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.

Designer: Bracketron

Selling Price: $22-$29

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.

Designer: Seong Soyeon, Kim Seonmi, Lee Jeongjae, Park Jihye & Lee Yeontaek

【Via】

The development of bio-batteries is now pushed to a new level, after electronics giant Sony announced that it has developed a battery powered by paper. The batteries were demonstrated at the Eco-Products exhibition in Tokyo, where they have successfully powered a mini fan to work. Sony’s actually utilizes cellulose enzymes to accomplish this technology: after breaking down the paper, the enzymes were left with sugar that had been created from the cellulose; and then the sugar is processed to create hydrogen ions and electrons. Theoretically, a piece of A4 paper is expected to produce about 18 watts of electricity, equivalent to the electricity power of six AA batteries. But currently the electricity power we get is fewer than that, which is also a drawback of this bio-battery.

Designer: Sony

New developments have been found in the Electronic Skin field, because researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley Lab have created both flexible and stretchable electronic skin using semiconductor-enriched carbon nano tubes. The electronic skin is proved capable of detecting and responding to touch, and expected to provide lithography-free fabrication of low-cost flexible and stretchable electronics in the future in combination with inkjet printing of metal contacts.

Designer: Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Researchers from Northwestern University have developed a breakthrough battery technology that features both high efficiency of re-charging and better electricity energy storage. Compared with ordinary batteries, the new lithium ion batteries allows for using 10 times longer and recharges 10 times quicker. Generally it could keep your cellphone charged for a week and recharge in 15 minutes; when applied on electric cars, the battery can power it to run 500 miles with 10 minutes of charging.

Designer: Northwestern University

For people who have too many business cards to handle, this Mini Business Card Scanner is the best gift they can ever get. It’s portable and easy-to-use, allowing the users to scan business cards in seconds and store the information with an organized list. After that, the users can then import, export, and synchronize their personal data on computers. So what are you waiting for? Get the smart gadget and manage your business cards.

Selling Price: $40.76

Buy it here

Native Union’s Electronic Post-it Note is something that allows you to leave a message personally and politely. With its built-in 256MB memory and a camera, the device can record a video message up to 3 minutes in length. It is built with a magnet too, thus the gadget would be easily adhered to fridges, cabinets or other places. Available in green, pink, blue, purple, red, white and black, the device will be on market within a month’s time for £49.99.

Selling Price: £49.99

Till now, the International Funkausstellung Berlin 2011 has brought us many surprising designs and products, and today we’d like to add a new one to the list of innovative electronics. It is Sony’s “Lenticular Sheet”, a thin film that can be places in front of any laptop screens to turn them into glass-free 3D displays. With such a product, 3D fanciers would then enjoy 3D films without needing to wear glasses any more.

Of course the “Lenticular Sheet” cannot work on its own, and the users also need to utilize a certain software to work together with it. When the software works, the webcam of your laptops will move to detect your face, so as to offer you a best 3D display according to your locations. The “Lenticular Sheet” will be on European market on October, with a price of $183.

The Airsketcher, which looks the same as ordinary fans, actually has an astonishing function that it can automatically “follow” the users and bring them with cool air. How? Because there’s a small-sized webcam built inside the fan, which can track a specially-made flag so as to locate the users. Besides, the fan can also recognize different symbols and act accordingly. Therefore the users can easily switch on/off or adjust the speed by showing certain symbols to the fan.

Designer: Keita Watanabe

Etymotic Research’s HD-15 High-Definition electronic earplugs is the ever-best gadget that can both protect your ears from loud noises and let people to hear when it isn’t noisy. Note that you can always have the earplugs in your ears, no needing to take them out or in from time to time.

The HD-15’s secret lies in the tiny microphones built inside, which instantaneously cause the plugs to block incoming sound waves if the noises are over a given threshold. But when the noise is ceased, the earplugs then let wearers to hear normally again. For people who have hearing problems, the earplugs may even amplify ambient sound by 15 decibels.

