Author Archives: Ida Torres

This Batmobile replica can actually be yours for just $3M

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If you’ve ever watched any of the Batman movies, you’ve probably dreamt about owning a car like the Batmobile. Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies in particular have specifically elevated this vehicle and if given the chance, car collectors would probably drop a pretty penny to get a replica of this. Well, if you have 3 million dollars to spare, you can actually own a true-to-life Batmobile although you can’t really drive it anywhere.

Designer: Wayne Enterprises

Warner Brothers previously created a Wayne Enterprises lifestyle company to sell pretty expensive products that Bruce Wayne would probably own if he were a real person. But this is probably the most absurdly expensive item that will only be available to a few, lucky, rich people who can afford it. The Wayne Enterprises Tumbler is a life-size and fully functional recreation of the car from the movies, made in collaboration with Action Vehicle Engineering.

The 2-seat car is powered by a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 making 525 horsepower mated to a 4L85E paddle shift transmission. It is made from Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, Sheet Metal, and Fiber Glass and has stainless steel headers, flap actuators, 4-wheel power disc brakes, authentic interior with bespoke seating trim, and even premium GPS. It is not street legal though so you can only drive it in certain areas. Well those who can afford this will probably have enough space around their mansions to take it for a spin.

Unfortunately, there will be no actual flames coming out of its jet engine simulation. And unfortunately for us mere mortals, it costs $2.9 million and only 10 Tumblers will be produced for the first people who can shell out that amount. Well, Wayne Enterprises also has the Hot Toys 1/6-scale Batmobile if you only have $635 to spare.

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Forerunner K2 wants to give other humanoid robots a run for its money

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The battle for the best humanoid robot has been heating up lately with companies like Agility Robotics, Neura Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Apptronik, Reflex Robotics, and of course Tesla developing their own versions of robots that will hopefully not take over the world but help humans in their tasks. Chinese robotics company Kepler has launched the newest version of their Forerunner humanoid robot and it wants to give these other companies a run for their money.

Designer: Kepler

The Forerunner K2 is actually the fifth generation model of the original Forerunner and they say it has been updated to tailor fit commercial applications. It has undergone “extensive software and hardware enhancements” to challenge the latest robots in the market, notably Tesla’s Optimus which has received mixed reviews. This is mostly due to a “stunt” gone wrong wherein people though the black-and-white robots were moving autonomously at an event but were in fact controlled by humans behind the scenes.

Well the latest Forerunner, it now has “52 degrees of freedom” and has a totating and tilting head module which lets it move more naturally. Well, as naturally as a humanoid robot can move for now. Each hand can support up to 11 degrees of active and passive freedom and they can carry up to 15 kg. Battery life is still the same as its predecessor, with the 2.33-kWh battery lasting up to 8 hours before it powers down.

Tesla is expected to deploy its Optimus robot to production lines by next year so companies like Kepler are working doubly hard to create robots that may have better reviews than the former. The Chinese company is currently testing their Forerunner K2 at different customer facilities and later on deploy it in more companies to do things like handling of products, quality control, inspection, etc. As long as there are no robot wars, we’ll happily look at how this humanoid robot competition goes along.

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Pouffe chair concept uses minimalist design and recyclable materials

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There are two kinds of people when it comes to chairs and stools. Those who like cutely-designed seats and those who want comfortable resting places for their behinds. While I am always the latter, there are a lot of people looking for the former. That’s why we see uniquely designed chairs and stools that can also double as a sort of art piece, even though they don’t look the most comfortable to sit on.

Designer: Design Studio701

The Rio Pouffe is a concept for a chair that is able to combine modern aesthetic with an eco-friendly design. Because there is a trend (hopefully, a lasting trend) of people looking for products that are made from sustainable materials, this kind of design can hit it off with that segment if it reaches the production stage. They did not give details as to what these eco-friendly materials are but if we’re to look at the planters that Harshdeep, the company that they made the design for, we’re looking at materials like bamboo, coffee husks, etc.

The chairs themselves look like inverted onions with a seat surface and a small backrest. They are shaped that way to attract people’s attention and are designed to be lightweight and durable to “make sitting a breeze”. The colors are also in earthy tones like warm browns, soothing greens, calming blues, and neutral grays in keeping with the natural aesthetic that they are going for. It seems comfortable enough although for me, the small back rest may not be enough if I’ll be sitting on it for a long time.

As a concept, this seems to be pretty interesting if you’re the type looking for good-looking chairs that are also eco-friendly. It would have been better to see what are those recyclable materials that they will use to produce the chairs. But in terms of design, this seems to be a simple but solid one.

