Tag Archives: safety

Face protector concept for bikers, athletes, and workers gives off a cyberpunk vibe

Posted on by

Although requirements to wear face masks have already been lifted in many places around the world, there will always be cases where people have to wear some sort of protection for their faces or at least their mouths and noses. This is especially true for those who get exposed to dust and smoke all the time, from motorcycle riders to skiers to metalworkers. While there are definitely plenty of face protectors in the market today, most of them are designed just for cheap mass production and offer neither true protection nor comfort. A well-designed face protector is definitely long overdue, and thankfully there is one that will soon be heading to production that is not only stylish but also has a trick up its sleeve.

Designer: Kim Sang-il (BUYRUSDESIGN)

Face protectors or face masks block dust, smoke, and small particles from entering your mouth and your nose that could cause damage to your respiratory system. Some even employ filters to purify the air that goes through the mask. These masks range from simple pieces of fabric to hefty mechanical oddities clinging to your face, and very few of them really take into account the varied cases that people would use these masks.

The G.O.A. Face Protector design, in contrast, was made from the ground up to be effective, comfortable, convenient, and aesthetic. Although it was primarily made with bikers in mind, its versatility also includes sports users, workers, and crafters, practically anyone whose faces and lungs are exposed to harmful particles. Because of its primary target audience, the face protector takes on a more aerodynamic shape that makes it look like a single piece of material, a design that benefits more than just bikers.

Despite that unified appearance, the face protector is actually modular to make it easy to clean or replace parts. One particularly interesting feature is that you actually remove the front cap so that you can drink quickly without having to take off the entire mask. That cap can also be used as an opportunity for adding decals or branding to make the face mask look even more interesting.

The design does use plenty of plastics and synthetic material, which is pretty much the norm for protective gear like this. The priorities, after all, are the wearer’s protection and comfort. G.O.A. does have a particular aesthetic that makes it look a little punkish, which is probably not a surprise and a perfect fit for its primary biker audience.

The post Face protector concept for bikers, athletes, and workers gives off a cyberpunk vibe first appeared on Yanko Design.

Modern ditch cover redesign blocks mosquitos and saves your coins

Posted on by

There are many everyday things in life that we easily take for granted until they cause us a great deal of trouble. The cover ditches and drains are a good example because we rarely pay attention to them until streets start flooding or we drop some of our stuff, from coins to even smartphones. They also become gateways for mosquitoes, bacteria, and harmful microorganisms to invade the world above and threaten our health. These drain covers are often crude, ineffective, and pretty much unappealing, mostly because very few people bother making an effort to design one that checks all the right boxes. Fortunately, there are a few creative minds willing to tackle these problems head-on, producing a ditch cover design that isn’t just safe but also good-looking to boot.

Designer: Chris Chang

To be fair, designing an effective yet presentable ditch cover isn’t exactly easy because of seemingly contradictory goals. On the one wand, it needs to let water flow easily into it to prevent flooding during heavy rains. On the other hand, the holes have to be small to prevent people’s feet and loose change from falling into them. Even if covers meet those two requirements, however, they’re still open to letting mosquitoes out from sewers below, not to mention the backflow of dirty water if those sewers start to flood.

FloaX is a concept design that aims to address all those issues without leaving a single one unsolved. It lets water in but keeps the harmful things out, and it also prevents things from falling into it. The best part is that it actually looks interesting and visually appealing rather than being an eyesore on otherwise well-kept streets.

The design’s secret is the use of floating parts that can block the flow of water in either direction. A ball made of thin rubber acts as a plug that blocks the single round hole when there is no water to drain. When water flows down from the cover, however, it easily floats to let water drain quickly. The ball sits on top of a valve plank that also floats up or settles down, depending on the situation.

This plank serves as the bottom “cover” that blocks mosquitoes, bacteria, and even odors from escaping. When the sewer below starts to flood, the plank rises and blocks the dirty water from flowing into the streets, keeping the area sanitary and pedestrians safe. The parts that make up this ditch cover aren’t anchored down to allow them to move and float freely. Instead, they are enclosed in a metal shelf that turns these parts into a single product.

