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Key Control Helps Find Missing Objects Around the House
As soon as GPS and other micro-location devices hit it big, a lot of ideas were generated around the notion of tagging lost items that frequently need to be re-found – keys, wallets and the like. Few devices propose such a simple and user-friendly solution as this one, though, by Chu Wang, Qiujin Kou, Qian Yin & Yonghua Zhang – the RFID tracking sticker is nothing special, but the gadget that goes with it is just great. The main terminal helps direct you in three-dimensional space tower the missing object, guiding with arrows then highlighting with circles while showing the distance to your destination, all in the compact shape of a smartphone (perhaps some day it will become one with your cellular device, too!).Aerogel: See-Through, Strong as Steel & Ligher than Air
Despite its incredibly low density, aerogel is one of the most powerful materials on the planet.
Somewhere between thick and opaque noise-blocking curtains and clear sound-reflecting glass windows there was a missing link, and this textile is it: lightweight and translucent, it sucks in sound without obscuring your view. Specializing in Materials Science & Technology, the EMPA worked with textiles experts, acoustical engineers and computer modelers to weave disparate disciplines into a new compelling set of acoustically-altered patterns.
New Noise-Quenching Curtains Absorb Sound, Let in Light
See Through (the) Future: 10 Cutting-Edge Glass Concepts
Transparency is only the beginning – this incredible video from Corning walks you through a day in the life of your not-too-distant future self, using glass in ways that would have sounded like pure science-fiction fantasy a few years back.?Be sure to watch the video for the full effect, but here are some snapshots to supplement the experience. It starts with waking up in the morning, to adjustable photovoltaic windows, an edgeless flat-screen television and a touch-screen set of interactive bathroom mirror monitors.
Folding Concrete?! Flat-Pack Building Blocks of the Future
This may be the biggest invention since that long-standing, still-universal staple of the construction industry: the red clay brick. A single identical unit, multiplied by four, forms a rigid structural element – stack these and set them side by side, and you have nothing short of a material revolution. Watch the videos to fully see how these function!
See-Through, Light-Transmitting … Concrete?!
Concrete has a sometimes-bad reputation as a harsh, rigid, cold-to-the-touch and straight-edged material. Litracon is doing a great deal to change that image of concrete through a score of creative and sustainable applications for their patented light-transmitting concrete.Dazzling Design: 3D Digital-Print Patterns on Clear Glass Tile
They might be a bit bright for your bathroom, or distract from cooking as a kitchen backsplash, but there is something downright dazzling about these colorful, computer-printed tiles regardless of what room you do (or do not) want to install them in. Levitiles has divided their elegant-end designs into three basic types, with both warm- and cool-color variants in each. There is a smooth-surface style that looks layered as a result of the complex print placed on the surface but without the standard frosted effect. Bright iridescent blue, orange, red and create panels can be used to create sleek monochromatic planes or mix-and-match patterns. They are semi-transparent, letting light (and you see) through.
For all its flawed variability, wood has long remained a leading go-to choice for creating furniture.