See what happens when an old phone book is changed into a pen holder, the result is quite amazing…If you also have a phone book (or other books), will you feel like making one? Check out the tutorial after the break. [Read the rest of this entry...]
“Same classic taste, but greener”, with that in mind, Andrew Kim has come up with a new series of packaging designs for Coca Cola, the ‘Eco Coke’. Simply judging by the outside, the futuristic Coca Cola is refreshing, smart, ergonomic, cut, and still classic. But what really makes me excited is it’s made of 100% sugar cane byproducts and completely eco-friendly to the environment. Another thing to be mentioned is that the bottles can collapse 66% smaller than its original size, allowing an easier transportation for later recycling. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Presented here is the solar-powered bus waiting booth, designed by Yang Mingjie for Ningbo South Business District, China. It features a modular design, promising a convenient adjustment while reducing the maintenance and service cost. [Read the rest of this entry...]
A team of students from the École Supérieure d’ Art d’ Aix-en-Provence have developed the solar-powered washing machine, using bicycle tires, bamboo, a recycled electric motor and a solar panel. Though seemingly simple and crude, the equipment performs almost as well as the spinning washing machines. Because the machine is made from materials available all over the world and powered by renewable solar energy, people in any part of the world could DIY and use one. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Coming with a poetic name ‘Flow’, the bamboo lamps are created as a result of the intention to realize the road illumination on Colombian seaside, where the electric network cannot be channeled. The lamp works on the principle of a vertical wind turbine, and therefore features bamboo blades shaped like a spiral to ‘catch’ the wind in different directions. Apart from that, the ends of the blades are also cut to raise the utilization rate of wind. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Developed by Cabestan Watches, ‘Sol Invictus’ is the first solar-powered mechanical timepiece around the world. It features the new iconic chain and fusée, drums and vertical tourbillon, and also adopts the silicium crystals as efficient solar cells to generate sufficient power.
Its inner system is rather sophisticated- two brushless motors are used for rewinding the movement and setting the time, as well as a miniature controller for regulating the motors’ speed and amplifying the electrical charge. The motors and the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are positioned under the solar cells. But wearing a price tag of $560,000, will the timepiece really be that popular? Hmm…It remains to be seen. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Will the Olympic Games 2016 present us another building worth expecting, like the Bird’s Nest of the Beijing Olympic Games? With that question in mind, we’ve gathered related information here, letting you to know the building of great architectural interest and eco elements at the earliest possible date. [Read the rest of this entry...]
By installing LED lights inside the recyclable plastic pegs, designer Natalia Romanova has come up with a new kind of light equipment, the ‘Light Peg’. When getting charged on the tree for 30 minutes or so, these pegs could serve as book lights or shelf lights for 4-5hours. Or you can simply leave them on the tree, to create a unique and romantic decoration for your living rooms. [Read the rest of this entry...]
You need an electrical bicycle? You need a lightweight bicycle? You still need an eco-friendly bicycle? Well, what you want is rightly the Carbon Fiber Electric Bike by Ralf Kittmann. The concept bike adopts the carbon fiber—which is highly conductive—to take the place of wires as a power distribution network. So when the electricity is generated from the special electric installation built inside the frame, it will be transferred to power the motors between the rims and the lights. That energy will also be used to drive the system to turn the wheel, by using a counter-turning axel in lieu of gears and chains. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Hey, guys, it’s time to wave goodbye to the airplanes which only offers you confined spaces and boring time, since the New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Co. has provided us a cleverer alternative, the Martin Jetpack. Unveiled at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 2008 Air Venture held in the US, the personal helicopter is deemed by the Federal Aviation Administration as “an experimental ultra-light airplane”. Moreover, the Martin Jetpack is also considered as the world’s first practical device. Though still called as a ‘jetpack’, the device actually uses a gasoline (premium) engine with two ducted fans to provide lift. Getting needed power from a full fuel tank, it could fly for about 30minutes, with a theoretical speed of 60 miles per hour. Wearing a price tag of $86,000, the first ten jetpacks will be put on the market this year.
Video after the break. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Everybody knows clearly that daily consumption of water could be recycled by rainwater, which could then be purified and used again to meet our daily needs of pure water. But the problem is: we seldom know how to ‘harvest’ and recycle rainwater effectively. Possibly the ‘Capture The Rain’ skyscraper will show us a new way. The concept building features a special roof to collect as much rainwater as it possible, as well as reservoirs under the roof to store large amounts of water. Apart from meeting its inhabitants’ daily need, rainwater collected by the skyscraper will also be stored in reservoir under the building for other uses. [Read the rest of this entry...]
