Yanko Design - Latest Posts

Posted: 31 Mar 2009 03:11 AM PDT

I relate a lot of stuff to songs you know; like the time when I wrote the K-95 USB Flash Drive post, the song that popped into my mind was the Yellow Submarine by Beatles. When I look at this seat, which is clearly inspired by the Mexican toy El Trompo (top), it reminds me of the Dead or Alive song You Spin Me Right Round (Like A Record). Quite like the vinyl, the TOtoyO spins a complete 360º and best of all, if you remove the inner cushion, it doubles up as a stadium for your Trompo or Babelade. Wicked!

Designer: Victor M. Aleman

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Freeze it Until There’s a Cure

Posted: 31 Mar 2009 01:21 AM PDT

Don’t trick yourself! There’s no cure for smelly food. This pail right here thinks it is hot stuff. It’s called the “Minus” and it’s basically cold hearted. Open the lid, place the banana peels inside, close, click shut, set temp, and press go. Coldness. Do not drop your pop cans in here unless they are all the way empty. Also probably not a good place for dead animals.

Feel free to list other things that would be better off sitting in a receptacle separate from this frozen garbage container. This bin was conceptualized by the dude with the longest name I’ve ever seen on a garbage man: Cem Tutuncuoglu. Straight outta Turkey.

Let me pull your chain for a minute: do you put this in the same category as the trash compactor, or the plastic reusable food container? And on the same note as the second paragraph: what’s to stop you from experimenting with this wonderful tool of potential destruction?

Hooray for father freeze.

Designer: Cem Tutuncuoglu

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Aqua, Hydra or Simply Water; It Needs To Be Clean

Posted: 31 Mar 2009 01:04 AM PDT

I don't think I need to highlight the importance of clean drinking water to you elite crowd, but it is a major issue in many developing countries and war-torn zones. When designer Martin Bolton conducted a survey of the potable water that most rural houses in South Africa used, he was appalled at the quality and decided to do something about it. He devised an ingenious Potpaz Ceramic Filter system that is aimed at being a low cost water treatment device optimally suited to South African rural conditions.

Trying to keep the authenticity of the explanation of its working, here is what Martin has to say about the filter's working:

Operation of the filter unit

The ceramic filter element is filled with water to be filtered, the water then saturates the ceramic filter element and slowly filters through the pores at a rate of between 1.5 to 2.5 liters per hour, provided the filter is kept full (as stated on the leaflet received from the existing filter element manufacturers). The filter needs the weight of the unfiltered water in the element to create sufficient pressure to push the water through the pores. The water filtering through the filter element drips into the receptacle where it is stored, ready for consumption. Users' tap water from the plastic spigot attached through the receptacle wall. The covering lid prevents insects and dust from getting into contact with the filter element.

It has been shown that the filter element is able to improve the health related microbial quality of the water by means of the action of filtration. Effectiveness of the filter element, with regards to disinfection, can be increased with the application of colloidal silver to the filter element.
Colloidal silver is an effective antibacterial water treating agent in the form of tiny silver particles suspended in liquid. It is a disinfectant that prevents bacterial growth in the ceramic filter and assists in inactivating the bacteria in the filter. It is applied to the Potpaz filter in the form of a painted-on solution, or by dipping (after the firing process) thereby allowing the solution to soak into the porous ceramic filter where it remains. A study indicates that after 15 years in operation, the colloidal silver is still effective in the ceramic filter. The only routine maintenance of the filter components is as follows: The filter element needs to be scrubbed and rinsed once the flow-rate decreases considerably (possible once a month), and the inside of the receptacle needs to be cleaned with soap and water once a month.

Designer: Martin Bolton

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Don’t Talk To Me, Talk To My Robot

Posted: 31 Mar 2009 12:10 AM PDT

The future of technology simply overwhelms me at times. For instance this Nokia Nia project that designer Sebastian Müller undertook along with the Nokia Research Center in Helsinki. Nia is a robotic communication device that strives to make everyday communication more intuitive. It's that kinda device that takes care of your e-mails, messages, calls or news instantaneously. It adapts to your needs and executes operations as per your requirements.

It features face recognition thereby providing individualistic services and the visual tags on the display further help in customizing the unit. The interdependent streak of the unit is evident as it is able to charge itself in a “charging shelter” autonomously. The biggest innovation of this concept is the intuitive way of controlling it. Depending upon how far away you are from it, Nia is able to switch between gesture, voice and touchscreen mode in a jiffy. In the touchscreen mode, the robot can be used like a tablet PC for more complex tasks.

To sum it up I think Nia is more like a cross between a robot, comp, phone and an RSS system. Something like The Absent Minded Professor had in his Flubber story. The only difference, this one's more advanced in its communicative features and will be apt for the gizmo-centric generation.

Designer: Sebastian Müller

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Yanko Design - Latest Posts

Robots Are Now Precision Surgical Assistants

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 04:34 AM PDT

Robots doing nip, tuck, snip are not new to the medical industry; therefore one would wonder what the agile MIRO is doing here. Well it's here coz it's a light-weight, versatile precision surgical assistant that will probably redefine open surgery as well as minimally invasive surgical procedures like endoscopic heart surgery. MIRO weighs almost 10 kg and has dimensions similar to those of the human arm.

MIRO can assist the surgeon directly at the operating table especially if there is lack of space. According to the designer, the planned scope of applications of this robot arm ranges from guiding a laser unit for the precise separation of bone tissue in orthopedics to setting holes for bone screws, robot-assisted endoscope guidance and on to the multi-robot concept for (endoscopic) minimal invasive surgery.

The key features that distinguish MIRO from the rest are:
- light-weight,
- kinematically redundant,
- fully torque-controlled,
- dexterous robot arm,
- payload-to-weight-ratio far better than today's industrial robots.

Designer: Tilo Wüsthoff for DLR

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Finding Comfort With A Bag

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 03:46 AM PDT

We touched upon Autism when we showcased the Beagle scarf-hoodie, but that was more of a security comforter than an interactive design. Mary-Bean is a clear bag with multiple handles and is inspired by a special young lady with Autism. Collaborating with the teen and an occupational therapist, Emily Lin derived this amazing interactive carrier.

The bag promotes social interaction when the autistic child allows another person to hold the bag with him. The contents of the bag are clearly visible; hence it augments security and accessibility.

Designer: Emily Lin

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I’m A Little Tea Pot…

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 02:26 AM PDT

…Short and stout, This is my handle and This is my spout.
When the tea is ready the thermochromic technology comes into play.
Watch me blush and change my colors all the way!
A badass attempt at poetry, but anyways the point is, the Creativi*tea Kettle is an effort to hype up the mundane chore of making tea and adding color to the kettle by including the temperature-sensitive aspect to it.
Cold = darker shade of red; Hot = increasingly luminescent red.

Designer: Sarina Fiero

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No Need to Water this Grass Eye

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 12:26 AM PDT

Let me tell you a little bit about exterior design. It’s complicated. You don’t just mess around with the property you own that everyone can see. That said, people better not mess with you because of how your property looks. One time, my neighbor was ordered add a coat of paint to his garage (by the state), so he painted it bright-yet-pastel purple. Would you like to say what’s up to the world? It’s “Astro Type” for you.

From the crazed mind of a graphic designer named George Simkin comes this lovely “of course that was bound to happen” sort of design. Industrial Designers! I urge you, please collaborate with Graphic Designers. And vice-versa. Together you will not be stopped. Not tonight!

And George Simkin: sell these as giant font-packs. Something of that nature. That would be just, well, simply lovely. And you know good-and-well that hipsters would buy this right UP!

Designer: George Simkin