function-load – Page 2 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Sit Happens: Noonee’s So-Called ‘Chairless Chair’ Offers Wearable Seating Solution

Some are calling it an invisible chair while others are going with bionic pants —semantics, perhaps, but considering that the chair is a canonical example of industrial design, it’s worth examining the distinction when it comes to Noonee ‘s “Chairless Chair.” “Based on robotic principles of Bio-Inspired Legged Locomotion and Actuation, ” the exoskeletal assistive device consists of a pair of mechatronic struts that run the length of the user’s leg, with attachment points across the thighs and at the heels of the user’s shoes. Hinged at the knee to allow for normal movement—viz. walking and running—while a battery-powered variable damper system can be engaged to direct body weight from the knees to the heels of one’s feet. Of course, the Chairless Chair is intended not for us deskbound office peons but for environments in which workers must stand for extended periods, if not entire 8-hour shifts. As the story goes, 29-year-old Keith Gunura was inspired by his experience working in a packaging factory in the U.K.; now, a decade later, he is the CEO and founder of Zurich-based company. CNN, which duly notes the precedent of the one-legged Swiss milking stool, sums up these workplace health concerns (as does the Noonee website ): Physical strain, repetitive movements and poor posture can lead to conditions called Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which are now one of the leading causes of lost workday injury and illness. In 2011, MSDs accounted for 33 percent of all worker injuries and illnesses in the U.S. with over 378, 000 cases, according to data from the United States Department of Labor. In Europe, over 40 million workers are affected by MSDs attributable to their job, according to a study entitled Fit For Work Europe and conducted across 23 European countries. Gunura demo’ing the Chairless Chair (more…)

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Sit Happens: Noonee’s So-Called ‘Chairless Chair’ Offers Wearable Seating Solution

Dungeons, Dragons & Design: Geek Chic’s Gorgeous Gaming Tables

David Roentgen’s transforming gaming table is the most amazing piece of furniture I’ve ever seen. It’s also from the 18th Century. But here in the 21st, a company called Geek Chic is making modern-day gaming tables. Their stuff is beautiful, and as the company’s name suggests, the products are aimed at the Dungeons-and-Dragons roleplaying game crowd. Their top-of-the-line model is called the Sultan , and no, it ain’t a table for eating on. The center surface is what the company calls the Game Vault, where the Gamemaster lays out the unspoilt fantasyland devoid of your landlord, boss, spouse and parents. The sides feature integrated flip-out trays and drawers within, as well as little pull-out shelves to hold your dice and/or a cup of magic potion. (more…)

The TSA Wants You– To Design a Solution to Our Collective Airport Security Woes (For a Chance to Win to $5K of Prize Money)

The airport security line is the kind of universally despised ordeal that extraterrestrials, should they exist, would dread; even a seasoned traveler will bristle at the thought of the rigmarole of boarding pass / I.D., uncooperative scanners, doffing footwear, unwieldy bins, more scanners. Not to belabor the point, but it’s a mildly demeaning nuisance at best. What are you going to do about it? Well, it turns out that the TSA wants to know—they recently announced an Ideation Challenge soliciting proposals for expediting the process, specifically for TSA Pre✓ passengers but ostensibly for us plebs as well. “America’s Next Generation Checkpoint Queue Design Model” may not roll off the tongue, but, hey, that’s what we’re up against (…and, as we saw a couple of weeks ago, this is what the TSA is up against ). TSA is looking for the Next Generation Checkpoint Queue Design Model to apply a scientific and simulation modeling approach to meet the dynamic security screening environment. The new queue design should include, but not limited to the following queue lanes: · TSA Pre✓ · Standard · Premier Passengers (1st class, business class, frequent fliers, etc.) · Employee and Flight Crews · PWD (wheelchair access) The Challenge is to provide a simulation modeling concept that can form the basis to plan, develop requirements, and design a queue appropriately. The concept will be used to develop a model to be applied in decision analysis and to take in considerations of site specific requirements, peak and non-peak hours, flight schedules and TSA staffing schedules. Solvers are expected to provide the concept and provide evidence that it works as described in the requirements. As in the MTA’s 2012 ” App Quest ” competition, the Transportation Security Authority is offering a total of $15, 000 as, um, Innocentive . (I know it’s a portmanteau of ‘innovation’ and ‘incentive, ‘ but I can’t help but read it as ‘innocent’—see also Rapiscan ; cf. Dr. Tobias Funke’s business cards .) (more…)

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The TSA Wants You– To Design a Solution to Our Collective Airport Security Woes (For a Chance to Win to $5K of Prize Money)

Onboard Storage Design: Why Vikings Never Fought For Overhead Bin Space

Vikings loved to brawl, with both their enemies and with each other. Viking sagas are filled with tales of even longstanding friends happy to settle disagreements with steel. But as they piled onto their longships to go pillaging, their boarding process was a good deal more civilized than the melee that is modern air travel. For one thing, their storage was one-to-one; when 30 Vikings got onto a ship, there were 30 places to store things. That’s because they carried their seating on board with them, and their seating doubled as their storage. Prior to boarding, the decks of a ship were bare. Each Viking plunked his chest down at his own rowing position. Enough Viking chests have been found, and replicas made, that we can take a look at their design. It’s both intelligent and purposeful. The first thing you notice is that the tops were rounded to shed water, and perhaps to provide a modicum of comfort. (more…)

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Onboard Storage Design: Why Vikings Never Fought For Overhead Bin Space

