SpaceClaim Touches a 3D Nerve

SpaceClaim Touches a 3D Nerve
By Sanderson22. 七月 2009 13:52
There’s fresh evidence that computer mice are about to join the endangered species list. SpaceClaim says its 3D Direct Modeling software will be compatible with Windows Touch, due out this fall with the release of Windows 7.

SpaceClaim’s 3D Direct Modeling solutions includes SpaceClaim Engineer, a modeling and simulation tool, and SpaceClaim Style for conceptual design, will both run in the touch environment. On the hardware side it will support several multi-touch hardware tools that will use Windows 7, including 3M, N-trig, HP, Dell, and Lenovo.

The company isn’t releasing any Beta test versions yet. But the system works as effectively as in this promo video, computer mice should be afraid … be very afraid.

Did You Remember The Pork Cartridge?

Did You Remember The Pork Cartridge?
By Kkelly26. 八月 2009 09:02
As if figuring out the proper print cartridge for your home computer isn’t difficult enough, along comes Electrolux with: the 3D molecular food printer. Yes, you read that correctly.

As part of the company’s annual Design Lab competition, undergrad and graduate industrial design students are tasked with coming up with home appliance inventions that are likely to take root in the next 90 years.

Which brings us to one of the more interesting finalists, the Moléculaire, a CNC food printer that prepares everything from basic to complex food recipes using layering printing techniques to create 2- and 3-dimensional foods. The secret is the ability to use small food particles from a multitude of ingredients. Designed by Nico Kläber at the Köln International Schools of Design in Germany, Molèculaire assures every meal will taste great, albeit somewhat geometric. So is cartridge number 45 peas or green beans?

ION Electrifies Sportbike World

ION Electrifies Sportbike World
By Kkelly8. 九月 2009 09:17
Diehard motorcycle riders will tell you there’s nothing like the feeling of having a V-twin between your thighs while carving through a back-country road, but when you have something as sexy as Tom Miceli’s ION electric sportbike you may be ready to rethink that power only comes from an internal combustion engine.

While earning his BS in Industrial Design at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Miceli dedicated one semester to developing and designing the ION on a “minimal” budget. The results are astounding: the 84 volt lithium battery-powered bike uses an AC motor that generates 105 lb.-ft. of torque and 46 hp with regenerative braking. Range is estimated at 60 miles with a top speed of 81 mph.

Miceli displayed the bike at the Southern Energy and Environment Expo 2009…and actually took it out for a spin, where he called it “kinda scary.” Just watch the video to see what he’s talking about:

Automist Wins Dyson Award

Automist Wins Dyson Award
By Kkelly9. 九月 2009 13:17
While you may be familiar with James Dyson from his appearance in the vacuum cleaner commercial dissing four wheels in favor of the maneuverability of a giant ball, what you may not know is that he sponsors a design award, cleverly named the James Dyson Award. Participants are required to design a product that “solves a problem.” For this year’s award, more than 400 ideas were submitted by designers in 21 countries. The winner: Automist, a home water mist fire suppression system that can be integrated into any existing water tap. It was designed by two U.K. Royal College of Art students, Yusuf Muhammad and Paul Thomas, who had read that conventional home fire extinguishers are often misused or too slow to put the fire out. Their solution: use a wireless heat detector to trigger an under sink water pump to activate mist nozzles under the water tap when a fire is detected.

In addition to the name-brand honor, their ingenuity results in a £10,000 ($16,500) grant to fund development of the invention for commercialization, along with another £10,000 for the university.

solidThinking Harnesses Mother Nature’s Design Approach

solidThinking Harnesses Mother Nature’s Design Approach
By Kkelly16. 九月 2009 09:00
When it comes to shapes, there’s no better inspiration than nature. Whether its the bone structure of the human body or the shapes found in a spider web, the ability to mimic natural forms has been an almost-elusive task. solidThinking has come up with new software technology, called “morphogenesis,” that it says can mimic nature

Included as part of the 8.0 Inspired software package, morphogenesis takes initial shape definitions outlined by the designer and then “grows” the most efficient shapes around the initial structure. “With the debut of morphogenesis form generation, designers are provided with an environment to replicate biological growth processes in nature where structure develops and takes shape in response to environmental stimuli,” says James Dagg, vice president of software development at solidThinking.

The addition of morphogenesis also paves the way for designers to easily and cost-effectively modify forms without having to conduct complex computations, thereby permitting more experimentation.

Watch this video to see how morphogenesis can change the way you approach industrial design:

SketchBook Mobile

Autodesk: Yes, there’s an app for that
By Kkelly28. 九月 2009 14:47
On average, 6.6-million apps are downloaded from the Apple iTunes store every day.

That number may get a bump from designers, now that the Autodesk SketchBook Mobile is available for the iPhone and iTouch. Based on the paint engine that drive’s the full-blown SketchBook Pro, these portable versions—the there the free SketchBook Mobile X and the $2.99 SketchBook Mobile—that allow you to not only create back-of-the-napkin sketches, but even create usable art.

Upon hearing about the app at the annual IDSA conference last week, I immediately hit iTunes to download the free version and needless to say I was impressed. While the diminutive size of the iPhone screen provided some limitations in terms of developing detailed drawings for novice users like myself, several design professionals have already used the app to create some pretty cool stuff. What’s even better is that you can email copies of your ideas to friends and colleagues right from your iPhone.

