Tag Archives: Concept Designs

Portable Smart Induction Cooktop concept lets you cook healthy meals anywhere

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There are now several ways to get fresh and healthy meals delivered to you, but the best option is still to cook them yourself. You get to decide on the ingredients and the process, plus you can probably even save money in the long run. That said, cooking isn’t always easy or convenient, especially when you’re not at home or don’t even have access to a kitchen. Portable cooking equipment is slowly becoming an option, but many still fall short of providing convenience other than having a hot surface to cook on. This induction cooktop concept tries to address many of those shortcomings with features that help you cook smartly and safely while also borrowing the clean and minimalist aesthetic that the brand Braun is best known for.

Designer: Jenil Shah

While it’s true that all you need to cook most food is a hot surface for pans and pots, that is really just the most basic cooking experience and definitely not the most convenient. There are other factors you have to consider while cooking, not least of which is the smoke that cooking produces. Keeping tabs on the food you’re cooking or even the ingredients you will be using is also part of the process, and the SY10 portable smart induction cooktop wants to make those parts as painless as possible.

Somewhat ironically, the induction surface itself is the least exciting part of this design considering how the technology has more or less been perfected at this point. Instead, parts like the built-in Smart Air Filter offer a more interesting, especially since it’s almost invisible as part of the design. When you’re not in your kitchen, having access to a range hood with fans is almost impossible, and even at home those usually only suck up the smoke and nothing more. The SY10’s, however, uses carbon filters to remove not just harmful smoke but also odors, keeping indoor air clean without making too much noise. The filter lies horizontally right next to the cooktop, but if you have a taller pot or cookware, you can actually rotate the filter to make it stand, ensuring that no smoke escapes its fans.

Most induction stovetops use touch-based interfaces to really capture that futuristic aesthetic, but it also makes them more confusing to handle and definitely less satisfying. The SY10’s Infinity Dial adds some good old-fashioned haptic feedback when you turn its ring, while a large circular display delivers instant information about the menus and functions you’re using. Amusingly, the dial requires you to squeeze its body to confirm an action rather than tapping that display, further emphasizing the physical dimension. Its more interesting feature, however, is a built-in camera and computer vision capabilities which allow it to look at a particular food or ingredient and determine whether it’s still good to use or if it’s going bad. And yes, that means you can actually detach the dial to use this function.

The SY10 design also includes a motherboard and other electronics to power its smart features, though its compact design might raise questions about the heat management that could affect those more sensitive parts. It does, however, need to be that compact in order to implement its portability, which would allow you to set up a small kitchen anywhere, whether indoors or outdoor, or even connect two such cooktops together. Those are important implementation details that need to be ironed out, but the concept remains an interesting one that could help take out some of the worries when cooking your meals away from home or even at home.

The post Portable Smart Induction Cooktop concept lets you cook healthy meals anywhere first appeared on Yanko Design.

Portable Smart Induction Cooktop concept lets you cook healthy meals anywhere

Posted on by

There are now several ways to get fresh and healthy meals delivered to you, but the best option is still to cook them yourself. You get to decide on the ingredients and the process, plus you can probably even save money in the long run. That said, cooking isn’t always easy or convenient, especially when you’re not at home or don’t even have access to a kitchen. Portable cooking equipment is slowly becoming an option, but many still fall short of providing convenience other than having a hot surface to cook on. This induction cooktop concept tries to address many of those shortcomings with features that help you cook smartly and safely while also borrowing the clean and minimalist aesthetic that the brand Braun is best known for.

Designer: Jenil Shah

While it’s true that all you need to cook most food is a hot surface for pans and pots, that is really just the most basic cooking experience and definitely not the most convenient. There are other factors you have to consider while cooking, not least of which is the smoke that cooking produces. Keeping tabs on the food you’re cooking or even the ingredients you will be using is also part of the process, and the SY10 portable smart induction cooktop wants to make those parts as painless as possible.

