We’re one small step closer to having Dragon Ball‘s miraculous capsules, thanks to a group of scientists that have created a metamaterial that can be programmed to change its shape, volume and stiffness.
The scientists, led by Harvard Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences Katia Bertoldi, were inspired by a form of origami called Snapology, which involves connecting folded pieces of paper together to create a variety of geometric shapes. The metamaterial’s basic unit is a cross made of seven rhombohedrons.
By connecting pneumatic actuators on the sides of each of rhombohedron, the scientists are able to manipulate the metamaterial at will. To demonstrate their invention, the scientists made samples of the metamaterial using PET and double-sided tape then connected them as a 4x4x4 cube.
Johannes T. B. Overvelde, who also worked on the metamaterial, told Harvard that their creation “works from the nanoscale to the meter-scale and could be used to make anything from surgical stents to portable pop-up domes for disaster relief.” Further, it works with a variety of actuators, “including thermal, dielectric or even water.” You can read the scientists’ paper on Nature.
[via Harvard via Digital Trends]
It has a surface that is akin to a touchscreen and the working of a computer, essentially the Flexus Transformable Table gives us a peek at what to expect from workstations of tomorrow. The ergonomic design transforms it from a stand-by station to a full fledge presentation board. The various stages of its adaptability give us a chance to use just one object in a host of scenarios.
Kudos to functionality!
Designer: Gu A Reum
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(Computer That Is A Table was originally posted on Yanko Design)
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Living spaces are getting smaller and smaller unless you can afford to pay the premium for a larger apartment. It makes sense to only have essential furniture at home, since they’re bulky and will give your flat a cramped feeling if you’ve got too much of them.
Cue the Bloc’d Sofa, which turns into a whole host of furniture options, depending on what you need at the moment.
First and foremost, it’s a sofa with cube cushions. If you want a flatter sofa or a bed of sorts for a quick nap, then all you need to do is rearrange the cushions this way and that to form the final arrangement of your choice.
Bloc’d Sofa was designed by Scott Jones, who explains that his goal behind the piece was “to try to understand why we hold on to some objects, while we discard others.”
Scott adds that Bloc’d started out as “a pile of discarded furniture I [Jones] walked past on an NYC sidewalk.” He is currently looking for a manufacturer for Bloc’d but is currently accepting individual orders on his site.
[via Gizmag]
A transforming Tablet PC is the best way to describe the Apollon. The device functions as a book reader sized tablet and can morph into a large 15inch 16:9 ratio screen. To make life easy, the Apollon uses dual OS. Windows OS for wide mode, which is effective at using heavy programs and watching wide resolution medias. The Android OS for the minimized experience intended for casual use like web surfing and PDF viewing.
Features:
Designer: Jongha Lee
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Yanko Design
Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Shop CKIE - We are more than just concepts. See what's hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design!
(Versatile Tablet PC was originally posted on Yanko Design)
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