Awesome Concepts

It looks straight out of The Matrix, but Brian Novello’s Flood Harnessing Housing is benign: these modular and deployable communities harness waterway currents for energy.

The Giz has scored a first look at Microsoft’s Courier Concept; it’s basically two tablets (a booklet?) in one with dual 7″ multitouch/stylus screens, a 3 MP camera and single home button.

A topless version of the MINI Coupe Concept, the MINI Roadster loses two seats from the current convertible but gains 8.8 cubic feet of trunk space and a new multi-function display.

With one 180 degree turn, Hyuk Jae Chang’s Power Bridge concept turns the surge protector into an organizer by both hiding and routing unsightly cables underneath its body.

Short for “map projector,” Jinsun Park’s Maptor seems redundant with GPS-equipped phones; however, it’d be a godsend for group use such as search & rescue and tour guides.

We wouldn’t mind BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics concept in our garage; a 3-cylinder turbodiesel and two electric motors churn out 356 hp / 590 lb-ft of torque while getting 62.6 mpg.

It came from Earth: Le Petit Prince is a slightly creepy, four-legged robotic greenhouse designed to seek out nutrients on Mars; it’ll talk to other robots wirelessly for optimal locations.

Celebrating the 50th birthday of the original MINI, the MINI Coupe Concept is a hot little two-seater; it packs a 211 hp, turbocharged 1.6L and an Overboost mode good for 206 lb-ft.

Seunghan Song’s Window Phone is more form than function, but the novelty factor is “cool” enough: it can change the appearance of its display to reflect weather conditions.

Julius Tarng’s Chef’s Tool bag lets up-and-coming culinary masters look the part of students and keep their hands free; it includes a detachable knife compartment and first-aid pouch.

Andrew Sliwinski’s Sketch3D is essentially a giant 3D Etch-A-Sketch, complete with X, Y, and Z-axis control knobs, and an accelerometer that clears the screen when it detects shaking.

Aissa Logerot’s Halo Light Writer makes tagging geeky, swapping aerosol with photons; you’ll be able to change intensity and color, but charging the battery is old-school: shake the can.

Part timepiece and part gadget, Route O’Clock is a functioning router that also displays bandwidth strength in half-hour segments; it lets users choose the best time to use the internet.

We wish it were this easy to make looming deadlines disappear, but Harc Lee’s Time Switch concept turns all of us into time-freezing superheroes–even if it’s just for a minute.

Perfect for frat houses and college dorms everywhere, Tobias Franzel’s Ping Pong Door turns every knock into an opportunity for a neighborly paddle-on-paddle buttwhoopin’.

Not content to dominate Microsoft, Google’s Autonomobile takes on the car makers and takes out the driver: there’s no steering wheel or brakes, although it ironically includes a bar.

Tryi Yeh’s Google-G0 concept is an experiment in phone ergonomics; the speakers and mic are positioned on the back, which also slides to reveal a customizable keypad and camera.

You drank my battleship: Enigma is a Battleship Drinking Game concept by Mauricio Hario; suddenly, losing our entire flotilla of destroyers and PT boats doesn’t seem so bad.

The next tablet won’t just be for cubicle-dwellers: this E-Ink Coach Playboard is an outdoor-friendly electronic clipboard that’ll display templates for basketball, football and more.

Nick and Beau Trincia have managed to combine a desk, a chair and a laptop case into one unit: the Openaire separates into a laptop desk and a plush chair when unfolded.

Life imitating art: Peugeot’s Metromorph concept is like Minority Report’s skyscraper-climbing cars; ideally, it’ll drive you up to your apartment and double as a balcony while parked.

Created in 2007 by students Johann Henkel and Andi Kern, the Cue VJ is a 15.4″ touchscreen tablet with a linear knob/fader; updated for 2009, we’d recommend a multi-touch UI.

Designed with the seeing-impaired in mind, Zhenwei You’s B-Touch phone concept turns the touchscreen into a dynamic braille pad, includes voice feedback and uses image recognition.