Microsoft’s Mice Get Touchy

Microsoft’s Mice Get Touchy
By Kkelly6. 十月 2009 10:47
Those of you who haven’t been following the advent of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system are probably unaware that it incorporates multitouch technology, which recognizes more than one finger touch at a time. Yes, Apple’s already done that, we know. So in an effort to make this technology useful and distinctivel, Microsoft Research has developed a family of five mice that utilize it interesting ways, like being able to flick a cursor across the screen, or pinching to shrink photos. Yes, Apple. . . .

We could try to explain how each one works, but you’d probably much rather see them in action:

Say Goodbye to Training Wheels

Say Goodbye to Training Wheels
By Kkelly19. 十月 2009 09:16
It’s been a right of passage for generations of toddlers: the day when your parents break out the crescent wrench and take the training wheels off your bike. The day usually ends with success as you travel down the sidewalk balancing your two-wheeler with relative ease, but that usually comes after a few bruised and scraped knees or elbows. What if there was a way to skip the pain and move right to the reward?

A new innovation called the Gyrowheel has been designed to help make the ordeal of graduating from training wheels more enjoyable and less painful. The wheel replaces the traditional front spoked wheel with one packed with a spinning disc that uses a rechargeable battery pack to spin independently at various rates to stabilize the bike, even when it’s rider-less. Think of it as something similar to the way a Segway balances itself and you get the idea. The speed of the disc can be adjusted based on the comfort level of the rider.

The Gyrowheel will be available in early December, which is about the time when you might want to divest of your investment in Band-Aid stock.

Listen Up

With the exception of those people on infomericals with the big rigs on their heads, most people who use hearing aids prefer to be somewhat more discrete in their use, particularly in public. Consequently, some of these people have found themselves in awkward situations at social or business events because they didn’t want to have to go through the all-too-obvious and often-complicated volume-adjustment routine. So they simply agree and end up with. . .an anchovy pizza.

This issue formed the impetus behind the development of new “sweep” touch volume activation technology developed by design firm Stuart Karten Design and Starkey Laboratories for Starkey’s new S Series line of hearing aids.

The bottom half of the hearing aid is completely touch-activated, allowing for quick and easy volume adjustment. An upward sweep of the finger along the surface turns the volume up, while a downward sweep results in lower volume. A quick touch of the device switches operation between digital listening modes.

“By giving patients more control over their hearing aids, I hope we’re giving them a greater sense of freedom in their lives,” says Ron Pierce, SKD’s director of strategy and research. Finding a way to mix design and technology in a form that can make people’s lives easier should be the goal of every product developer.

Bike Storage 3.0

In Japan, where more than 18 million bicycles are sold per year to people who use them for daily transportation, even to and from work. Consequently, people-powered transport is one of the biggest growing sectors in the Japanese economy.

Having millions of bicycles on the streets daily means those bikes have to be parked somewhere. Traditional bike racks are an eyesore, not to mention the fact they leave bikes exposed to elements, and who wants to commute with a wet seat?


One town in Japan has come up with an innovative way to store bikes that’s both convenient and dry. The “bike tree” is a fully-automated storage system that can store up to 6,000 bikes in one location for a small monthly fee. The bikes are fitted with an electronic tag that transmits data to the tree. Once the bike is inserted into the retrieval slot, the tree recognizes the size and weight of the bike and then grabs it and places it in the rack system. When the owner wants to retrieve their bike, they simply swipe their mag stripe card through the reader and their bike is delivered to them in minutes. It’s interesting to watch the tree in action:

The Future of Musical Instruments?

The Future of Musical Instruments?
By GSV18. 十二月 2009 08:50


Or is it something that is going to cause a reboot of Thomas Dolby, Kraftwerk, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer?

It’s called the Eigenharp Alpha from Eigenlabs. It features 120 keys, 12 percussion keys, two strip controllers, a breath pipe, and even pedal inputs. And there is even what can be described as “disco lighting” up and down the neck.

The company’s creative director Richard Campbell calls it “The most expressive musical instrument ever made.” It is certainly one of the most digital. And it isn’t cheap: While it will be introduced in the U.S. next month, you can pick one up in the U.K. for £3950.

By the way, if you watch this video and get to about the nine-minute mark, the guy on the left is playing an instrument that Eigenharpers may not recognize. It’s called an “acoustic guitar.”

Fast Chinese Train Is, Well, Really Fast

Fast Chinese Train Is, Well, Really Fast
By GSV29. 十二月 2009 08:28
On December 26th, while you were, perhaps, in a long line at a department store trying to return that gift you’d received, a line that moved with all of the alacrity of a tired, wounded snail, a group of folks in China were setting a land-speed record.

The Harmony Express passenger train traveled between Guangzhou to Wuhan, a distance of some 1,100 km, in less than three hours, averaging 350 km/hr. According to a story in the Financial Times, this speed is significantly faster than that of the Japanese Shinkansen or the French TGV trains, which have a maximum service speed of 300 km/hr.

And the “fast” train in the U.S., the Acela, brings to mind the aforementioned snail—comparatively speaking—as it travels the 300 km between Boston and New York in 3.5 hours, for a speed of about 86 km/hr.

In the event that you want to see a fast train—labeled the “fastest”—check out this video which, as you’ll note from the fact that the guys are speaking French, is not the Harmony Express::

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