Cement that Repairs itself

Huge buildings such as bridges and skyscrapers could soon mend themselves with a new wonder concrete.
The engineered cement composite heals with water and carbon dioxide if it cracks such as an earthquake.
the university of michigan aid it works because it cracks in narrow hairlines: they added: "it behaves like new."

Reference: Daily Mirror Friday 24.04.2009

Optical disc offers 500GB storage

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8021012.stm

A disc that can store 500 gigabytes (GB) of data, equivalent to 100 DVDs, has been unveiled by General Electric.

Japanese to unveil solar powered mobile

Found this pretty awesome article where the japanese have created a mobile phone which is solely operated via sunlight.
Just ten minutes under the sun is enough for the phone to be on standby for 2 hours or a 1 minute phone call.

Reference: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Scientist updates twitter using his mind

Adam Wilson posted the 17-character message using a brain-computer interface (BCI) that he is helping to build for people whose minds function but whose bodies do not work.
Mr Wilson, a biomedical engineering doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, first wrote: "SENT FROM BCI2000", referring to the model number of his machine.

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He followed this with "USING EEG TO SEND TWEET". The system works by monitoring electroencephalography – or EEG – which is the electrical activity produced on the scalp by the movement of neurons within the brain.
The user of a BCI wears a cap, which is studded with electrodes and connected to a computer. The electrodes detect the electrical signals caused by thoughts.
Mr Wilson's Twitter set-up contains an onscreen alphabet. The letters flash in turn, and when the letter that the user wants to type flashes, the system detects a spike in their brain activity, and selects that letter.
Justin Williams, an assistant professor who works with Mr Wilson, said: "If you're looking at the 'R' on the screen and all the other letters are flashing, nothing happens. But when the 'R' flashes, your brain says, 'Hey, wait a minute. Something's different about what I was just paying attention to.' And you see a momentary change in brain activity."
Mr Wilson likened the process to writing a text message on a mobile phone. "You have to press a button four times to get the character you want," he said of texting. "So this is kind of a slow process at first."
However as with texting, users pick up speed with practice, he said, adding: "I've seen people do up to eight characters per minute."
Mr Wilson and Mr Williams said that they hope the system will become available for people who have disabilities caused by things such as severe strokes or spinal cord injuries.
"This is one of the first examples where we've found something that would be immediately useful to a much larger community of people with neurological deficits," Mr Williams said.
"Someone could simply tell family and friends how they're feeling today ... People at the other end can be following their thread and never know that the person is disabled. That would really be an enabling type of communication means for those people, and I think it would make them feel, in the online world, that they're not that much different from everybody else. That's why we did these things."

Reference: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/5192573/Scientist-updates-Twitter-using-only-his-mind.html

Assignment Two

Juicy Salif - Phillip Starck

How it works
It is simply a fruit juicer, it has ridges on the top for the fruit to sit upon and the user applies force to extract the juice which will drip on the underside.
How it is used
It is used like any other juicers of its category were the user extracts the juice by applying force.
How it benefits the user
The benefits of this is that not only is it a juicer but also a beautiful sculptor, it feels like it is inspired by outer space/ spaceships/ UFO etc
Product strengths and weaknesses
The strength would be that it is beautifully designed and is considered a design icon but the weakness would be the function of it is not very good.
How it might be improved
I have read a few reviews about this product and i noticed that the juicer doesn't function very well, it was even rumoured that Phillip Starck said '"My juicer is not meant to squeeze lemons; it is meant to start conversations"'


Lunuganga - Michael Cross and Julie Matthias

How it works
Simply using nature to create an organic product which in this instance is a book shelf.
How it is used
How it is used to really down to the user as it something which is more of a decoration as opposed to a product.
How it benefits the user
The benefits are down to personal judgments of what the product is used for. I think the it gives the impression of simplicity, and more of a ornamental style product.
Product strengths and weaknesses
It is quite a unique product but what stops you from making one yourself?
How it might be improved
not much can be improved as it is taken directly from mother nature i think.



Yam - Marc Newson
How it works
A very organically inspired shape, the function is to look amazing but also have a use when necessary, it is really down to the materials rather than anything else.
How it is used
It is pretty much an ornamental piece of art/industrial design by stretching the boundaries of technology How it benefits the user
Not really intended to be 'used' like a product i believe its more of a thing to start of conversations. Product strengths and weaknesses
It's unique in every single way but is there a real function to it? How it might be improved
As a piece of art its pretty much perfect but as a product there should be some sort of function which it could offer.


Rolling Bridge - Thomas Heatherwick

How it works
From its normal look, its simply a bridge but when a boat needs to pass it rolls itself over to one side into a ball shape to create a beautiful sculptor.
How it is used
Its used as a bridge with the function to retract itself when needed.
How it benefits the user
by building a normal bridge it limits the canal from have boats passed through but which the rolling bridge the problem is solved.
Product strengths and weaknesses
unique from any other bridge and also solves the problem that will occurred from standard bridges, the weakness is the speed it retracts.



Folding colander - Joseph Joseph
How it works
The function is to save space and also have a second function to the product. How it is used
the design is very simple it is made from one sheet of plastic which has ridges inside it, when not in use it is flat and can be stored in a cupboard taking very little space, then needed it is folded into a colander. How it benefits the user
Space efficient and quality design Product strengths and weaknesses
Unique design among its rivals but does it appeal to the mass market? How it might be improved
Improvements i think could be that it can have several functions

Nitinol Wire

Did some further research into the spring that when applied with heat springs back to its original state.
The Smart material is actually called Nitinol which is a shape memory alloy

Assignment one

1. What does industrial Design mean to you personally?

If I was asked this question at the beginning of the degree term this would be the answer I would have given; What industrial design means to me is a means of producing something which is aesthetically pleasing and incorporates the newest technology thus making it viable to the consumers.
Since I am in my third term of my course I have become enlightened and many aspects of my thinking have changed. Industrial design is something which should incorporate natural forms with technological advances, both should be balanced and not overpower one another.
In my receptical thought I am looking at how simple ideas can change the world around us because I have a fasination in technology. This is why i have called my blog, Ideas that can change the world.

SixthSense

Was reading BBC news yesterday, came across this which I thought was pretty amazing. From what Ive read I assume the technology is based on using motion sensing technology (obviously much more advanced) and a projector to merge the physical world and the digital world together.

Here's a quote from from the article i thought was pretty true and funny;

"Well, I think it might actually be more socially acceptable than those Blue tooth earpieces people use these days. At least with our system you can actually see that people are interacting with information, instead of watching someone that looks like they're just talking to themselves on a street."

Reference: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7997961.stm

Self Healing Paint

Seen this article a while ago in the new paper, was tidying my room today and found the cut out.

"Researchers have successfully developed a new polyurethane coating which is able to heal itself whenever exposed to ultraviolet light. What does this mean? Well, the new material has tons of practical applications including coating virtually anything that can be scratched, ranging from electronics, aircraft and especially cars, helping minimize upkeep and repair costs of a wide range of products. We're not too sure whether those in the paint business will be happy with this bit of news, but consumers generally won't mind having something that is self-healing, hence lowering overall maintenance costs. The repair process via exposure to UV light isn't moisture-sensitive, allowing it to be used globally. Mending reactions won't work a second time though, making each part of the coating repair itself but once."

Reference : http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/03/selfhealing_paint.html

This is technology is definitly somthing that can be encorporated into industrial design as it can have endless amounts of uses.

Enough Rest!

OK so decided that Ive had enough rest and its time i should start my blogging habit for my product analysis.