Somewhat ironically, the induction surface itself is the least exciting part of this design considering how the technology has more or less been perfected at this point. Instead, parts like the built-in Smart Air Filter offer a more interesting, especially since it’s almost invisible as part of the design. When you’re not in your kitchen, having access to a range hood with fans is almost impossible, and even at home those usually only suck up the smoke and nothing more. The SY10’s, however, uses carbon filters to remove not just harmful smoke but also odors, keeping indoor air clean without making too much noise. The filter lies horizontally right next to the cooktop, but if you have a taller pot or cookware, you can actually rotate the filter to make it stand, ensuring that no smoke escapes its fans.

Most induction stovetops use touch-based interfaces to really capture that futuristic aesthetic, but it also makes them more confusing to handle and definitely less satisfying. The SY10’s Infinity Dial adds some good old-fashioned haptic feedback when you turn its ring, while a large circular display delivers instant information about the menus and functions you’re using. Amusingly, the dial requires you to squeeze its body to confirm an action rather than tapping that display, further emphasizing the physical dimension. Its more interesting feature, however, is a built-in camera and computer vision capabilities which allow it to look at a particular food or ingredient and determine whether it’s still good to use or if it’s going bad. And yes, that means you can actually detach the dial to use this function.

The SY10 design also includes a motherboard and other electronics to power its smart features, though its compact design might raise questions about the heat management that could affect those more sensitive parts. It does, however, need to be that compact in order to implement its portability, which would allow you to set up a small kitchen anywhere, whether indoors or outdoor, or even connect two such cooktops together. Those are important implementation details that need to be ironed out, but the concept remains an interesting one that could help take out some of the worries when cooking your meals away from home or even at home.

The post Portable Smart Induction Cooktop concept lets you cook healthy meals anywhere first appeared on Yanko Design.

Portable Smart Induction Cooktop concept lets you cook healthy meals anywhere

Posted on by

There are now several ways to get fresh and healthy meals delivered to you, but the best option is still to cook them yourself. You get to decide on the ingredients and the process, plus you can probably even save money in the long run. That said, cooking isn’t always easy or convenient, especially when you’re not at home or don’t even have access to a kitchen. Portable cooking equipment is slowly becoming an option, but many still fall short of providing convenience other than having a hot surface to cook on. This induction cooktop concept tries to address many of those shortcomings with features that help you cook smartly and safely while also borrowing the clean and minimalist aesthetic that the brand Braun is best known for.

Designer: Jenil Shah

While it’s true that all you need to cook most food is a hot surface for pans and pots, that is really just the most basic cooking experience and definitely not the most convenient. There are other factors you have to consider while cooking, not least of which is the smoke that cooking produces. Keeping tabs on the food you’re cooking or even the ingredients you will be using is also part of the process, and the SY10 portable smart induction cooktop wants to make those parts as painless as possible.

Somewhat ironically, the induction surface itself is the least exciting part of this design considering how the technology has more or less been perfected at this point. Instead, parts like the built-in Smart Air Filter offer a more interesting, especially since it’s almost invisible as part of the design. When you’re not in your kitchen, having access to a range hood with fans is almost impossible, and even at home those usually only suck up the smoke and nothing more. The SY10’s, however, uses carbon filters to remove not just harmful smoke but also odors, keeping indoor air clean without making too much noise. The filter lies horizontally right next to the cooktop, but if you have a taller pot or cookware, you can actually rotate the filter to make it stand, ensuring that no smoke escapes its fans.

Most induction stovetops use touch-based interfaces to really capture that futuristic aesthetic, but it also makes them more confusing to handle and definitely less satisfying. The SY10’s Infinity Dial adds some good old-fashioned haptic feedback when you turn its ring, while a large circular display delivers instant information about the menus and functions you’re using. Amusingly, the dial requires you to squeeze its body to confirm an action rather than tapping that display, further emphasizing the physical dimension. Its more interesting feature, however, is a built-in camera and computer vision capabilities which allow it to look at a particular food or ingredient and determine whether it’s still good to use or if it’s going bad. And yes, that means you can actually detach the dial to use this function.

