Tag Archives: Gadgets

Lofree EDGE – The World’s Thinnest Mechanical Keyboard is just 16mm, less than two iPhones thick

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You don’t associate mechanical keyboards with sleek portability… and you don’t associate portable compact keyboards with great tactile feedback or mechanical travel. Lofree’s somehow managed to blur both those worlds into a keyboard that offers the best typing experience while weighing just a pound and being 0.6 inches (16.5mm) thick at its thickest point. Crafted from a combination of magnesium and carbon fiber, the Lofree EDGE reinvents the wheel. It uses unique aerospace-grade materials for their strength-to-weight ratio, redesigned keycaps that are thin but still feel ergonomic, and redefined Kailh mechanical switches that provide a great tactile feel that gives you the mechanical feedback of a much thicker keyboard, but in a highly portable, sleek form.

Designer: Lofree

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $249 (48% off) Hurry, only limited units at a discounted price. Raised over $270,000.

Over the years, Lofree’s developed its brand reputation for designing wonderfully retropunk tech peripherals. Whether it’s the Touch mouse with PBT buttons, the Wavy Chips mouse that looks like Italian automotive design from the golden ages, or even its Foundation and Block wireless keyboards that reinvent classic designs from decades ago to give them a proper modern revival, the company’s always pushed the boundaries of visual aesthetics, striking a fine balance between classic and contemporary. It’s no wonder that they have, as a result, developed a viciously loyal fan base of design enthusiasts and tech nerds who coalesce around the company’s vision for making great-looking tech that performs remarkably too.

The EDGE is unlike anything Lofree’s ever made before, given that its design brief is distinctly different from the company’s previous approaches to industrial design. Lofree’s thinnest mechanical keyboard yet, the EDGE boasts an ultra-low profile, with a design that’s equal parts utilitarian and aesthetic. Every material is chosen carefully, and every design detail has meticulous thought behind it, resulting in a keyboard that’s just 485 grams (1.06 pounds) light and just 15mm at its thickest point – making it both thinner and lighter than the Corsair K100 Air, which previously held the title of being the thinnest mechanical keyboard. At its thinnest point, it’s a staggering 5.4mm, making it just marginally thicker than Apple’s newest M4 iPad Pro.

The title of the thinnest mechanical keyboard doesn’t come without some intense design and engineering, backed by solid R&D. Lofree basically designed the entire keyboard from the ground up, removing non-essential components, choosing materials like magnesium and carbon fiber for their strength and low-weight, and even using custom switches. The EDGE’s construction removes components like the positioning plate, silicone pad, and IPXE foam that you’d find in most keyboards, instead opting for a unique PCB gasket structure that holds the keyboard’s internals in place. The base of the keyboard is made from machined magnesium alloy, which then gets capped off with a 3K twill weave carbon fiber upper plate that not only gives the keyboard a solid upper surface but also gives it the distinct carbon fiber aesthetic that people know and love.

The keys themselves have a unique redesigned profile that’s a combination of thin yet ergonomic, and come made from grease-resistant PBT polymer. They come with a concave top, allowing for error-free typing, and have a specially formulated Kailh POM Switch 2.0 that’s just 9.8mm thick (your average mechanical keyboard switches are 18.5mm) – and even though it’s just half the size of a mechanical switch, it still boasts a healthy amount of travel so you feel like you’re using a mechanical keyboard and not one of those uncomfortable keyboards you’d find on slim laptops. The EDGE’s wedge design does, however, reinforce a sense of slimness, which means you can even carry your wireless keyboard with you in a laptop bag.

The EDGE works in both wired and wireless formats, and is compatible with Windows as well as Mac devices. In wired mode, the keyboard operates at a staggering 100Hz polling rate, practically making latency a thing of the past for gamers. The wireless mode helps keep desks clean, and reduces cable clutter, suitable for all other professions. The EDGE also comes with Lofree’s Configurator software, which lets you change the RGB backlight, remap keys, and set macros/shortcuts (the Configurator is only available for Windows, with a Mac version rolling out at the end of this year). A built-in 2000mAh battery offers 10 hours of wireless use with the backlight on, and a staggering 130 hours if you switch the backlight off. A USB-C port charges the keyboard in just under 3 hours.

