Yanko Design - Latest Posts

Posted: 17 Feb 2009 06:54 AM PST

PESTS! Arrgh! I know we don't live in dumpsters, but lest roaches, flies and rats raid our home, getting rid of them can be such a pain in the butt! Instead of going in for toxic options lets look at the 5 alternatives given to us by the cool dudes at Material Beliefs. Lampshade robot, Mousetrap coffee table robot, Fly stealing robot, UV fly killer parasite and Fly-paper robotic clock. Hungry Carnivorous Do-gooders!

Lampshade Robot

Using the deadly modus operandi of the Pitcher Plant, this Lampshade robot sweetly and seductively attracts the flies to the bowels of its light-dom. Little does the poor pest know that it can get in, but there is no way out of this hell-hole alive! Once in the flies etc succumb to their fate and fall into the microbial fuel cell underneath. This generates the electricity to power a series of LEDs located at the bottom of the shade, which in turn are activated when the house lights are turned off.

Mousetrap Coffee Table Robot

OK, this may sound a bit absurd, but a mousetrap on your coffee table, isn't that like bringing the bin to the table? Anyways, since this is all motorized with a mechanized iris (like a periscope?) married to an infrared motion sensor, I can fathom the mouse-chomping glutton in the living room. Got a mouse at home that's not a pet? Leave some crumbs on the tabletop as a trap and watch the little twerp squish up to the top via a hole built into one over size leg. The activity gets the iris going and the mouse falls into the microbial fuel cell housed under the table and the dead blob in turn generates the energy to power the iris motor and sensor.

Fly Stealing Robot

This is one helluva smooth operator. On one hand it uses the silken spider web as a bait to trap the ignorant flies into the armature and on the other hand its meat to generate energy to partially power the camera and robotic arm. The ignorant fly is shoved onto the microbial fuel cell and harnessed. This robot also relies on the UV fly killer parasite robot to give it some extra energy.

UV Fly Killer Parasite

Quite self-sustaining like the rest of the lot, the microbial fuel cell underneath the ultra violet fly killer uses the fallen fly to generate energy, which is then stored in the capacitor bank. As mentioned before, the Fly stealing robot banks on this capacitor for some juice.

Fly-Paper Robotic Clock

Oh this one is an awesome contraption! There is flypaper on a roller mechanism involved here and some blades. The flypaper attracts some pesky flies and then it rolls and passes it over a blade. The poor dud is then scraped into a microbial fuel cell where it's used to provide juice for a small LCD clock. Innovative recycling!

Designers: James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau & Aleksandar Zivanovic

Aleksandar Zivanovic, James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau

For The Blind Who Don’t Know Braille

Posted: 17 Feb 2009 02:39 AM PST

You are lucky my friend that you can read this post. Being sight-impaired is not a situation you want to be in. It gets even more complicated if you are blind and can't even read Braille. Luckily there is some though process being invested in the Braille Interpreter, a single-finger glove that features a tactile sensor, a Bluetooth headphone and interpreting software.

The index finger portion of the glove hosts the said tactile sensor. Skim it over the Braille surface and it sends a feed to the main device housed on the back of the glove. Over here the feeds are interpreted and beamed to the headphone via Bluetooth as voice data.

Skim-Interpret-Hear Voice; nifty enough solution for those who can't cope with Braille.

Designer: Hyung Jin Lim

Hyung Jin Lim

Tweaked Vinyl Player With Modern Perks

Posted: 17 Feb 2009 12:17 AM PST

Self-confessed retro lover is here to tell you about this remarkable find! Bringing a modern-day charm to the long-forgotten LP player is the Zero. 1. It's a CD Player that can also play the vinyl records. What's really unique is that a system has been incorporated where the device is able to "read" the gaps between the tracks, memorize them, and make it selectable, quite like how you would do with a CD.

The modern-day advantages include a CD system with an auto-recording feature that will hold a terabyte of memory. Files supported include MP3, MP4, WAV etc. It’s been originally designed for the Italian company Brionvega.

The remote control, me on the rocking chair and Genesis on the Zero. 1 and I am set for the moment!

Designer: Gianfranco Cugusi

Gianfranco Cugusi

Who Knew Medical 1984 Could be So Fun!

Posted: 17 Feb 2009 12:00 AM PST

I kid, I kid. But here’s a product that regulates and records the time and amount of your medication intake. It’s a cute little thing, yes? It’s got a capsule with pills (or shall I say Capshell, the name of the concept), that you load into the holder. The holder then dispenses the pills with an easy turn. Simple enough?

I say Medical 1984 because any time I see something like, “The recording device in the product assists the doctor in keeping accurate patient records,” I immediately think of George Orwell. But this device seems to have good intentions. It’s designer, Steven Grech, intends for the device to be able to help doctors understand if their patients condition is due to the fact that the medicine is working, not working, or simply not being taken. It is a perfect world in which science can have a controlled situation in all experiments. The Capshell helps this become a reality.

What’s it made of? You might ask.

Each part aside from the technical package is injection molded using abs. Its light and rigid properties would be a well-suited material to allow the product to be light whilst maintaining enough strength for durability. All dimensions and labeling is accordance with Australian standards.

Hows it work? You might ask.

The device records when medication is taken, and shows the user the correct intervals programmed by the pharmacist. If not activated at the correct time, the device sends an alert to the users phone via text, or “SMS.” Once in the grip of the user, it opens easily by turning round, revealing the opening corresponding with the time of day. This way of opening is helpful to the elderly, as it eliminates hard-to-open caps. Each days replacement tube is labeled clearly with text and with Braille numbering.

Can I get mine in orange? You might ask.

Designer: Steven Grech