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. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Solar-powered lamps are not that new to us, but the Saint Clair Lamp presented here still surprises us on account of its unique way to get charged. Just as you can see, the lamp needs to be affixed onto the window with the suction pads to obtain energy, since the photovoltaic cells are built at its base. When the dark night comes, the lamp can then be used as a hanging lamp to illuminate your room. Designed by Stéphane Maupin, the innovative lamp has won one of the five VIA project assistance grants this year. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The POSEIDON Patio Heater, a 6.5 feet tall device that is completely made from metal, is ideal for both domestic and commercial use. Its best part is the built-in media player that is intended for recreation. Apart from employing a latest carbon fiber heating technology to produce ‘far infrared heat’ for a pleasant using, the heater also allows the users to conveniently adjust its head from four different positions. Poseidon is eco-friendly, greatly reducing carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50% compared with gas patio heaters, as a result of the adoption of its patented carbon fiber heating tubes.
Though the company says it won’t hit the market until March, you can pre-order here. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Though it’s just an innovative concept from Kim Hyun Joong, Movie Polaroid Camera also presents a good prospect of filming equipments in the future. It is an attractive camera that could print movies on a substrate that mimics traditional Polaroid film paper, using the built-in movie printer. The compact size of the movie films also means an easy transportation, enabling the users to take them everywhere in the wallets or pockets. Though having no power buttons, the Movie Polaroid Camera could be easily charged by giving it some shakes, and that’s also used to juice up the films for viewing. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Air Scale is an innovative design by Yasuhiro Akama. The concept is all about telling the users the quality of the air they’re breathing in. According to the amount of pollutants, Air Scale rates the air in three colors: red means ‘dirty’, white indicates ‘normal’ and green means ‘clean’. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Can the water tower be used for any other purpose? Just come in and check it out… [Read the rest of this entry...]
Who says printers only use paper to print documents? Surprise them with the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased when you no longer need the temporary documents. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you’ll no doubt reduce your expenses on paper.
The printer measures 37cm ×23cm ×30cm (W× D× H) and weighs about 40 kg. [Read the rest of this entry...]
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. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Modular Tree Project is an impressive concept by Chilean artists Emilio Marin and Claudio Magrini. Instead of calling on people to plant real trees, the project encourages the whole society to install metal trees with wooden birdhouses on the branches to create an area in the cities for birds. At present, the project has been firstly realized in the Santiago valley, Chile. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Designed by Hung-Uei Jou, the so-called ‘Green Noise’ is a self-powered runway light that converts annoying noises of the airports into useful electricity. All energy converted by the system is used to power the onboard runway lights and therefore reduce the airport’s energy requirements. The system also features a tripod base, which allows the modular structure to be easily removed for maintenance. [Read the rest of this entry...]
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.
Still remember the Jumping Light? Similarly, the battery charger designed by Jooyong Kim and Sungkyung Kim also makes a full use of the kinetic energy generated when you jump the rope. Put the rechargeable batteries into the rope’s handles, close the caps, keep jumping and then you’ll get full-charged batteries. That’s so easy! Ensuring you to master the latest information of the calories you’ve burned, the available energy to charge the batteries, etc, the device also comes with a screen on the handle. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Let’s check out what great changes the bottle dispensers have brought to us. On one hand, the dispensers have made it convenient for us to use shampoo and sanitizer. But on the other hand, that also means a great waste of resource, due to the high demand of plastic bottles. So what should we do to reduce the wastage while still ensuring much convenience? The Eco-pump Refill Dispenser by Bang Ki Ryoul and Junga Kim seems like a clever solution.
It’s an outer shell with a nozzle and pile that fit to all types of refill pouches. As a result, you can directly screw the Eco-pump Refill Dispenser to another pouch when you’ve run out of the shampoo. [Read the rest of this entry...]
To do away with those not-so-eco-friendly materials used to manufacture computers, Brenden Macaluso has come up with ‘Recompute’, a sustainable desktop computer with a slick cardboard case. Though looks bit of fragile, it is a fully functioning computer that uses an Intel Core Duo CPU with 2GB RAM, and also has 8 USB ports for you to add external components. But there’s still one problem about the possible ignition, due to its cardboard materials. Well, in fact you needn’t worry about that, because cardboard won’t burn until 258°, and that’s much higher than the 120° at which plastic melts. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The conceptual cellphone from Nokia is achieved by a young Chinese designer, Daizi Zheng. Different from usual mobiles powered by lithium battery, the eco-friendly phone adopts bio battery (which generates electricity from carbohydrates) as the power source. Therefore you only need to buy a can of cola to power your phone when the battery dies out, and claimed by Daizi Zheng, “Bio battery has the potential to operate three to four times longer on a single charge than conventional lithium batteries”. So it would be nice to see this practical concept hit the marketplace soon. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Wall lizards are born to live on the wall and so do wall lamps. That’s why these wall lamps here are shaped like wall lizards, with the lampshade as its big head, metal wires as its four legs and the tail. And there’s more! The lamp is also an eco-friendly product as its lampshade is made of cocoa leaves. Unbelievable! [Read the rest of this entry...]