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Kickback brings transparent, nostalgic CD, cassette players and Bluetooth speaker

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Anyone who has ever done spring cleaning knows that you will still find some old compact discs and cassette tapes in your pile of junk. CDs are also still pretty popular now specifically in the K-pop and J-pop industry. The challenge though is to find devices that can still play these “artifacts”. Kickback is a brand that banks on nostalgia with its line up of retro products. Three of the more popular ones are the Discman, Portable Cassette Player, and the Jukebox Mini.

Designer: Kickback

The Discman is inspired by the Sony portable CD player that was very popular back in the days. Aside from being named after it, the design sensibilities is also taken from that particular CD player. What makes this different is that it has a fully transparent exterior so you can see your disc spinning around as you play it. The Bluetooth-enabled device also has a small digital display so you can see what track is playing and some buttons for various controls.

The Portable Cassette Player has a simple name enough so you can understand what it is. Well, that is, if you still know what a cassette tape is. For though of us who know what it is, it is also a portable device with a simple and minimalist design. Just like the Sony Walkman where it draws its design from, it is small enough to fit into your pocket. Well, if you still have cassette tapes of course.

Lastly, we have the Jukebox Mini, which is just semi-nostalgic when it comes to its design. It’s a Bluetooth speaker but with a retro design with two round speakers encased in a rectangular case. It claims that it carries the same quality as speakers from Sonos or Beats Pill. It can be placed on a shelf or desk or mounted on the wall, or you can also carry it around. It comes in cute mint, white, and pink colors.

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SiO2 Clock made from diatomaceous earth is an eco-friendly adornment to your wall

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Even though a lot of kids now are not able to tell time by looking at a wall clock, there are still a lot of people who like having an actual clock hanging in their home. There is also no lack of product designers trying to create unique looking and even environmentally friendly designs for these analog time tellers. While we can always glance at our phones to tell time, there’s still something comforting about looking at the wall to tell time.

Designer: Yuichi Nara

The SiO2 Clock is created from diatomaceous earth that is found in large quantities in the Noto region in Japan. This material is normally used to make bricks and stoves but there are a lot of discarded waste material that just contributes to waste. So they used these unused materials and used a plastering technique traditional to the town of Kanazawa to create an eco-friendly and traditionally and locally-based wall clock.

There’s nothing really different about the basic design of the clock compared to others but because of the material and the technique used, it gives off a very earthy and warm vibe. It also employs a 3-D design achieved through die-cutting and distortion-free molding so there are shadows cast from the hands to tell time.

The SiO2 logo displayed on the clock above the hands is not just the name of the product but is also the chemical symbol of the main component of the diatomaceous earth. It’s available in several earthy colors (white, gray) but there’s also green and pink for those that may like a muted splash of color.

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DIY foldable desk organizer is made from recycled Campus notebook paper

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As a self-confessed hoarder and maximalist, my desk is anything but neat. I collect a lot of stationery and supplies (sometimes more than I need) and so I have a lot of things lying around. There are of course some desk organizers there but the small items can sometimes be just left scattered all over. This new DIY stationery items can help with that problem.

Designers: Erlend Storsul Opdahl/Milla Eveliina Niskakoski for Kokuyo

RAE is a desktop organizer that is made from recycled paper from scraps of Campus notebooks from Kokuyo’s manufacturing factories. Since the strength and abrasion resistance is affected if you fully use the recycled fibers as virgin materials, they decided to make that just 50% of the recycled paper.

What makes this even more interesting is that the user will be the one to “assemble” the organizer by folding the paper, origami-style. There are two sizes of the paper: the S size (W155 x D70 x H30mm) which is a smaller, squarish kind of organizer and the L size (W250 x D70 x H30mm), a more elongated version. You can place various stationery stuff on it, including pens, paper clips, washi tapes, and other small items you may have lying around.

The package, which contains two pieces, comes with an assembly practice sheet but there’s also a video on YouTube if you need more visual instructions. It comes in beige and khaki colors, keeping with the minimalist feel. It would be cute to have some of these paper organizers on my table, if I can actually follow the instructions.

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Portable and affordable air purifier designed for crowded housing units

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In densely populated cities, you get housing options for low income families like sub-divided units which crowd people in buildings. The air quality in these kinds of housings are not always great and most likely, these families also cannot afford things like air purifiers which tend to be more on the expensive side. A group from a university in Hongkong have come up with a product solution specifically designed for those living in these sub-divided units.