The SY10 design also includes a motherboard and other electronics to power its smart features, though its compact design might raise questions about the heat management that could affect those more sensitive parts. It does, however, need to be that compact in order to implement its portability, which would allow you to set up a small kitchen anywhere, whether indoors or outdoor, or even connect two such cooktops together. Those are important implementation details that need to be ironed out, but the concept remains an interesting one that could help take out some of the worries when cooking your meals away from home or even at home.

The post Portable Smart Induction Cooktop concept lets you cook healthy meals anywhere first appeared on Yanko Design.

Computer mouse design has to be scratched and deteriorated to show its true self

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We see plenty of designs that try to address one of the computer mouse’s biggest problems, that of ergonomics. Truth be told, however, it’s unlikely that it will change en masse and for good, considering how the horizontal shape of this device has been so ingrained in our consciousness for decades. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there’s no room for experimentation, especially when it comes to adding some value to a traditional mouse design. That can be through its shape, its texture, or even its materials. The latter is something that this curious concept tries to play with, suggesting a computer mouse that you intentionally want to get scratched or quickly deteriorate just so that you can see the secret color or design hidden underneath its skin.

Designer: Liang Yao (苦 口)

Physical products age and deteriorate over time, but those that provide some utility tend to grow old and wear down faster. Not all materials, however, age as gracefully as leather or brass, materials develop unique patinas from their use. Wood can chip, metal gets scratched, and plastic fades or gets discolored. Normally, you wouldn’t want your stuff to even get dinged, let alone scratched, because it then loses its value, but this computer mouse concept is the complete opposite.

“Scratch-off” is a design that adds an extra layer on top of the mouse’s actual design that’s not meant to last forever. Just like those lottery scratchcards, the temporary material on top reveals a prize or a dud when you scratch it off. Of course, you won’t intentionally scratch this mouse’s surface, but it adds a bit of thrill and excitement as you slowly see the hidden design underneath.

This actually brings a lot of opportunities for branding and advertising, with logos or markings hidden underneath the outer layer of the mouse’s surface. Of course, it could be a long burn depending on the kind of material used. After all, it might take weeks or even months before the mouse’s outer cover gets scratched off or peeled completely. In some cases, however, there might even be a marketing gimmick where you intentionally damage the mouse’s surface to reveal some visual gem underneath, hopefully in a safe manner.

The concept, however, does raise the question of the material that should be used to implement this outer layer. It has to be easy to scratch or fade, but not too quickly like some plastic sheet that will defeat the entire purpose of anticipating the product’s deterioration. At the same time, however, it has to be a hygienic material that won’t leave flakes behind, considering how your hand will always be making contact with the mouse.

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Smart mirror concept encourages you to reflect whenever you look at yourself

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There are many things that we do out of habit in our lives, especially daily activities that we’ve gotten so used to that we could perform them with our eyes closed, at least figuratively speaking. Moving on autopilot is an important survival skill for modern-day humans, but it isn’t always a good strategy to apply to all things all the time, especially for our mental health. The idea of mindfulness or being present in the moment sounds almost so alien that people presume it requires some rigorous training or mental fortitude to do when all you really need is to pause from time to time and simply be aware of where you are and what you’re doing. That’s the kind of practice that this smart mirror product design tries to develop, motivating you to look inside yourself each time you look at your reflection.

Designer: Nahyun Kwon, Dayeong Kim, Mingyeong Chio

We look at a mirror several times a day but only a few of those times are we consciously checking ourselves for more than a split second. Whether we’re brushing our teeth, washing our faces, or even applying makeup, chances are we are thinking of other things while doing those actions. We don’t see or even recognize ourselves or our states, even when it’s directly staring at us.

MIO is a mirror that encourages you to take a good hard look at yourself whenever you use it. Rather than nagging you multiple times a day to pause and exercise mindfulness, it simply associates the action with an activity you already do regularly until it becomes second nature. And it doesn’t do so using intrusive reminders or heavy-handed features but with gestures and controls that are integral to using the mirror in the first place.