Please use the lights YOU NEED—Well, we’re required to save power energy from time to time, but how? I mean, we truly can control how often we use the lights, but we couldn’t decide how much energy we’re using since every bulb is designed to illuminate the whole room with certain light intensity. Except the ‘EcoBulb’ designed by Seokjae Rhee!!! It is an adjustable bulb that comes with six distinct sections, each of which could be remotely controlled to change their brightness and lighting directions. As a result, ‘EcoBulb’ will merely illuminate those needed parts of the room with required light. That’s really an amazingly clever idea to save energy and I love it! [Read the rest of this entry...]
Made from squid skins, these bottle-shaped cans are possibly the most eco-friendly cans we’ve ever met. If you like them, you can also DIY some at home, too. Firstly, you have to prepare some squids, and stuff them with rice or grain; and then leave them under the sun until they’re totally dried to desired shapes. Hmmm, the rice stored by them also has a squid taste, and that’s really perfect for those who love fishy food.
As is indicated by its name “Road Printer”, the device has been designed to print needed signs directly onto the ground surface, therefore saving men much trouble in painting signs on the road. Just choose needed signs like U Turn, Stop, etc, the huge printer will then leave standard signs on the road surface.
Oh, wait, there is more! It’s also an eco-friendly product, which is powered by the solar panel on its top. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The design for the trash barrel shows a great deal of originality. Guess what, both the bin itself and the rubbish bags that come along with it are made from wasted paper, therefore reducing the “white pollution”. Better yet, the eco-friendly trash barrel is also designed with multi layers of bags, so that you needn’t have to change the bag every time it is full. Just draw out the full bag, pull out another bag, done! [Read the rest of this entry...]
Not that Sungi Kim and Hozin Song are much cleverer than us, but that they’ve noticed something we didn’t pay attention to. It is the wind energy generated as vehicles pass by. And the ‘Road Lights’ is a system designed to capture the wind energy, which is expected to power a series of lights to illuminate 50-100metres in front of the cars. Good work! [Read the rest of this entry...]
No wonder we’re being told that even the most astute consumer hardly compete a less calculating businessman. Just look at the ‘e-cart’, it is a clear and present proof of that. According to the designers, the shopping cart would generate a considerable amount of electricity while you push it, and with the harnessed energy, the store can last almost one month, without any extra power supply. That’s really incredible! Anyhow, it’s still a creditable attempt. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Are you looking for something different and personalized? Having a look at the ‘Solar Powered Sticker Phone’ presented here on I New Idea? Wow, you’re now different, huh? For phone users who are seeking for an eco-friendly product, the arch-shaped phone may be a perfect choice. No longer needing electric outlets, just stick the phone onto the window glass and then it will get charged in the sunshine. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Designer by the name of Yichun Chuang poetically brings out the relationship between the stones and the road. Appearing in the Seoul Green Project, the so-called ‘Luna Piedra’ (which means moonstone in Spanish) has drawn much attention, as they look extraordinarily beautiful, giving out soft and splendid light in the night. Moreover, equipped with a tiny nano generator, these OLED stones also generate power by water currents, without heating up the water or resulting any pollution. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The fish need no extra feeding and the flower needs no extra watering, and that’s the main feature of the ‘Fish Tank & Flower Pot’, or you could also call it as the ‘Flower Pot& Fish Tank’ (the two names have no evident difference though). Whatever, it is really an eco-friendly product, as it in fact simulates a small-sized ecosystem by connecting the tank with the pot via a pipeline. [Read the rest of this entry...]
In my opinion, there’s no pot on earth more eco-friendly or nutritious than average soil, oh wait, it is rightly where the plants are originally belongs. And that’s why I really intrigued by Strata Flower Pot. It is no different with normal flower pots except that it still supports the flower even when the flower is planted in the soil. That means, you can smash the Strata Flower Pot and bury it into the soil to supply the plants with needed elements. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Welcome to Seoul and take a walk on the bridge installed with Wind Lamps. Conceived by the designer Kyung Kuk Kim, Wind Lamp is built with LEDs and powered by a specialized wind-harnessing generator that also powers other street lamps. I must say, it’s really a good piece of work, which beautifies the river and the city in an eco-friendly way. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Do you think a sunshade for your car is enough, say, just protecting your car from the hot sun while without doing anything else? Well, if that’s the case, you must have a look at the concept ‘Shelf’ by Leon Zhu. It is a shade that collects solar energy, which is used to provide energy for the car’s electronic systems and air conditioning system. Of course, the sunshade could be easily folded and stored in your trunk when not in use. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The Solar Roadway is new replacement to current petroleum-based asphalt roads. It is constructed with a series of solar panels, each individual one comprising three parts (a road surface layer, an electronics layer and a base plate layer). Solar energy collected by these solar road panels, Scott Brusaw claimed, would meet a whole country’s basic electricity needs. And the first roadway (30cm thick, generating 7.6kwh of electricity per day) has been developed successfully, though at a high cost of up to 6900 dollars.
More information after the break.
