16/12/10

A-Check : Testing Device For Food-Allergic People

If you are suffering from particular allergy, you should check your food before eating. The problem is, sometimes, we can’t identify the ingredients in the food. A-Check is a device that can help these people to have safer meals by testing the food for allergen. Choose and insert the kit for the allergy you have, and push the tip. A sharp core will appear. Touch the food with the core, if it turns red, then it’s not safe for you to eat the food.

Designer : Park Jung Eun

A Check Device

A Check Device

A Check Device

A Check Device

A Check Device

Xem siêu súng mạnh nhất thế giới của Mỹ

Hải quân Mỹ vừa phát triển thành công một loại súng tối tân, được ca ngợi là mạnh nhất thế giới và có khả năng tiêu diệt hoàn toàn một mục tiêu ở cách xa hơn 160km bằng một viên đạn có tốc độ bay nhanh gấp 8 lần tốc độ âm thanh.


Siêu súng điện từ của hải quân Mỹ được quảng cáo có khả năng tiêu diệt hoàn toàn một mục tiêu ở cách xa hơn 160km. Nó hiện được đặt tại Trung tâm thủy chiến ở Dahlgren, bang Virginia.
Ảnh: Getty Images.

Tại các cuộc thử nghiệm mới đây của hải quân Mỹ tại Trung tâm thủy chiến ở Dahlgren, bang Virginia, một phát đạn bắn ra từ khẩu súng siêu điện từ mới đã tạo nên 33 mega-jun lực thoát khỏi nòng - một kỷ lục thế giới mới về năng lượng nòng súng, hơn gấp 3 lần kỷ so với kỷ lục trước đó.

Một mega-jun gần tương đương với một chiếc xe trọng tải 1 tấn di chuyển với vận tốc 160,9km/h. Sức mạnh của viên đạn bắn ra, găm trúng một mục tiêu sẽ gấp 33 lần lực đó.


Các chuyên gia đang kiểm tra hệ thống bắn đạn tầm xa, năng lượng cao được đánh giá là mạnh nhất thế giới. Ảnh: Getty Images.

Theo tờ Daily Mail, siêu súng công nghệ cao sử dụng các viên đạn hoặc tên lửa nặng hơn 9kg. Các nhà sản xuất tuyên bố, khi thoát khỏi nòng, viên đạn chỉ mất vài phút để bay hết quãng đường hơn 160km và đến đích với độ chính xác tuyệt đối nhờ một vận tốc được coi là "bất khả thi" đối với các viên đạn sử dụng trong những loại súng thông thường.


Sơ đồ mô phỏng hoạt động của siêu súng điện từ. Ảnh: Daily Mail.

Thay vì dựa vào một chất nổ đẩy như thuốc súng, siêu súng dùng sự bùng nổ năng lượng điện để bắn đạn với tốc độ đạt mức Mach 8. Viên đạn không phát nổ khi va chạm mà phá hủy hoàn toàn bất kỳ thứ gì nó xuyên qua bằng sức mạnh tuyệt đối.

Hiện nay, các tàu chiến Mỹ chỉ có thể tiếp cận mục tiêu trong khoảng cách gần 21km. Do vậy, hải quân Mỹ hy vọng loại siêu súng mới sẽ cho phép họ thực hiện các cuộc tấn công từ một khoảng cách an toàn hơn nhiều.


Thay vì dựa vào một chất nổ đẩy như thuốc súng, siêu súng dùng sự bùng nổ năng lượng điện để bắn đạn. Ảnh: Daily Mail.

Chuẩn Đô đốc Nevin Carr - quan chức phụ trách hoạt động nghiên cứu hải quân, tiết lộ siêu súng điện từ có thể nhằm trúng kho vũ khí trên một con tàu đối địch và "biến thuốc nổ của chúng thành thuốc nổ của mình". Tuy nhiên, nhà chức trách Mỹ thừa nhận sẽ mất ít nhất 5 năm, thậm chí 10 năm trước khi loại vũ khí này sẵn sàng được sử dụng trên tàu.