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A lever on the side, for example, is needed to turn on the LED lights inside the frame for better illumination. The action and the control’s form are akin to a “thumbs up” gesture, reminding you to give yourself a pat on the back once in a while. There’s a “smile button” on the lower edge of the mirror that you can slide up to start a 1-minute recording of yourself, inviting you to smile your biggest smile or, at the very least, be truthful to the emotions you’re feeling at the moment. That button also acts as a timer for that recording as it slowly slides back down to its original position.

There is a separate circular display near the top and off to the side that shows the time, the weather, or other information you might need while preparing yourself and your face. Cycling through these screens of information requires touching the display, almost like giving it a high-five that, as silly as it might sound doing it by yourself, always generates good feelings. Whichever of MIO’s functions you use, it becomes a gentle reminder to take stock of your current emotional and mental state, at least long enough to see your true self before you rush off and lose yourself in the busyness of life.

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Four speakers masquerade as table legs for a tidier living room

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Sound is finally getting the attention it rightfully deserves. Even the most stunning visuals wouldn’t be immersive without matching good audio unless you’re viewing a photo or an animated GIF. That’s why speakers are now a more common sight in homes, including those that are separate but connected to TVs. Unfortunately, that also means they can become an eyesore, especially if you have multiple units spread around, either near the TV or even on tables and shelves. There are speaker designs that try to hide their presence, and this particular concept does so ingeniously by making the speakers, which usually take on a cylindrical form, function as legs for a minimalist yet stylish glass table.

Designers: Jiung Yun, Eunbyeol Yun, Jisu Lee, Seonjin Baek

Smart home speakers try to dress up as decorations or art objects, but they are still very visible and take up space on tables and shelves. That’s not even considering the more numerous soundbars and TV speakers that are situated near the screen. They might not block your view, but they can still be a distraction by their mere presence, breaking what should have been an immersive experience.

verre is a concept for a living room table that addresses that design problem in a rather creative and unusual way. Many wireless speakers these days are simply variations on a cylindrical shape, so why not use them for something that’s innately cylindrical? That’s why all four legs of this glass table are actually speakers, though you will definitely not know it at first glance.

The speakers have a powder-coated finish that’s not unusual for tables that combine a glass surface with a metal frame. And while the speaker grilles do catch your attention, they’re not exactly alien to a design that has a teeny bit of an industrial design vibe to it. What’s really impressive is that you won’t see any of the controls for the speakers at all, save for the power button hidden on one of the frames. Physical controls for the speaker are embedded in the fabric-covered discs that sit on top of each “leg,” perfectly blending into their surroundings.

While this LG-inspired speaker concept is visually interesting, it does have some practical considerations that need to be addressed. For one, having the speakers be that low could actually affect the very immersion that they’re supposed to enhance since not all sounds come from the bottom. Additionally, speakers will naturally generate some amount of vibration, so having a glass tabletop might not exactly be the smartest choice for this design.

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AI-powered calculator concept can solve even handwritten math problems

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Like it or not, and some definitely don’t, the things that AI and neural networks can accomplish these days are nothing short of mind-blowing. Never mind the rather dated speech recognition that has now become all too common, AI has now become famous and notorious for being able to analyze just about anything and generate something from those data points, whether they’re images, novels, or even the chicken scratch that is our handwriting. Turning human scribbles into digital text that computers can process has long been one of the Holy Grails of computing, but being able to make sense of those scribbles is a different story. AI has come to a point where it can not only understand but even solve handwritten equations, and that’s a capability that this smart calculator is harnessing to ease the pain of cross-checking math problems, almost like magic.

Designer: Divyansh Tripathi

It’s relatively easy for computers and even phones these days to recognize handwriting and turn it into their digital equivalent, but AI goes the extra mile by understanding those words and, in this case, numbers and symbols. Math solvers, just like AI text generators, are somewhat controversial because of their potential for abuse, but the technology itself is quite impressive and, just like any other tool, could also be put to good use.