Lofree’s products don’t come without a design twist. While their previous keyboards and mice boasted quirky retropunk aesthetics that gave a distinct flair to your workplace, the EDGE comes with its own carbon fiber vertical stand that holds either the keyboard or your laptop when not in use. Each stand comes cleverly machined from the blank rectangle that gets cut out of the center of the EDGE’s carbon fiber upper plate, helping reduce waste and repurpose the material to create something functional. Each EDGE comes with the stand flat-packed, which can easily be assembled in under a minute, giving you a convenient place to dock your device when you’re done with it, so your table remains clean and clutter-free. The $129 EDGE also ships with a connecting cable, extra keycaps, and a keyboard sleeve that’s only available to people who back the keyboard on Kickstarter. The world’s slimmest mechanical keyboard ships globally starting July 2024.

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $249 (48% off) Hurry, only limited units at a discounted price. Raised over $270,000.

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Holographic stationary bike lets you feel like you’re on an actual trail

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Walking or running on treadmills and riding stationery bikes are the next best thing to actually exercising outside. But sometimes it can be boring that you dread going on these machines. There are of course those that have devices on them so you can watch your favorite videos while working out. Sometimes though they can prove distracting or it may not be enough to quench your boredom as you ride, run, or walk. And if you love the outdoors but cannot go and exercise there, being on the machines can be a chore.

Designer: Layer

Saga Holographic partnered with design agency Layer to come up with Holobike, a stationary bike with a hologram screen that doesn’t need a headset or eyewear to work. Instead, you get a panoramic light-field display that lets you imagine that you’re on an actual trail biking around instead of inside a gym or your room. It’s not just a simple display though as the stereoscopic viewport actually gives you the perception that you are moving through that space and hopefully break that idea that stationary biking is boring and monotonous.

The screen has a 4K LCD overlaid with a thin sheet of microlenses so you get a “crystal clear portal” as if you’re inside the 3D landscapes and biking through them. The 27-inch display has an infrared depth sensor so you get a life-like spatial perception without having to use wearables that may distract you as you’re biking. For now, you can either cruise the Alps or ride across the Outback but they will be adding more to the library. These are actually reconstructed from the digital scans of actual trails and put into 3D form.

As for the bike itself, it has an adjustable frame so you get a comfortable riding experience. It also has electromagnetic resistance to adapt to real-life biking and a polymer drivetrain belt that gives you almost silent pedaling prowess. As someone who is bored with stationery biking, this can be a good way to encourage me to work out indoors, although I will probably prefer watching my own videos rather than looking at different trails, but that may just be me.

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Portable Powerbox can juice up your laptop and other mobile devices

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When you go to coffee shops, public spaces, and even the beach, you’ll probably see people facing their screens and typing away for work or for leisure. The digital nomad and work from anywhere lifestyle is truly upon us. One of the most important things that they need is a power source since not all places have sockets. Of course there’s the pretty common powerbanks to juice up our smartphones but for those that need something a bit heavier in terms of power, there are only a few options out there.

Designers: Sam Hecht and Kim Colin of Industrial Facility

The OE1 Powerbox is a portable battery so you can power up your laptop, tablet, smartphone, and other mobile devices wherever you are. It is more than just a powerbank as it can actually charge three 70W laptops at the same time with its 250Wh of power. It has three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and a tracking device holder. It can also fit into the OE1 Storage Trolleys if you need to power larger electronics like monitors, speakers, projectors, etc. The Powerbox has a power level indicator on top so you can see the power level. It can be charged through a PowerTray or with a charging cable kit that you can purchase separately.

But on its own, the Powerbox is already powerful enough for your mobile devices. It looks like a tool box that is “meant to hold the feeling of ‘battery-ness’. It has a minimalist design since you don’t need it to look like anything other than a battery you can carry around. It is also created sustainably as it uses lithium ion phosphate (LFP) so it can have a longer life cycle. The housing uses 100% post-consumer ABS plastic making it easier to handle during the recycling process.

Of course since it’s more powerful than a powerbank, it’s not that light or can fit into your bag. But it’s still light enough that you can carry it around when needed. As someone who works outside a lot (and whose device batteries seem to be giving up on me easily), this can come in handy even if it may be a little heavy.

