Ultrasonic cleaner concept masquerades as a beautiful piece of sculptural art

We have recently become a bit more concerned not only about the air that we breathe but also about the objects we touch or put on our faces. In addition to air purifiers, there has been a rise in all sorts of sanitizing devices, from those using UV-C light to other less common methods like ultrasonic washers for glasses. What binds all these machines together is how they look like machines, things that would stand out and look out of place in a living room or an art gallery. These boxes and towers don’t really have to be designed that way, only that it’s the most common and, therefore, cheapest manufacturing option. Fortunately, the trend seems to be changing, and there have been a few more aesthetic redesigns of these sanitation devices, such as this ultrasonic cleaner that could easily be mistaken as an artistic pot among other decorative pieces in a room.

Designers: Sohee Park, Deric Jeon (above.studio)

Granted, an ultrasonic cleaner is not exactly a common household appliance even today, but they serve an important purpose in some locations, particularly those that may deal with bacteria or dirt that could be harmful not only to health but also to other objects within that space. That includes laboratories, museums, and art galleries where your accessories could accumulate dirt or microorganisms that, when transferred, could damage equipment or get people sick.

Ultrasonic cleaners fire off high-frequency sound waves through the liquid to scrub immersed objects, such as eyeglasses, without physically touching them to reduce the risk of damaging the objects themselves. These machines often come as uninspiring and very technical boxes with a small metallic basin embedded at the top. It’s the most convenient design for such a machine, but with today’s technologies, designs don’t have to be that limited, which is what this redesign concept tries to accomplish.

The metal tray that holds the cleaning liquid and objects to be cleaned is still there, but it’s now embedded in a bowl-like structure that better signifies its purpose, which is to hold something potentially important and precious. And instead of a clunky metal box with knobs and switches, this black bowl sits on top of a paraboloid structure that serves as its base, creating a shape that almost looks like a large goblet that is smooth and almost devoid of details. Standing beside vases and decorations, this ultrasonic cleaner would look very much at home, disguising its true nature and purpose until it’s actually needed.

The redesign doesn’t fundamentally change the function of an ultrasonic cleaner, though finer control might be lost due to the absence of those knobs and switches. It does, however, make the device look less daunting and more approachable, especially in places where a metal box would stand out as an eyesore. Such designs could even make cleaning and sanitizing devices more commonplace, increasing their use and popularity in households, which, in turn, could help prevent the spread of diseases inside homes.

The post Ultrasonic cleaner concept masquerades as a beautiful piece of sculptural art first appeared on Yanko Design.

Alexagate is a nifty mod for your Amazon Echo to prevent Jeff Bezos from spying on you

You don’t become the world’s richest man by accident. Bezos is worth $180 billion because he knows what you need before even you do. That’s a pretty great advantage when you also happen to own one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies. The Amazon Echo isn’t a smart speaker, it’s a utility tool that enables you to dip into Amazon’s services, and allows Amazon to dip into your minds by always listening to you. Alexagate stops that.

The Alexagate is a clever hack that sits on top of the 3rd Gen Echo Dot or Echo (sort of like a tin-foil hat) and prevents their microphones from listening to you. The bright yellow device can be activated by clapping thrice whenever you want to have a private conversation, and deactivated with an additional 3 claps when you want to ask Alexa to play some music or give you the recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala.

The ALexagate device uses 7 strategically placed ultrasonic speakers to disable the Echo’s beam-forming microphones from picking anything up. When active, all the Echo hears is static noise (since it’s ultrasonic and localized, you don’t). That way, Bezos won’t be able to eavesdrop in on your conversations and use it to subliminally get you to buy more Pepto Bismol because he knows you cooked Chicken Tikka Masala the other day.

Designer: MSCHF

Ultrasonic bracelet jams the microphones around you

Smart speakers and other microphone-equipped devices aren't supposed to listen all the time, but there might be a solution if you aren't willing to take any chances. University of Chicago researchers have built an experimental bracelet that uses ult...

OmiSonic’s versatile ultrasonic washing machine is the size of a bar of soap

I’m not the guy to knock washing machines. I think they’re pretty dope, and they get the job done… and I’m not really an early adopter of the pocket, ultrasonic washing machine trend just yet, but I honestly think they make some compelling arguments.