More Information Here

Researchers from the University of Illinois have exhibited their latest achievement – the Electronic Skin via the Internet. It is hair-thin, constructed with sensors, antenna, LED and other parts and powered by built-in solar batteries to monitor a person’s heartbeat, brain activity, muscle contractions and so on. If you put it besides your throat, the device can even “hear” your words so as to accomplish certain tasks. It can be easily applied to anything, without need for glue. When such amazing things used in the medical field, we bet we humans can benefit more from the advanced technology.

We need a camera, to record beautiful scenes, lovely people, important dates, and many other valuable things. But sometimes, we use a camera, simply to show off – look at me, my cameras are so cool, huh?

【Gun Camera】

【Cigar Lighter Camera】

【Electronics】

【Skull Camera】

【Pumpkin Camera】

Stanford scientists are pushing us to a new age, one that popular with transparent batteries. They’re transparent and low-cost, with a mesh-like framework as the battery electrodes and each “line” in the mesh measures no wider than 35microns.

The only problem is that the transparent battery is only about half as powerful as comparably sized lithium-ion counterparts, according to the researchers. Even so, we’re still excited because these transparent batteries will make fully transparent cellphones and other items soon come into reality.

More Information Here

Valentin Ruhry’s new display is a huge board built with many illuminated rocker switches to show messages. Whenever you’d like to send some information with it, you’ll need to turn certain switches on while still keep others off.

The “Hello World” you see above is a good example, and also it’s a nod to the “Hello World” computer program – the earliest programs that say hello to the world with a computer screen.

Designer: Valentin Ruhry

Several students from Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden have built this innovative electronic piggy bank based on iPhone. But it seems more like a cute monster, and you’ll need to slot in a credit card to “feed” it if you’d like it to be happy.

The Piggy Bank will get agitated when you walk around it or move it, become quite satisfied if you store into it some money, and go back to sleep after the feed time. Yes, it acts just like a naughty pet, and hopefully such an interesting piggy bank would help you save more money than you’ve ever imagined.

Designer: Wang Chao, Maggie Kuo and Jordi Parra

Ever had any difficulty to find out which switch is controlling which light? Never mind, as you can easily solve that problem with Taewon Hwang’s Floor Plan Light Switch. It features several switches installed on one same panel so that you could control the lights in different rooms from one location. As long as you know where each room is located, you’ll always find the right button to illustrate that room.

Designer: Taewon Hwang

Making a speaker is much easier than you’ve ever imagined, and what you need to prepare is merely: textile (or paper), conductive tape and some strong magnets. Try this one made by Hannah Perner-Wilson and you’ll find it quite impressive.

Designer: Hannah Perner-Wilson

Doing away with annoying cords found on tables and floors, these Multi Lines make themselves part of the wire lines and go around your room to offer power supply. As a result, your every electronic device will be set in a proper place while their cords would no longer twist together.

Designer: Connect Design

Everyday you need to spare only three minutes with the Beauty Lift High Nose and the handy beauty gadget will then ensure you a beautiful nose.

Slip the gadget onto your nose, turn on the switch and you can feel gentle electric vibrations coming from the bottom and thus lifting your nose up and up. Cannot believe this gadget can really work? Well, just have a try and you’ll indeed see the difference.

Selling Price: $144

Buy it here

One piece of equipment that most boys and girls may be interested in is of course the speakers, and quite often they spend many months and days in making unique ones-speakers that can represent their own characteristics. And here we’d like to share some interesting concepts with you guys, so can you imagine that they’re all built by computer fanciers rather than professionals?

Ember is the best bedside lamp you can ever find. It offers electricity, not only to charge the built-in lamp for illuminating your desk, but also to charge your cameras, PCs, cellphones and other personal items. Plus, all cords can be conveniently organized with the unique body design so that you would always keep your desk neat.

Selling Price: $25.95

Buy it here

Wireless chargers which were developed years ago have recently appeared in the market. And the one we show here weighs merely 300g but can charge up to 6 devices at one time. To wirelessly charge your phone you need a unique protective coat which is put onto the device to “receive” electricity energy.