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7-Eleven and Tetris collab results in this super cool Slurpee handheld gaming device

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Alex T has lately broken every record possible for the Tetris game and the cult classic is again in the trends. Perhaps the perfect time for the Slurpee Handheld Gaming Device to make an appearance. This limited-edition merchandise from convenience store 7-Eleven is designed in collaboration with Tetris. Along with this, the duo has created other products too for gamers who love retro stuff.

Limited to just 20,000 units, the unique handheld device has the shape of a Slurpee that’ll always entice you to game more and drink even more. Released almost four decades from now, the iconic arcade game has seen generations of fun and bonding that makes it a common name among gamers. There have been thousands of knockoff versions and variants, but still the original Tetris has stood the test of time.

Designer: 7-Eleven and Tetris

According to CEO of Tetris, Maya Rogers, “As we mark the milestone 40th anniversary of Tetris, we are excited to announce our partnership with 7-Eleven, another iconic brand beloved across generations,” she added, “this collaboration celebrates our spirit of innovation and delivers fans with a new, fun way to experience Tetris.”

The game is played on the front of the Slurpee cup-shaped handheld that looks like 7-Eleven’s iconic cup. There’s a small full-color display (smaller than the original Game Boy) measuring 1.8 inches on which you can play the nostalgic game. The device draws power from the three AAA batteries and if you want, you can also plug it into a laptop or power outlet with a USB-C cable connection. To elevate the gameplay immersion, it also has built-in speakers.

There is no release date for the Slurpee Handheld Gaming Device yet, but we should expect the announcement soon. As we said, the collection comes with other goodies as well including shirts, tote bags, two cap designs, stickers and more. What we are interested in is this cool gadget that you can carry around on the beach and then settle down to play a stint of your favorite classic game.

 

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Upgrade Your WiFi with Unmatched Privacy and Safe Connectivity at Home or Anywhere in the World

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The Rio system, developed by executives at Foxconn, Intel, PC Matic, and InFocus transforms an ordinary WiFi router into a fortified security hub, aptly dubbed the “Fort Knox” of WiFi routers. This transformation addresses a significant vulnerability in personal internet security: the simple fact that traditional routers are protected by only a password, which has become an inadequate defense against cyber threats.

Designer: Rio Router

Click Here to Buy Now: $299 $549 ($250 off). Hurry, only 9/355 left! Less than 72 hours left.

Rio advances beyond basic security measures by incorporating features that control device access on a granular level. It only allows devices that have been pre-approved by the user to connect to the network. Any unapproved device attempting to connect is isolated in a holding area until explicitly allowed by the user via the Rio app. This proactive monitoring and approval system mimics the security checks of a VIP club bouncer, ensuring that only verified devices gain entry and interact within the network.

The company states that “Rio creates a secret code that hides and protects everything about your gadgets when they’re online. It scrambles up their names, where they are, and what they’re saying, so nobody can snoop on your online life.”
This indicates that advanced encryption is used to enhance the privacy and security of communications across your network by obscuring details about connected devices. This encryption safeguards device identities, physical locations, and communication data, ensuring that even if hackers intercept this information, they cannot understand or utilize it without the necessary decryption key, which is securely held by the Rio system and its legitimate users. This process is crucial for preventing potential eavesdroppers from accessing sensitive data, thereby protecting your network even if it is compromised and ensuring that privacy and security are maintained at all times. Given that a startling 80% of consumers have reportedly had personal information leaked onto the dark web, such encryption is beneficial and essential for safeguarding personal data against cyber threats.

This system adopts a method similar to a digital fortress. Using SecureRoom™ technology segments the network into up to 16 distinct compartments. Each compartment is isolated, preventing a compromised device from affecting the entire network.

Additionally, the Rio system is equipped with smart DNS and web filtering capabilities that proactively prevent access to suspicious or harmful websites, enhancing overall online safety. The Rio app facilitates real-time alerts and management, giving users complete control over their network from anywhere in the world.

Moreover, Rio addresses common household concerns about internet safety with built-in features that filter out unsafe web content and block potential phishing sites, creating a safer browsing environment for all family members. Its sleek design and easy setup mean that Rio protects and integrates seamlessly into your home or office environment.

