While most researchers are trying to improve the touchscreen interfaces used on PC, cellphones and MP3 players, Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft have developed a touch-interface for your skin. That’s really terrific! The ‘Skinput’ includes a micro-sized pico projector, which is embedded in an armband to beam an interface on the skin. But it actually uses an acoustic detector —which would match the sound frequencies with specific skin locations—to recognize which part  you’ve tapped. The revolutionary technology also supports wireless applications like Bluetooth.

Video after the jump.

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What if the kids love all kinds of food? Mhmm… I guess the parents would thank the God again and again…But they should also feel grateful to Philips Design, for the Food Creation Concept they’ve come up with. The concept is intended for giving each kind of food a new look, by mixing various edible ingredients together and ‘printing’ them out in your kids’ desired shape and consistency. For example, carrots could be served as foam and broccoli as ice cream. On the other hand, it also presents the physical/chemical processes (which happen while cooking) in an artistic and modern way.

Designer: Philips Design

More and more designers are endeavoring to improve the personal urban mobility, including Ben Thorpe with his latest Urban Wheelchair Concept. Made from the highest quality materials, the wheelchair is lightweight enough to ensure the users an easy transportation. It adopts a tightly packed ball bearing system to reduce rolling resistance, greatly increasing its efficiency. Considering the users’ needs to reach for items on high shelves, the concept also features the lifting mechanism, which would lift the user into an upright position. Powered by two Lithium-ion batteries, the Urban Wheelchair is completely rechargeable.

Designer: Ben Thorpe

Created at the Knierim Yacht Club in northern Germany, PlanetSolar is the world’s largest solar-powered boat, measuring 31 meters x 15 meters x 7.5 meters. The yacht is covered with up to 500 sqm of solar panels, which are expected to capture 103.4 kW of solar energy to power the engine that merely needs 20KW. Designed with an average speed of about 9mph, the boat could reach a top speed of 17 miles per hour. About 18 million euro has been invested into the project. According to Knierim Yacht Club, the yacht has been ready for testing later this month and the sea trials (due between June and September). If everything goes smoothly, PlanetSolar will start its first world tour in early 2011.

Manufacturer: Knierim Yacht Club

See what happens when fruits and vegetables are turned into interesting works of art…That’s really fantastic, while not hard to create. Follow us to see them all after the jump.

Showcased at the Design Museum London, ‘Harvest’ is an installation of chairs and tables made of Gypsophila plant, which has a natural ability to interlock. All the flowers have been put into moulds and freeze-dried for weeks before they’re used to make up the furniture. It will remain on show in The Tank outside the museum until 15 March.

Designer: Asif Khan

Welcome to the Five-Stars Hotels made from cardboards…

Designed by Keung Caputo, these boxes would offer you a luxurious resort, because each of them is created with a cardboard bed, pillow and dedicate interior decorations. Four different themes are available for you to choose from. But the biggest problem with the cardboard hotels may be that no smoking is permitted if you want to be safe…Just kidding.

Designer: Keung Caputo

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Especially designed for specific designers, the wonderful eVouse concept combines two important functions in one: a mouse for laptops and a pen sensor for design works. Its unique triangular design not only means appalled comfort, but indicates great convenience.

Designer: Marcial Ahsayane

Guardian Toilet Paper Keeper is aimed at public places where toilet rolls are often stolen. The new box features two mean eyes and a long bloody tongue to warn the thieves not to break the law. The red tongue also locks the holder to the toilet tank, ensuring that nobody except the key-keeper could move or take it away.

Designer: Mauricio Sanin Mazuera

Coming from the Greener Gadgets Design Competition, InCharge Battery Station is an all-in-one recharging device designed by Pensa. More than that, the device could automatically sort and juice all kinds of rechargeable batteries at one time. Due to the dedicated charging slots design, the station will still keep all other batteries in charging status, when a particular battery pops out of its slot. After all the batteries are fully charged, the station will then be cut off from power automatically.

Designer: Pensa

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Since every year over 87,000 fights in Britain are caused by drinking, the local designers have been committed to developing a new range of glasses that are more difficult to smash. At present, two prototypes have been finished: the Twin Wall and the Glass Plus. Announced by their creator DesignBridge, the first prototype is inspired by car windscreens and is made by using resin to stick two thin walled glasses together. As for the second design, it features a thin film of bio-resin coated inside the glass. Experiments showed that neither of the two kinds of glasses will be broken into sharp fragments when dropped onto the floor. Therefore, they will reduce the injuries caused by bar fights.

Designer: DesignBridge

The Twin Wall will be on the market in about one year’ time, DesignBridge says, but the Glass Plus still needs to be further studied.