Một máy ảnh tốc độ cực cao đã ghi lại được cảnh siêu súng điện từ bắn một phát đạn lập kỷ lục thế giới với mức năng lượng 33 mega-jun vào ngày 10/12/2010 tại Virginia (Mỹ). Hình vuông màu đen là viên đạn khi nó bắn đi khỏi nòng súng, để lại lớp khói dày đặc phía sau. Ảnh: Getty Images.

"Mọi người chỉ thấy những chuyện như thế này trong các trò chơi điện tử nhưng chúng hoàn toàn có thật. Đây là một sáng chế mang tính lịch sử", Roger Ellis - giám đốc chương trình phát triển súng điện từ nhận định.

Chương trình nghiên cứu và phát triển siêu súng điện từ đã ngốn hết 211 triệu USD của quân đội Mỹ trong 5 năm qua. Thách thức chính hiện nay mà hải quân Mỹ đang cố gắng nghiên cứu vượt qua là tích đủ năng lượng điện giúp siêu súng duy trì bắn đạn với tốc độ siêu âm.


Viên đạn bay vút đi với tốc độ nhanh gấp 8 lần tốc độ âm thanh. Ảnh: Youtube.

Trong các cuộc thử nghiệm hồi cuối tuần trước, siêu súng mất khoảng 5 phút để tập hợp đủ sức mạnh trước khi bắn đi một viên đạn bay 1,7km xuyên rừng, gây ra một tiêng nổ nhỏ trước khi rơi trở lại trái đất một cách vô hại. Các nhà khoa học nói, dến năm 2025, họ sẽ triển khai công nghệ làm tăng gấp đôi sức mạnh của khẩu súng, cho phép nó bắn một viên đạn bay xa gần 321,9km trong 6 phút.

Theo Vietnamnet

Boat Sofa

The title says it all. You clever, clever designer. It’s obvious where the inspiration came from but the question is, does it float? The answer, YES IT DOES. In case you’re caught in sudden flood, removing the cushions reveal a totally buoyant boat with real oars. Designer Bongyoel Yang says he designed it for the “Global Warming Generation.” Damn, it’s a cool concept with dire implications. I’m torn.

Designer: Bongyoel Yang



Double Yacht Time

Yachts for days! I always love a good yacht design. This one goes by the name Submerge and is a 150′ catamaran powerboat. It means business. It’s what they call “the best of both worlds” because not only is it an advanced yacht design, it’s got submarine-like qualities as well. It’s got two decks, one above and one below, creating a double world for the client to immerse themselves in the sea in so many ways more than one. Behold.

Designer: Alex Marzo

Yanko Design

Perilous Wine Transportation

If you’re the sort of person who carries wine around all day, you know it can indeed get quite perilous. You want to bring that wine around the place but you’re not in to the idea of it crashing down around your feet. You’re also not about the idea of carrying around in a shopping bag. So what do you do? You pick up some Wine Up Series wine transportation products. Carry that red and white in style, grace, and perfect safety.

Designed to transport wine bottles in and outside of your car, ready to use at the drop of a hat. Functional, resistant to damage, and they fold down into nothing. Four designs are available right this moment, with I’m sure more on the way. Designed and produced in Italy.

Designer: Averli srl

Yanko design


My Bike Keeps Me Juiced Up

I think the I-Green concept is brills. Designer Fandi Meng already has an iF and Good Design award for previous work so I’d expect nothing less. The I-Green is a small bike peripheral that turns kinetic energy into electrical to charge nearly any portable device. I like to ride my bike with my phone to track my progress but the GPS sensor kills the battery. This seems like an awesome idea to keep my phone juiced up. I’ll take one but please but, maybe in another color?


Designer: Fandi Meng

Yanko Design

Understanding design's return on investment

evaluating_design.jpg

In 2009, respondents to the European Commission's public consultation on 'design as a driver of user-centred innovation' were asked about the most serious barriers to the better use of design in Europe.