Instead of typical grilles, the cover on top uses a polygonal gradient design that still lets water in while blocking small objects from falling through. It also gives the cover better structural integrity and friction, preventing people from slipping or falling into ditches. The design also looks good, to the point that it could even be an attraction rather than something people avoid because they look gross.

The post Modern ditch cover redesign blocks mosquitos and saves your coins first appeared on Yanko Design.

A veteran designed this compact all-in-one multitool to be an incredibly versatile tactical EDC

Posted on by

It looks like your average pocket knife, but the CRKT Septimo Multi-Tool cleverly gives you much more than just a flipper blade. Designed to be a combination of compact, ergonomic, and feature-rich, this handy little critter was named Septimo (Spanish for ‘seventh’) after the 7th Special Forces Group in which designer Jeremy Valdez served. Modeled after his vision of the ideal EDC multitool, the Septimo has a fold-out 2.86-inch long American Tanto blade with a liner-lock mechanism, a bottle opener, a flathead + Phillips head screwdriver, an adjustable wrench, and finally a glass-breaker tip for getting out of sticky situations. Finally, a pocket clip lets you carry your Septimo Multi-Tool around, keeping it always at arm’s length for practically every situation where you’ll need yourself a handy EDC.

Designer: Jeremy Valdez for CRKT

Click Here to Buy Now

The Septimo’s design isn’t arbitrary. It comes from a place of experience – the kind that Valdez wouldn’t wish on anyone. During a combat operation in Afghanistan in 2009, Valdez was involved in a helicopter crash. In the chaotic aftermath, he found his EDC folding knife of choice failing rather miserably at real-world applications that involved cutting straps/harnesses, prying apart fuselage, and moving debris to help extract his fellow soldiers from the blazing, mangled chopper wreckage. This single incident set him on a path to design the ideal tactical EDC that could be used by pretty much anyone. The Septimo Multi-Tool was crafted as a tribute to his fallen brothers and sisters in arms, with a design versatile enough to get you out of any mess. The high-friction grip and desert-proof oxide finish would also help the Septimo serve loyally even in extreme conditions.

With its tactical black aesthetic, the Septimo Multi-Tool measures 4.77 inches in length and weighs 4.4 ounces (124 grams), making it both compact and lightweight, yet cleverly versatile for all sorts of scenarios. The American Tanto blade comes with a dual-edge design that’s perfect for cutting and piercing, and a Veff™ serration located near the end of the blade provides a hooking point that’s perfect for cutting through paracords, seatbelts, etc. The 8Cr13MoV steel blade comes with the same black finish as the rest of the multitool, boasting an oxidized layer that acts as an anti-corrosive.

The rest of the tools are cleverly integrated into the Septimo’s handle. The handle itself is made from aluminum with glass-reinforced Nylon inlay plates for high grip and durability. The aluminum ‘chassis’ of the Septimo comes with a bottle-opener built into its profile, working also as a thumb-grip when you’re using the knife, and right beside it is a hexagonal slot for docking S2 bits to turn your Septimo into a screwdriver that docks flathead and Phillips Head bits.

By far the most innovative bit of this multitool is the tiny-yet-practical adjustable wrench built into the back of the handle. Armed with a moveable jaw that’s operated by a thumb-screw, this compact wrench is just as handy and useful as its larger sibling, but fits right in your pocket and works perfectly for smaller Hex bits, bolts, and nuts. The Septimo ends with a final flair by integrating a glass-breaker tip at the end of its handle, making it perfect for striking down on toughened glass to instantly shatter it for a quick getaway in an emergency.

Click Here to Buy Now

The post A veteran designed this compact all-in-one multitool to be an incredibly versatile tactical EDC first appeared on Yanko Design.

Safety never looked sexier with these AI-generated superhero motorbike helmets

Posted on by

Sure, not every single one of them is practical, but I’d personally sell my kidney for the Bumblebee-themed helmet below.