Anyone once used the Google Earth may find the map printed on the envelop familiar. But it doesn’t indicate the address of receiver for the postmen, but the address of the sender for the receivers. Just imagine how surprised and delighted your buddies will be if they receive a letter enveloped by this.

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Though claimed as a yacht, the design is more like a house on the water, cruising at a speed of 12 knots. Featuring a triangular structure, the yacht is 58 meters long and 38 meters wide, accommodating 20 crew and 12 tourists at one time.

It is divided into three levels, where are built with a dinning room, a library, a cinema, a gym, a U-shaped swimming pool and other facilities. Moreover, it utilizes high-efficiency batteries to store energy and adopts a smart system to manage the energy consumption. Sounds really cool, right? So we’ll be glad to tell you that a boatyard from Italy is ready to build a real one and you won’t wait for too long to see it.

Designer: Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Luca Bassani Antivari, Gabriele Pezzini, Mauro Sculli & Claudio Cicconetti

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What you’ve seen in the picture is not water, but Liquid Glass designed by the German company Nanopool. Anything will be kept away from bacteria and dirt if they’re covered with merely a 1000th-of-an-inch-thick layer of the stuff. Even better is that the Liquid Glass is also waterproof and resists UV rays. You’ll find the clothes and shoes are much easier to clean if they’re sprayed with Liquid Glass. The Liquid Glass also works as good as the bleaching cream, if you use hot water to clean those items. Best of all, the stuff is totally eco-friendly and results no harm to the environment.

【Nanopool】

Print your documents with a pencil! Yes, that’s just what the ‘Pencil Printer’ is intended for! You don’t think that is practical? Well, put a pencil into the hole on the top right of the printer, start the machine, and then you’ll see the device printing on paper using the pencil powder…Wow, cool! To top off the great design, Hoyoung Lee also adopts eraser to erase off the printed paper so that you could use the paper again.

Designer: Hoyoung Lee

What if you could change the window glass, the table surface, or even a piece of plastic into a sensitive touch screen? That sounds attractive, right? Then you’ll be quite interested in the thin film invented by Displax. Easily stuck onto common materials like the glass, plastic and wood, the film could turn most flat surfaces that are range from 3-inches to 120-inches into touch screens. It features a transparency rate of up to 98 percent and comes with an outstanding ability to detect 16 fingers on a 50-inch screen. The first thin film will be available in July.

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Conventional fire alarms work effectively to warn people of the danger by sounding an alarm. But that means nothing to hearing-impaired people as they could hear nothing. So what could wake up hearing-impaired people in time? The unusual fire alarm designed by Kobe-based fire extinguisher company- Air Water Safety Service and the Tokyo-based Bioventure Seems looks like a practical solution. It is based on hearing impaired people’s keen sense of smell and warns them by releasing wasabi stench. The new fire alarm also works effectively, for example, one 8 in x 3 in unit could alarm people within an area of up to 50 square feet in less than three minutes. The smelly fire alarm is bit of expensive at present, each costing about $560. But a reasonable price of $225 will be possible after further improvements.

You think shower drains are too ugly? You won’t think so after checking out these ones. Designed by California Faucets, these shower drains seem more like an art work with their stylish patterns. The four impressive shower drains each comes with an impressive name- Mission, Waves, Deco Line and Deco Swirl. Hopefully we could see them hit the market soon.

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Anything could be changed into an art work when the inspirations occur to the designers. Look at these creative projects, they look like full-color portraits of people from far away, but their true pixel-like nature will be revealed if you walk up to them. Designed by Eric Daigh, each of these portraits is finished with about 25,000 pins. Terrific!

Designer: Eric Daigh

Designed by denim brand Gluejeans, the so-called ‘Juxtapose’ collection includes a ladies’  ‘reverse’ denim coat, a men’s ‘reverse’ jacket and some new designs for jeans, which are all glued rather than stitched. Each garment comes with a rough look due to the colored glues used to assemble the pieces.

Selling Price: 275 Euro

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The Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) has finally developed the stylish solar power glass after lengthy years of research. The system is constructed of rows of pyramid-shaped glass receptors, which will change their directions all the time to keep track of the sunlight. All the energy is stored in a small photovoltaic cell built in the center of each pyramid. The transparent design not only makes the system eye-pleasing and attractive, but means light could pass through the system more effectively for energy storage.

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Arina Komarova has come out with a new shower room concept, a shower stall that you would want it to appear in the living room rather than the bathroom. It is shaped like a huge egg, allowing you to stretch yourself with sensuous pleasure in the warm Jacuzzi. Sadly it is only a concept at present and there’s no news when it will hit the market.

