Disco balls were a staple of the clubbing scene from the 70s until 90s or until discos were not popular anymore. If you ask kids these days, they probably cannot tell you what an actual mirror ball looks like, unless they’re into all of these “nostalgic” things. Since we’re in a different era, the disco ball is also probably due for a comeback or even a rebirth.
Designer: Studio Élémentaires
For a design studio that has “Light + Movement” as its motto, you can expect a different kind of disco ball. Studio Élémentaires designed Flasher which looks like a modernist take on the disco ball, taking inspiration from the stage spotlights we see in concerts and plays. The movement of the light source adds to the kinetic and hypnotic beauty of this light fixture meant to light up stages and spaces.
Basically you get a large panel-like 25-light grid with 25 perforated discs. These discs move around in continuous motion but in different directions and timing. The lights flash continuously, appearing and disappearing “in vivid chiaroscuro contrast”. The panel itself has a monochromatic look and the high shine aluminum plates give it a shining appearance. There are also pulleys, belt paths, and bearings involved in the structure.
What the renders fail to show is the actual effect of this kinetic lighting on the space that it’s lighting. But I can just imagine that it is not for those that are affected with flashing strobe lights or even those that have vertigo.
We’ve seen our fair share of real-world exoskeletons that try to show how manual labor could be different in the future, even without the help of robots. True to the common image of these mechanical suits, these exoskeletons are often large, heavy armors that don’t trade comfort and flexibility for power, making them more tedious to use despite their advertised benefits. It doesn’t have to be like that, though, especially if you’re not aiming to lift heavy crates anyway. This exoskeleton, for example, doesn’t use batteries to move, making it better suited (no pun intended) for more recreational activities.
Exoskeletons, at least those that aren’t works of fiction, are often designed to allow feeble humans to perform extraordinary feats. In most cases, it’s to enable work that would otherwise be impossible for a normal human being to perform, like lifting heavy objects. Sure, a robot arm or forklift could probably do that, too, but those would lack the finesse that comes naturally to humans. At the same time, there will be places where heavy machinery won’t be able to squeeze into to get the job done.
On the flip side, those suits, or sometimes just legs, aren’t exactly the most comfortable or the easiest to wear. In addition to the weight of the metal parts themselves, the exoskeletons are weighed down even more by batteries and electric motors that make the parts move. While they might be more agile than some industrial machines, they aren’t exactly more graceful than their purely mechanical counterparts.
Skeletonics is different in almost all aspects. It isn’t designed to be an industrial working tool, though it could help you carry and move some heavy objects, too. It is, instead, designed to augment the fluidity and precision of human movement, allowing humans to be stronger and reach farther than they normally could without turning them into a mechanical Hulk. It is also meant to be lightweight and easy to use, thanks to having no batteries or parts that need electricity to function.
Instead of electricity-powered motors, Skeletonics uses your body’s own kinetic energy to move its own limbs. In a way, it mirrors your arms’ and legs’ movement but also adds a bit of strength and length to it, but you are literally the one in the driver’s seat. It’s the difference between reaching for an object with your hand and using a joystick to move a robotic arm instead. The drawback is that Skeletonics can’t exactly be used as something like power armor for heavy lifting, but it can gracefully swing a baseball bat better than those.
The exoskeletons are, after all, envisioned to be used for different applications, particularly what is being called “superhuman sports” or augmented sports. At the same time, however, it could also be an opportunity to give people with physical disabilities a chance to participate in those events because they could use their own bodies and the superhuman abilities they developed to drive these battery-free machines. Best of all, Skeletonics offers an alternative way to drive these exoskeletons, and hopefully, there will come a time when we won’t have to choose between that more sustainable technology and mechanical power.
Determined to win the costume contest at this year’s Halloween party? Look no further than the Skeletonics kinetic-energy powered exoskeleton – perfect for taking your Transformer costume to the next level. The next level being the 1st place pedestal at the costume contest, just so we’re clear. I can practically feel that $100 gift certificate to Spirit Halloween in my robotic hands!
Unlike some other exoskeletons, the Skeletonics relies on no outside power source, instead using a wearer’s kinetic energy to mirror their movements on a larger scale – including hand and finger movements like grasping. The whole thing stands approximately 9-feet tall and weighs only 88-pounds, making it easy to strap to the top of your car like you just bagged yourself a Decepticon.
