Project Ara: A Modular Smartphone

Project Ara is a modular phone concept that was started by Motorola and is now being continued as a Google project. The Ara, which is predicted to be selling in a watered down version next year, uses tiles that perform individual functions to create a smartphone that is exactly what the user wants. Want more memory. There's a module for that. Need a better camera? There's a module for that.

The concept is brilliant. Instead of having to upgrade an entire device you can simply swap out individual components. And of course you are able to change the phone to your changing interests.This phone also leaves itself open to hackers, makers, and small companies to create modules for it. This will create a new generation of hardware "apps" that can be used with this phone. It really brings development back from software and more toward the hardware. It can become a hobby to create a module for your phone just as it is to create an app now.

Overall, the design of the Ara is decent. It remains slim like other phones, and its modules are aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. The only issue right off is that the design of the endoskeleton frame limits layout of modules to certain sizes in certain places. This decreases the modularity somewhat, but helps to maintain the the overall aesthetic of the phone. (people can't make ugly phones)

The Ara also adds one more touch of customizability to the phone by planning to let customers 3-D print panels to cover the modules with. These panels can be multicolored and have various textures to suit the user.

In a world with increasing demand for products to adapt to the needs of the user, especially in software, it is great to see that someone is working to add that personalization to the tangible world.

The video below was a promotion to get an earlier modular phone concept off the ground, Phoneblocs

Chess

Chess. The Game of Kings. The game that has more combinations than there are atoms in the universe.

Chess is a game that has more personality to it than any other game. The pieces can be created as any kind of figures to match the preferences of the player. Robots, dragons, nuts and bolts. The players also literally put themselves into the game as the play. When a game of chess is going on, one can literally see what kind of people the players are based on how they command their troops on the board.

But the variety in chess is its truly defining value. No game is exactly the same or ever will be. The abilities of the pieces and the layout of the board allow for this. Not many games are able to have nearly infinite variation as chess does. Given that the game was developed in the 15th Century and uses no computers to help change it up, this is very impressive.

But the classical chess board has also become a piece of decoration due to its appearance. The glossy wood of the pieces sitting on the checkered board is a beautiful addition to many rooms. This certainly isn't inherently true of Monopoly or cards.

One drawback that Chess has is its difficulty to learn. Nuances in the game can confuse a beginner even before they start to compete. Chess could be improved if its pieces were simplified somewhat, but not to the extent of checkers. But of course this simplification would take away from the complex beauty of the board and its many pieces.

But overall, Chess is one of those few nearly perfect games. It is beautiful to look at. Challenging every time. (with appropriate opponents) Always good for the brain. And is never the same game twice. It is a game that can be as complex as the minds that play it.

Square-Drive Screws

How many stripped screws have people endured. Or how many times have we tried to keep the driver in the center of the slot. Many of us have, for years, resorted to using the screw as a nail for the last 1/2 inch when it has been stripped out. This is one of those "why don't we use it more" ideas. The square-drive and screws also known as the Robertson Screw.

The square drive doesn't let the drive slip off the head of the screw and since it is a simple square hole it doesn't strip very easily if ever. It is a simple, solid design with only one problem, it is so strong that it can be screwed too tight. 

The square drive was actually invented in 1908, nearly thirty years before the Philips head, and was an American standard at the time. (the model T used these screws) 

Like many great designs. the square drive is no longer the standard due to poor business practices by the original inventor that allowed the Philips and other options to gain traction. But this screw is still used heavily in construction and woodwork for its tough, reliable characteristics.

The Robertson screw is really a testament to the idea of making something that lasts. The screw is tough. It gives off this idea from the shape on its head. It isn't a smooth, curving, beautiful thing. It was meant to get stuff done where nothing else worked.

The Paperclip

The paperclip is always used as an example of great design. The paperclip is such an icon because since the creation of the standard paperclip the design has never changed. Why has it never changed? Because there hasn't been anything better created to temporarily hold a few sheets of paper together. Very few products can boast of that. To never have been changed for more than fifty years.