Rio’s guest mode feature improves home WiFi security by providing visitors with a separate access point, making sure the main network stays protected. Whether hosting family gatherings, client meetings in home offices, community events, or children’s playdates, Rio connects each guest to the internet through a special “guest room.” This setup protects your primary network and offers guests convenient and temporary WiFi access. Once they leave, Rio automatically revokes their access, and if they need to reconnect, they must ask permission, effectively acting like a security guard for your WiFi. This seamless integration of guest access into your home network provides both protection and ease, accommodating a variety of hosting scenarios without compromising your network’s integrity.

Rio’s intuitive interface in its mobile app enhances the user experience by simplifying network management. Users can effortlessly adjust settings, monitor network activity, and switch geographic locations without the complexity of traditional VPN configurations. This feature is particularly valuable for users who enjoy international content or travel frequently, as it provides continuous access to home services. Also, Rio allows users to watch shows and movies from anywhere in the world without needing to set up a VPN on each device. Just connect to Rio, and instantly, your internet presence is invisible, assuring that your smart gadgets like Alexa, thermostats, baby monitors, cameras, and doorbells remain hidden from prying eyes, keeping your internet life private and safe.

Click Here to Buy Now: $299 $549 ($250 off). Hurry, only 9/355 left! Less than 72 hours left.

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Earbuds case doubles as fidget toy for your anxious fingers

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There are things that we need to have with us everywhere we go, depending of course on your personality. In fact, there’s a term for that – EDC or everyday carry. These are things like watches, pens, lighters, notebooks, utility knives, etc. But the past few years, they’re really more of our digital tools – smartphones, tablets, laptops, earphones. There are also those that have to carry fidget toys around with them to help relieve anxiety or boredom. What if you get a combination of a device that can also become a fidget toy for your restless fingers?

Designer: Eric Cheng

This concept for an earbuds case may be that combination you’re looking for. The EDC 1.0 Lucky Push is a concept case for the D-Mooster truly wireless earbuds that uses “card pushing” mechanism to open and close it. The motion of the sliding up and down and snapping is supposedly addictive enough that you would want to do it repetitively, even if you’re not using your earbuds at the moment. Hence, it becomes a fidget toy as well if you need to keep your hands busy.

There are three designs for the EDC 1.0 Lucky Push: Big Monster, Become Wealthy, and Become Happy. For the superstitious, doing the repetitive motion will let you accumulate luck and wealth, or at least that’s what the designer thinks it will bring you. I understand with the last two designs as we all want to be wealthier and happier, but I wonder what the Big Monster concept will bring you, other than a cute fidget toy with monsters engraved on it.

Earbuds cases are usually really more functional as you use it to store your earbuds or charge them once they run out of juice. So this is an interesting idea to make the case itself a bigger part of your EDC pack as it becomes a fidget toy as well. If the designs are also interchangeable, it will make it even more interesting.

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This $59 Electric Screwdriver is the size of a pencil but packs 52 bits and a powerful battery

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It’s the year 2024 and if you’re still manually rotating your screwdrivers, you’re doing something wrong. Meet the SES Nano, a ridiculously compact electric screwdriver that’s no larger than a pencil and weighs a paltry 2 ounces or 58 grams. Arrowmax, the folks behind the SES Nano, has practically perfected the art of electric screwdrivers, and the SES NANO builds on the backs of all that research and development. This tiny screwdriver packs 5 torque settings, peaking at 5 kgf.cm that’s powerful enough to work with even the tightest screws. A simple two-button interface lets you easily choose whether you want to rotate the screwdriver clockwise or counter-clockwise, letting you tighten or loosen screws without any elbow grease. Just load one of the SES NANO’s 52 bits, hold the driver in place, press the button, and watch the magic happen. The SES NANO’s tiny design makes it a no-brainer against most conventional electric drivers that are much larger, and is perfect for your workshop or DIY kit whether you’re working with watches or phones, laptops, computers, drones, tiny models, or even your spectacles.

Designer: Arrowmax

Click Here to Buy Now: $59 $89 (34% off) Hurry! Only 6 days left.

