task – unless you add fire of course. That's exactly what Lucien Langton, a student at ECAL (Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne), did when he built the FireWriter, a handheld printer that burns pictures onto wood with a torch, while an optical sensor keeps track of the image's positioning. Read More