Selling Price: $39

You must have been used to purchasing something in convenience stores with a credit card, but what about using a new device that is more convenient for using? It is the E-Money Band, a silicon wristband designed by a Japanese company that allows the users to purchase with electronic money so that you can stop anywhere to make a shopping though without enough cash in your pockets.

Selling Price: 3000Yen

Buy it here

“Do not forget to turn off the light. Let “me” keep smile. Let the earth keep smile.”

The simple concept behind the Smiling Switches collaborated by Zhou Yide, Euphe Mo, Hang Zhou & Christine Liu has really impressed me a lot. For quite a long time, I’ve been wondering what I should or could do to make the earth a happy planet, and until these days I noticed that simply little tasks will result into great changes of the world we’re living in. So from now on, we’ll always see the earth smile whenever we turn off the lights.

Designer: Zhou Yide, Euphe Mo, Hang Zhou & Christine Liu

Thanks to four Korea based designers and their Line Block Cable, you’d always feel happy to see cables of your TV, acoustics appliances and other electronics neatly housed together. Inspired by toy bricks, Line Block can individually lead a cable to the sockets while tagging two or more wires together to create your room a neat look. Sounds like a nice try.

Designer: Lee Ji Eun, Yi-Seo Hyeon, Heo-Hyeoksu & Jeong Minhui

If you’re using high temperature to dry clothes, you should realize that the heat may damage your delicate dress and shirts. But we can guarantee that problem wouldn’t arise again if you have the DryMate designed by Nico Kläber. It uses a new vacuum technology to dry clothes at much lower temperatures than 100°C, and the lower the air pressure the lower the temperature is needed to evaporate water. Therefore with DryMate, less energy will be consumed and less damage will be made to your clothes. Besides, the new clothes drier also features a rounded exterior and a wide mouth that is tilted up by 9 degree, making it a stylish device for convenient using.

Designer: Nico Kläber

Based on the same principles as a hydroelectric power station, Leicester De Montfort University industrial design’s graduate Tom Broadbent invented a creative device that harvests energy from waste water falling through the pipes of high-rise buildings. Though the “HighDro Power” is not that effective in producing large amount of energy, it does have provided us a possible solution to recycle the waste water.

———————————————————————————————

The following information is from Tom:

“HighDro Power works by using the water discharged from appliances such as showers, toilets and sinks in high-rise apartments. The water goes down the pipe and hits four turbine blades that drive one generator.”

Designer: Tom Broadbent

The iPhone charger looks just like the battery icon on the iPhone, and that’s where its strange name “Icon Charger” comes from. It not only looks cool, but also shows the current battery level as the iPhone get charged, therefore ensuring you to charge the device in time. However at present, the “Icon Charger” is still a concept and we’re not sure when you can find a “Buy” link here.

More Information Here

I am the kind of person who seldom remembers to unplug the devices when they’re fully charged, so you can imagine how much I’ve paid to the electric power bureau. But the Wind Up Socket, featuring an integrated timer, may change that. All you have to do is to rotate the plug to set the duration. And the socket will then cut off the power automatically, as the time passes by. For forgetful guys like you and me, the socket is really the best choice.

You could always spare the time to unplug each gadget when you no longer use them? Or you just leave the plugs in and let the electricity leak? But you have another option now. Designed by Conor Klein, the Outlet Regulator could disconnect itself from the power source automatically (just like a real leech) when the device gets fully charged. And that’s why the plug is also named as “Leech Plug”. No idea on whether such a conceptual design will ever see the light of day in the real world, but I really love the idea a lot.

Designer: Conor Klein

The multi-tab power strip was invented as a result of the idea to save you much trouble in finding out what plug goes to those various appliances. It features a LED-Lego, which would present a monitor-shaped label on the block when in use. And when you want to unplug it, you can simply press on the tab. Easy as that!

