Yanko Design » Technology

Relish The Sound Of Silence

Radhika Seth — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:10:31 +0000

The hectic fast-pace life that we lead makes us accustomed to many sounds and vibrations that literally become a part of our existence. Sounds of chirping birds and scampering squirrels may be alien but a flying jet or sirens make us comfortable. Something is wrong in this equation and if getting back to the roots (better still-meditation), is what we desire, then blocking out all external noises and channeling our inner peace is what we should be looking at. Ecocoon is just for that! It effectively blocks out “Incoming acoustic stimuli” and gets you more attuned to your inner being. Zen Bliss shall we say?

Designer: designaffairs STUDIO

The Underwear Washing Machine

Chris Burns — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:01:51 +0000

Reusing water is what’s best for underwear. And if you don’t wear underwear, you probably know someone who does. Seriously basically everyone wears underwear. And most of those people have clean underwear on, or at least underwear that was clean when they put them on. Why? Because they ALL use this machine, every single one of them. It’s called the “Mr. Klein” and it uses reused, reusable water.

Put it wherever you want because it doesn’t need a restrictive hose comin on into it. It’s all transportable. It uses the water, filters the water, then uses that water again. And you know you SHOULD be washing your underwear regularly so you’d better get on top of this.

Designer: Yoon Kisang

All I Ever Want Is The Smartbook To Be Real

Radhika Seth — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:30:13 +0000

And then I’m ready to go to Geek Heaven! One of the reasons why devices like iPad and other tablets exist is to satisfy this urge in us to stay connected to the web world. Latest touchscreen phone also carry the same incentive, but somehow both the devices have one flaw: tablets lack an external keyboard and phones lack the screen real estate. To bridge the gap we have the really innovative Smartbook; a Smartphone that flips open to become a QWRTY keyboard and syncs with its personalized PC Tablet.

Designers: In-oh Yoo & Sun-woong Oh for Metatrend Institute

Replicating Guitar Reality

Chris Burns — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:18:07 +0000

I would like, if I may, to take you… on a strange journey. Actually on a weird, wild, perhaps futuristic guitar trip. What we’re dealing with here is an electric guitar that the designer reports has all the pros of electric sound with none of the downsides of a non-analog. Pickups and frets with digital imputs which work on a MIDI-signal that’s adaptable to replicate any guitar and amp setup. And what’s weird about that? No strings – but your fingers wont believe it.

The touch sensitive neck analyses finger positions, while liquid micro-channels bulge from the surface to create variable fret positioning while “piezo-electric actuators emulate frequencies of vibration corresponding the the played note.” And what the heck would that mean to me, you might ask? The brain shall then recognize these frequencies through your fingertips, reporting the same sensation you’d feel if you were playing physical strings.

Whaaaat?! This sounds amazing. I demand one instantly.

Designer: Anton Weichselbraun

Deep Sea Exploring

Long Tran — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:14:17 +0000

Fluke is a diving robot designed for the deep abyss. The data collected serves to deepen our understanding of the ocean as an ecosystem. The research probes are equipped with flexible, pressure-resistant carriers suitable for holding various sensors in order to prepare for the respective missions. Extremely effective and featuring reduced energy consumption, the low-complexity drive system concept is based on the movements of a fish and can be manufactured affordably.

Designers: Ralf Kittmann & Annalisa Koch

Projecting With OO

Radhika Seth — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:47:04 +0000

Built from semi monocoque carbon fiber, the durable OO wireless projector is a part of the GEO series from designer David Riesenberg. As he explains, the projector displays high definition (1080p) data via WiFi or internal SSD storage and works independently from any wire for up to 3 hours. It does rely on its internal Li-Ion battery for some support but hooks up to any power source (via a single wire), should the need arise. Thanks to the combo of WiFi and internal storage, OO doubles up as an extender/duplicator of an external display or as a wireless media projector/streamer with built in decoding capabilities.

Manipulating the stance of the projector is easy, thanks to its three independently articulated legs. And to work it like magic, a fully touchscreen remote come in handy, however it can work without the remote in extender/duplicator mode after pre configuration.

Designer: David Riesenberg

OO – High Definition Wireless Projector from David Riesenberg on Vimeo.

Entertain Yourself: Jamo A 804 Speakers

Long Tran — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:27:44 +0000

In part 1 of our Entertain Yourself series we took a look at the Sony BRAVIA NX800 3D HDTV. It’s our pick for amazing picture quality, industrial design, and packs a wallop of future proof technologies to take you far beyond 2010. Tho the built-in speakers are a wonder in themselves we wanted dedicated speakers. Last year we came across the Jamo A 804 and have been in love ever since.