Despite its compact size and measuring just over 5 inches in length and weighing a mere 58 grams, the SES NANO boasts an impressive torque output of up to 5.0 kgf.cm at 250 RPM. This translates to tackling various projects, from repairing delicate electronics like smartphones and glasses with precision control to confidently assembling flat-pack furniture. The lightweight design, crafted from a single piece of high-grade CNC aluminum alloy, ensures durability while making it easy to maneuver and reducing fatigue during use. Simple one-button operation with clear forward and reverse controls ensures user-friendliness for anyone, regardless of DIY experience.

The SES NANO goes beyond just being small and convenient. With its ingenious design that integrates a robust output circuit board, a precision gearbox, and a secure bit-locking mechanism seamlessly into a single unit, it prioritizes both efficiency and precision. This innovative design minimizes the overall volume of the power unit while maximizing its effectiveness. An LED display keeps you informed about critical details like the current battery level (displayed as a percentage), the selected torque mode (out of 5 available modes), and charging status. Strategically placed 4 LED lights on the chuck illuminate the work area, providing a shadowless light source for focused operation, especially in tight or poorly lit environments.

The SES NANO comes with a comprehensive set of 59 S2 steel screwdriver bits, including commonly used Phillips, star, and nut driver heads, all featuring a standard 4mm hex shank for secure fitment within the driver. This wide variety of bits ensures you’re equipped to handle most screw types you might encounter during various DIY tasks. The inclusion of a handy 58mm extension tip further enhances the SES NANO’s versatility, allowing you to reach and tackle screws in tight spaces or deep recesses that may otherwise be inaccessible with a standard screwdriver. The universal Type-C charging port, a common connector found in most modern devices, ensures convenient and hassle-free power top-ups using a power bank, laptop, or any USB-C wall charger. The best part, you can access the SES Nano’s charging port right through the case, allowing you to juice your screwdriver without even taking it out!

Each SES NANO ships with its all-encompassing case that contains the driver itself along with 52 well-arranged driver bits to choose from, ranging from common to specialty bits. The case also contains an extender tool that lets you extend the reach of your SES NANO to access hard-to-reach spots or sunken screws, a magnetizer that helps you re-magnetize bits, and finally a USB-C charging cable for your device. The SES NANO starts at a discounted $59, and ships globally starting June 2024.

Click Here to Buy Now: $59 $89 (34% off) Hurry! Only 6 days left.

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Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 versus Tech Reviewers: Who’s to blame?

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There’s a massive missing link between tech companies and tech reviewers… and instead of fixing it, we’re playing the blame game.

The backlash following bad reviews from MKBHD and other tech outlets like The Verge, Engadget, and CNET has been swift from the AI community. The internet is ablaze, either blaming Marques Brownlee for being too harshly critical in his review of the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1 device… or shaming Humane and Rabbit for not delivering on what they promised. The blame, however, lies on the inherent relationship between the two parties. Like two people who aren’t emotionally ready to date, these AI companies shouldn’t have even shipped their products to tech reviewers.

The job of a tech reviewer, as its name rather simply suggests, is to provide an objective (or sometimes even a subjective) analysis of a product for their consumers/viewers. Tech Reviewers highlight technology through the lens of ‘Is this worth the money or not’… The problem, however, is that Humane and Rabbit needed beta testers, not tech reviewers.

Who’s to blame?

Let’s look at every single stakeholder in this AI charade and you’ll see that there’s some blame to go around for everyone. The first reaction, and justifiably so, is to blame Humane and Rabbit. They overpromised, underdelivered, hyped the product, raked in tonnes of VC and preorder money, but couldn’t stick the landing. Companies all across the world have been rushing to develop the ‘next iPhone’, and while Samsung has hedged all its bets on folding devices, and Apple on a $3400 headset, Humane and Rabbit happened to be at the right place at the right time with the right buzzwords. Imagine this, an AI assistant powerful enough to do anything you ask – it’s literally something out of a sci-fi movie, and that’s precisely what these companies hoped we’d think. They weren’t wrong. However, they committed the cardinal sin of the entrepreneur – they pitched something that didn’t exist. Sure, this wasn’t as detrimental as the stunts Elizabeth Holmes or Sam Bankman-Fried pulled, but in essence, it was still a far-fetched lie or rather a very convenient truth. An AI that does everything you ask doesn’t exist and probably won’t for a while… but a cute design or a body-mounted projector was more than enough to deceive us… and for the sake of this argument, let’s operate under the good-faith assumption that Humane and Rabbit didn’t know they were pushing a bad product.

