Awesome Prototypes

LG recently showcased a proof-of-concept for a 65″ OLED TV that rolls up and down like a giant piece of paper. More than just a party trick, the flexible display can be set to different heights to vary its aspect ratio, and can even be used at about a third of its height.

The Sound Ray or S-Ray concepts are Samsung’s small and affordable takes on directional speakers, which send sound in a narrow path so that only its target can hear it, even from a distance. There’s a neckband, a handheld and a smartphone cover.

RISD industrial design students George Duan and Megan Lee made a pair of chairs designed to give office workers a much needed chuckle. Teeter and Tot are foam-covered wooden chairs. They have springs in their legs that make them buckle when used.

LEGO Ideas member demon1408 made this kickass proposal for a 1/60th scale model of Gundam Barbatos Lupus from the hit anime Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. It’s fully articulated and comes with a sword-mace and guns. DIY instruction video here.

LEGO Ideas member Sleepy17’s playset hides all of the pieces’ studs for a clean look. The set consists of puzzle pieces that form one of two cubes when they’re correctly put together. The 3×3 cube is for beginners, while the 4×4 cube is harder to solve.

General Motors’ SURUS (Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure) is a universal truck platform that has autonomous capabilities and is powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Modules include a cab for human drivers, an ambulance and a mobile generator.

Yep, it’s from Japan. Yukai Engineering’s Qoobo is a simple robotic pillow that’s meant to provide the comfort of touching a pet animal. Its furry body vibrates when stroked enough times, and its tail will wag from time to time. This is what androids dream of.

Judge not the Tj Cruiser by its cover. Except for the driver’s seat, all of the 4×4 van’s seats can be folded down completely flat. The seat backs are covered with scratch-resistant material and have lots of tie-down points, making it one of the most versatile vehicle interiors we’ve seen.

This electric motorcycle is only a proof of concept, but Honda is keen on using its Riding Assist technology on production models. The self-balancing hardware takes up only the bike’s front end. Honda hopes to first launch it on its touring motorcycles.

Laurel Hwang’s Plier is a room divider that can also perform the opposite of its original function. It has hydraulic pistons that let you fold its upper half down, turning the divider into a table. Its translucent surface alludes to its inclusive design.

The Honda Urban EV Concept is an incredibly charming mix of past and future. Its squat and boxy body is tempered by a LED-lit grill that has a message board. Inside is a massive digital dash and two bench seats. A production version will be released in Europe in 2019.

BMW is gunning for the Mercedes-Benz GLS, Lexus LX and other road-hogging SUVs with the X7. It’s the most spacious BMW ever designed, and has a panoramic glass roof that stretches all the way to the back. It will be available as a hybrid with a turbocharged engine. That kidney grill tho.

This variant of Prodrone’s PD6B-AW payload drone is equipped with a pair of 5-axis robot arms. The arms can carry up to 22lb., and are nimble enough to cut, join, flick or turn various objects. The drone itself flies up to 37mph for up to 30min. per charge.

BioCarbon Engineering is developing a semi-automated large scale reforestation system. It uses aerial drones to map and analyze land, plant seeds in a biodegradable pod, and monitor the plants’ growth. The planting drones can dispense up to 100,000 seeds per day.

Nike is teasing a bold twist to the Air Jordan 1 with a peek at a pair of unreleased sample shoes. The Homage to Home looks like two shoes stitched into one. The outer side rocks the red and black aka Banned colors, while the inner side has the classic white and red.

Camera maker Red is confident enough to take pre-orders for its mysterious “holographic” Hydrogen smartphone with barely any information about the gadget. Until now. MKBHD got his hands on three Hydrogen prototypes, and he came away impressed.

Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler worked with Bosch to create a parking system with cars that park and retrieve themselves. The cars and the car park are equipped with sensors that guide the car to a free space. Drivers use an app to summon their rides.

Unlike other LEGO space shuttles, KingsKnight’s proposal is a 1:110 model, the same scale as the recently released LEGO Apollo Saturn V set. The design includes the tank and boosters, the Canadarm, a satellite, swappable decals, and seven microfigures.

Chase Cobb’s prototype handheld PC only has a Core i3 6300 U with Intel HD 520 integrated graphics (the same CPU in these laptops), but it’s good enough to play many modern games such as Overwatch and Rocket League, and handles Xbox One streaming really well.

A look at some of the presentations coming to SIGGRAPH, the annual computer graphics conference. This glimpse at the future of animation includes a synthesized voice that can be edited using text, and facial animation that copies styles from drawings in real-time.

Ten Fold Engineering is working on pre-built structures that unfold within minutes on site, without the need for a foundation or even laborers. Their buildings are based on large levers that fold down to small volumes and unfold in a variety of ways.

Dani Clode’s concept for a motorized prosthetic thumb that’s controlled via pressure sensors on the user’s feet. Like the MetaLimbs, Dani hopes that we will one day consider advanced prosthetics for able-bodied people in the same way we treat eyeglasses and jewelry.

Korean company Airo is working on a lifelike decorative robot fish called Miro. It can swim on its own and avoid obstacles, and can be customized with skins. It can also be remote controlled and equipped with a camera. It lasts up to 10 hours per charge.