Tag Archives: Design

Building A Drone Umbrella: The Future Of Staying Dry

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In the future, will we all have drone umbrellas autonomously follow us, hovering just above our heads to shelter us from the rain? Maybe! But Youtuber I Build Stuff couldn’t wait for the future, so he took matters into his own hands and constructed his own drone umbrella. While this one doesn’t autonomously follow its user, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. That step being one out of the rain, just to be clear.

After hand drawing the design, I Build Stuff then reproducing it in CAD, and the parts were 3D printed. The design is a large quadrocopter, with each rotor on a long arm to allow enough space for an umbrella to fit between them.

The design works well, although it appears any amount of wind causes the umbrella to quickly start drifting away. And rain and wind DO go hand in hand. With enough interest in the project, I Build Stuff says he’ll add a camera to the dronebrella and write the code to track his movement so it can autonomously follow him. This will also help the drone compensate for wind by trying to constantly stay above him. That’s a good idea. Another good idea? Adding some safety cages around those spinning blades right above your head.

[via TechEBlog]

Clicks iPhone Attachment Adds A Physical Keyboard

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Do you miss having a tactile, physical keyboard on your phone? Then set your time machine dial to 2006. Or you can buy Clicks, an iPhone attachment that adds a physical keyboard to the bottom of your phone. In addition to allowing more screen real estate while in use, the keyboard also allows shortcuts and dedicated keys. My productivity is going to skyrocket!

Billed as the first ‘creator’s keyboard’, the Clicks is currently available for iPhone models 14 Pro and 15 Pro ($139), and 15 Pro Max ($159) in two colors: BumbleeBee (yellow) and London Sky (dark grey). The keyboard features a backlight that can be toggled on and off for night use, and appears to make your phone long enough to pass as a handheld metal detector. That alone is worth the price in my opinion.

Make more space for apps and content by moving the keyboard off your screen….Real keys make typing feel so natural, you can tackle more tasks than ever on iPhone. …Fly through tasks with keyboard shortcuts and dedicated keys that give you ultimate control of your phone.

Admittedly, I do miss having a real keyboard on my phone. Of course, I also miss owning a pager. They say technology is cyclical, will both keyboarded phones and pagers make a comeback? I can dream, can’t I?

[via LaughingSquid]

Engineer 3D Prints A Colorful, Functional Toilet

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Because great ideas come in all shapes and sizes (and colors), Youtuber Emily The Engineer decided to take it upon herself to see if she could 3D print a functional toilet. Could she? SPOILER: Yes– yes, she could. And I hope that this colorful commode serves as a reminder to us all that if you try hard and believe in yourself, anything is possible. Or you can at least 3D print yourself a toilet.

Due to the size of the toilet, the unit had to be split into numerous blocks for individual printing, and Emily took that opportunity to print the blocks in various fun colors. The result is what appears to be a LEGO toilet, or a Mondrian painting. My bathroom demands it!

Emily attached all the parts to one another using 3D plastic glue and a soldering iron to fuse where necessary. Even the tank float, flapper, and flushing mechanism are 3D printed, although a handful of metal nuts and bolts were required to connect everything.

Unfortunately, after testing, it appeared her design wasn’t strong enough to be attached to a traditional indoor plumbing system. So what did she do? What anybody would — attached wheels, armrests, smartphone charger, cup holders, and added a bidet. Boom — mobile toilet! Goodbye porta-potty, hello sporta-potty!

[via TechEBlog]

XBox Series S Toaster: When You Like Your Games Burnt

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Because there’s probably a diehard XBox fan out there that’s always dreamed of an XBox themed toaster, the gaming giant decided to make their dream a reality with this XBox Series S 2 Slice Toaster. The toaster looks just like the gaming console, and even toasts the XBox logo right on your bread! Mmmm, XBread. Breakfast is a game I will always play.

The unit features an extra wide bread receptacle capable of accommodating bagels, frozen waffles, Texas toast, and English muffins, and has 6 browning settings to perfectly dial in your level of burntness. Me? I like my toast a nice medium brown, right in the middle between raw bread and carbonized.

Is Sony going to follow suit with a Playstation toaster? One can only hope. Although if I had any say in the matter I’d suggest they make it an air fryer instead. Those things are magic! Cooking salmon? Reheating pizza? They can do it all! My actual Playstation can’t even make a decent grilled cheese.

[via TheVerge]

Indiana Jones Golden Idol Temple Wall Trap Replicas

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Inspired by the carved faces that fire darts at Indy and Satipo as they try to exit the temple after setting off the golden idol’s booby traps, these wall art blocks from Regal Robot are perfect for the Indiana Jones-themed room in your own home. You do have an Indiana Jones room, right? Well, if not, these will make the perfect start.

Each block measures approximately 15″ square and is made in the U.S. using hand-painted polyurethane resin. That quality doesn’t come cheap, though — an individual square will set you back $375. Yikes! I might have to steal and sell some ancient artifacts just to be able to afford one.