I can’t help but reinforce my point that Midjourney and other similar AI art-generators are incredible ideation tools. In a matter of mere seconds, they spit up inspirational images that can sometimes directly and oftentimes indirectly be taken as design inputs. Not everything the AI bots make is ‘usable’ in an industrial design sense, but it does a pretty good job of boiling down the concept-generation phase from weeks to mere minutes, whether you’re creating concept images for an imaginary Tesla Cyberbike, or Marvel-themed Nike sneakers. These superhero-themed helmets are quite similar in nature. Designed by Instagram user Coldstar Art, these futuristic helmets take inspiration from popular cinematic legends spanning a variety of universes. Not all of them are great to wear, but every single one of them is stunning to look at!

Designer: Coldstar Art

The first two helmets exist in Hasbro’s Transformer-verse, with a Bumblebee helmet above, and a Megatron one below. The former helmet distinctly borrows from the friendly black-and-yellow robot’s head design, albeit with a larger visor, while the latter has all the features of a Decepticon, The segmented helmet design is reminiscent of Megatron’s face, which features multiple moving parts, and a gun-metal finish just makes the helmet look brilliantly devious.

We’re now dipping our toes in the MCU, with a Punisher helmet above, and a Deadpool helmet below. The Punisher helmet looks unapologetically badass, with its skull-inspired design and a respirator on the front where you’d expect the mouth to be. Grill lines on it make it look like the Punisher logo’s teeth, while the rest of the helmet looks almost like an exoskeleton with an emphasis on skeleton! Moving forward into slightly more familiar territory, the helmet below pays homage to our favorite merc with a mouth, Deadpool. The headgear is almost instantly recognizable, with its red and black colorway, and those large expressive eye cutouts, although unlike Deadpool’s mask, which is made from fabric, this hard-hat can take impact. Deadpool-meets-Deathstroke, maybe?

Sure, these two helmets look incredibly familiar, but let’s just say that Midjourney took a bit of creative liberty with them. You’ve got a green Iron Man helmet on the top, and a purple and gold Iron Man helmet on the bottom. I’ll be honest, the green helmet just doesn’t feel right. There’s something deeply unsettling when I look at that helmet in green, although the purple+gold helmet sort of feels weirdly familiar in a Thanos-meets-Tony-Stark way. Perhaps a conceptual helmet for a Thanos-buster suit?

We near the end of this list with two Power Ranger helmets for good measure. The helmets really feel natural because the superheroes wore helmets too, but Midjourney really pulled no stops, giving each headgear flaps/horns on the top that make the helmets look more edgy. The two helmets also display one of Midjourney’s most fundamental flaws – the inability to maintain basic symmetry with its art generation. The notch on top of the visor on the blue helmet seems discernibly off-center, and it seems like the purple helmet doesn’t even have a matching set of horns on its left side.

Our final helmet is perhaps the most easily recognizable yet, following the Marvel helmets. Meet the Predator helmet – it looks rustic with its stony finish, rasta-futuristic with its dreadlocks, and is the kind of helmet you wouldn’t want to see in your rearview mirror… definitely not if you identify as an alien!

The post Safety never looked sexier with these AI-generated superhero motorbike helmets first appeared on Yanko Design.

iPhone-style satellite connectivity on an Android phone? Motorola’s dongle lets you send SOS texts anywhere

Posted on by

Debuting (rather by surprise) at MWC 2023, the Motorola Defy Satellite Link does for all phones what Apple built into the iPhone 14 – gives them satellite connectivity so you can send texts in areas with little to no network coverage. The palm-sized dongle comes as a collaboration between Motorola and Bullitt, and connects to pretty much any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, making the potentially life-saving tech accessible to many more people.

Designer: Motorola & Bullitt

Built with a rugged IP68 waterproof and dustproof exterior, the Motorola Defy Satellite Link comes with a portable design that weighs a mere 3 ounces (70 grams) and can strap around your keychain or even onto your backpack using a simple carabiner clip and the strap-loop built onto the Defy itself. The Defy sports three buttons, including a power button and location button on the left, and a larger, more visible SOS button on the right. A USB-C port helps charge the Defy’s 600mAh battery, which lasts for “multiple days,” according to Motorola and Bullitt.

