Interaction design

For some people counts; the crazier the better. See in this video how the bride uses an interactive floor. [Continue reading...]

Heatherwick Studio’s has developed a new way of opening and closing small sized bridges for pedestrians and cyclists. Instead of one big bridge that rotates or lifts itself this bridge folds itself in a small circle. A perfect solution for cities with a lot of water and a lot of water traffic.

The bridge is twelve meters long and made of eight separate parts that can fold. It is not a concept but already in use in London. When it is fully folded it blends in the environment as it is not recognized as a bridge. Check out the pictures and videos. [Continue reading...]

See last years presented concept car of Saab, the 9-X Air. Airplane technology has been used in the car to optimize the airflow. Inspiring to see but let’s hope Saab will be able to actually make such cars in the next years. [Continue reading...]

Designer and creative artist Joachim Sauter made a truly inspiring and amaing artwork for the BMW museum. The artwork consists of 714 metal spheres the can move vertically through small steel wires that are controlled by motors. By adjusting the spheres creative artwork is visualized and Joachim Sauter wanted to display the process of form finding. The animation is seven minutes long starting chaotically and then evolving into finished projects. The artwork can be visited at the BMW museum in Munich. [Continue reading...]

James Patten and Ben Recht have developed the Audiopad, a multi touch screen that transforms motion into music. On the touch screen different parameters can be controlled be by dragging and resizing which directly influence the music you hear.

With traditional DJ sets and mixers the feedback is purely led lights that switch on or off while the audiopad also gives visual feedback on the touch screen. In our opinion this makes mixing / creating music is more intuitive as you don’t only have audible feedback but also visual feedback.

How does it work? (from the audiopad site)

Audiopad has a matrix of antenna elements which track the positions of electronically tagged objects on a tabletop surface. Software translates the position information into music and graphical feedback on the tabletop. Each object represents either a musical track or a microphone.

[Continue reading...]

Our colleagues at Popsci have written a nice article about products that combine two functions into one new product. Such products are called hybrids and some are more successful in combining functions then others. Some examples from the Popsci site.
Examples

• Refrigerator and tap
• Air freshener and security camera
• Aromatherapy burner, speaker, AM/FM radio and LED light
• Washing machine and toilet
• Mirror and radio
• Shower and tanner

[Continue reading...]

The Microft surface table is introduced in the Shariton hotels. Earlier we wrote about the unveiling of the new surface table and the introduction at AT&T. As with the surface tables at AT&T the ones for the Shariton are specially programmed for this hotel chain. But the working principle remains the same: navigating through the menu by touch or multi touch. [Continue reading...]

The company ‘Visual Planet’ has developed interactive foil that can be used as a touch screen. One major advantage is that it can be glued on every surface that is not metallic. Consider the possibilities. Now displays in public will get vandalized less easy as the display (read foil!) can be glued on the inside of windows / plastics.

Two configurations
The foil comes in two configurations; a see through window configuration or an interactive poster configuration. Especially the see through configuration has a lot of potential as it keeps working with a glass thickness of 25 mm. This more ‘vandalize proof’ display could open doors for such displays at buss stops, shopping centers that lack the social control at certain times during the day. [Continue reading...]

Sony has presented its new Oled technology a while ago and we will be seeing this in the near future in organizers and laptops. It gives designers a lot more freedom as the screen can be rolled around a cylinder for instance. The screen is just 3 millimeters thick, so you could paste it on a wall for example. It will definitely reduce product dimensions, laptops and televisions become smaller for instance.

A second benefit is the reduced power consumption. Oled technology does not require a backlight like for instance LCD televisions. Although the life expectancy of Oled technology is not to too good compared to LCD technology it will improve and products which use this technology are brought to market. [Continue reading...]

Designer Ko Yiu Fai has designed an usb stick that spreads a scent when the usb stick is plugged in the computer. Although the stick can not hold any memory it adds a nice flavor to your computer experience. But we think if this technology is further developed it can be used for many other uses as well; adding olfactory to computer use! [Continue reading...]