Designer: Arina Komarova

Creative Factor: A clever and proper utilization of waste material.

To those who have been in deep love with air travel, the Airplane Hotel at the Teuge Airport in Netherlands seems quite attractive. The luxury hotel is transformed from a Cold War-era East German Airplane but features something new and modern, including 3 flat screen TVs, a sauna, 24/7 hostess, a Jacuzzi, and a Blu-Ray player.

Continue reading for more pictures.

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Guess what, the colorful series of jewelry is made out of ordinary colored pencils. The Italian designer Maria Cristina Belluci firstly collected several pencils altogether and then cut out needed shapes to create the ‘Pencil Jewelry’. The series mainly includes finger rings and earrings. Fantastic!

More pictures after the break.

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It would be nice to preview what our cities will be like in one or two decades, and Norway has already drawn a blueprint of that and named it as the ‘Turbine City Concept’. Several huge wind turbines will be adopted to convert wind into electricity to supply needed energy to offshore hotels, spas and museums. Connected together like an archipelago of islands, these wind turbines also function as a base for passing sailors.

Creativity is everywhere and Erika Iris Simmons is here to show us a new look of art by creating some portraits with weird stuff. Her first project, which is also Simmons’ favorite work, is a portrait of William Shakespeare made out of the writer’s books. And after that, Simmons has tried to make portraits with other materials and finally come up with some impressive portraits made out of cassette and film tapes. So what are you waiting for? Check out more cassette and film tape portraits after the break.

【Melora Creager】

【Michael Jackson】

【Jim Hendrix】

【John Lennon】

【Marilyn Monroe】

【Betty Page】

【Audrey Hepburn】

【Betty Davis】

【Bob Dylan】

【The Beatles】

Designer: Erika Iris Simmons

Creative Factor: Eliminates the need of soil and encourages people to harvest plants inside their residence.

Designed by Jim Ruck, the ‘Breathe’ Concept Soil-Free Harvesting is a vegetation system that aims to bring people closer to the nature by permitting us to harvest plants inside the residence. It adopts misters to take the place of soils to supply the plants with needed water and nutrients. The conceptual garden also provides periodical water flow for the plants. Both the water flow and the misters are powered by electricity. It also features backup batteries to pump the water or set on the misters during the time of power outage.

Designer: Jim Ruck

Using hinged double panels of plywood, a Dutch firm Kapteinbolt has created the FLKS framework of an instant workspace that includes a desk, a chair, and other gadgets. Whenever you’d like to create a private office, you just need to follow the instructions to unfold each piece of furniture.

Check out more pictures after the jump!

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From Lifegoods Design, the dubbed ‘at-at walker’ is a wooden drawer with a built-in light dimmer. It appears to be absolutely nothing particular when the drawer is in ‘off’ mode. But the moment you pull out the drawer, bright light will then come out of that and illuminate your room. Claimed by Lifegoods Design, “The lamp is like a science fiction object but characterized by the warmth and the preciousness of the woodwork.”

The project is on show at imm cologne 2010.

Designer: Lifegoods Design

Just look at the NASA’s Puffin Personal Tilt-Rotor Aircraft, it’s obviously another product meant for the most-wanted of your grocery lists. It features a vertical-takeoff and allows the pilot to fly with a prone position. Electrically propelled, Puffin can cruise at a speed of 150 mph and sprint at more like 300 miles per hour. Other features about it also include non carbon emission and the ultra quiet design.

It would be nice to see this practical concept hit the marketplace instead of the limited choice we have to choose from these days.

Nobody would refuse simple ideas that work effectively, or much more effectively. And ‘Inklet’, a latest concept from Ten One Design, is an advanced piece of software that transforms MacBook’s trackpad into a drawing tablet. That is to say, your multi-touch trackpad of the MacBook would translate what you’ve drawn on the interface into drawing marks with the help of ‘Inklet’, just as you can see in the video after the jump. So, for $24.95, you can use your trackpad like a tablet, doesn’t that sound appealing? Cool!

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Controlling the cursor with a ball? That’s really an interesting idea. But the ball is not an ordinary ball, but a ball-shaped mouse that has 14 built-in pressure sensors, including a three-way acceleration sensor. As a result, the mouse would always control the cursor whenever you roll, squeeze or throw it. Yes, the ‘Puyocon’ mouse has completely changed the traditional way we use a mouse and make it more interesting. I love the idea!

It is connected to the computer via Bluetooth devices.

