The Geek Church

In this modern age, researchers, scientists and inventors continue to explore the possibilities of technology to find new ways of doing ordinary, regular things. For example, there is ongoing research to replace oil, gas and coal with solar, wind and hydro power as environmentally safer and easily renewable sources of energy. Now there is a concept for a car that has absolutely no need for a steering wheel.

This concept developed by designer Yanchao Wang is called The Swing Beginner and it is meant to increase the effectiveness of using space inside of a vehicle while making driving easier. In this conceptual design, a configuration of three seats can be adjusted to one seat, the trunk is retractable for extension or shortening and the car door is located on the front of the vehicle. Furthermore, a rocking chair equipped with joysticks on the armrests and gravity sensor pedals was designed to guide the car’s directional motion. Thus, a regular car’s need for a steering wheel would be obsolete. Similar to a video game controller, the rocking chair and joystick armrests would be used to move the vehicle forward, backward and making turns. The Swing Beginner car would also have non-rotation, radius wheels and a large dome acting as windows to make driving possible with only the simple movements of your body.

As its name implies, the Swing Beginner concept car is intended for new drivers to make operating a motor vehicle less difficult and complicated. This design also features the ability to use the backrest as a wearable backpack. Personally, I don’t think a car seat’s backrest was ever meant to be a backpack and the design of this car concept looks like something out of the Jetsons cartoon. This design idea may have potential as a car of the future but right now it seems as realistic as making a flying car.

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Along with making our lives easier, technology is also meant to improve personal health and preserve the safety of human lives. Thus, ongoing research is in motion to develop better equipment for rescue teams so they’ll be more effective at saving lives during a natural disaster or emergency situation. Now Yanko Design has conceived the concept of a wearable computer that assists search and rescue teams in their operations.

A designer Dieter Amick created this concept and called it the SixthSense for Search and Rescue System. It is a portable computer intended to give rescue workers quick and convenient access to maps and relevant information. The computer itself would be strapped to your torso and its features would also include the ability to locate survivors and determine who among them needs immediate help first. Furthermore, this wearable computer is equipped with storage space for important items such as water and travel food as well.

The purpose of SixthSense is to provide search and rescue team personnel with better equipment for communication and getting vital information. This concept seems to be part of the growing trend in our culture to create more portable personal computers for easy storage and use. Apparently, the next phase in this trend is to make them wearable on the human body. At this rate, we could be wearing our computers on our arms, torso or forehead by the next decade or two.

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What will the future be like? This is a question often pondered by people in our culture. Among these people, scientists, inventors, artists, designers and businesses try to explore the possibilities of new technologies, consumer products, environmental conditions and human customs in the years to come. For example, Yanko Design has shown a concept of what Harley Davidson motorcycles could be like in the future.

Recently, a designer named Jonathan Russell conceived a concept called 2020 Harley Davidson 1. In this design concept, the new Harley would have perforations made in the aluminum skin of the bike through laser cutting to give it a shiny, translucent look. The perforated aluminum is also intended to cover the seat hide and give the tail lights and turn signals greater visibility. Furthermore, the motorcycle would have non skid treads, an enlarged V-Twin engine, and a hidden battery and oil tank. The battery and oil tank would be placed within the tank area along with a gas tank and an airbox. Other features of this futuristic Harley include two exhaust pipes wrapped into one and perimeter breaks for better stopping capability.

This new concept for the Harley Davidson motorcycle is also designed for better comfort and speed as well. The design will feature two ways to sit down while riding and the bike would be made by a power to weight ratio to make it faster on the road. Personally, I’m amused by the futuristic look of the motorcycle because it seems to be inspired by action and science fiction flicks. Perhaps this design could be the new Harley Davidson motorcycle in 2020. However, I wonder how realistic it is to actually make this bike by then.

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Let’s face it, among other house chores, doing laundry tends to be tedious and time-consuming, especially with multiple loads of clothes, linen, towels, etc. Furthermore, colors usually have to be separated from whites to avoid color bleeding, staining and bleaching, which leads to running more loads in a washer. Unfortunately, a regular washer is usually designed only to do one load at a time. But what if a washer was designed to clean colors and whites and do multiple loads at the same time?

Well, the concept for such a washer is currently being developed at Yanko Design. It is called the Individual Washer. This washing machine is an upright unit with three separate compartments for sorting and cleaning laundry. According to the concept design, the three compartments will be separated by two dividers and each compartment will have its own rotating oar and rotating pylon for sorting and cleaning loads. The machine’s door will have a outer and inner lid for locking the door and separating space between the door and each compartment. Finally, a LCD touch screen is located on the center of the upper front of the machine to control rotation frequency and various temperature settings.

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Every once in a while, I like to check out a site known as Yanko Design. Many tech blogs love it because it has all these cool concept gizmos that will probably never see the light of day.

Case in point, the Scirbblebot. See this three legged thing with the pen down the middle. Well, if you were to draw with it, you can save that shape, which is in this case, a bird. Once you have this drawing program saved, you can get another piece of paper out and let the Scribblebot do the drawing.

You can see the video after the jump to get a better idea of what this is all about.

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