Tag Archives: Gaetano De Cicco

This racing bicycle + urban commuter is the eco-friendly ride Batman would love!

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Speeding around a velodrome track at speeds of 60 mph sure is thrilling, but if that very thrill is brought to the city streets or the outskirts of the habitation, then it has its own adrenaline rush. Taking a detour from the usual design of bicycles, Prototype 0 designed by Gaetano De Cicco gives imagination wings in the shape of a two-wheeled ride that’s crafted for speed, and the pure joy of riding. If your memory aids, you Gaetano is the same designer who came up with the crazy idea of a faceless robotic pet dog that turned eyeballs a couple of months ago.

Called Prototype 0, this velodrome track racing bicycle imagined for speed heads shines out with its unibody design that’s centered on drag reduction and aerodynamic optimization for maximum acceleration with the minimum effort. The ultra-slim profile of the Prototype helps in achieving the least possible aerodynamic drag which is great for effortless commuting. The bike is a fixie – a single-speed gear bicycle that is tailored for urban riding for extra degree control. Don’t expect it to be as good for steep ascends or rugged terrain, as it’s purely designed to be a racing demon for smooth tarmac surfaces. The presence of a bigger gear shaft means that the control is going to be the ride’s forte.

While I’m imagining this bicycle to be just more than a pure race track ride, it still is optimized completely for a race track skirmish. Plus that matte black color theme is so Batcycle worthy – I’m even going to go to the extent of calling it the Batcycle of the bicycle world. That said, Gaetano’s design somehow misses to explain how this idea came about, and some bits like the retractable pedal design are still not clear as they are only visually present – minus any explanation as to how they orient in the vertical position when riding.

Designer: Gaetano De Cicco

Samsung’s robot dog is an intriguing faceless smart pet for your surveillance needs

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We are in 2021 and so far it has been one crisis after another. What truly gives me hope is the time I spend with my dog. It is a moment away from the chaos and I often wonder if my dog knows what is happening around us? Do our pets have a sixth sense for disasters as they do for our emotions? Dogs are one of the most intelligent domestic companions to have and our furry friends truly form an inexplicable bond with us. Which leads me to this – what is the future of robot dogs?

Devoid of real feelings but with advancing AI, they will surely be smarter and more efficient. Dog bots will probably be a hybrid of a smart pet and a household assistant, I imagine features like security cameras for the eyes while still being sweet enough to bring you your newspaper and waking you up in the morning. Dog bots may have the benefit of being low maintenance, they won’t require mandatory walks on days when you’re sick or make you panic if you forget leaving their food out during emergencies. And as you can guess, they definitely won’t be troublesome during bath time.

So for the future, it actually sounds like a practical option because AI will be able to mimic a dog’s behavior closely but what about our conditioned behavior towards dogs? This conceptual Samsung dog bot replaces the dog’s features with a screen, so instead of a confused head tilt the face aka screen of the robot will show you a question mark. If the tech giants are to make a robot dog, using a screen as an interactive interface will save a lot more material than using plastic-like materials to replicate the real build of your pet. With the rapid rate at which AI is growing and the conceptual renders show, the dog bot will be able to chase balls and give you a leaping welcome when it senses your arrival. It is interesting how the design is so futuristic and yet when you look at it, you can tell it was made to resemble a dog. You may not even have noticed that the ‘tail’ is missing and yet our brains have evolved to associate emotion with robots.

For most of us, our dogs are considered family. The strong bond teaches us a lot about our own emotions, caring for another at all times, communicating without an actual language, and the invincible power of puppy eyes! While technology can make robots so realistic that we start questioning what is real, something like a dog placing his head on your lap can never be replicated by a bot right? Let’s take a pawse (see what I did there?) and think about what life will be like if Samsung were to make a robot dog like this one.

Designer: Gaetano De Cicco

Samsung’s robot dog concept lacks puppy eyes but still chases balls!

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We are in 2020 and so far it has been one crisis after another. What truly gives me hope is the time I spend with my dog. It is a moment away from the chaos and I often wonder if my dog knows what is happening around us? Do our pets have a sixth sense for disasters as they do for our emotions? Dogs are one of the most intelligent domestic companions to have and our furry friends truly form an inexplicable bond with us. Which leads me to this – what is the future of robot dogs?

Devoid of real feelings but with advancing AI, they will surely be smarter and more efficient. Dog bots will probably be a hybrid of a smart pet and a household assistant, I imagine features like security cameras for the eyes while still being sweet enough to bring you your newspaper and waking you up in the morning. Dog bots may have the benefit of being low maintenance, they won’t require mandatory walks on days when you’re sick or make you panic if you forget leaving their food out during emergencies. And as you can guess, they definitely won’t be troublesome during bath time.

So for the future, it actually sounds like a practical option because AI will be able to mimic a dog’s behavior closely but what about our conditioned behavior towards dogs? This conceptual Samsung dog bot replaces the dog’s features with a screen, so instead of a confused head tilt the face aka screen of the robot will show you a question mark. If the tech giants are to make a robot dog, using a screen as an interactive interface will save a lot more material than using plastic-like materials to replicate the real build of your pet. With the rapid rate at which AI is growing and the conceptual renders show, the dog bot will be able to chase balls and give you a leaping welcome when it senses your arrival. It is interesting how the design is so futuristic and yet when you look at it, you can tell it was made to resemble a dog. You may not even have noticed that the ‘tail’ is missing and yet our brains have evolved to associate emotion with robots.

For most of us, our dogs are considered family. The strong bond teaches us a lot about our own emotions, caring for another in all times, communicating without an actual language and the invincible power of puppy eyes! While technology can make robots so realistic that we start questioning what is real, something like a dog placing his head on your lap can never be replicated by a bot right? Let’s take a pawse (see what I did there?) and think about what life will be like if Samsung were to make a robot dog like this one.

Designer: Gaetano De Cicco