I New Idea Homepage

New good things in and old good things out, undoubtedly we’re now living in a throw-away culture nowadays. But instead of throwing those unneeded items away, there’s actually a better way for us to deal with them: to recycle them via the Swap-O-Matic Vending Machine. The machine comes with thirteen compartments where the items to be traded can be placed in and one touchscreen interface on which users can keep track of their account. When using the vending machine, you can either directly exchange your unused item for one placed in the compartment or place it in one compartment for sale. Quite interestingly, when you buy or sell one thing, you won’t need to pay or get paid with real money but virtual credits instead. As a result, as long as you have something in hand, you can exchange it for a needed item conveniently.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

As the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games are soon to begin, the London government is now busying with many projects to make the city good enough to welcome guests from all over the world. One of those projects is the LCD smart recycling bins built in London’s streets and public spaces. Each recycling bin features a couple of LCD screens on either side, which will display the latest news from 6 am to the mid-night every day. The bins are fitted with Wi-Fi too, so that they can offer a better and wider connectivity. Since these bins are nearly the most high-tech recycling bins we’ve ever met, each of them will cost about £30,000 to build.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Based on clever design and accurate arrange, the Rozetkcus Wall Socket comes with 9 points to allow you to plug in various shapes of devices effectively. It not only solves that problem that we usually need to insert several different types of plugs in one socket, but also promises endless possibilities of how to configure your devices according to their plugs’ shapes. Except for the 9-point socket, the Rozetkcus is also available in a 16 points version.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

The science and technology is forwarding ahead so fast that they’ve left us many and many gadgets we no longer use, such as old-modeled radios, cellphones, music players, tablets and so on. Especially guys who are always buying new phones and updating their devices, they really don’t know what to do with those discarded one… It’s time to trade with the ecoATM. Recently emerging in California, the ecoATM is an automated gadget recycler with a touchscreen and a metal tray where you can put your devices to be recycled. The ecoATM has been inputted with over 4,000 kinds of gadgets, thus it can recognize your device, checking out if it still works and after that displays a quote for it on the screen. If you accept its offer, the ecoATM then dispenses cash in return. Or, you can cancel the trade to get your gadgets back if you’re not satisfactory with the price the ecoATM offers.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Special tool for special use, the “Rhythm Slim” is rightly something that can combat muscle aches and slack skins. Put it under your chin, push down on the top piston, and hold it down for ten seconds – repeating that process for several times every day, you may then the difference after a period. Will the Rhythm Slim machine really work? We bet it will, if you can persist on the exercise for a long enough period.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Anytime, anywhere, watch what you’d like to watch, and that’s rightly the thing David Forbes’ Wearable LED TV would help you to do. The wearable LED display involves customized display boards, circuits, batteries, iPod and speakers, making it functional enough to display some videos even during your moving.  For more details and manufacturing costs, you can check out the story at Popsci.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

“FIT” armband developed by BodyMedia and IBM is a body-tracking gadget that not only knows how unhealthy you are, but can offer specific recommendations on how to reverse the trend. The armband is built with several different sensors, which can gather and analyze up to 5,000 individual data points every minute, to track everything from how active you are or how well you sleep. Once you log the data using IBM’s WebSphere Operational Decision Management (WODM), you’ll be sent with some valuable suggestions then.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Basically an outstanding paper-cut artwork is always related to the masterly craftsmanship, while sometimes it is actually all completed by an electronic machine, such as the Silhouette CAMEO. When connected to your PC via a simple USB cable, the electronic cutting tool will then automatically cut out the pattern you’ve chosen on paper, cardboard, vinyl, fabric or other materials.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Belkin’s Wemo home automation system is a smart device that allows you to control the electrical outlets of your home via your smartphones or a motion sensor modular. The system is all based on Wi-Fi technology, comprising of a Home Control Switch and a Motion Sensor module, which function in different ways in fact. The Home Control Switch is a plug, which sits between the wall socket and plug from any electric device, to provide a programmable on / off switch that can be controlled by a smartphone or triggered by the company’s Motion Sensor. And the Motion Sensor, just as you may have guessed, is a wireless motion-sensitive switch that can sit anywhere to ensure the users an instant control of the electricity outlets.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

As a newer and cleverer solution to solve the problem of “overcharging”, Bracketron’s GreenZero chargers can automatically shut off once your devices is fully charged. The GreenZero, available in a Mushroom and Stone styles, is compatible with iPhone, USB, and Android specific models, shutting off automatically to save energy and avoid top-off stress on batteries. Set to be released at CES in Las Vegas later this month, the GreenZero will be priced at $22 to $29.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

PumPing Tap is a 2011 red dot design concept winner, which can cleverly solve the problem of wastage of electricity by automatically ejecting a plug when the appliance is switched off. About ten minutes later after you’ve turned your device off but haven’t unplugged it, the socket will then eject the plug, so as to completely cut off the electricity.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

I’ve known of many people, especially those in love, getting used to making a copy of their SMS and IM messages as the commemorative. But that really costs them too much time, unless they’ve gotten the “BlackBox”. It provides a convenient and easy solution for people to keep their valuable messages on hand, printing SMS and IM messages out via a standard, noncarbon receipt printing system. It can even print a message twice so that the user can share that conversation with others.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Certainly we’re all different: some people simply enjoyed the rock music, while some others were converting the music into electricity with their “Sound Charge” T shirts. T- Shirts?! Completely right, and the high-tech tee each can generate about 6 watt-hours of electricity to power two mobile phones or one smartphone, with a modified piezoelectric film that acts as an oversized mic by absorbing sound waves and some interlaced quartz crystals that converts the acoustic signals into electricity.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

The beverage or snacks in vending machines seldom attracted your attention? Never mind, as they have now managed to draw the crowds to move closer and closer, by offering WiFi without any charge. Unveiled by Japanese company Asahi, the machine sends out internet waves that cover about 164 feet around it, allowing people to use it continuously even though there’s a 30-minute limit on each session. Asahi is planning on rolling out 1,000 of these in 2012.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

No more a long waiting time in cafes, as a vending machine can actually offer us a cup of coffee with a patterned foamy top too while costing less time and less money. This special vending machine appeared at the Yojiya Cafe in Haneda Airport, Japan, which uses drips of coffee poured carefully through milk to form a face on the top of your hot beverage. Currently the machine only offers coffee with the face of a woman floating on the top, and possibly in future the machine would come with other options like a hello kitty.

[Read the rest of this entry...]