The paperclip has a elegance in its design that makes it transcend its simple purpose. Again, curves, the simple silver finish, no moving parts. Just a wire formed that very easily clasps the paper it is meant to hold. In this way the paperclip is almost romantic in its simplicity and elegance.

iRobot Roomba

The Roomba, created by iRobot, is one of the first true robots to be commercially successful on a large scale. It is also one of the first home robots to have a use beyond education or entertainment. Basically, it is the first successful, useful personal robot and, at this point, it is the closest thing to Rosy the Robot that we have available.

The Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner that is able to automatically clean a room on a schedule and then return to its docking station to charge for the next time. Fundamentally it is very simple. Bounce off the walls while vacuuming the floor. This simplicity made the Roomba a robot that could be produced cheaply.

One of the major design aspects of the Roomba is its single purpose functionality. It can only vacuum floors. While un-incredible, this design is what made it possible for the robot to exist because it was a function that was well within the state of the art.

Robots are not smart. There are only a few in the world that can tell the difference between an apple and an orange and then grab one or the other, and those robots cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. For this reason single purpose function is the best way to design a useful robot. iRobot has adopted this approach with Roomba and a few of its other products. Have one robot, perform one task. So you have a swarm of robots doing the tasks that Rosy the Robot did alone. But because there are multiple robots they can be kept individually simple and cheap. Essentially the Roomba doesn't bite off more than it can chew.

The Roomba is also a good looking product. Curves are always good practice, but that shape also is useful for navigating around furniture and in tight places. The disk never gets caught on anything. The curves also make the robot appear "cute." There are people that have adopted the Roomba instead of a dog.

Overall, the Roomba is a well designed product because it had a single purpose in mind that it does very well and is able to make itself useful to the user without excessive cost.

Glowing Plant

Ethical considerations aside, the "Glowing Plant Project"  is a noble endeavor with very significant ramifications to energy use.

Using the concept of bio-luminescence the "Glowing Plant Project" is working toward creating, literally, a natural light source. They are doing this by splicing the genes that control bio-luminescence in a bacteria into the DNA of a plant.

These plants, once they are perfected, could be used to light city streets and sidewalks. They can be used as decoration in your yard. They could be a nightlight for the kids. And all the while they use no electricity and act as a carbon sink.

Light is the thing that we, as modern humans, seek as much as food. But light uses a huge amount of power and, very often, is wasted (i.e. city lights on empty roads). Creating a passive, biological system that provides light for any number of situations is an idea that can radically change the way we deal with the dark.

Baxter the Robot

Baxter is a new generation in industrial robots created by Rethink Robotics. He is a machine that can be trained by the average person to perform mundane tasks like assembly line work.

One of the reasons Baxter is so great is because he is a personal and safe kind of industrial robot. He is designed to literally work alongside his human coworkers. He has eyes that look in the direction where he is going to move to give visual queues to bystanders. He is able to feel obstructions in his path so that he doesn't plow anyone down with his arms. But most importantly, Baxter is able to be trained by the average person. In order to teach Baxter a task all anyone has to do is guide his arms in the general direction that they need to move and show him what he is grabbing. From there, Baxter perfects the motion and makes it smooth and efficient.

While that is all great, Baxter has one more benefit, cost. Baxter only costs $25,000. This is a fraction of a standard industrial robot arm without programming. Baxter literally costs less than the wages of a worker that would do the same task. This is a first. Robots are normally very expensive because their mechanics are very expensive so only large corporation could afford them because of their long-term efficiency. The folks at Rethink Robotics have made Baxter affordable to the average, small manufacturer.

And one last thing. While Baxter is cheaper than the average line worker he is not meant to replace them. He is meant to elevate them to his supervisor. So now the person doesn't have to do the repetitive monotonous work but instead makes sure that Baxter does it well.

Baxter was designed with the end user and the industry in mind. And his contribution will no doubt be a significant one.

You can see Baxter in action in the video below

The Lightning Rod

The Lightning Rod. Invented around 200 years ago by Benjamin Franklin, it is still the single defense any structure has against the wrath of Zeus. And yet, all it is is a piece of pointed metal.

The Lightning Rod was created at a time when people were very superstitious. Lightning was something that was ordained by God. It caused fires and sunk ships. But the lightning rod rendered all of that completely harmless. But it was not magical, though it appeared so.

