August, 2010

From designer Eugene Kim comes the Eagle Phone, a new model he hopes LG will purchase and help take flight.

From the University of Kansas comes a breakthrough in spintronics - a new way to store and read computerized data.

Cute Circuit, a London fashion house that specializes in wearable technology has unveiled its latest addition to its fashion line.  The M-dress, your basic black cellphone dress.

At Decker Yeadon the focus is on the environment - particularly on how new material technologies can lessen the impact on water and energy depletion while positively contributing to health, safety, and security.  The creation of the OOoo Chair, invisible though it may be, stands out as the chair design with the least impact on the environment, although I don't know about 'security.'

Almost as if it were a conspiracy by Big Pharma, Prof. Donald Light said the pharmaceutical market was the "most dangerous market for lemons in modern society."   He said that when the toxic side effects of most drugs were taken into account, plus their misuse, they can become "a significant cause of death," rather than helping patients.

Birds in the wild can groom their nails, or claws, on the rough branches of trees.  They can bathe in the rain, the ocean, bay, or brook.  But what about pet birds?  They also have a natural need to groom themselves.

Gaming powerhouse THQ is poised to claim an untapped niche of the Wii peripheral market with the uDraw, coming in late 2010.

Designer Ludwig Zeller has created the CubeBrowser, a six-sided mix of ingenuity and art that allows the enjoyment of photos in a whole new way.

Austrian designer Thomas Feichtner took an experimental approach to his new silver cutlery designs he calls Cutt.  Instead of form following function as it does traditionally in product design, Feichtner took the project on as an artistic creation rather than a functional one.   I wonder if this knife, fork, and spoon are really functional, though.

Pranav Mistry, Pattie Maes and Liyan Chang, researchers from MIT's Media Lab, created an invisible mouse using an infrared laser beam on the right side of a laptop keyboard and an infrared camera on the right side of a laptop screen.  Their prototype cost them all of $20.  Chances are the invisible mouse will cost you even less.

West Point Home the manufacturer of branded home products from Martex to Ralph Lauren to Harley Davidson. (Yes, there are HD sheets and boy are they wild!) West Point Home now wants your innovation for organization and storage products for any room in the house, including the attic.  The company has teamed up with Edison Nation to assist in collecting information and video about your ideas.  There is a catch though...

Newcastle University scientists have determined that bacteria have the ability to smell you coming.

When you get old, you should not have to vacuum.  You read that here first.  So someone invented a Laser Guided Robotic Vacuum for us boomers and other folks who would rather be doing anything else but vacuuming.  Even if you had a maid, she wouldn't vacuum this good for, although the robot moves around  a lot like a human, its laser vision is better than ours.

Some people literally see beyond the limitations of others to invent and develop assistive innovations that open doors to disabled persons.  In this case, Dr. Dennis Hong,  from Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), made some in'roads' for blind persons with his invention of the world's first blind driver vehicle.

From designer Fredrik Palmblad comes the Digital Wallet, a USB answer to the worn leather card-carriers we cling to.

Personal electronics giant Apple flows into the liquid tech market with exclusive access to Liquidmetal.

From odd gadget supplier Fred and Friends – not sure who Fred is or just how close his friends are – comes the Tuned Up silicone iPhone case.

The first Sharpie Liquid Pencil is being introduced to the market as I write.  Made by Newell Rubbermaid, it is being touted as the reinvention of the mechanical pencil, a pencil that writes like a pen, but erases like a pencil.

Wall stickers have been very hot decorative items in home and office interiors. The trompe l'oeil (trick of the eye) effect creates many fabulous and fun 3D effects, including wall stickers of furniture, plants, even exterior scenes.  But graduate students at the Chelsea College of Art and Design in London have unleashed a new purpose for such optical design.  Their Anamorphic Typography makes a statement.

You hated going to the dentist, like most of us.  If that feeling was so strong that you skipped your regular cleanings and ended up with a receding gum line and bleeding gums, you've got periodontal disease. And that may not be all....