Design

The Longreach buoyancy bazooka designed by Samuel Adeloju has been chosen as this year's winner of the James Dyson Award competition. The system shoots an emergency aid out to those at risk of drowning while the emergency services ready the rescue proper. Once the aid hits water it rapidly expands to help keep the victim afloat. The SeaKettle desalination life raft and the REAX re-animation kit have taken the runner-up prizes. Read More

As laptop computers continue to shrink in size and mobile phones become more and more powerful, can it be that long before the two merge into a device with the portability of a mobile phone and the functionality of a laptop? While it is just a matter of time before the power of a fully-fledged PC can be crammed inside a device the size of a mobile phone, our fingers aren't getting any smaller so overcoming the problems of interacting with such a small device will require some creative thinking. Creative thinking like that of designer Billy May who has come up with a mobile phone concept called the “Seabird” that is designed to address some of the frustrations people face when using such physically small devices. Read More

The Electrolux Design Lab 2010 saw more than 1,300 entries submitted from students in more than 50 countries, but in the end, there can be only one. This year the title goes to Peter Alwin from the National Institute of Design in India for his entry, The Snail. In taking first prize, Alwin will receive 5,000 euro (approx. US$6,700) and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Read More

The wait is almost over. From close to 500 entries representing 18 countries, the judges in this year's James Dyson Award competition are now pawing over the final 15 projects. Amongst the finalists are reader favorites as well as projects not yet featured in Gizmag. So, let's take one last look at all of the designs that have impressed the panel of experts, ahead of the winner being announced in early October. Read More

We're all aware of how annoying a tangled mass of electrical wires can be. Fortunately, a research effort from Fujitsu is tackling the problem at its very source. During a conference held in the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers at Osaka Prefecture University, the Japanese electronics giant announced a major step in developing a wireless recharging technology that can work simultaneously with multiple portable devices. Read More

Can you feel the mounting tension? The judges for the James Dyson Award 2010 have now revealed the competition's semi-finalists. Entries from 18 countries have been whittled down to just 20 items, some of which we've seen before in Gizmag and others which may be new to you. Most of the remaining projects now benefit from a short video overview, so let's have a quick look at some we haven't yet featured. Read More

The jury has wielded the axe on the 25 semi-finalists in the Electrolux Design Lab competition, leaving just eight finalists from the original 1,300 entries to battle it out for the prize of a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center and 5,000 Euros (approx. US$6,350). The 2010 brief asked industrial design students to consider how people will prepare and store food, wash clothes, and do dishes in the homes of 2050, when 74 percent of the global population are predicted to live in an urban environment. Let’s take a look at the lucky eight entries vying for the title. Read More

If you're into windsurfing, you'll most likely be familiar with the NeilPryde brand. Now the company is taking a step in another direction by diving into the high-performance road bicycle market. Designed in partnership with BMW's DesignworksUSA, the result is a highly aerodynamic machine developed from extensive wind-tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamic modeling that makes use of complex – and very distinctive – aerofoil cross-sections in the carbon fiber frame and forks, while weighing in at as little as 6.75 kg. Slick in more than just looks! Read More

The Ostoure super-naked motorcycle concept is Iranian designer Mohammad Reza Shojaie's take on the street muscle bike of the future. The concept draws inspiration from ancient Persian engravings, combining these with cutting-edge design elements and some high-tech trimmings such as two-wheel drive and an in-helmet heads-up display. Read More