It’s made of LEGO, but it’s square, black, and dull, but you just can’t ignore the aura of coolness that this casing emits. Yes it isn’t as cute as the cute looking LEGO made Wall-E rubbish collector, but this thing fights with a good cause, because this is actually a folding farm.

OK, this folding farm might not actually put an end to tumors, but it can churn out 135,000 points of crunching power per-day in IBMs World Community Grid. Inside are actually three separate PCs powered by a trio of Core i7 2600ks and a single, massive 1,200-watt power supply. But who cares about that — just look at all those bricks! About 2,000 of them, along with a few aluminum bars, make up this DIY case. And, thanks to the over-sized supply and modular design, creator Mike Schropp can easily stack another system or two on top, should it tickle his fancy.

Case modding gone way too creative and into the realm of the child, awesome!

SOURCE via Total Geek

In a concept that is sure to save trees as well as your precious money, designer Kim Su Yeon has created a printer that doesn’t exactly perform the typical task you would expect of a regular printer. The Ink Remover Printer utilizes laser technology to burn the ink right off of paper, essentially becoming your own personal paper recyclers. This would allow you to use the same pieces of paper dozens of times, assuming the printer doesn’t set it on fire.

Read more…

Obesity in children has become an increasingly apparent concern over here in the United States. That’s probably because we don’t have one of these pedal-powered school buses taking our kids to school. Made by the Netharlands’ De Cafe Racer, this child-powered vehicle brings an eco-friendly approach to encouraging kids to exercise. The teacher simply has to steer in the right direction while all of the children wear their sugar-filled hyperactive bodies out.

Okay, maybe this bike-bus thing isn’t a school bus after all, but it does come in that iconic yellow color! Rather than a transport vehicle for school kids, this vehicle is actually a rental that can be used for a day of fun. But a bright idea such as this one could definitely be worthy of some attention here in the U.S. or other areas with notable obesity.

Although we highly doubt there will be a real life application of such a device any time soon as usual, the Plantbook is definitely taking a step outside the box of traditional notebook concepts and designs. Designed by Seunggi Baek & Hyerim Kim, the Plantbook is inspired from the water-soaking abilities of a bamboo plant.

This device itself looks like a bamboo stick in which the ‘screen’ can be rolled in and out, splitting into two to become a virtual keyboard and a screen. As if the whole portability factor of the Plantbook wasn’t cool enough, it charges itself using water! Much like a real plant, the Plantbook concept utilizes an external water tank and the process of electrolysis to produce electricity to charge the device. Read more…

Alert system designed to help you keep a safe distance from the driver ahead of you in times when visibility gets bad, might also prove fun in racing.

SafetyDistance is an innovative road lighting concept that is designed to run along the outer edge of highways and freeways. At night, these signs provide an extra source of light for nighttime visibility in order to assist in keeping the roads safe. Each lighting post is equipped with a solar panel that charges and powers the device. With three different light signs to indicate driving distances, SafetyDistance keeps drivers informed of the safe distance of any vehicles in front of them.

When the lamp glows a bright red, it indicates that the driver is dangerously close to the car in front. Yellow indicates a close distance while green indicates a safe one. While no cars are detected, the signs shut off to save energy. Although it may be fairly easy for a driver to identify whether or not he is dangerously close to another vehicle, this self-sustainable concept is great for harsh weather conditions such as a snow storm or heavy fog.

This innovative concept from Ivan Jaddou is a proposed brand name inspired by the phenomenon of synesthesia, the neurological condition when one sensory experience leads to another secondary sensory experience. Jaddou’s headphones hope to embody the perplexing condition that can bring vibrant colors and emotions to words and sounds.

The Colorme concept explores the presentation of music on a deeper level bringing into it additional experiences of color and emotion. Colorme attempts this with its three part package: Colorme Teardrop Headphones, Colorme iPhone App, and Colorme Balloon Lamp. The headphones may be color customized at any time to fit the users’ mood. These ultra-comfortable, tear-shaped headphones are collapsible for easy portability and can become a colourful accessory to any outfit. Read more…

China has just opened up a new roadway that stretches for a distance of 26.4 miles. Not impressed? That’s 26.4 miles over water. It’s called the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, and stretches for a span longer than a marathon. The bridge took four years to build, opened on June 30 and was then recognized by Guinness as the longest roadway bridge over water.

You would think that a 26-mile bridge would be used to shave serious commuting time off an otherwise long journey. Strangely, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge only saves commuters 19 miles and 20 minutes of travel time. Yes, breaking down in the middle of this is a no-no. Good luck getting it fixed.

Read more…

With the over-65 population growing at a rapid rate (36.9 million in 2009 and set to hit 72.1 million by 2030), automakers are intent on making driving easier for the elderly. To that end, automotive supplier TRW is developing a folding steering wheel concept that retracts into the dashboard, allowing older drivers to get in and out with ease.

The wheel is bisected into two smaller handles that fold inward when the vehicle is shut down, mounting nearly flush with the rest of the dashboard. When the driver gets back in, the wheel extends outward to the driver’s chosen position and can be set at multiple angles for different users.

Ideally, TRW’s steering wheel solution would be part of a larger initiative to make driving easier for people with limited mobility, and partnered with voice commands and more legible buttons and interfaces, the wheel could be part of an elderly-focused equipment package as early as 2016.

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a brutal rainstorm with nothing but a flimsy umbrella to keep you safe? More than likely that umbrella got blown inside out destroyed or flew away altogether thanks to the massive winds. Luckily for wind fearing folk worldwide, these innovative designers have created an aerodynamic solution called the Senz° umbrellas.

Designed to withstand the worst of weather conditions, the Senz° aspires to become unbreakable and never inverted. Evolving through several different sizes, shapes, colors and patterns, the senz° utilized materials such as nylon, steel, and fiberglass. All models aspire to resist wind forces of up to 70 miles per hour. They may look a bit unconventional but the person with the Senz° in a heavy storm will be having the last laugh, unless that person got blown away with the umbrella like Mary Poppins.

The UK’s bestselling vacuum brand Vax has teamed up with Jake Tyler, a British design student from Loughborough University, to create an unconventional and eco-friendly yet efficient vacuum cleaner. Dubbed the Vax Ev, this high performance vacuum cleaner is made from recycled and recyclable materials.

Corrugated cardboard panels create the body of the Vax Ev while the other components are made from a recyclable pure nylon plastic. Although a vacuum made entirely out of recyclable parts may not last as long as other competing models, the corrugated cardboard and recyclable plastic will result in a very cheap production cost, saving consumers a lot of money. The parts are also all designed to be easily ordered and replaced when needed. For more information on the Ev and Jake Tyler check out the official release here.