This cyberpunk-themed charger gives an oft-neglected accessory a makeover

Posted on 01/05/2022 by JC Torres

Phone chargers were a dime a dozen, at least until phone makers started removing them from boxes. That presented an opportunity for accessory makers to try and outdo first-party brands in offering better performance and bang-for-buck, giving further rise to an already mountainous pile of chargers. Despite all the advancements in charging technologies, the design of chargers, in contrast, has remained drab and unexciting. Breaking out of the mold, this charger adds a bit of color to this underrated but critical accessory, and, best of all, it’s powerful enough to even charge many laptops, including a MacBook Pro.

Designers: Qiu WenTao, Zhao Hu

Charger designs, be it for phones or laptops, are basically black or white, perhaps for no other reason than tradition. The white ones often take a cue from Apple’s love of the minimalist color, while black is the color of choice for Samsung and most laptops. Given that chargers are often left plugged into wall sockets and are unseen, few probably considered it worth the time, effort, and resources to do anything outside the norm. There’s no technical reason they can’t, and, fortunately, someone did.

Angry Miao’s CyberCharge gives the charger a theme that fits the genre that best fits this kind of accessory. Eschewing plain white for a shade of light grey bespeckled with red and purple dots, the charger’s visual center is a decorative plate that gives a bit of life to the charger. The plates don’t add any functionality, but do have the typical tech specs and certification logos you’d see in all electronics.

These interchangeable faces come in three designs, including a neon green shade that is often associated with cyberpunk styles. There is one that has a metallic luster that transitions from blue to purple to blue again. And to appease those with monochromatic tastes, there’s an option for a white plate that contrasts with the charger’s gray body.

Some might knock the design as a simple coating over an old object, but you have to hand it to the designers for their attention to detail. Even the stainless steel PVD screws, which let you swap out those “modules,” have minute engravings that almost fit perfectly with cyberpunk culture’s flair for the extravagant. It might not be glowing in neon colors, but it’s a clear message that says, “Angry Miao was here.” There’s also a custom cable included in the package that has a matching colorful design with blue, green, red, and yellow stripes.

Admittedly, the charger is all serious business underneath that cyberpunk shell. The tiny box is capable of dishing out 90W of power, enough to charge some MacBook Pros, and sports both USB-C and USB-A ports. It even utilizes the now trendy GaN (Gallium Nitride) battery tech, which is how it manages to pack a punch despite its size. In essence, the charger doesn’t exactly offer any new technology and can even be outpaced by chargers from more established brands. It does, however, demonstrate that chargers don’t have to be black and white and boring, just that very few bothered to give the accessory some personality.

The post This cyberpunk-themed charger gives an oft-neglected accessory a makeover first appeared on Yanko Design.

This parking car stopper doubles as wireless charger for your electric vehicle

Posted on 14/03/2022 by Gaurav Sood

The convenience of wirelessly charging your electric vehicle while it’s parked – this is the proposed vision of Watt concept. Thus, making it seamlessly easy for EV owners to have a hassle-free commuting experience in the city or on highways.

You have the luxury of charging mobile devices wirelessly, and soon juicing up your vehicle with no strings attached is going to be possible. In fact, vehicle manufacturers like BMW are already working on this technology with prototype testing underway. Currently, electric vehicle owners have to plug in the charging port manually to recharge the vehicle battery, no matter how bad the weather outside is. On top of that additional infrastructure is required in parking lots or other places where such EV charging stations are installed. This calls for the wireless charging possibility of EVs while they are parked.

Designer: Cheolhee Lee, Na Gyeong Lee, Junsik Oh, Kyoung-Seo Park

That’s the idea behind this intuitive concept dubbed Watt. It is a wireless EV charging stopper for parking spaces – eliminating the need for setting up separate charging station infrastructure in cities and highways. Watt (Wireless Advanced Transportation Charging Tile) is an EV charger and a car stopper in one, bringing the convenience of seamless charging to the fore. The solution also addresses the problem of finding space for parking vehicles when other EV owners are also in the queue at a busy charging station.

Designers of this concept want to end another problem with EVs that bugs users at times. Yes, I’m talking about the discharging of the battery when the vehicle is parked in colder regions or other specific circumstances. This happens because lithium-ion batteries just like those on our smartphones discharge rapidly in colder conditions.

