Although we highly doubt there will be a real life application of such a device any time soon as usual, the Plantbook is definitely taking a step outside the box of traditional notebook concepts and designs. Designed by Seunggi Baek & Hyerim Kim, the Plantbook is inspired from the water-soaking abilities of a bamboo plant.

This device itself looks like a bamboo stick in which the ‘screen’ can be rolled in and out, splitting into two to become a virtual keyboard and a screen. As if the whole portability factor of the Plantbook wasn’t cool enough, it charges itself using water! Much like a real plant, the Plantbook concept utilizes an external water tank and the process of electrolysis to produce electricity to charge the device. Read more…

Alert system designed to help you keep a safe distance from the driver ahead of you in times when visibility gets bad, might also prove fun in racing.

SafetyDistance is an innovative road lighting concept that is designed to run along the outer edge of highways and freeways. At night, these signs provide an extra source of light for nighttime visibility in order to assist in keeping the roads safe. Each lighting post is equipped with a solar panel that charges and powers the device. With three different light signs to indicate driving distances, SafetyDistance keeps drivers informed of the safe distance of any vehicles in front of them.

When the lamp glows a bright red, it indicates that the driver is dangerously close to the car in front. Yellow indicates a close distance while green indicates a safe one. While no cars are detected, the signs shut off to save energy. Although it may be fairly easy for a driver to identify whether or not he is dangerously close to another vehicle, this self-sustainable concept is great for harsh weather conditions such as a snow storm or heavy fog.

This innovative concept from Ivan Jaddou is a proposed brand name inspired by the phenomenon of synesthesia, the neurological condition when one sensory experience leads to another secondary sensory experience. Jaddou’s headphones hope to embody the perplexing condition that can bring vibrant colors and emotions to words and sounds.

The Colorme concept explores the presentation of music on a deeper level bringing into it additional experiences of color and emotion. Colorme attempts this with its three part package: Colorme Teardrop Headphones, Colorme iPhone App, and Colorme Balloon Lamp. The headphones may be color customized at any time to fit the users’ mood. These ultra-comfortable, tear-shaped headphones are collapsible for easy portability and can become a colourful accessory to any outfit. Read more…

China has just opened up a new roadway that stretches for a distance of 26.4 miles. Not impressed? That’s 26.4 miles over water. It’s called the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, and stretches for a span longer than a marathon. The bridge took four years to build, opened on June 30 and was then recognized by Guinness as the longest roadway bridge over water.

You would think that a 26-mile bridge would be used to shave serious commuting time off an otherwise long journey. Strangely, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge only saves commuters 19 miles and 20 minutes of travel time. Yes, breaking down in the middle of this is a no-no. Good luck getting it fixed.

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With the over-65 population growing at a rapid rate (36.9 million in 2009 and set to hit 72.1 million by 2030), automakers are intent on making driving easier for the elderly. To that end, automotive supplier TRW is developing a folding steering wheel concept that retracts into the dashboard, allowing older drivers to get in and out with ease.

The wheel is bisected into two smaller handles that fold inward when the vehicle is shut down, mounting nearly flush with the rest of the dashboard. When the driver gets back in, the wheel extends outward to the driver’s chosen position and can be set at multiple angles for different users.

Ideally, TRW’s steering wheel solution would be part of a larger initiative to make driving easier for people with limited mobility, and partnered with voice commands and more legible buttons and interfaces, the wheel could be part of an elderly-focused equipment package as early as 2016.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a brutal rainstorm with nothing but a flimsy umbrella to keep you safe? More than likely that umbrella got blown inside out destroyed or flew away altogether thanks to the massive winds. Luckily for wind fearing folk worldwide, these innovative designers have created an aerodynamic solution called the Senz° umbrellas.

Designed to withstand the worst of weather conditions, the Senz° aspires to become unbreakable and never inverted. Evolving through several different sizes, shapes, colors and patterns, the senz° utilized materials such as nylon, steel, and fiberglass. All models aspire to resist wind forces of up to 70 miles per hour. They may look a bit unconventional but the person with the Senz° in a heavy storm will be having the last laugh, unless that person got blown away with the umbrella like Mary Poppins.

The UK’s bestselling vacuum brand Vax has teamed up with Jake Tyler, a British design student from Loughborough University, to create an unconventional and eco-friendly yet efficient vacuum cleaner. Dubbed the Vax Ev, this high performance vacuum cleaner is made from recycled and recyclable materials.

Corrugated cardboard panels create the body of the Vax Ev while the other components are made from a recyclable pure nylon plastic. Although a vacuum made entirely out of recyclable parts may not last as long as other competing models, the corrugated cardboard and recyclable plastic will result in a very cheap production cost, saving consumers a lot of money. The parts are also all designed to be easily ordered and replaced when needed. For more information on the Ev and Jake Tyler check out the official release here.

We all love solar power, not because it’s environmentally friendly, but it saves us some bucks. Well as far as sports go, the one where you drive cars around in circles several times is likely not one of the most energy efficient. With that in mind, it’s nice to see locations like Northern California’s Infineon Raceway working toward sustainability, announcing this week the installation of more than 1,600 solar panels. The panels, manufactured by Panasonic, will provide around 41-percent of the Infineon’s energy usage. Also on its list of earth-friendly features: a solar-powered billboard and 3,000 sheep, which take care of a lot of the lawn mowing on the grounds and apparently aren’t of the electric variety. Now, the next step is to turn solar panels cheap so that everyone will fix it on their house’s roof.

SOURCE via Inhabitat

Nikon engaged in a bit of conceptual product show-and-not-as-much-tell at the French Cité des sciences et de l’industrie exhibit, Hello Demain (Hello Tomorrow). The four prototype cameras on display ranged from the clearly defined — a fully customizable SLR that swaps the lens, grip and LCD screen at your whimsy — to the mysterious webcam dongle-ish i-Ball of unknown purpose, to a mundane six-inch screener. But the real étoile of this forward-facing soirée is that Multi-Ball cam — guaranteed to be a panoramic morning-after hit (or cause for much hungover consternation). While these concepts reside proudly in the province of tomorrowland, it’s only a matter of time before they digitally immortalize your precious visage.

SOURCE via Slashgear