The lightning rod is inherently very simple. It works by conducting the power of the lighting bolt to the ground, through itself and then wires along the structure. But, in order for Franklin to create it, he had to have a very clear understanding of electricity. Franklin, and many scientists before him, performed numerous experiments over years before the design of the lightning rod came about.

The lightning rod is such a great invention because it allows our skyscrapers to stand. But, at the same time, it is such a basic device one is amazed how much understanding and study went into creating it. But when you look at it you see how something very basic can come from something that is complicated, (electricity) and can literally change the fate of the world.

Benjamin Franklin

We don't just recognize ideas and inventions on this blog we also recognize the minds that created them. So we would like to start off with one of greatest inventor in history, Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin was one of those great minds because he was a man that, even with success, never grew complacent. He had a mindset of, "Well here is a problem I wonder how I can fix it." or, "I wonder how that works." His ability to look at something, see a puzzle, and feel the need to solve that puzzle is something that takes him beyond the average man.

Most people look at a problem or mystery and accept it as the way it is. Few people look at the same things and either see opportunity or a chance for change. But Franklin was one of those people. His need to solve puzzles and problems can be seen in his creation of bifocals, the Franklin stove, and his studies of the gulf stream currents. He was not one to ever accept the status quo even if it seemed to be set by God, as in the case of lightning.

Franklin was the great creator that he was because where others saw something that was difficult or strange, Franklin saw something that needed fixed or solved.

XStat

The XStat is a medical device for treating bleeding wounds that, in the past, would be treated by a bandage and pressure or could not be treated easily at all.

This is the picture. A man has just been shot and is bleeding from the bullet wound. Normally the best that could be done was to press a towel to the wound and hope that the man doesn't bleed to death. The XStat has moved beyond that. Instead of covering a wound it literally plugs it. The medic uses the device to inject sponges into the wound that expand and fill the cavity. These sponges also contain clotting agents that help the wound seal itself naturally, until better care can be attained.

When you think about the problem, aside from the personal aspect, it is really a very simple need. Plug a hole so that it doesn't leak. But for some reason it has been done in the same, unreliable way for hundreds of years. Put a band-aid on it, whatever size is needed and hope it works. The XStat design reworks the method of plugging that hole by creating something that works in reaction to the problem. The more bleeding, the more the sponges expand to better plug the hole.

The delivery method of the XStat is also worth of note. It is a device that anyone could use with relative security. It is, after all, just a syringe. You put the stuff in the hole and it stops the bleeding through its own mechanisms. Pretty simple. It doesn't require a complicated knowledge of correct bandaging of wounds in order to use. If your friend is shot on the battlefield you can stop his bleeding reliably without having to wait for a medic or an evac team. And you would be able to fix the wound better than medics could in the past anyway.

The Computer Mouse

The computer mouse. This device is what allowed computers to be usable by the average person. Without the mouse there would be no graphical user interface (GUI), and without a GUI there would be no personal computers as we know them today.

Certainly with the advent of touch and other interaction technologies the mouse is quickly being usurped as the main interaction tool for the personal computer. But it still defined the way that computers could be be made reachable. You move something in the real world and that moves something in the digital world. The mouse bridged the gap between computers and humans. It was the translator between two different languages. Before, a person had to speak computer in order to communicate with it. The mouse brought about natural sign language as a means to talk to computers.

And, of course, aesthetically  the mouse is not repulsive. A person looks at a mouse and they are not intimidated by it. It very naturally portrays its purpose, both before and while using it. Not to mention the fact that the curves of modern mice make them comfortable to hold and almost cute to look at.

The mouse is the central hardware feature that made graphical interfaces possible. Without it the computer industry would not have gained the acceptance that it did.

The Electric Light Bulb

What site dedicated to design could leave out the electric light bulb. This device fundamentally

changed the way we live our life.

When Edison started down the road to creating the light-bulb he had one thought in mind. A cheap and a safe way to provide light. The lamps that were used at the time were dirty, expensive to fuel, and

caused the destruction of property on a regular basis.

The light bulb was a nearly perfect solution. It was cheap, and produced a smooth consistent light. The infrastructure was also easier to install than gas. Wires are far more durable than pipes and less prone to explosions or leaks. 