A beautiful television demands an equally beautiful speaker system. If you take a look at what’s available on the market, speakers are either 80’s industrial boxes or beautifully crafted modern exercises. The former is all performance with no thought to design and the latter is just the opposite, too much design with subpar acoustics. Is there a happy medium?

Take one look at the A 804 – it’s gorgeous! The piano black finish is accented with black leather; fluidic yet technical in appearance. The size is dominating but well suited to Sony’s new monolithic design aesthetic. It’s absolutely stunning and only enhances the entertainment area. Speakers don’t have to be hidden. They can be proudly displayed and the A 804 is more than capable of holding its own amongst the best hardware makers and designers in the industry.

Prior to installing the A 804, we were using a Yamaha Sound Bar which we LOVE. The simulated 5.1 audio system is just the ticket for something better than stereo. The A 804 can function as a single, double, or a full on 5+ speaker setup and it’s the versatility that’ll make any audio guru happy. Unlike other speaker systems, you don’t need a full blown out package to get massive sound. We only have two A 804’s and a subwoofer and we’re more than elated. You will need a receiver to drive the speakers. We’re using a Pioneer model but even when hooked up to a small Denon unit, the sound was full, crisp, and balanced between the high, mids, and lows.

The A 804 is a 3-way, bassreflex speaker. The rigid cabinet constructed from high-gloss, lacquered aluminum, steel and high-density polymer results in a stable, non-resonant cabinet with very clean sound reproduction. One of the secrets of the A 804 lies in its flow-optimized bass port, which delivers extremely clean bass, even at high volume. The silk dome midrange/tweeter is a Jamo developed co-axial unit featuring WaveGuide technology. The clever three-way construction of the A 804 produces a perfect sound dispersion pattern, giving you maximum freedom when positioning your flatscreen, surround system and sofa. Its hard to visualize but sit anywhere around the TV and you never hear the sound drop off. It’s continuous and rich from the farthest corner of our seating arrangement. Sitting dead center is no longer the hottest seat in the house. Everyone gets to enjoy the almost pliable audio experience.

Designer: Jamo (Buy it here)

Pendolo for Listening to Pendulum

Chris Burns — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:02:44 +0000

Have you heard of the “band” Pendulum? They’re totally insane. You could listen to them on these. These are super speakers. Super speakers indeed. Just look at them! It’s a 2 way loudspeaker system inspired by the sounds they’re about to play. The woofer is shaped to a sphere, while the acoustic base is a horn shape. One located above the other with the tweeter on top. The sound shall flow naturally!

The designer of this project describes this as a user sensation project, as it’s meant to give the user the sensation of a full volume speaker when the actual volume is actually much smaller than it seems.

What you see is what you hear. Wowies.

Designer: Omer Sagiv

Solar Power Spikes for Plants

Chris Burns — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:01:58 +0000

Literally listed as a “solar powered gardener wannabee helper.” It is a guide for any gardener on a sort of small garden (or potentially giant garden) project that needs a little bit more than eyeballing. It’s a set of spikes you jab into the ground, each of them powered by the sun, each of them made to relay information to you about the moisture and nutrient levels of the soil, as well as sun exposure and temperatures the plants are receiving.

It’s called the “Plant Mate” and it’ll make your green thumb feel like it’s surrounded by bright, lovely lights! This mate works in concert with your phone (or tiny, handheld computer) using existing “smart phone technology” for data input and output.

Mathematic! Plant! Future!

Designers: Tom Dooley, Mansour Ourasanah, and Mathieu Turpault

Free Diving is a Dangerous Sport

Long Tran — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:29:42 +0000

And yet more and more people are doing it. Why people why?!?! Listen, we weren’t meant to be underwater. The fact that our cell walls start to explode and oxygen levels deplete in a few minutes should be half a clue that mother nature didn’t design us to be here. Then again, nature didn’t design us to fly nor sit at the computer blogging all day so I digress. If you love free diving, then you may need the D-eepdive gadget.

There’s two bits to this setup. Both are wristwatches but one monitors the state of the free diver – the one plunging head first into the abyss on a single breath. The other device receives information about free diver so should he/she suffer from hypoxia and suddenly faint (apparently very common in this extreme sport), the safety or control diver can save the day. The whole thing works via Bluetooth and nanotechnology. Don’t ask me how – the designer doesn’t really explain other than suggesting the chip inside each device requires nanotech to work.

Designers: Murat Ozveri & Anil Dincer For Design Quadro