Volvo decided against a svelte plug-in hybrid when coming up with its XC60 and opted for a more boxy SUV type as the base for its newest concept. It gutted its XC60 and used a turbocharged gas 4-cylinder engine that pushes out 280hp up-front, and also used a 70hp electric motor that powers the rear. Together they produce 350 hp and can accelerate the concept from0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds. The new concept can also run in pure electric mode by simply pressing a button on the dash that enables it to get 35 miles on its electric juice from its 12kWh battery pack. Taking only three and a half hours to charge via 220V, it will take seven and a half hours when using a 110V plug. More info will be released when it debuts at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.

Pardon us if we don’t hold our breath while we debate if this BMW powered hover bike is real.  But that’s the word on the street.  It sports a 1,170cc 4-stroke BMW boxer engine that powers a pair of rotors.  Its inventor, Chris Malloy, says that it can achieve a top speed of 173 MPH and hover at over 10,000 feet.  Say what?  That just doesn’t seem viable, but we’re not scientists, so who are we to say.  Nonetheless we’re tossing in our skepticism card.

The bike is reinforced with a Kevlar carbon fiber and foam core frame, and complemented by exotic Tasmanian oak propellers.  Much like a motorbike, the controls are mounted on the handle bars, allowing its rider to control pitch, eleveation, speed and direction.

Malloy estimates that the Hover Bike will cost about $40,000 once and if it heads into production.  Personally, we’d love to see this thing go head-to-head with the Martin Jetpack, which has already achieved numerous test flights and more importantly viability.

Via: Gearpatrol

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Toting around the good old bike lock is a pain in the ass, and literally if you resolve to the hipster methodology (they stick it in their back pocket).  So it only makes sense to integrate the lock into the bike’s components.

The Senza Bike Lock makes dual use of the handle bars. They can be removed and locked together to form the equivalent barrier of protection of that of a U-Lock, which is commonly used to deter thieves.  A double whammy is delivered because cutting the lock means damaging the handle bars, which are an integrate part of a bike’s usefulness.  The design, and we have to stress that it’s just a design, also calls for a rear wheel lock that is fixed in place and clamps closed to prevent the spokes from rotating or passing through the would be gap if it were unlocked.

Caveats?  In order for the locks to be sturdy enough to ward of thieves they’d have to be hefty in build, which means unwanted weight.  And despite the fact that it’s convenient to have the lock with you at all times, there are “rides” when you don’t require such an apparatus and thus the weight is unjustified.

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Most light bulbs twist and turn into place.  But how about a version that clips?  The Peg uses a clip mechanism, like a clothespin, to hold the light bulb in place and all the while transfers energy to the attached bulb through a set of contacts.  It’s a pretty neat design that we’d love to put on our patio or roof.

The design/concept is part of Steffi Min’s thesis.

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There are two dots that reside on a standard keyboard that help you position your hands for touch typing.  But that hardly forms a significant, ever lasting bond.

The Engrain Tactile Keyboard is cut from slabs of wood and is designed to enhance our connection with the keyboard, as we type, through tactile sense.  Each key has its own unique grain and perhaps the hope is that over time the user will become more attached to the hardware and in turn write, or the very least type with more intuition and emotion – something like that.

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By now you’ve probably amassed a fair number of obsolete microSD cards.  We’re talking about the ones that are included with gadgets and can hold up to 1GB of data.  They’re virtually useless, unless of course someone actually produce this concept, the Collector.

It takes on the form factor of a USB storage flash drive, but instead of shipping with it’s own built-in memory, you insert your left over microSD cards.  In theory the device combines all the cards into giant block of memory, though we’re not sure what the technical hurdles to achieve this feat are.

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AA batteries aren’t going away anytime soon.  You can thank digital cameras, a variety of toys, and Xbox 360 controllers for that.  However, there are probably now more USB powered gadgets than their are standard battery powered toys on the market today.  Making sure you’ve got a back up battery for each respective type can be a hair pulling experience.  

Enter the Continuance battery concept.  The form factor is that of a AA battery, allowing you to power your compatible gadgets.  On the side, though, is a USB port, which presumably allows you to rejuice them and power up gadgets that only take a USB plug, such as the iPhone or any other smartphone on the market.  You’ll inevitably need a number of them on hand since their mAh capacity should be rather limited, but 4-8 should probably suffice in most instance.

Again, this is a concept only, but they’ve got our vote to move ahead with production.  We’re thinking Costco would be a good retail venue.

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We’ve all done it.  Packed a travel bag complete with a tooth brush, but only to forget the necessary toothpaste.  This concept from Spanish designers Awamura-ganjavian puts the paste directly inside the brush insuring that you don’t leave home without it.

A 3.4oz cylinder, which can be refilled, is built into the brush’s handle and houses the toothpaste. With a simple twist the paste is applied to the brush head, thanks to a syringe like design, that forces it through the bristles. 

The designers don’t know if they ever plan on producing the product, but we know they’ve already got a few takers.  We’d just like to see it applied to an electric brush.

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Anyone who ever said that coolness is rooted in practicality needs to have a look at the EX trike, built by Nils Ferber, Sebastian Auray, Ruben Faber and Ludolf von Oldershausen.

This wire frame of a tricycle is crafted from bicycle parts, but instead of the rider pedaling it depends on two electric Bosche hand drills which can apparently propel it up to 30 kmh (~18mph).  Turning isn’t quite as simple as propelling the vehicle, since it requires the rider to lean, which influences the back wheel to tilt in the desired direction.  However, braking and accelerating are performed using a set of handles.