That’s the potential that the OBSCURA smart calculator concept is trying to harness, offering an all-in-one problem-solving device for any and all numerical problems. Unlike your typical advanced calculator, this one comes with a camera so that you can take pictures of a handwritten formula and run it through a solver such as Photomath, Microsoft Maths Solver, Socratic, and others. It doesn’t stop at “seeing” formulas and problems, however. It also has a built-in mic so you can verbally ask it about the problem.

Of course, you can also just type out the numbers like with any regular scientific calculator. In terms of the device’s interface, what sets this calculator apart is a touch control that lets you adjust the viewfinder or move the cursor around on the display. In all other aspects, it’s pretty much like any other powerful calculator, just that it has AI running inside.

Of course, that raises the question of the purpose of such a device, especially when smartphones have access to the same hardware and AI services. A smartphone, however, also has plenty of distractions that can drag you away from the work at hand, especially if that work happens to involve disagreeable numbers. Obscura, at least, offers to do some of the rote work, especially with cross-checking solutions, but it’s still up to the user to be responsible with such great power in their hands.

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Wireless earbuds concept turns listening to music into a social experience

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Headphones, earphones, and earbuds have become a common sight wherever you go. It helps us be more immersed in our music and podcasts even when outdoors, while also respecting others around us who might not share the same preferences as us. At the same time, however, these devices are designed not only to isolate sound but also to isolate us from people, preventing us from actually sharing our favorite tunes with like-minded people. Sure, we can just turn on the loudspeaker, but that also means blasting the sound for everyone to hear, whether they like it or not, turning it into an all-or-nothing kind of deal. It shouldn’t have to be that way, though, especially not with our current technologies, and this concept tries to offer a more social earbud design that can easily share the music we love with a select number of people only.

Designer: Kusi Boateng-Arthur

Earbuds are intentionally designed to keep sound in so that you can enjoy your tunes without worrying about outside noise coming in or your music “leaking out” to others. Nowadays, there are features that do let some ambient sounds through for safety or communication reasons, but it doesn’t work the other way around. Unless you have a poor fit or extremely loud volumes, no one around you will hear what you’re playing, no matter how much you want to share your new favorite album.

“more. than a bud” is a design concept that tries to remedy this unsociable situation by providing a way for earbuds to share music with each other without having to broadcast it over a loudspeaker. We already have the technology available for this, as demonstrated by wireless speakers that support multiroom modes. The idea is the same but on a smaller and more personal scale.

Inspired by the Aslatua Ghanian percussion instrument, these earbuds simply tap each other to establish a connection. Smartphone users might be familiar with a similar gesture that existed a while back to initiate a file transfer between two phones. That’s pretty much all that’s needed to share your music with another person, letting you develop a closer relationship that goes beyond being a bud.

Aside from that special feature, the “more. than a bud” buds also have a distinctive design which is basically just two halves of a sphere. The actual speaker, however, is angled at 30 degrees in order to maximize the path that sound travels in your ear. The concept also claims that the in-ear design offers a secure fit, but some might have reservations because of its small, stemless shape. While the two halves join together to form a sphere when not in use, charging the buds requires them to attach to opposite sides of a small puck, turning the shape into a capsule. It’s definitely an interesting design, though it will probably be more noted for its ability to turn listening to music back to its original form: a social experience.

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Huggable robot concept delivers warmth, power, and comfort during disasters

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Natural disasters can take a heavy toll on life and property, even when we’ve prepared for the worst. Floods, earthquakes, fires, and volcanic eruptions can send people running to evacuation centers where they may be safe but are hardly intact both in the body and especially in the mind. These refuge centers are often only able to provide the bare necessities when it comes to shelter and food, with electric power and heating sometimes taking a lower priority. That’s not even considering the psychological pain that all evacuees experience during these dark times, which often take a backseat because of the state emergency. Of course, all of these are important factors to consider, and this concept for an add but cute robot tries to address them in its own little way to provide both physical and mental comfort to people who have been displaced by these calamities.