A few dozen of these on the walls, along with some cobwebs, spike pits, and a giant rolling boulder replica, and your Indiana Jones room will be complete! What a place to watch the movies that will be! Please, just remind me about the spike pits whenever I get up for snacks or a bathroom break.

[via TheAwesomer]

Nissan Skyline Moist Tissue Box Looks Fast & Furious

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Styled after the late-90’s R-34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, this moist tissue holder is hands down the fastest-looking tissue box I’ve ever seen. Hopefully, it’s not so fast I can’t grab a tissue, though, or I will have to wipe my hands on my shirt.

An officially Nissan licensed product, the mini Skyline is available with Sonic Silver, Bayside Blue, and Black Pearl exterior paint and costs ¥6,600 (~$47) from Camshop.jp before shipping from Japan. So, it’s not exactly the cheapest tissue box. But can you really put a price on a tissue box that looks ready to speed off your coffee table and crash onto the floor?

The car measures a respectable 29cm x 11cm x 8cm (11.5″ x 4.5″ x 3″) and fits most standard-size boxes of moist tissues. The only thing that would make it better is if it produced engine revving or tire squealing noises whenever you pulled a tissue from it. They really should have made that a factory option.

[via TechEBlog]

Man Constructs Stunning Rubber Band Firing Wooden Minigun

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The brainchild of Youtuber GenericWoodworking, this electric-powered wooden minigun shoots rubber bands and sets off cap gun caps as it fires them for extra loud sound effects. It probably goes without saying, but this man will not be allowed to participate in my next rubber band gunfight. Finger guns only!

Since the gun is electric-powered, it’s not entirely wooden and uses parts from a lawn trimmer and belt sander for its drive mechanisms. Its maker did try to make everything he possibly could out of wood, though, including some of the gun’s larger gears.

The minigun took over 300 hours to construct, and the man behind Generic Woodworking suffered numerous setbacks. Me? If I hit a single setback, I abandon the entire project. Sure, that’s led me to never actually finish any project, but think of all the hours and aggravation I’ve saved myself.


[via TheAwesomer]

Cactus Plunger and Toilet Bowl Brush: Howdy Do, Partner?

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Because a wild west themed bathroom is only as good as its plunger and toilet brush set, ALLOBUB is selling this cactus duo on Amazon (affiliate link) to really tie your desert-inspired baño together. I love it. Now I just need a toilet paper holder that looks like a revolver and a sign above it for the OK Corral, and my guest bathroom will be complete.

The cactus plunger and toilet bowl brush are the same size as the commonly used non-cactus version, the plunger features an extendable flange for tough plunging jobs, and the brush’s head can be screwed off and replaced with a new one if the need arises. That’s a nice feature because I do plan on keeping these for life.

I’ve always been more of a seashore-themed bathroom kind of guy, but I must admit the Wild West is a tempting theme. Cowboys, horses, saloons – the possibilities are practically limitless. As far as I can see, the only problem with a Wild West-themed bathroom is convincing my wife it’s a good idea. That sounds like an uphill battle, and possibly straight up.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Arcade Cabinets Chiseled from Marble

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Available from artist Harold Sangouard (aka Harow), ARCADIA Arcade Cabinets are custom-made gaming cabinets with finishes chiseled from Calacatta marble. The photos here are just AI renders, but allegedly, Harold and team will chisel you a real one starting at least $100,000 and with a year lead time. Or maybe he’ll just take your money and run. At least, that’s what I would do.

If you had to pick an arcade game to be made in marble, what would you choose? That’s a tough call. I’d say my first choice would probably be Joust. Runners up include Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. You know what, I’ll take all three. I just can’t have them upstairs or they will rip through the floor and crash into the kitchen.

Could you imagine an arcade where all the machines are made of marble? I doubt it would just cost a quarter to play them. They’d probably all take $100 bills, and I do not have that kind of money. The only kind of money I have jingles when I walk.

 

 

 

 

[via The Awesomer]

Dark Lord Sauron Headphones Stand: The One Stand

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Inspired by the look of Sauron’s helmet in the Lord of the Rings movies, Etsy seller SlantedDesigns has created this headphone stand in the likeness of the dark lord. The 3D-printed head can hold up to two pairs of headphones (one between the three front spikes and middle two, and one between the two middle and rear spikes) and is available in a variety of colors and finishes to compliment your existing LOTR home decor.

Is this the headphone stand for you? Well, it is the ONE stand. I’m not sure everyone is ready to wield all that power, though. At least not anybody I know; they’d all do a terrible job at ruling. Most can’t even keep their houses clean; imagine them trying to govern all of Middle Earth!

Now all I need is an Eye of Sauron Playstation controller stand, and my Lord of the Rings gaming accessory holder collection will be complete. Does somebody already make one of those? I wouldn’t be surprised. About anything, really, except waking up in the morning actually feeling rested.