Awesome Concepts

A magician-inspired bedside chest by Florent Coirer. There is a mirror in front of the chest that is tilted by 45°, reflecting the pattern of the lining and making it look like the chest is empty.

Mathew Schneider’s redesign of the Fender Telecaster. The pickup is a nod to the acoustic guitar, the knobs and switches are now buttons and the body is swathed in textiles and leather.

Test footage of the European Commission’s Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE). It involves a platoon of cars running without help from human drivers, save for the lead vehicle.

Renault’s concept racer features futuristic looks, and a speedy 400hp 3.5L V6 power plant. The curvaceous blue car is said to be based on the Megane Trophy, but bears little resemblance.

A concept from the Quirky community, Ions is a miniature LED lamp with a magnetic base and a pivoting hinge, making it easy to install and use in tight spaces or even on other tools.

From the minds that came up with the homage to fallen roaches comes a wacky idea straight out of Photoshop: a towel with large pixel-like graphics, making it look like its censoring your body IRL.

One of the entries in Dwell magazine’s Live/Work Design Contest, Colleen Whiteley’s Hold On Tight Shelf has a built-in adjustable bookend that is screwed into place by an over-sized wing nut.

With its carbon fiber reinforced plastic frame, and 2.3 kW motor, Audi’s concept bike can hit speeds up to 50mph in its pedal/electric mode, and 31mph in pure electric. Plus it has a “wheelie” mode.

Unlike normal snorkels, the Powerbreather lets users breathe without moving their heads, thanks to a separate air intake. Its valve also ensures that no water gets in and all exhaled air gets out.

Balykin Pavel came up with this awesome concept for a watch that features a digital hourglass a while back. We’re surprised such a cool design never actually went into production. It should have.

A concept design by ADR-Studio envisions what a physical Instagram camera might look like – a giant Instagram logo, of course. The square camera would not just shoot, but print photos.

Volkswagen recently gathered ideas from the people of China for new vehicles, and through the wonder of technology, brought one girl’s “hover car” dream to fruition, digitally. (Thanks Daryl!)

A concept by Roshan Hakkim, the Umbra is actually a wall-mounted sundial. LEDs in the border of the clock emulate the sun, creating the appropriate hour and minute hand shadows.

Une Bobine (“a coil”) is a flexible yet stiff charging cable for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Its “metal gooseneck” material allows the cable to act as a stand and be fixed into a variety of positions.

A concept shelf by Yi-Cong Lu with an inner drawer in each level. Pulling out a drawer creates up to nearly twice the space, resulting in a shelf that can grow alongside your needs.

An experimental bike frame made by Brano Meres that uses sandwich panels to achieve a faceted look similar to its namesake aircraft. It has an aramid honeycomb core and carbon fiber skin.

James Law’s residential tower gets its inspiration from the “Ohm” symbol, but is much more, with luxurious, fluid swimming pools on balconies and a dramatic, vortex-like public space in the middle.

The Lamborghini Urus looks like an Aventador that hit the gym. Named after a Spanish breed of bull, the Urus is a 4-seater 4×4 SUV with a 600+hp engine. Lamborghini plans to launch it in 2015.

ETT is a mass transportation concept that uses magnetic levitation in airless and frictionless tunnels, reaching speeds of up to 4,000mph. Translation? New York to Beijing in just 2 hours!

You can consider this concept design for a retro Canon EOS100 from Maxim Mezentsev and Aleksandr Suhih hipster, but modern tech in a vintage disguise is always awesome to us.

A concept by industrial design students Arthur Brutter and Ido Bruno, this table is light enough for two children to lift and move yet can withstand the impact from a one-ton object falling onto it.

A stainless steel box that holds about 45 matches. Its barrel pops is coated so safety matches can be lit as they are taken out. The textured bottom is for igniting strike-anywhere matches.

Google’s augmented reality project. Ideally, the heads-up system will be able to recognize objects and will be controlled by voice, providing access to location, communication and organization apps.