Why the hardware trickery though? Why did Humane and Rabbit NEED to build hardware devices that looked fancy/quirky/cool? Here’s where the blame shifts to the powers that be – Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta. For every reviewer that said the Humane AI Pin or Rabbit R1 “could’ve been a smartphone app”, there are thousands of engineers at these companies building JUST THAT. It’s no coincidence that Humane and Rabbit BOTH had their products publicly reviewed well before Google I/O and Apple’s WWDC. Rumor has it that Apple and Google are just waiting to launch AI assistants with similar features, tying into all the smartphone-related services. These large companies have repositories of consumer data, and they have a powerful influence, putting them miles ahead of the starting line when it comes to the AI race. The only way Humane and Rabbit could escape the clutches of these companies was to isolate themselves completely from them. Not to mention, there’s absolutely no way Apple would allow a third-party smartphone app to have Humane or Rabbit’s level of control over your entire device. Sure, Humane and Rabbit could have made all-powerful AI assistant apps, but they A. wouldn’t be as impressive or attractive, and B. they’d be doomed to fail because of the goliath forces that are Apple and Google.

A snippet of the Twitter outrage following MKBHD’s review. Ironically, Sam Sheffer (new media head for Humane) admits the software is bad, while the product sells for $700

A venture capitalist’s job, in Shark Tank parlance, is to “pour gasoline on a fire”, so there’s definitely some blame to share here too. AI became a buzzword in the second half of 2022 and it’s been on the top of everyone’s mind ever since. I don’t blame VCs for seeing potential in the ideas that Humane and Rabbit came up with, but if there’s one thing that absolutely pisses me off, it’s the fact that they took the criticism of Humane and Rabbit’s devices a little too personally. After all, a VC thrives on value creation – take that away and you have a very angry person who’s poured millions into a project that now doesn’t have anywhere to go. However, bad products and bad companies are all too common in the VC world. What they didn’t expect, however, was their golden goose (AI) to lay a rotten egg.

It’s easy to say that tech reviewers were simply doing their job and deserve no blame (after all, I’m a tech reviewer too), but the truth is that the reviewers also share a bit of blame in this entire cycle of events. However, not for the reason you think. Arguably, Marques Brownlee deserves praise for being forthright with his review – some reviewers would probably hesitate to say something bad about a company if there was sponsorship money involved – and although MKBHD didn’t have any financial stake in this product, they spoke their mind (as did every other reviewer). But that isn’t where the problem lies. The problem lies with the hype train that tech reviewers both create and ride. These reviewers are, by nature of their profession, enthusiasts when it comes to technology – so it’s no surprise that they were the biggest cheerleaders of Humane and Rabbit 5-6 months back when the products were first teased. If anything, the media should have balanced their enthusiasm with a pinch of real-world salt. Had that been the case, these disastrous reviews would’ve stung less under the pretext of the age-old “I told you so”…

Dave2D’s review of the Rabbit R1 device may just be the most sensible, erudite take on the internet.

So what’s the solution?

If the last few years have proven anything, it’s that designers and companies operate in such secrecy, they often don’t put themselves in the shoes of the consumer to begin with. With Tesla pushing the steering yoke over a wheel even though consumers have been begging for the latter, with Apple needing EU regulators to force them into adopting USB-C, with Google cancelling products left right and center against the wishes of their consumers, or firing employees who object to their technology being used for warfare (whoops, I went there), there’s a massive disconnect between what companies do and what consumers want. Even though at a smaller scale, Humane and Rabbit seem to find themselves in a similar soup. Whether it’s the holier-than-thou attitude that’s hard-coded into being an entrepreneur, or whether it’s a bunch of VCs deciding what’s good for the public, the one voice that seems to constantly be left out of the room is that of consumers… and their only representative for now is the humble tech reviewer, who actually is incentivized to see things from their points of view. Sadly, that also means Marques Brownlee ends up being in the line of fire when he has to call an AI gadget ‘the worst product he’s ever reviewed’…

The solution lies in reimagining how products are developed and promoted. Humane and Rabbit needed beta testers, not reviewers, who would’ve helped them swallow the hard pill that is the realization that their product isn’t ready for the real world. After all, it’s better to hear that bitter truth behind closed doors instead of an influencer saying it on YouTube… right?