Big-Ass Screen: LG’s Envy-Inducing 34" Monster Monitor

Images via Robbie Khan / PetaPixel While I’d previously caught wind of LG’s new 34″ monitor , the company’s hero shots showed little more than a rectangle covered in Photoshopped fake screens and devoid of local scale. But I just came across photographer Robbie Khan’s write-up on his , and seeing it with actual work on it drives home how gi-normous this thing is. Like many of us creatives Khan spends long stretches in front of a monitor, and the 34UM95’s 21:9 aspect ration and 3440×1440 resolution would go to good use in his work editing panoramic photos. LG’s product copy points out that they’ve included a “Screen Splitter” feature (both Windows and Mac compatible) that automatically tiles out four screens with a single click… (more…)

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Big-Ass Screen: LG’s Envy-Inducing 34" Monster Monitor

Core77 Design Awards Spotlight: Personal EKSO, an Exoskeleton Designed to Replace the Wheelchair

Although the perennial buzz around 3D printing has yet to materialize into a proper industrial revolution, the increasingly powerful technology has gained some traction in the medical world, where customizability and on-site availability trump the constraints of cost and scale. It may come as no surprise, then, that one of the 2014 Core77 Design Awards honorees that caught our eye was developed by a previous winner, whose work we’d covered as far back as 2010, before the the inaugural awards program. This time around, Scott Summit took Professional Runner Up in the Social Impact category with the EKSO personal exoskeleton , a mecha-like medical device at the intersection of robotics, rehabilitation and digital fabrication. As a replacement for a wheelchair, the device has the potential to revolutionize mobility for paraplegic individuals. Summit shares credit with Gustavo Fricke, 3D Systems and Ekso Bionics, all of whom worked together to print parts that connect a person to their robot as naturally and respectively as possible. “This is an unusual design effort on every front, ” designer Scott Summit says. “We had challenges with the technical details, since these are massive files, and almost entirely organic, but very precise. It’s also very tricky to scan a paralyzed person, and expect the data to be exactly as desired. We found that even the slightest detail could lead to dangerous bruising.” All of that considered, the prototypes have been met with a great response. The test pilot loves it so much, she wants to use it all of the time. But like many of these things go, the team has to wait until the design is FDA certified to be worn daily. (more…)

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Core77 Design Awards Spotlight: Personal EKSO, an Exoskeleton Designed to Replace the Wheelchair

More Anamorphosis: Bernard Pras’ Amazing 3D Trompe L’Oeils

I hate to write this, but “You’ll never believe what happens next!” Speaking of anamorphosis , check out French artist Bernard Pras’ nutty room-sized sculpture below. Pras practices the cylinder-free variant of anamorphosis, and the results have to be seen to be believed: (more…)

How Will the iPhone 6’s Sapphire Screen Hold Up to Abuse? Watch and See

Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee somehow got a hold of what is purportedly the screen for Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 6. Made of sapphire rather than Gorilla Glass, the screen has been rumored to be a big step up in durability. The material-minded will recall that Apple’s current iPhone features sapphire covers for both the camera and the home button/fingerprint sensor, and in those roles it is crucial the material not be scratchable, otherwise the functionality would be compromised. But how will it hold up with a much larger surface area, comprising the entire 4.7″ screen of the 6? On his YouTube channel MKBHD, Brownlee puts it to the test by working it over with a knife and a set of keys, before finally attempting to bend and break it. Have a look: (more…)

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How Will the iPhone 6’s Sapphire Screen Hold Up to Abuse? Watch and See

In the Details: Making a Smart Ring That Women Would Actually Want to Wear

Last April, we wrote about Logbar’s Ring , a smart-jewelry concept that aims to provide gesture control of a host of smartphone apps (and that raised more than $880, 000 dollars on Kickstarter). But Logbar is hardly the only company competing for this wearables niche. In June, Ringly announced a pre-sale for its own smartphone-connected ring, and hit its sales goal of $60, 000 in just eight hours. Clearly, some people really want a smart ring. Where Ring promises magic wand–style controls, Ringly is more about discreet notifications. The company’s CEO, Christina Mercando, came up with the idea for the device after missing a series of important calls, messages and appointments. “I started asking around and noticing other women having similar problems, ” she says, “so I set out to create a solution that I was also proud to wear.” Through colleagues at her previous employer, the collective-intelligence startup Hunch, Mercando was introduced to Logan Munro, an MIT-educated engineer who became Ringly’s co-founder. Together, they worked on creating a device that was, first and foremost, aesthetically pleasing. “The entire idea around Ringly was to create technology that was small and discreet and incorporate it into beautiful jewelry and accessories, ” Mercando says. “We wanted people to fall in love with the design first and then get excited about what it can do.” (more…)

Conceptual Climate Change: Test the Air in Lima from the Comfort of Your Couch with Air Globe

One of the best parts about skipping town for an exotic vacation is the anticipation of spending time in warmer (or cooler) weather. But what if experiencing that part of the getaway was simply a matter of pointing to a spot on a small, tech-enabled globe (a semi-sphere, if you will)? Just imagine: You could enjoy that ocean breeze without the rigmarole of Airbnb. Well, look no further than the Air Globe , a conceptual design by National Taipei University of Technology Master Degree Student Pei-Chih Deng, currently a contender in the Electrolux Design Lab competition . The premise is that the user can choose a geographical location on the globe and experience its climate within the comfort and convenience of his or her humble abode. The device simulates the ambiance of one’s destination by collecting real-time data on the temperature, humidity levels, smells and even the sounds of the area. The region’s geographical information, weather and name show up on the display for easy reference. Hence the tagline: “Bringing sunny Miami to your rainy Monday”—because no matter where you live, we all know how snowy/blustery/humid/monsoon-y Mondays go. (more…)

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Conceptual Climate Change: Test the Air in Lima from the Comfort of Your Couch with Air Globe