The most significant obstacle was considered the 'lack of awareness and understanding of the potential of design among policy-makers' (78%). The second most important barrier was considered the 'lack of knowledge and tools to evaluate the rate of return on design investment' (64%).

With regards to the first barrier, design is increasingly being recognised as a tool for innovation across policy levels in Europe, and in October 2010, the European Commission included design as a priority in its new 'Innovation Union' strategy.

As design climbs the policy agenda, the importance of addressing the second barrier of evaluating the return on design is more relevant than ever. Evaluation is a vital part of the evidence to support decision-making and in the context of government cuts needs to be able to stand up to rigorous scrutiny.

A new SEE Policy Booklet seeks to provide an overview of current practice in design evaluation, on micro and macro levels in both the private and public sectors.

> Download booklet

Chuck Jordan, "Last of the Great Design Dinosaurs," passes away

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He was promoted to helm GM's Cadillac division in 1957 at the tender age of 30. He designed the iconic 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, the muscular '63 Buick Riviera and the eye-popping '56 Buick Centurion concept car, the latter perhaps inspired by his stint in the Air Force. Former GM Design VP Chuck Jordan, a man who left an indelible mark on American design, recently passed away.

0ripchuckjordan002.jpg

The Times has an obit on Jordan with some great quotes:

"We deal with design -- an intangible and emotional subject," he said in an interview with Automotive News at the time of his retirement in 1992. "There are no rules or steps to success. It's a matter of opinion. This isn't research or engineering with computer programs and hard data.

"Words may not communicate it exactly. You gotta see it and feel it. We deal with an emotion."

After retiring in 1992, Jordan could have easily whiled the years away driving one of his many Ferraris. Instead he went back to high school to teach design! Now that's committment.

Core77

SkyLifter hopes to build a better blimp by going round

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Most dirigibles are roughly cylindrical, which makes them susceptible to crosswinds. This can make it tricky to, say, lower a heavy load with precision when the wind is not cooperating.

An Australian company called SkyLifter has realized a circular shape would be a better design decision; the wind hits it and goes around it like water flowing around a smooth pebble in a stream. Thus they're developing an eponymous and gi-normous circular blimp that will reportedly be able to haul 150 tons over a distance of 2,000 kilometers without having to set down. That means the SkyLifter could conceivably transport a miniature hospital to a disaster site inaccessible by roads, among other heavy stuff. These things could put the Ice Road Truckers out of business.

0skylifter002.jpg

Another cool design feature, beyond the circular shape, is the novel Voith-Schneider propellers they use to provide thrust and steering. They're closer in design to paddlewheels than standard fan-style propellors and can change the direction of thrust almost instantly. You can briefly see what they look like in this vid:

SkyLifter is currently in the testing phase, starting with scaled-down versions of the design and gradually ramping up the size.

Core77

15/12/10

Design Industry Voices 2010: 56 Percent of UK Design + Digital Employees Intend to Change Job

Design Industry Voices 2010 56 Percent of UK Design  Digital Employees Intend to Change Job
Design Industry Voices 2010, the second report on what people in the UK design and digital industry really think and feel about the agency they work for, has been released by Fairley & Associates, Gabriele Skelton and On Pointe Marketing. Research for the report was carried out online between October 15-25, 2010.

Over Half of Respondents Intend to Change Job Within a Year
The report reveals that more than half of respondents (56%) intend to change job within a year, compared to 38% in 2009. In 2009, 95% of respondents were in permanent employment, 5% freelancing and 0.4% out of work, while this year 69% of respondents are permanent employees, 26% freelancing and 5% currently not working.

"With over half of respondents considering a move, it has never been more important for agency management to engage all staff to build reputation, retain talent and protect client relationships," said Stef Brown, Marketing Consultant at On Pointe Marketing. "The increase in freelancers means more people are regularly working at different agencies and these people can create or break agency reputations through word of mouth, potentially impacting on future recruitment."