Designers: Albert Ko and Adrian Lo

The PureAura Air Purifier is a portable air purifier that is built to be both small and energy-saving. Its main purpose is to improve the air quality in these sub-divided units and to make the product affordable, easy to assemble, and have low power consumption. Their initial tests show that it can reduce the indoor concentration of the particulate matter by 80% to meet the recommended air quality by the World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines.

The purifier is designed like a small electric fan which you either place on a flat surface like a bookshelf or table or you can also hang on the wall or on the window. It is supposedly easy to assemble with its built-in HEPA filter and silent and high-performing fan. It has an option to be powered through a USB power cable but you can also power it with a power bank as there’s a storage dock for it. It can run for 40 hours with just a 10000 mAh power bank and is energy efficient.

It is optimally designed for small spaces as these sub-divided units normally have compact spaces. It should cost less than $15 which is something a low income family can afford. If this works in HongKong, hopefully it can also be used in other countries with similar sub-divided units that need better air quality inside.

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Building tiles made from oyster shells, fish bones can be used for coastal structures

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The world has a lot of waste that is discarded in landfills or worse, in natural environments that cause damage to the ecosystem. Fortunately, there are a lot of people who are exploring how to turn these seemingly useless trash into materials for products so that they can be recycled. One of the recent winners of the Red Dot Award turned her focus on oyster shells and fish bones.

Designer: Yingfei Zhuo

EcoShell is a sustainable building material that is made from abundant marine waste and is also visually pleasing. The durable exterior tiles are made from powdered oyster shells with binders extracted from fish bones serving as the adhesives, which makes it biodegradable too. The blend of these two materials make sure that the tiles are durable and can last for a long time.

Since oyster shells are salt corrosion resistant, this material can be used in coastal areas since they can last longer compared to other building materials. The tiles look like concrete but are actually lighter than that. It also has a user-friendly hanging system so that you can easily install it without using things like nails. The texture and color can also be customized to match the structure where it will be used.

This is an interesting way to use these usually discarded materials by the seafood industry. Millions of tons of the shells in particular are thrown away which actually pose risks to the environment especially if they are untreated in landfills or oceans. The fact that you can use them in buildings near oceans makes it part of the sustainable cycle.

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Portable kettle can fit in your luggage when folded

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Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are traveling and you find yourself in need of hot water but there isn’t anywhere that you can get it at the moment? When you’re craving for a cup of coffee, tea, or just hot water, wouldn’t it be convenient if you could just whip out a kettle from your luggage and plug it in to boil some water? There are several portable kettles already available but this one is probably the most portable and eco-friendly.

Designers: Guo Jianhong, Pan Sui, Deng Kairui

This portable kettle with foldable structure doesn’t have a unique name just yet except for that very description. The folding kettle is actually inspired by another every day, portable item: the umbrella. It has parts like a foldable handle, a support frame, and expandable silicone. When not in use, it folds into a cylindrical form, just like an umbrella, and can fit into a suitcase, backpack, or even a big bag.

When you’re ready to use it, the cylindrical form expands into a kettle with a triangular support frame to make sure that it’s stable especially when you put water into it and plug into a power source through its magnetic power connector. It also has a top pull lid that should make it easy for when you’re ready to pour out the hot water.

This kettle is also eco-friendly as it’s made from environmentally friendly materials like food-grade silicone, 304 stainless steel, and safe plastics. Because of this, it becomes recyclable once it reaches end-of-life. It’s an interesting traveling item to have if you regularly crave a cup of hot liquid whenever you travel.

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Bathtope lets you set up a removable bathtub in your bathroom

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One of my favorite parts about hotel stays is if there is a bathtub. I put in my favorite soaks and just while my worries away if only for a few minutes and if only for a day. My bathroom in my apartment does not have a space for it of course, so it is a luxury I can afford on staycations. It would be nice to have a removable bathtub that I can use every once in a while of course.

Designer: LIXIL Corporation

To celebrate their 100th anniversary, Japanese plumbing and tile company LIXIL Corporation is launching Bathtope, a bathroom space with a removable bathtub. Basically it’s a fabric that you can fill up with hot or cold (or lukewarm) water and it will serve as your bathtub. When you’re done using it, you can fold it up and hang it and that space becomes your shower area.

Bathtope is made from a single sheet of fabric and the design is inspired by both kimono and origami. They used just one cut to lessen the possibility of water leaks. To set up the fabric baththub, you need to attach hooks on the walls with which to suspend the cloth from. It is able to adjust its zie and form to the space that you decide to set it up in.

Thus unique bathroom space will be available for consumers by November this year but it will be on display at DesignArt Tokyo 2024 this month. Even though I still don’t have space in my current bathroom, it’s an interesting option for those who want to have their own bathtub without going through the hassles of installing one.

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