And as far as asthetics, the lightbulb is almost spherical. (the world's favorite shape) Plus imagine the experience that is offered. By flipping a switch some mysterious force made light come into the room. It was akin the telephone. No one could really understand it. So it was an amazing thing to own at the time because it was magical.

Few products have been as perfect as the light bulb. When you think about it it is the perfect product. Cheap, easy to use, well shaped, and offering an experience that nothing else in the world can and has a twist that people can't comprehend. And setting a standard for over and hundred years ans still going.

inForm: The Morphing Table from MIT

The inForm project from MIT's tangible media group. is a great system. Being a research project, this concept is far more interesting by seeing what it can become than from what it is.

But first of all, let's set aside a few of the ideas presented in the video above. These ideas are concepts that will not be what the design of the table would be used for. First, the idea of having it visualize data or bar graphs. This is useless as an application because actual, non-tactile LED/LCD displays do this just fin and with growing 3D and their interactivity capabilities. So the tangibility of data is simply not needed. As a matter of fact, using the inForm as almost any type of display is a misuse of the design.

The inForm is not meant make flat things 3D and real, it is meant to make 3D things 3D and real. The idea of having it form into  the shape of a toy or design is brilliant, because it makes rapid prototyping instantaneous. Or having someone interact through the table, this would also be very useful. The point of the display is to make things become real so that we can interact with them with our senses and the table can interact with us. It is meant to be a precursor to a holodeck not an iteration of the computer screen.

While the design is chunky right not it could easily be refined. But the chunky isn't bad either. For example if one was to super-size the chunky you could create an urban apartment that changes its layout and furniture to the needs of the tenants. Sure everything would be a little "blocky" but it would be so cool to watch your bed fall into the floor and be replaced by a desk and chair.

The Amazon Kindle

The Amazon Kindle. A single function device in a world of multitasking. Why is this the tablet that so many pull out to read from? Why is any e-reader?

The answer is actually quite simple. The Kindle bridges the gap between books and technology. Its function is to make reading from a tablet like reading from a book. That fact that its display looks like a page, (i.e. no glare) and that it is the size of a normal paperback make it an ideal substitute for a backpack full of books to many. But the look and feel of the Kindle make it ideal not just for the tech generation, but those older that enjoy reading.

The breakthrough in the Kindle that made it the ultimate niche device was the fact that it is more natural than any other tablet to read from. Because it is as no technological as it can be in function and appearance. It's e-ink is a perfect substitute for the real thing.

However, the kindle is not perfect. While the look and feel of its page is very natural the rest of it is not. The tablet shape is small and tight. And the touchscreen does not allow the fingers to relax onto its page as you would a book. It is also cold and thin, unlike most books. But I suppose these are all issues that are solved by Kindle cases. But any device should not require accessories to function perfectly.

The Vostok Capsule

The Vostok Space Capsule was the first thing to send a man into space. That alone makes it worthy of mention as a great design, but let's break down the characteristics that made its accomplishment possible.

Getting into space is often considered an incredibly complicated procedure. But in the 1950's-60's few people knew just how complicated. The Russians embraced this ignorance and found ways to easily work around it. When a spacecraft is launched it has to endure all kinds of stresses, the g's and vibration of launch, the vacuum of space. But the most hazardous part of any space mission is the re-entry. Most space capsules have to come back to earth under just the right circumstances otherwise they may be incinerated. The early space programs didn't have all the information on what those circumstances were, so they tended to over-engineer their creations.

The capsule of the Vostok is the single thing that made it possible for the Russians to beat America to space. It wasn't designed with any maneuvering equipment that could be used during re-entry. Because of this it was designed to mechanically adjust to any problems that it encountered during the inferno. One, it is spherical. This shape allowed the entire capsule to be covered in heat shielding while minimizing surface area. This design allowed the  Vostok to tumble as it could without the maneuvering equipment. But the engineers worked to minimize this. The capsule was also designed so that its center of gravity would work to orient it properly during descent. These are all very simple solutions to problems were not be completely understood at the time.