The OmiSonic is a washing machine that’s virtually the same size as a bar of soap. If you were to ask yourself what a washing machine truly was, the simplest definition is, that it’s a machine that uses turbulence, water, and a soap/detergent to rinse clothes. Take that definition and condense it down, and you’ve got something like the OmiSonic. It doesn’t use an agitator, a drum, or a lot of power. It relies on a small-but-powerful ultrasonic vibrator to agitate the water at incredibly high speeds, allowing small bubbles to scrub any dirt off your soiled clothes, even reaching small corners and crevasses to get that tough dirt out. In its incredibly handy avatar, the OmiSonic is portable, uses less water + electricity, and is completely wireless. It can be used to clean small batches of clothes, jewelry, cutlery, or even scrub dirt/chemicals off your fruits and veggies, both indoors or outdoors.

OmiSonic comes as a small, monolithic palm-sized device. Designed to be waterproof, the device doesn’t have any controls of its own, and is completely wireless. Instead, it runs via the OmiSonic app that allows you to switch on or off the washing machine, as well as select from multiple different washing profiles, be it for clothes, for fruits, or even for jewelry. Through the app, the OmiSonic adjusts its intensity as well as wash time. All you do is place it in a vessel of water along with the item that needs cleaning, and the OmiSonic does the rest! OmiSonic even comes with a unique paper-detergent to help with getting those stains or dirt out!

Its soap-shaped avatar is just visually apt and makes it synonymous with cleaning! The OmiSonic comes with a proprietary dock for charging it, and runs for as long as four washes on a full charge, handling up to 4.4lbs of clothes per wash. In its small, portable form, the OmiSonic is perhaps a washing machine in the truest sense. It washes clothes, jewelry, acts as a dishwasher, can scrub your fruits and veggies, cleanse your spectacles, and even handle delicates like your baby’s clothes or items. Using ultrasonic waves to vibrate dirt and bacteria off your belongings, the OmiSonic does the job as well as, if not better than, your hands, or your standard washing machine… and manages to get the job done with as much as 1/10th of the required water!

Designer: OmiSonic Team

Click Here to Buy Now: $128 $239 (46% off!). Hurry, less than 72 hours left!

Click Here to Buy Now: $128 $239 (46% off!). Hurry, less than 72 hours left!

Jacuzzi for Your Glasses?!

You never know how dirty your spectacles are until someone tells you. At least I don’t. They gather fingerprints, dust, scratches galore and I literally need to be told to wipe them clean… and then I use the base of my shirt to wipe them, adding to the scratches because you’re supposed to use microfiber and not just any regular cloth. The spectacles are a rare case study of a product that transitioned from actually being a vision correction device to now being a style statement. In that jump from being a medical device to a fashion object, the spectacle lost its need to be given due treatment as a medical device.

So while some may say the Smartclean Vision.5 seems a little excessive, I say it’s a blessing. Fill it up with regular water (you could even use a drop of liquid soap too), switch it on, and leave your spectacles inside while the Vision.5 uses ultrasonic vibrations to agitate the water, allowing it to gently but efficiently clean any dirt, dust, grime, oil, smudges you may have on your spectacles. Probably a dozen times more effective than wiping your spectacles with a cloth, the Vision.5 cleanses every nook and cranny of your spectacles (even the dirt that accumulates around the nose-pad) and leaves them looking brand new in just five minutes. The size of a power bank, and available in a rather pleasant variety of colors, the Vision.5 can even be carried around with you, and you may just want to carry a microfiber cloth to wipe the water off your shiny, spotless spectacles. And no, we know what you’re thinking but it’s best if you don’t use these for your contact lenses… or murder weapons.

Designer: Davie Lan

Click here to Buy Now: $77.00 $88.00

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Click here to Buy Now: $77.00 $88.00

DIY Acoustic Levitator Lets You Float Objects in Mid-air

While most levitation is achieved with magnets, it’s also possible to suspend small objects in air using sound waves. Thanks to engineer Asier Marzo, you can even create your own acoustic levitator, which can float lightweight objects like water droplets, styrofoam beads, and even insects.

The system uses a 3D printed rig that holds two opposing grids filled with 36 tiny ultrasonic transducers each. An Arduino Nano, a power supply, and a motor drive board control the transducers, which basically push and pull on small objects you place in their path, holding them in mid-air. Levitation is achieved by pushing air out of both top and bottom transducers, which apply an equivalent amount of pressure from above and below the objects.

Asier describes the highlights of the build in the video below:

Neat, eh? Now if you’re ready to build your own acoustic levitator, check out the full build log over on Instructables. There’s a great article on the physics behind acoustic levitation over on How Stuff Works too.

Qualcomm’s new fingerprint sensors work underwater

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Vivo beats Apple to an under-display fingerprint scanner

There have been rumours of Apple exploring under-display fingerprint scanning technology, but you probably didn't expect the first of such demos to come from China. At MWC Shanghai, Qualcomm announced its latest ultrasonic fingerprint solution, with...