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So daddies, you could take part in the whole process of the childbirth as long as you’re to deliver your baby with the help of the kit! It includes everything you need for childbirth, for example, a pad for the lady to lie on, rubber gloves and surgical masks for the midwives, as well as a clamp for snipping off the umbilical cord. Moreover, all those tools are stored in an airtight can so as to keep away from bacteria.

Designer: Paco Lindoro & Francisco Lindoro

So the man has forgotten to wear shoes? Of course it’s absolutely impossible. And in fact what you saw in the pictures are not bare feet but a pair of white shoes with a ‘feet’ image on its surface. That looks weird? But also impressive!

Different from those video game players encouraging physical exercises, WiiThink encourages “brain exercise”, which is believed in favor of preventing the elderly from Alzheimer and other developmental diseases. It is a headgear-shaped player and uses the Electroencephalography (EEG) technology to monitor brain waves. It also comes along with a concave earpiece that amplifies the sound inside ears, as well as a speaker promoter for the users to control the game with spoken commands.

Designer: Jonathan Thai

Giant green cloud is gradually moving in the sky, with its long tail following behind…but wait, how could the cloud come along with a tail? But I’m not kidding, as what you’ve seen in the picture is actually the Ga Green Cloud created by Helen Evans and Heiki Hansen, with the help of a laser transmitter. It is a fantastic artwork which takes over the sky of Helsinki, Finland. If you’re living near to the Salmisaari power plant, then you’re lucky to see that every night.

Seemingly like several pieces of carrot scattered on the white plates, what do you think the product is?

It is a protective headgear with the name of “Tattoo”. Thanks to the expanded polypropylene on the inner layer, the helmet could protect your heads effectively, and still ensuring you a comfortable wearing. It also features an easy transportation, which means that you even can put it under the bicycle seat when flattening its wings.

Designer: Julien Bergignat

Notepad is not the only thing we use to take down important information and in fact, most of us still prefer to write down something directly on the palms of our hands. That’s really a more convenient way to take notes but what about cleaning them? Yep, it bothers everyone a lot. So the ‘Pen+Sprayer’ system seems like a better choice. It features a spray which contains specialized chemical and when you spray some onto the palm of your hand, you’ll find a make-shift writing surface later there for you to take down messages. Just spray, wait and then you can doodle whatever you like on your skin, that’s so easy!

We’re not sure when it is available, but if you’ve been looking for a similar product like this, then the ‘Pen+Sprayer’ is obviously the right thing for you.

Designer: He Siqian, Zhang YaKun, Mu Zhiwei, Zhu Ningning, Hui Zhou & Te-Ning Hang

Can you imagine a bike could draw a lane on the road automatically as you ride it? With the help of a laser beam projector, this bike by Evan Gant and Alex Tee could form a highlighting laser lane so that car drivers will notice your existence and therefore avoid possible accidents. Apart from working effectively, isn’t that also a cool design? I mean, it seems as if you’re riding on your exclusive lane!

Designer: Evan Gant & Alex Tee

You think it’s a delicate set of tableware? You won’t think so after checking out the pictures below. Beyond most people’s expectation, the item is actually an innovative packaging box for fast food. And nothing is really special about the design except that, the dishes and cutlery painted on it will make you feel as if you’re having lunch with your family, even if you’re just having the fast food. That’s quite a good point.

Designer: Emma Smart

The biggest problem a person will face with when he/she gets up in the dark night and looks for his/her glasses or slippers is that he/she couldn’t easily find them without the help of light. But if you turn on the interior light, you may bother others in the room. So to help you out of that dilemma, four young designers have teamed up with the ‘Day & Night Marks’ that allow you to find items easily in the dark.

Made from luminous materials, ‘Day & Night Marks’ absorb light energy during the daytime and produce light in the night so that the users could follow the light to find their slippers, spectacles, or cups. Simple but fantastic concept!

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Before we start the article, I have a silly question for Saebyul Lim, that is, won’t the user get their clothes wet if he/she unconsciously shakes the can when watering the flowers? (I care about that a lot because I do have that bad habit.) And apart from that, the Double Headed Watering Can is really the most elegant and eye-pleasing watering can we’ve ever met. Still it’s a watering can more convenient for us to use, coz we could use either sides to fill in or pour the water. That’s just so easy!

Designer: Saebyul Lim

“I’m lovin it!”…from time to time, we meet with that famous slogan of McDonald’s. But have you ever paid attention to other creative advertisements designed for McDonald’s? They are all as impressive as the classical slogan, or even better. And right here is a collection of advertising, which would help you to know McDonald’s products better in an effective and interesting way.

【McDonald’s Newspaper Sandwich】

You could always enjoy hot breakfast at McDonald’s.