Designer: Soon Mo Kang

Flattery must have gotten you everywhere Mr. Lufdesign and I’d like to describe your concept as ‘a stylish cord that lets us see the electricity leaking’. The product is meant for warning the users to pull out the plugs so as to reduce the power waste, through a visible and direct way. Named as “ECord”, the design mainly attributes to the PVC covering that changes colors when a specific range of current (from 1 to 15W) is provided.

Designer: Lufdesign

These electrical outlets integrated with three types of antlers on top would be your best choices if you need to charge your cellphones, digital cameras, PSP and other items from time to time. Made from tough urethane rubber, the antlers are also solid enough to hold things.

If you love cooking then I’m sure you have a great collection of cookers: frying pan, stock pot, sorts of tablewares, as well as an electromagnetic oven. Or two, or even more. But you also need a spacious kitchen, so I bet you’ll need the Electrolux Double-O by Victor Ong. Targeting at small house users, the device not only integrates a compact cooking system for single appliances, but creates an extra base for another pot when you slide it.

Dimension: 34cm ×34cm ×8cm (W× D× H)

Designer: Victor Ong

Weighing 1.5 pounds and measuring 2.5cm x 5cm x 28cm, PlanOn’s Printstik PS905ME boasts the smallest and lightest printer on the market. Powered by Lithium-ion polymer rechargeable batteries, the mobile printer could be used anywhere, without needing an outlet. But the most exciting point about the device is that, it doesn’t use ink but utilizes thermal technology to print your documents. You could connect the printer to your PC or cellphones via USB wires or Bluetooth.

Selling Price: $299.99

Buy it here

At TOY Forum 2010, Sony’s bio-battery has drawn many people’s attention. It shows how batteries generate electricity from carbohydrates. Experiments indicate that grape juice is the most efficient drink for the bio-battery to run on and 3ml of Coke could have an electrical propeller keep working for about 1 hour. Named as ‘ENE’ (Entertainment New Energy), the technology will firstly be adopted to power electronic toys.

Creative Factor: Cool machine converts office paper into toilet paper.

The Japanese company Oriental has come up with a machine by the name of ‘White Goat’ recently. It is an innovative machine that converts your wasted office paper into toilet paper in about 30minutes. After you put about 40sheeets of paper into the machine, ‘White Goat’ will then shredder the paper, dissolve it in the water, thin the paper out, and then dry it into toilet sheets. Merely costing $0.11 to churn out one toilet roll, claimed by the company, the machine will save up to 60 cedar trees every year. The cool machine is expected to hit the market in Japan this summer, at a price of $100,000.

More Information Here

City DC26- a 3.5kg device that is small enough to sit on an A4 piece of paper- is the smallest vacuum cleaner from the UK company Dyson. Being smaller in size dose not hinder its effectiveness in sucking up dust and hairs. As advertised, DC26 has the similar power as other Dysons.

It will be available in UK soon for£249.99, but we’re not informed when it will hit the US market.

More Information Here

Designed by Alexander Ignon, the Loft Wing Ceiling Fan has brought us back to those old days when we were using palm-leaf fans to cool ourselves. The dramatic ceiling fan is aimed at both small living rooms and other large public buildings where energy-saving and artistic products are rather welcomed. The high quality German geared motor not only makes the fan to work quietly, but needs only 15watts of electricity to cool out the room. To top off the great design, Loft Wing Ceiling Fan’s dimension and color can be made by request.

Designer: Alexander “Sandy” Ignon

If you want a distinctive TV then you have the option of retro-styled LG Serie 1 television. It earns the nickname ‘a retro-styled television’ in both appearance and technology. As those old sets you ever met several years ago, the 14-inch LG Serie 1 television also adopts a 4:3 aspect ratio cathode ray tube to display your favorite programs. Though coming with old-school knobs for you to change channels and adjust volumes, the set still features a wireless remote and a digital tuner to mix well with your modern life. Even more interesting is that the television comes with color, black & white and sepia tone modes for you to choose from. It is available in an orange color and a dark brown color.