A hallmark of the Motorola Defy Satellite Link is that not only is it device agnostic (supporting both Android and iOS devices), but it can be used by multiple phones together once paired via Bluetooth. The large, orange SOS button on the right side helps instantly call for emergency assistance, tapping into Defy’s partnership with FocusPoint International, an ERaaS (Emergency Response as a Service) company with 24/7 monitored response centers in 120 countries that handle emergency and assistance requests. The location button built on the other side sends your current location to your close contacts, and the Defy even allows you to send text messages via the Bullitt Satellite Messenger app.

The $99 Defy Satellite Link can connect to geostationary satellites 22,300 miles (35,888 km) above the Earth using the 3GPP NTN open standard “direct-to-device” satellite communications technology, although hardware doesn’t factor in the subscription you have to pay to actually use the service. Just the SOS feature starts at $4.99 a month, and there’s also an optional $149 bundle that gets you the Defy dongle with a 1-year subscription that also includes 30 outgoing and incoming messages per month using the Bullitt Satellite Messenger app, available on Android and iOS devices.

Satellite coverage should be live across Europe and North America at launch, followed by Australia and New Zealand, Africa, and Latin America in mid-2023, according to a report by CNBC. It’s unclear when Asia (where Motorola’s parent company Lenovo is based out of) will get satellite coverage to support the Defy Satellite Link.

The post iPhone-style satellite connectivity on an Android phone? Motorola’s dongle lets you send SOS texts anywhere first appeared on Yanko Design.

This hidden Taillight Drawer gives you secret storage in your pickup truck

Posted on by

A much better alternative to leaving things on your dashboard or in your glove box…

Designed by Swiss-based Black Sheep Innovations, these hidden taillight drawers are absolute genius, going to show that no idea is TOO ridiculous, and no space too small to be used as storage. The Rear Light Drawers cleverly sit in a hidden area right behind your taillight. When closed shut, there’s absolutely no way of knowing that there’s anything behind there, but open the taillight and a long drawer comes cascading out, with enough linear storage for an entire minibar, camping/hunting gear, or even for objects you’d ideally like to stash away from the public eye. Even with the drawer hiding behind it, the taillight still remains entirely functional, giving you an extra bit of secret storage space with quite literally nothing to lose!

Designer: Black Sheep Innovations GmbH

Given the intricate nature of this custom modification, Black Sheep Innovations is limiting it to just two models – the Volkswagen Amarok and the Toyota Hilux, with more models yet to be added in the future. The storage itself can be customized based on request, allowing you to create a space that’s perfect for what you have in mind, be it a minibar, a toolkit, or a hideaway spot for important documents and valuables.

The hidden drawers remain easily accessible and don’t affect your car’s functionality in any way. The taillight housing can be unhooked by pressing a secret button, causing the hidden drawer to slide out as much as you want. Depending on the design, you can either have the taillight fold downwards to reveal the drawer or have it permanently attached to the drawer and extend outwards when pulled.

The mods don’t come cheap. Each kit is built to order, costing as high as 3392 Swiss Francs, or $3635 of your finest American dollars. You’ll still have to assemble it on your own, though.

The post This hidden Taillight Drawer gives you secret storage in your pickup truck first appeared on Yanko Design.

Enabot EBO X is a security robot that disarms you with its cuteness

Posted on by

It’s becoming more common for houses to have at least one indoor security camera, whether to keep an eye out for intruders or to look out for the safety of family members and pets. Knowing that there’s an all-seeing eye inside your house can cause both peace of mind and uneasiness, especially because of the cold and impersonal way most of these cameras are designed. Not much of a problem if you’re staying by yourself, but living with kids and pets changes the atmosphere and the requirements significantly. Not only will you need something that can keep up with these fast-moving creatures, but they also need to be something that the young ones can approach with confidence. That’s the kind of robot that the upcoming EBO X is, combining the safety features of a security camera on wheels in the guise of a cute robot that your kids and even pets can befriend.

