Awesome Concepts

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.

Neither a speaker nor a headphone, Adam Miller’s Klang Ultrasonic Transmitter concept avoids disturbing others by precisely aiming low-level ultrasound waves at your ears.

Much of its tech is still in the future, but we like the Mobile Script; this solar-powered concept phone sports two screens, one of which unfolds and can stiffen when a voltage is applied.

We’re a decade or so away from the Trou Phone, but it’s fun to dream: when not in use the screen is a vacant hole, but when activated it projects holographic images and data.