Selling Price: 249,000KRW

Buy it here

‘Juice’ charger by Hiroaki Tanaka allows you to charge different size of batteries with the energy supported by either the computers via the USB outlet or a traditional power supply. This time, you needn’t wait long for real productions, as it will soon appear in Japan and Taiwan.

Designer: Hiroaki Tanaka

More Information Here

We’ve been used to seeing through the windows from time to time, because in that way, we could learn clearly what is happening outside. And maybe that’s why windows are made of translucent glass. But this piece of glass not only tells us what is happening outside, but also what will happen in the future. Powered by solar energy, the cute gadget will show you any needed information when it is wirelessly connected to your computer. So next time you need weather reports, dates and flight information, check them out on your windows.

Designer: Kenny Hopper

Have you ever tried to take photos with a series of cameras that are bound together? If not, you should have a try, as you may then find something quite interesting. Actually, a few labs and photographers have been developing a new kind of camera these years, and they call it “Computational Cameras”. And right here is one of those Computational Cameras. Check the GIF below and you’ll get a clearer understanding of what this camera creates. Believe me, that’s really shocking!

More Information Here

A dazzling watch…It is surprisingly full of so many red, green and orange ants. OMG, who can tell me what on earth the time is? I must have been the weakest student in mathematics of my class. So could you tell me the time shown here? Let me know if possible.

Selling Price: $207

Buy it here

The traffic in and around cities is always a great problem. But one of the nice things about big problems is that they keep fueling our imaginations. And rightly here, is the so-called ‘iShoes’ by a college student who cares his little brother a lot and finally designed the special shoes for him. Using rechargeable lithium ion battery to power an electro motor (500w), the designer has successfully make the shoes to run at a speed of up to 21.7kmph. Anyone that weighs less than 133 kg is allowed to use the shoes.

Selling Price: $249.99

Buy it here

Logitech is rather well-know for wireless mouse, not only because of its first-rate quality, but also due to the stylish shape. Perhaps next time we talking about Logitech’s product, we should also refer to its funny design. Inspired by wind-up toys, Logitech has come up with Sustail, a new wireless mouse that relies on the mechanical energy, which is produced when you wind it up. So just wind the mouse with the key, and then Sustail will be ready to work.

Designer: Ahmet Bektes

You know E-ink, but you may not have heard of E-skin. Very basically put, the E-skin and E-ink presents more or less the same technology, but the former is better and more popular than the latter one. No longer featuring a black-and-white technology, the E-skin, Philips claimed, allows several colors to be built into one layer while still ensures that each color is separately controlled. Therefore, either separate colors or multiple colors will appear on a transparent layer, all coming under an accurate control. Hopefully, the new technology will soon be applied to players, cell phones and other devices. This time, it is colorful words that make the life colorful.

More Information Here

Going Dutch with credit card? Not that is impossible, but the idea just reminds me of an impressed scene of the movie ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’. When Rebecca wanted to buy a green scarf, the crazy girl swiped almost all her cards to pay for it. Won’t that embarrass you in a similar situation? But to guys who love going Dutch with CC, they’re sure to love the ‘Piece of Cake’, a device that allows everyone to pay for their shares by CC.

Designer: Jung You Chul, Her Miran, Lee Chang Ho, Lee Kiho & Shin Youngmi

Check this out. It’s a luggage locator, coming with a remote control, which ensures you pick out your luggage from many suitcases, even if they look like the same as yours. So after a long flight, the most beautiful voice will come to you, “Hey, I’m over here!” even if your bag is 45 feet away. Of course, you may prerecord other messages as you like.

Selling Price: $14.98

Buy it here

We’ve seen pretty high-tech clothes in our day, like the ‘Protective Coat’ if you remember, but few are as utilitarian as this. Using a new clothing technology called as e-Press, the shirt is built with bio sensors to check out the wearer’s stress levels in different parts including the chest, the back and both shoulders. If stress levels are high, the bio sensors will send signals to corresponding LEDs, which will then indicate that by blinking fast. On the contrary, if those parts are given a massage, the LEDs will blink slowly as the stress levels go down.