Designer: Enabot

Futurists had us believing that our homes will be filled with robots by now, but so far, only robot vacuums have become a more common novelty in some households. Admittedly, there aren’t many use cases for other robots to be moving around the house aside from cleaning and maybe assisting those with limited mobility. Enabot, however, has been introducing home robots that, at first glance, seem to be just sophisticated toys but can actually become important safety measures, at least if they work perfectly.

EBO X is the latest spherical wheeled robot from the company, and it can do everything that its predecessors can and so much more. That includes monitoring your house remotely or communicating via voice with whoever is at home. It can also follow moving objects, like pets and small humans, to take timely pictures or even sound the alarm if it detects something amiss.

What really sets it apart, however, is its human-centric design, specifically kid-centric. Enabot gave the EBO X not only a cuter face, with dynamic lighting that changes according to its functions, but also a smarter brain. It can respond to voice commands, for example, so that kids can converse with the robot as if it was their friend. It also has touch-sensitive zones on its side for activating features, giving a more tactile and more personal experience as well.

In some ways, the EBO X sounds like just an upgraded version of other EBOs before it. Its more approachable and more relatable design, however, makes a world of difference that turns the device from an advanced security system to a family friend. And if robots are going to start invading our homes, looking friendly and adorable can help integrate them better into our daily lives.

The post Enabot EBO X is a security robot that disarms you with its cuteness first appeared on Yanko Design.

This tsunami-blocking coastal city draws inspiration from the shape of mangrove roots

Posted on by

The volcanic eruption of Tonga on the 14th of January in 2022 created a major tsunami hazard for the entire pacific rim. The pacific rim is said to be the most prone to tsunamis, given its connection to all four major tectonic plates. It’s only natural for the architecture of the area to evolve to match this unique threat, and that’s what the Tsunami Park Skyscraper aims at doing. This eVolo Skyscraper Award-winning architectural design models itself on the shape and layout of mangrove roots that help break waves and currents by almost instantly slowing down water currents to help distribute their impact.

“Mangroves are woody plant communities in the intertidal zone of tropical and subtropical coasts, with developed root systems and staggering growth, which have the best effect on tsunami mitigation”, mention the designers. “Therefore, the skyscraper is inspired by the principle and mechanism of mangrove resistance to tsunamis, and consists of a single unit aggregated to form a vast complex along the coastline. Each cell consists of a bottom pillar and a top multi-level platform. The bottom pillar is made up of thick concrete columns that form a porous structure to dissipate the enormous force of the tsunami, while the upper platforms are of varying sizes, heights, and interconnections to carry people’s lives.”

Designers: Wang Jue, Zhang Qian, Zhang Changsheng, Li Muchun, Xu Jing

The skyscrapers have two functional states – a normal state, and a disaster state. The large towers hover many meters above the coastline, and while they created an elevated city-of-sorts to live in, the base of their massive vertical columns create the perfect area for tidal fishing and water-based bazaars (like the ones found in Thailand). This is where people gather for recreational activities like fishing, swimming, and boating.

However, in the face of a tsunami alert, the lower areas are immediately evacuated. As the tidal wave hits the skyscraper, it’s immediately broken into much smaller waves that instantly dissipate as the water is slowed down by the mangrove-root columns of the skyscraper park. Water is also absorbed by these columns and is channeled down into an underground desalination area for treatment (this happens on a daily basis too, during high tide). “Our solution strategy is therefore to turn a disaster into something, which means conforming to the tsunami, rather than fighting it. Transforming the catastrophic nature of the tsunami into a gift from nature to mankind,” the designers mention.

The post This tsunami-blocking coastal city draws inspiration from the shape of mangrove roots first appeared on Yanko Design.