Staff Discriminate More About What They Expect From Their Agency Than Last Year
In the survey, respondents were presented with a series of attributes listed as statements. They were first asked how important each attribute is to them personally.

This year there is a 43% difference between the highest ranked, most important, attribute (82% for 'values ideas and opinions') and the lowest ranked, least important, attribute (39% for 'helps employees manage stress'). In 2009 the difference between the highest and lowest ranked attribute was only 11%, with the highest ranking at 100% for 'has a management team that demonstrates strong leadership skills' and the lowest ranking at 89% for 'focuses on farming existing clients' (not included in the 2010 survey).

"Last year everything was considered important," commented Rachel Fairley, MD of Fairley & Associates. "This year respondents seem more realistic and discriminating, with a focus on being able to make a contribution to stimulating work in a team environment, where there is a strong leadership that rewards people for going the extra mile."

Perceived Delivery Gap Widens in the Past Year
Respondents were also asked how well they feel their agency is currently performing against each attribute. An agency delivery gap is defined as the difference between the perceived importance compared to perception of how well an agency currently performs.

Perceived agency performance is poor. At best, just over one third (36%) and at worst, only one in ten (10%), rate their agency as performing 'very well' for any single attribute.

This year there is a wide range between the attribute with the smallest perceived delivery gap and the highest gap: -15% for 'a brand that is compatible with my own values' to -56% for 'rewards people for going the extra mile.' The most important attribute ('values ideas and opinions') has a large delivery gap of -46%, while the lowest delivery gap of -15% is for one of the least important attributes ('a brand that is compatible with my own values').

In 2009, the lowest and highest delivery gaps were also for 'a brand that is compatible with my own values' (-6%) and 'rewards people to go the extra mile' (-39%).

Finally, the number of employees writing their thoughts about work online has increased from 19% in 2009 to 27% in 2010.

"While respondents may be more realistic about what is important to them in an agency, their perception of how their agency actually performs has got worse and is generally poor," added Rachel Fairley. "Rewarding people for going the extra mile remains the biggest concern. Agency bosses should take heed that their employees feel their ideas and opinions are not valued, with a high delivery gap of -44%. It's also worth noting that being new to an agency, or a freelancer, doesn't mean the person will have a different point of view of how well the agency is performing compared to long-term staff. This matters all the more because more people than ever are sharing their thoughts about work online, shaping agency reputations."

Age Has Impact on What's Important and How Actual Performance is Perceived
Age affects importance ratings by respondents in four specific areas:

- Importance of doing 'work that is stimulating' decreases with age.
- Under 30s rate 'supporting professional development and growth' as more important than other age groups.
- Importance of 'clear strategic goals' increases with age.
- Over 50s perceive 'holding people accountable for the quality of the work they produce' to be of higher importance than other age groups.

Age also affects respondents' perception of actual agency performance in seven of the fifteen attributes.

"We think there is likely to be a link between seniority and age," said Karina Beasley, MD of Gabriele Skelton. "Perhaps it's not surprising that certain areas such as supporting professional development and growth becomes less important as people grow older because they will have more years of experience. What is more surprising is that the importance of doing work that is stimulating decreases with age. In a sector often cited for retaining employees because of their love for creativity, agency management may need to reconsider how staff motivations have changed."

Owners and Executive Teams Disagree That Their Agency "Has Good Pay and Benefits Package"
Owners and executive teams perceive a difference in their agency performance in relation to 'has good pay and benefits package'. The average ranking is 18%, while owners' ranking is 22% and executives' is 13%. Not only this, but owners perceive performance to be better than the average for seven of the fifteen attributes and executive teams do so for five of those seven.

"Agency leaders believe performance to be better than the rest of staff for almost half of the attributes," concluded Rachel Fairley. "There appears to be a disconnect between senior staff and the rest of the workforce. Despite this difference of opinion, performance for all attributes remains poor. But perception is reality, and leaders need to share their vision for the business so that all staff may have a common view."

Further information about the report will be made available on www.designindustryvoices.comfrom December 15, 2010.