Designers: Taejeong Kim, Yeji Jeon

To be fair, such shelters have to focus on what human needs to survive, like food, clothing, and a stable roof over their heads. Electricity often isn’t even viable during natural disasters when power lines are down, but considering how much we rely on electric appliances and devices these days, it has become almost just as critical. Depending on the location and the nature of the disaster, keeping warm is also important, especially if the person is shivering from shock.

POWER HUG is a product design concept that tries to bring some of that on a personal level, just enough power and warmth to bring a little comfort and ease the worries of the person. It is pretty much a big power bank, one with outlets for both USB cables as well as typical power adapters. It also has a built-in warmer to keep the person toasty, especially at night when temperatures tend to drop drastically.

What makes the design notable, however, isn’t just the features but also its form. POWER HUG comes as a cylindrical robot with two soft, bendable tubes that wrap around each end like a wheel. It has a screen in the middle to show the robot’s face and deliver a more humane touch to the design. Unlike what you might expect from robots, however, this one is covered with a thin cushion and soft fabric so that you can wrap yours around it in an embrace. Paired with its heating capability, it can deliver much-needed warmth, comfort, and perhaps even peace to a troubled person.

Considering its use in emergency situations, it’s almost necessary for POWER HUG to be made accessible and sustainable materials. Its batteries can be sourced from unused electric vehicle batteries, while its fabric can be made from recycled materials. It’s definitely an interesting idea, even if the production of such a device might not be practical, as it emphasizes humans’ need for more than just food and shelter to survive a disaster.

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Modular speaker concept creates an immersive audio experience anywhere

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Portable wireless speakers are becoming quite ubiquitous these days as a way to enjoy your favorite music anywhere you are, whether you’re outside or just in another room. In exchange for their portability, however, the quality of the sound these speakers produce is less impressive compared to bigger and more stationary equipment found at home. It would be nice if you could have the best of both worlds, enjoying an audio system that follows you around the house without missing a beat. You could try to buy multiple wireless speakers and hope they can be connected to each other, or you can hope that this peculiar speaker system concept becomes a reality, allowing you to pick up one or two speakers from their base as easily as you would pick up your takeout meal.

Designers: Junwoo Kim, Yoonjeong Lee, Heeyeol Yang, Jaehoon Jeong

For an audio experience to be considered truly immersive, it has to sound like it’s coming from all around you. More specifically, the right sounds have to come from the correct direction rather than equally from all directions. Making this possible with a single speaker or even a pair of headphones is possible but difficult to accomplish, requiring sophisticated algorithms and precise control to create the illusion of surround sound. Of course, you could set up a surround sound system in your entertainment den, but then that magic only takes effect in that room.

TakeOut is an LG-inspired concept for a modular speaker system that lets you design your own audio space in a snap. At its core is a 360-degree soundbar that tries to bring the sound to you wherever you are in the room by blasting it in all directions. But when you push down on one of the circles on the top of the soundbar, a short cylindrical wireless speaker pops up. It’s not a completely independent speaker and it works in tandem with the soundbar, but its most important feature is that you can take it anywhere with you in the house.

This portability means that you can set up your audio experience just the way you want it, whether you’re listening in the same room or elsewhere. Need to go to your home office for a while? Just pop out one of the speakers and let the music follow you there. You can also create your surround sound setup in a flash by positioning the four “sub-speakers” around the room, though that doesn’t necessarily mean that the system will know which sound needs to come from which speaker.

While the design of TakeOut is quite interesting, there might be some practical issues with it as well. For one, the concept doesn’t clarify if the individual speakers can be used separately from the soundbar or if they’re completely dependent on it. If it’s the latter, it also means that the speakers won’t function properly if they ever go out of range of the soundbar or if the data can’t reach them because of obstacles like walls. Those details, however, could actually be ironed out with some features that don’t take away anything from the spirit of this modular and immersive audio system.

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