Wanna buy it? No dice.

Via: OhGizmo

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You might wanna take a second to compose yourself and block out any idea that this device is intended for sprinkling soap shavings over your salad or pasta dish.  In fact, the designer views this conceptual product from an eco friendly perspective and hence the inspiration for the design.

You see, liquid soap requires much more storage space and thus requires a larger infrastructure for transporting the product to the consumer.  Not to mention the oil implications of liquid soap, which makes it much less Eco friendly.

The “Soap Flakes”, as it’s been dubbed, shaves small flakes of soap from the bar directly into your hand for easy lathering, hopefully comparable to that of liquid soap.

There are two version: one that adheres to the wall for hand washing and one that can be held directly in the hand like a pepper mill grinder. While the latter is much more self explanatory in operation, the other is not.  As you place your hand under the dispenser, much like a soap dispenser in a public restroom, you push the lever which activates the grinder.

The design is a little out there, but we’d love to see a version that allows you to combine your used small bars of soap – the ones that are almost paper thin – such that you can draw out every last shred of cleansing power.

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The hard drive market isn’t exactly teeming with excitement, but some how Lacie keeps finding way to keep the headlines churning.

The Lacie Float is a hard drive case meets trackpad.  It’s crafted from carbon fiber and sits on a sheet of glass providing it with the appearance that it is floating, hence the name.

But that’s hardly the cool part.  Once plugged in via USB (it’s designed to be USB 3.0 compatible) the surface of the Float is transformed into a trackpad.  

The design calls for either your standard spindle or an SSD – we like SSD since there aren’t any moving parts that can be damaged from aggressive finger swiping or tapping.  But that’s not all.  That glass base, it’s infused with a set of LED lights that illuminate under dark lighting conditions.

Unfortunately, the Lacie Float is purely a concept only and doesn’t seem to be officially associated with the hard drive manufacture.  Something tells us they’ll take note to this one, though.

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Much like Sony Ericsson’s Live View, Fossil’s Connected Watch Design, which is currently in the conceptual stages, displays your Android phone’s caller ID, email, weather and other tid bits of information that are worthy of glance at your wrist.

The watch itself doesn’t look half bad, but the current screens we’re seeing look pretty unspired.  But keep in mind that this is a concept, so hopefully they’ll polish up the UI before the official launch, if and whenever.

The Fossil Connect watch will transmit data via Bluetooth, which begs the question of battery life.  In all likelihood this thing will probably require regular charging, which for most watch wearers isn’t a norm.

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How incompetent of a human do you have to be to need The Dipr, a spoon/hook for dipping your Oreo cookies in milk?  The utensil features a hook like arm that takes advantage of the space created by the cream filling in between the two biscuit pieces.  The design is logical since the cream filling is the least susceptible to the milk’s soggy inducing ways, but soon as that biscuit goes sloppy can this thing (as in you) really achieve the balancing act needed to reach your mouth?

The Dipr is purely conceptual and is currently look for a $10k kickstart of cash to get things moving.

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I’m not sure what to think of this urinal/sink hybrid concept, from Yeongwoo Kim. As you can see from the picture above, it lets you both use the bathroom and use a sink in the same receptacle. The sink water also is used to clean the urinal bowl. Sure, there’s the immediate gross-out factor, but then you start thinking about how it will save space and recycle water, too. And there would be no excuse for not washing your hands. It won a design award

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“The William” stovetop is one of the most exciting concepts I’ve ever seen. How come? Well, it takes the same size of the stovetops of old, but lets you cook tons of different items at once, all controlled via touchscreen. It does so via a complex network of “honeycomb” heating sensors, which allow you to easily adjust the size and shape of a certain “temperature zone” while having a totally different heat right near it. You can set zones to turn off automatically, so stuff doesn’t overcook. If something like this actually gets made, it could literally revolutionize how fast we cook, or even invent new recipes. Check out the video to see it explained in detail.

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In today’s day and age, our gadgets are increasingly being powered via cables other than standard power, primarily USB. Anyone that’s running low on iPhone power without a USB port or Apple charger in sight knows how frustrating it can be. That’s where new design ingenuity comes in. A new power outlet concept from China’s Zhejiang University of Technology gives you five USB ports for all your gadgets, and would make visiting friends and public places a lot more useful when your running low on juice. Let’s hope this concept becomes reality soon.

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This Pico Projector Concept, from designer René Woo-Ram Lee, is the best-looking gadget we’ve seen in awhile. It’s both cute and incredibly functional — one “eye” is the camera, the other the projector, and a full size display that takes up all of the back. And the smile that makes him so happy is the microphone for recording audio. He’s got HDMI output right next to his little feet, which help him stand. Mark my words — If this thing gets made, it’ll be the No. 1 girlfriend gadget of the holiday season.

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Shmuel Linski, an student at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, has created this Concrete Espresso Machine for a class. Linski wanted to use concrete in the kitchen, but not as wall or countertop material, and the combination of concrete and the fine metal parts interested him. It interests me too — I think it works pretty well as an interesting design. It better make a damn fine cup of espresso though.

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Andrew Kupresanin’s Nadia Camera Concept just might change the way we take our everyday photos. After snapping a pic, a rear LCD display shows a percentage rating that grades how well-composed and visually rich the photograph is. He’s made a mock-up of the device, and made a video to show it off. If such a device were to exist and teach non-professionals how to compose more enriching shots, everybody wins.

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