On the lines of the pet Rolly by Sony is the Mint Tank Music Player. It’s the sorts that follows you around, obeys your commands and doesn’t complain if you ignore it. Features include USB connectivity, Bluetooth, WiFi, 2 High Output Speakers, Remote Control and endless track system to follow you around. When two tanks are within the same vicinity, they kind of communicate with each other and playback music with 3-D sound effects. Quite an awesome pet!

Designers: mintselect @ mintpass

The Tea Drinking rituals of China are quite intriguing as it has a lot of hierarchy practices to it. For instance a Boss will never pour a cup of tea for his juniors and the youngsters pour tea for the elders in the family. Even apologies, thanksgiving and peace offerings are made via tea. The cha.t Chinese Tea Set is crossbreed of contemporary equipment with these conventional values in mind. On one hand the kettle, cups and intentions are traditional. The tray on the other, is infused with modernization by including a heating element to it.

Designer: Ning Ning Li

I quite agree with Je Sung Park when he says that disposable cameras and cell phones have gained acceptance, so why don’t we take the next step and bring out a disposable computer. His Recyclable Paper Laptop is quite a raw version and could do with some refinement. It uses recycled paper or pulp material all packed in layers. This is so that you can easily replace the damaged portions (even corrugated paper will tear easy). The vibe of a Paper Laptop is intriguing, I kno eventually someone will figure out the tech bit, so let’s see who will take the bait.

Designer: Je Sung Park

A carpool concept for a perfectly trusting world. That’s what this is. Our designers here, Gwang Hoon Lee, Chan Il Jung, have concocted a simple window-sticky device that displays statistics about the contents of the vehicle it inhabits. It shows availability, maximum number of passengers, destination, and ETD estimated time of departure. Sound just fine to you?

It’s also got sleepy Mondays mode (and every other day if you get sleepy) and a BRB system so people can know that you’ll be returning soon to your car.

I’m skeptical! But I will say that self-contained, solar-powered systems like this are an eye-opening bit of technology if they come around. I can see big things coming of this.

Designers: Gwang Hoon Lee, Chan Il Jung

Somewhere down the line bonding and reconnecting with loved ones in this digital world is all about doing special projects together. For instance the Presence in Absence DIY USB Carving Set is for those lovers who stay apart often, yet want a tangible piece of each other. The set comprises of a wooden Digital stick that you and your partner craft into two with the help of the special knife. This is where words like legacy, heirloom and devoted love come into play.

“I wanted to include the reflective, relaxing qualities of crafts as way to build an emotional bond between users firstly and then users and objects.” It also hopes to open a dialogue about how we will value our digital artifacts in the future - our digital heirlooms.

Presence in Absence Includes:

• A digital Scrapbook in Birchwood with porcelain caps.
• A carving knife with laminated steel blade with Birch and Oak handle.
• A hub for both digital Scrapbooks finished in porcelain.
• A carrying envelope finished in gray felt, brown aniline cow leather with birch duffel button and laser cut details.

Designer: Colm Keller

Any Guesses? Ok the only clue is that it measures temperature, but then again what’s so special about The Tube! If you think you know the answer, leave me a message in the comments. Be honest about your guess though!

The Tube is a new phosphorescent thermometer that has been test used by 40 doctors; they of course give it a Thumbs-Up. The main aim of it is to be a user-friendly device, allowing visibility of the numbers in the dark. Essentially this means you needn’t switch on a night lamp just to check a patient’s temperature at night.

Designers: Murat Ozveri & Anil Dincer For Design Quadro

The Save Water Brick design is really unique; the brick is a mixture of discarded plastic bottles and dried rotting leaves molded into bricks. There are funnels within the brick to channelize the rain water to nearby plants or underground tanks. So the basic idea is that it collects rainwater for consumption. Obviously the bricks are intended for external walls so that they can absorb the water, but the question is will they be strong enough to endure the elements?

Designers: Jin-young Yoon & Jeongwoong Kwon via IIDA

What do you do when you reach a design roadblock? My favorite solution is to ADD LIMITATIONS. Often doing such a thing forces you to make decisions you might never have allowed yourself to make under other circumstances. From that, beauty emerges. What’s happened in this project is just that! Designer Kenyon Yeh takes IKEA furniture and hits the remix button!

What Kenyon Yeh has done here is to take several standard IKEA flat pack furniture purchases out of the box: Bria, Dalt, Kenn, and Lopa, and he did what a lot more people aught to try; he threw away the directions!

What emerged from this madness were several amazing amalgamations that defy the mind of the original designer. And I’d bet dollars to kronors they’d enjoy the results.

DIY! Take a peek! Which one’s your favorite transformation?

Designer: Kenyon Yeh

It’s always about the future, and in the future you guys are going to realize the need of doubling up your interior spaces by adding more than one function to a room. Like, you may want your bathroom to double up as a gym when you’re not taking a bath. So how about you get the Roca Active & Relax Bathroom? It’s this luxurious room where the sunken bath is really sunken, invisible till you don’t open up the floorboards. No windows too, instead 3 floor-to-ceiling LCDs giving you the illusion of a panoramic view.

Still not satisfied? How about we give you a bathroom where the screens are connected to the Home PC so that you can watch movies as you laze in the double bathtub, or take a shower in the rainfall! Super sex-citing!

Designer: Michal Mitek