Coming on to this novel idea, the proposed product comes with an accompanying app for initiating the charging cycle as soon as you park the vehicle in the bay. The current charge levels, time to full charge, and other metrics can be tracked on the phone while you go shopping in the grocery store. The user just has to register once with the Watt services, and everything following that is pretty much easy. Things like charging history, the location of nearby Watt-enabled charging locations, and payment methods can be viewed in the app.

Watt is truly a convenient and space-saving solution for the future dominated by electric vehicles, wherein, we’re going to have to deal with the problem of having enough charging stations for EVs. Even more so, the issue of building the infrastructure that requires ample space to accommodate vehicles in line for charging.

The post This parking car stopper doubles as wireless charger for your electric vehicle first appeared on Yanko Design.

This mobile EV charging pod rescues you when there’s no charging station nearby

Posted on 11/03/2022 by Gaurav Sood

A mobile charging pod that reaches the designated location to recharge the battery of your EV running very low on juice.

Electric vehicles are gradually going to dominate the roads on the planet, and consequently, the need to charge them is also increasing with time. Under normal circumstances, EV owners have to look out for electric charging stations in their vicinity when the battery is running out. But what if there is no charging station nearby for miles in every direction?

Design One identified this problem to propose a solution in the form of MECS ( Moving Electric Charging Station). As the name implies, it is a charging station on wheels, ready to rush to your location to juice up the empty battery to continue the trip. Shaped like a big RC car, the autonomous electric charging station is the ideal thing to bank upon when you are stranded in the middle of nowhere. This unmanned mobile charging station can be called b the user to the current location via an app. With a top speed of 120 kmph, the moving electric charging service is a viable product for the EV-dominated future.

MECS is loaded with cameras and sensors to detect the road conditions and the surroundings to navigate safely to the location. Once it arrives at the called location, the back cover can be lifted up by pressing a button to use the internal chargers (two charging types) or spare battery inside. The AI-enabled vehicle charging pod returns to the nearest hub to fill up its battery and be ready for another stranded commuter. Design One also envisions the MECS to lend its duty as an observer in case of emergencies like natural calamity or war situations.

How practical the concept here can be in real-life situations is subjective as the stationary electric charging infrastructure is increasing in developed countries, and the developing countries are following suit. To charge up the MECS vehicles too, infrastructure will be required in remote locations which in itself will be a challenge.

The post This mobile EV charging pod rescues you when there’s no charging station nearby first appeared on Yanko Design.

Wireless charging cradle for phones blocks smart assistants from spying on you

Posted on 16/02/2022 by JC Torres

Most phones today have settings to block apps from using the mic, but this wireless charging cradle goes the extra mile in promising total privacy in your bedroom.

Most of us today may have already taken for granted how our phones seem to always have an ear out for our next verbal command. The ubiquity of smart speakers or smart home appliances that also have this feature makes the likes of Apple Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa unseen members of the household, always ready to lend a hand, sometimes even when you don’t want them to. Privacy has always been a thorny subject when it comes to smart assistants and their presence in homes, and one startup is trying to offer some peace of mind, at least as far as phones are concerned.

Designer: Pozio

Smartphone and smart speaker makers will fight tooth and nail to defend their practices when it comes to how smart assistants are always listening or not. They make the distinction that these devices are only always listening for the triggers that activate them but aren’t recording anything before those triggers are spoken. Unfortunately, anecdotes about misheard wake phrases and privacy violations may have made some a bit too paranoid.

You can always turn these features off from their settings, but that might not be enough for some. After all, you still have to trust that device makers and app developers are really playing by the rules they set themselves and respect the restrictions that people have set. Not everyone does so, unfortunately, which is why Pozio released a class of accessories designed to thwart privacy-invasive technology with technology.

The Pozio Cradle looks like a rather odd wireless charging pad, one that keeps your phone upright inside an enclosure. This design, however, is intentional, as that wall around your phone emits what the company describes as “subaudible” that practically turns your phone deaf to your voice but remains silent for pets. The promise is that any app listening through the phone’s mics will hear nothing, even with settings enabled.