【McDonald’s Napkins in Stockholm, Sweden】

McDonald’s largest hamburger is really large and you may need specially-designed napkins like this.

【McDonald’s Bus Stop】

McDonald is everywhere, always ready to serve you!

【McDonald’s Free Coffee Hourglass】

Transit shelter in Vancouver has been turned into an ‘hourglass’ in which coffee beans gradually decrease in amount as time goes by.

【McDonald’s Sundial Billboard】

Nothing special? Nope. The sundial shadow will point to different breakfast items from dawn to noon, and therefore to recommend you a clever purchase.

【McDonald’s Puzzles】

In order to promote McDonald’s Large Coffee which costs only 1 Euro, outdoor posters in Sweden have been turned into puzzles to attract pedestrians’ attention.

【The Real Milkshake】

The real milkshake is really pure.

【McDonald’s Pie Billboard】

【McDonald’s Freshness Box Salad】

Posters painted with fresh salad vegetables are used to promote McDonald’s.

【McDonald’s Sandwich】

It tastes perfect! Nice try…

【McDonald’s Bus Shelter】

Bus stations used to promote “Open All Night” McDonald’s in Australia.

【McDonald’s Re-Opening Ads】

From Birkerod, Finland, the clever advertisement is designed for McDonald’s re-opening.

【McDonald’s Carrots】

【McDonald’s Free Coffee Pole】

Lamppost in downtown Vancouver became an attractive advertising to promote McDonald’s free coffee.

【Free Wi-Fi at McDonald’s】

Not only delicious food but also free Wi-Fi—McDonald’s aims to provide you with anything you may need. Enjoy your time at McDonald’s.

Seemingly not a necessary design, the Air Shield Coffee Cup Sleeve is however something you will find it quite useful and funny after you read through the article. The concept behind it is all about preventing your fingers from scald by hot beverage in plastic or disposable cups. Based on the principle of ‘expand from heat and contract from cold’, the cute pedals on the sleeve will expand to keep your fingers from a direct touch with the cup when heated while fatten out when the temperature falls.

Designer: Frank Xing

Want to build your own shelving unit? Right here is a new kind of modular shelf unit that could be freely assembled. Compared to usual modular shelves, this unit ensures you to arrange it into different shapes due to the holes on its sides and the fence form design.

With this Luminous Instant Paster, you can say goodbye to those ugly note posters. Using the word ‘paster’ to take the place of the more often-use word ‘poster’, the designer Se Xin just wanted to emphasize the light’s outstanding feature that it could be easily pasted anywhere on the wall rather than merely on the paper. With numerous LED lights working at the same time, Luminous Instant Paster can give out an attractive but soft light in the night so that you wouldn’t forget your dates any more.

Luminous Instant Paster will always attract your eyes, especially in the nights.

Designer: Se Xin

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Some of us just adore the odd stuff. Please correct me if you think I’m wrong! Just look at the mirrored shoes, they’re obviously another products meant for the most weird of your grocery lists. But do look carefully, it is the mirrors that turn your feet invisible, not that the shoes are made transparent.

Designer: Andreia Chaves

Have you ever imagined that one day all the trees disappeared and we had to make some trees with paper? Frustrating to say the least. But possibly that won’t happen as we’ve realized the importance of protecting the nature at present, due to the Papercraft Tree by Le Creative Sweatshop. Made from recycled and FSC-certified paper, the tree is specially designed for show our respect to the Arjowiggins Creative Papers, who have pledged to save one hectare of Brazilian rainforest at the COP15 conference held last month.

Designer: Le Creative Sweatshop

Whenever asked what road humps are designed for, we will refer to its important functions in reducing traffic accidents by requiring the drivers to slow down. But how do they work in the night? I mean, there’s only dim light on the road and the drivers couldn’t always notice the road humps from far away, and as a result these speed breakers won’t work that effective as we’ve expected.

Fortunately some designers have thought of that question earlier and they’ve teamed up with the ‘Self-powered Safe Hump’ which is equipped with LED bulbs and therefore gives off light in the dark. Moreover, all the energy needed by the system is converted from the mechanical energy generated when the car passes by.

Designer: Zhang Yakun, He Siqian, Zhu Ningning, Chen Chen & Mu Zhiwei

Railings were firstly invented to keep people away from certain dangerous places like the lakes and the roads. But as days go by, these traditional railings are endowed with new functions. For example, the railings in a residential building located in Finland also serve as seatings and windows after they were bent into new shapes. So how do you like it?

Oh wait, there’s something better! The railings on each floor are painted with a different tone of grey so that you may find a gradient as you step down from the 8th floor to the ground.

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