Lifeaz home defibrillator can turn anyone into a life-saving hero

Posted on by

Modern smartwatches like the Apple Watch are equipped with advanced sensors and algorithms that can help you contact emergency services in case of, well, an emergency. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all they can do, and people are still left at the mercy of said services arriving on time. Even if you are with someone else, the chances of that other person knowing the proper medical procedures are slim, especially when medical equipment is needed in the first place. Rather than leave it up to chance and unpredictable traffic, a new innovative device puts fate into your own hands with a portable defibrillator that can help save your family or friends’ lives, even without intensive training.

Designer: Lifeaz

Defibrillators are a common sight in many TV shows whenever someone goes into cardiac arrest for one reason or another. It might look like a simple process, but reality is less rosy. In addition to the dangerously high voltage (that requires people to shout “Clear!” before each use), using a defibrillator requires proper placement and processes, which, in turn, require proper training. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of such cardiac arrests happen outside hospitals in the US alone, resulting in delayed treatment that could have saved thousands of lives.

With plenty of technologies now available that are devoted to diagnosing body conditions, it’s about time that we get something that can actively save lives. Lifeaz is that “something,” delivering a defibrillator in a small box that can even fit inside a backpack or travel bag in case you need to go somewhere remote. Of course, its main purpose is to stay at home, ready to be used in an emergency to deliver life-saving procedures within those critical first four minutes of a cardiac arrest.

Just as important as its portability is Lifeaz’s extreme ease of use. You simply have to follow the simple instructions to activate the machine in a box and place the electrodes in the proper places, helpfully indicated by clear diagrams. From there, the device can intelligently analyze the situation and the patient’s condition in order to determine the proper settings to help the heart get back up. Users need not be trained emergency personnel and don’t even have to get actively involved other than setting up the machine and monitoring things through a mobile app.

Lifeaz has already been embraced by as many as 10,000 families in Europe and has even been credited in saving 17 lives. In the US, they are still working towards FDA certification, but there will clearly be a huge market waiting for its life-saving technology. After all, it’s one thing to be able to know when your heart isn’t in good condition and quite another matter of literal life or death to get it beating again.

The post Lifeaz home defibrillator can turn anyone into a life-saving hero first appeared on Yanko Design.

‘Simple and clever’ slap-band bicycle lock takes inspiration from the fun children’s toy

Posted on by

It makes securing your bicycle as easy as *snap*!

Locks are useful. They’re also pretty boring. I don’t think I’ve ever come across an actual bicycle lock I’ve liked – they look incredibly archaic and utilitarian, and given the chance, you’d probably hide the lock away in a bag instead of letting it destroy your bicycle’s aesthetic. The Slapstick Smart Bicycle Lock, on the other hand, reinvents the entire bike lock category with its fun, fresh, and fast-deploying design. Inspired by the popular children’s toy, the slap-band, this smart lock literally snaps around your bicycle frame, with a belt-like locking mechanism that adjusts to match the size of your frame and the pole you’re attaching your bicycle to. Affixing the lock is as easy as just snapping it in place and watching the band automatically wrap around your bicycle. The lock’s smart hub helps you secure and remove the Slapstick without needing a key, making the entire process simple, fast, and intuitive!

Designer: Jeongwoo Seo

The way the Slapstick Smart Bicycle Lock works is simple. It snaps in place and secures itself thanks to a metal stub at the bottom that twists to lock the Slapstick. Once locked in place, it opens using the button on top with a built-in fingerprint reader. You can use your smartphone to lock or unlock it too, but there’s an undeniable elegance to just placing your finger on the circular sensor and watching the lock magically open on its own.

Designed in a range of colors, the Slapstick is fun, functional, intuitive, and brings a sense of whimsy and a pop of color to your bicycle. You can lock it around the frame when not in use and it still looks good, unlike other boring-looking locks. It’s designed to be waterproof, and charges using a contact-based charging hub on the side of the lock, accessible behind the textured silicone flap. If ever the battery on the lock dies while your bicycle is fixed to a pole, the Slapstick accepts reverse-wireless-charging through your smartphone too, helping you easily get out of a potential fix!

A view of the metal stub which controls the locking mechanism

The post ‘Simple and clever’ slap-band bicycle lock takes inspiration from the fun children’s toy first appeared on Yanko Design.