This won’t stop other devices in your room or house from still listening to your voice, which is why Pozio also created different “Shield Block & Talk” mounts for different smart speakers. Even then, however, there will be nothing to stop smart thermostats, smart TVs, or smart displays from still doing their thing, which makes products like these almost futile. Then again, if you filled your house with always-listening devices, you probably already know what you’re sacrificing in exchange.

The post Wireless charging cradle for phones blocks smart assistants from spying on you first appeared on Yanko Design.

An incredibly cute cup warmer that heats your drink and charges your smartphone is the new winter essential

Posted on 01/12/2021 by Gaurav Sood

Power banks have become a must-have accessory for their portability and convenience to juice up your mobile device on the go. Now taking a leaf out of that book, a designer has visioned a desktop appliance, which is functionally a cool mug warmer (to keep the beverage inside at a drinkable temperature) and comes with a USB slot to charge your phone or a smartwatch like a power bank!

There is nothing that meets the pleasure of a steaming hot coffee or tea while working. You get an extra kick to stay productive for a few more hours. However, there are times when you tend to forget and that hot beverage is left to become a cold brew sitting on the table. This is where a cup warmer like the one conceptualized by designer Dadaism J comes into the equation. The functionality of this cup warmer is to keep your compatible cup heated from the bottom to ensure the beverage inside remains at a particular temperature. This ensures you don’t have to sip on cold brew when your mug should have had a piping hot beverage. When I came across this cup warmer, I did a little search and found that this domain is not saturated at the moment, not many recognizable brand names have entered the category, meaning there is time and requirement for innovation and this cup warmer with charging functionality does deserve to see the light of day.

This I believe for a fact because the mug warmers currently available on the market come with an induction plate to place your mug. It aims to maintain a specific temperature of the beverage for you. Dadaism’s design just betters on the idea with the inclusion of a USB port on the front, which can be used to charge a mobile device simultaneously. There is also a small digital display on this colorful mug charger – it’s designed in three lovely colors – that shows you the temperature at which your beverage is being heated. Presumably, the cup warmer with a charging function also has an adjustable timer and auto shut off, which is common in the cup warmers already on the market.

While this cup warmer is primarily designed for your workstation, it has to connect to an electric socket for power. Given the niche functionality, this could also be useful in the outdoors to heat your mug of water or coffee at a camp per se, and when required also juice up your phone so you can remain connected even when you’re in areas off the grid. For this, the cup warmer will need to be battery-powered or even solar-powered; hope Dadaism would consider my suggestion for the prototype!

Designer: Dadaism J

The post An incredibly cute cup warmer that heats your drink and charges your smartphone is the new winter essential first appeared on Yanko Design.

Samsung’s bespoke series is the inspiration behind these ergonomic, thoughtful stylus designs

Posted on 23/10/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Working from our computers strains more than just our eyes. Sitting for long periods at a time, typing, dragging, and clicking the mousepad often results in finger and hand cramps. Products like smartpens and assistive keyboards are specially designed to take some of the stress off our hands, leading to streamlined and more productive workdays. Korean designer Jo Yoon unveiled their smartpen product idea called Bespoke, conceptualized using Samsung’s Bespoke appliance’s design language.

Draped in a velvety aluminum finish, Bespoke smartpens come in a few different color schemes, spanning from blush yellows to matte blacks. Paired with an accompanying smart notepad, users can write with the Bespoke smartpens on the attached notepad which translates the written text to the computer screen.

Instead of typing from the same hand position throughout the workday, Bespoke smartpens break up the monotony of computer work by bringing a more tactile, ergonomic typing tool. Along the body of each pen, an action button works as a clicker and on/off control.

Taking Bespoke’s ergonomic usability one step further, each smartpen gradually tapers towards its bottom to fit more comfortably in each user’s grip. Yoon also outfitted each smartpen with silicone grips to ensure convenient use throughout the workday without any slippage resulting from palm sweat.

In addition to the smartpen and notepad, Joon conceptualized a Bespoke charger that resembles an inkwell for when the workday slips into overtime. Each charging base comes with its own wire to plug into your computer or laptop, ensuring no power is lost during use, however, the actual charging sink is wireless.

Designer: Yoon Jo

Three small LED lights indicate how much charge remains in each charging sink.

The charging base is wireless.