The video demonstration really is impressive, considering the lack of an external power supply. Granted, the Skeletonics exoskeleton might not be capable of picking up a car or battling an alien queen like a Power Loader, but I really don’t want to be battling alien queens anyway – I just want to win a costume contest for once.
If you don’t always measure ingredients in the kitchen, you might want to get a scale that doesn’t take up space or even needs batteries when it comes time to use it.
There are many things we take for granted until we realize we need them, and they are nowhere to be found. That goes for pens, blank sheets of paper, working batteries, or kitchen scales. Of course, these are also easy to purchase and keep, but you might not always need them all the time. One kitchen scale is designed to stay out of the way when you don’t need it and just work when you do, without having to worry whether it still has a battery inside when you need it the most.
Kitchen scales come in all shapes, sizes, and designs, both the analog kind as well as more modern digital ones. In almost all cases, they take the same rectangular or circular plates that can take up precious shelf space. Digital scales, of course, also require power to function, mostly from batteries.
CASO’s Kitchen Ecostyle throws all that down the drain, so to speak. You might not even recognize it as a kitchen scale because of its unconventional design. It looks almost like a fat rectangular compass or protractor, with one leg that fans out to the side. This creates a gap where you can securely place a bowl that is too big to balance on the scale’s closed form safely.
Moving that leg also serves another purpose, though. It generates kinetic energy that is used to power the digital scale, at least for a short period. Not only will you no longer have to worry about batteries, but you also won’t have to be afraid of the batteries corroding over time when not in use. You can simply use the scale and then stow it away in a drawer or on some shelf without having to worry about a potential fire or chemical hazard in your kitchen.
The odd shape might need a bit of getting used to, but the benefits outweigh that brief learning curve. The CASO Kitchen Ecostyle’s unique form takes up less space than most other kitchen scales while also providing the power needed to use it. Along with its stainless steel construction, this makes it one of the most sustainable and environment-friendly kitchen scales you’d find in the market.
Do you own a fancy watch that’s powered solely by the movement of your wrist as you wear it? But are you not always wearing it and need an automatic watch winder to keep it powered and accurate? Are you a huge Star Wars fan? And RICH? Enter the TIE Advanced x1 Watch Winder from Kross Studio, a watch winder in the form of Darth Vader’s fighter during the attack on the Death Star.
The black anodized aluminum watch winder, released after the Studio’s $150,000 Death Star Tourbillon watch, uses an infrared sensor to detect the presence of a watch and begin winding, with replaceable batteries powering the unit for up to two years. It costs $2,500, which is just a drop in the bucket for somebody who just spent $150,000 on a watch. Honestly, that watch should probably come with one of these winders free of charge.
Rich people, am I right? I still wear the same Casio calculator watch I’ve had since high school that I wasn’t allowed to wear during math tests. “You know, you won’t always have a calculator in your pocket to help you in the future,” I remember Mrs. McKay being completely wrong about just before the release of smartphones.
Stairs are the worst, right? Too much exercise. Especially if you are talking a multi-story building with no elevator or escalator. Well, the engineers at Georgia Tech and Emory University have created stairs that will do all the hard work for you one day soon.
These energy-recycling stairs store energy as you descend, then release it to make it easier on the way back up. It is a brilliant idea. Our bodies use a lot of energy to prevent us from falling. It’s usually wasted energy however. These energy-recycling stairs store that energy with a spring-loaded mechanism that compresses each step and locks it down as you climb down. So you are basically charging each step with potential energy once you’ve hit the bottom. When you climb back up, pressure sensors on each tread release the locking mechanism on the step below it, turning that stored potential energy into kinetic energy. This helps lift a climber’s leg as the step raises again, reducing the amount of effort required.
Hopefully they can perfect this because I’m getting sick of using my actual muscles.
This clever gadget, called Activ, makes it possible to harness the kinetic energy created by your own body! The personal electricity generator was designed to be worn on the knee- with each step, it juices up the battery a little more. After it’s full, just attach a USB cord directly to Activ to power your cell phone or other device. Instead of plugging into the wall… plug into you!
- Yanko Design Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world! Shop CKIE - We are more than just concepts. See what's hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design! (The Power of YOU was originally posted on Yanko Design)