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Glucose monitor and insulin pump concept is a sustainable way to keep tabs on diabetes

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Of the many disorders that afflict people today, diabetes is perhaps the literally most painful one to monitor and maintain. Even with advancements in medical technology, pricking your finger is still the most accurate way to measure blood sugar levels. At the same time, taking in insulin often involves painful and tedious injections. And it isn’t just humans who are hurting from these, but the environment also suffers from all the waste these life-saving tools produce. It’s probably high time to have a glucose monitor and insulin delivery system that is not only painless and convenient but also sustainable, which is exactly what this minimalist-looking device concept is proposing.

Designer: Maxwell Stevens

CGMs or Continuous Glucose Monitors are one of the less invasive methods of keeping tabs on your blood sugar levels, though most do require inserting a sensor under the skin that is read by a device that sticks to your body over that site. When it comes to injecting insulin, on the other hand, insulin pumps remove the need to always pierce your skin for every injection, as a needle stays in its position for a day or two before needing to be replaced, unless the pump is one that actually stays on your body and above your skin. If these two devices sound almost related, it’s because they really are, and the Ingo CGM and insulin pump concept actually combines these two functions into a single, reusable, and sustainable device.

This oval-shaped device combines two critical functions in a single compact design that diabetes patients can discreetly wear on their bodies. Ingo can even have different colors to match skin tones so they won’t stand out as much as more obvious medical devices. There’s also the element of convenience as the device can be easily recharged on a wireless base, while the CGM sensor and pump needle are integrated into the sensor patches that stick over your skin.

Ingo also differs from existing CGMs and insulin pumps in the way that it tries to reduce the amount of waste as much as possible. Instead of disposable parts, it uses reusable components and recyclable patches, lessening the burden on the environment that these solutions often place on the planet. The rechargeable device and refillable insulin tank also prolong the life of the product or at least those parts that shouldn’t have to be thrown away frequently. Ingo is definitely an interesting proposal for a more humane and more environment-friendly way to keep diabetes patients living healthy and meaningful lives while also taking care of the planet they’re living on.

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AI-powered robot vacuum concept brings both brains and heart to your cleaning chores

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A lot of people like me leave the house early in the morning and return late at night just to rest and sleep. I rarely have time and energy to actually clean the house thoroughly. But of course you need to make time to get rid of dust or else your health and your peace of mind will be affected. Robot vacuums are the best friends of those who need a bit of clean up without exerting much energy and we’re seeing a lot of options and concepts for this kind of cleaning tool.

Designer: Raye

Hestia is a concept for one such tool, named after the Greek goddess of the hearth and the home because it protects your home from germs and dust. It is basically a robot vacuum cleaner but it uses AI technology to make the cleaning process easier and more convenient. The AI, together with the ultrasonic sensors located on both sides, helps the cleaner set a path to clean your home and also avoid obstacles (probably as long as you don’t leave random things lying around your floor). It has two rear wheels that can give it a good “kick” while the front wheels lets it go forward and sideways.

The vacuum itself looks like a small, flat robot with a small head on top. It has an external display that shows off the “emotion” of the robot with its camera and lidor sensor while the Demeter CPU enables the smart space cleaning feature. The default face is its normal, tranquil mode while the cleaning mode shows off an angry face because of the dirt and dust she needs to clean. When the battery is low, it shows off a weak face. The monitor also displays the battery level and the cleaning process.

The Hestia robot vacuum cleaner uses anodized aluminum and polycarbonate material so you get a more “sophisticated” but clean and minimalist look. The charging station which looks like the robot’s mother ship is able to empty the dustbin so you can just gather all the dirt and dust inside it for disposal later on. It seems like something that will greatly benefit people like me who are too busy (or sometimes lazy) to do regular cleaning.

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