Americans, on the other hand, decided to go with the complex solutions. The Mercury capsules were cone-shaped with a single heat shield that had to face the direction of decent the entire time which was done through the aerodynamics of the capsule which took extra time to study and dial in, while the Russian sphere was a well understood design. This extra time spent in the complexity of the capsule by the Americans allowed the Russians to get to space first.

The Russians were the first to get to space because they were able to solve complex problems sufficiently with simple solutions. The Vostok capsule is a testament to this. They were able to use existing knowledge to create something that could hold up under anything that might happen and which they couldn't completely predict.

Though, is should be remembered that while simple, sturdy design often succeeds, it may not bring about the complete solution.The Russians could get to space first with spheres, but they could never get a man to the moon. That took the more complex systems that America created.

The Leatherman Multi-Tool

A staple in the pockets of handy-men everywhere. The Leatherman Multi-Tool is one of the few gadgets that looks and feels rugged, and is effective at whatever it does.

The Leatherman

Most multi-tools are just hodgepodges. An assortment of blades and can-openers that were slapped onto some kind of handle. It is almost as if someone said, "Fit all the things you can into this wrench." Because of this the user can hardly use any of the options in the tool effectively, and they just look like a shabby "super-tool" that a kid put together and function just about as well. 

A Hodgepodge Multi-tool

But the Leatherman is a tool that feels and is solid. When it is folded, its steel enclosure protects the blades and puts everything in a nice smooth package that is not un-attractive. When one opens it to use the pliers,  the pliers are the only thing you deal with, nothing else is sticking out or dangling. But then if you want to use one of the tools each rotates out firmly, and locks into position and everything else can recede back into the enclosure leaving just a tool and the handle/enclosure.

The Leatherman is an excellent multi-tool because each of its devices feels as if it is the only tool in the multi-tool when you use it. There are few compromises within this gadget. The design was thought out and made to be elegant and effective. When you look at it you can say, "This was thought out with the user in mind."

HEXBUG Aquabots.

The HEXBUG Aquabots are another well designed robotic creature that are very similar to the HEXBUG Nano. This is so because they essentially a very simple mechanism, but in their environment they appear to behave just like their biological counterpart.

Whenever you watch goldfish in the bowl you see them nose along the edges and once in awhile they will just decide to do something half interesting. The Aquabots are the same. Most of the time they just flick their tales and nudge their way around the bowl. But they are designed to, every once in awhile, change direction or dive. This is the aspect that gives them the appearance of being alive.

These are a great design because they could replace a kid's first goldfish that will eventually die. Or they can be the colorful display in the office. And they don't soil their tank or ever get hungry. But most of all, they are, through very simple and clever design,  a mechanical facsimile for the real thing. Not complicated but appearing so.

If these principles, which HEXBUG uses, were applied in other product design it could go a very long way. All too often concepts are over-complicated, thus taking away from their function or affordability.

Hexbug Nano

The Hexbug Nano is a great robotic creature. Though essentially just a Bristlebot, the Nano is the first commercialized version and is far more entertaining.

The toy contains  small vibrating motor which causes the bug to move forward very rapidly due to the design of its legs. But because it is using the vibrating motor it has an inherent randomness that creates the illusion of some intelligence (or natural stupidity). When it turns on it does act just like a real bug.

The reason this design is so great is because its is so inherently simple. The Nano is essentially just a motor with legs. But a person can watch them interact with their surroundings and with other Nanos and you think they are actually alive. But the wonder is that these little creatures are only on toy shelves and not someplace like a pet store.

Cycloramic iPhone App

Cycloramic is an iPhone app that allows users to take panoramic pictures. That alone would not make it a TIMD, there are many panoramic picture apps out there. However, the aspect that makes Cycloramic worthy of mention is the mechanism by which it takes the pictures.

Many similar apps have stands that rotate, or that make the person spin around to get the picture. Cycloramic has done something that I have never seen in a phone before. It uses the vibration of the phone itself to rotate it a perfect 360 degrees on any smooth surface. Limitations with the variety of surfaces aside, the idea of using only the vibrating motor to make a phone move in a predetermined pattern, without external mechanics of some kind,  is revolutionary.

Ideas that can come out of this would be things like iPhone pets that move across your coffee table or 3-D scanner apps that move around the object. The ability to harness the simple motor in the phone to get non-random motion is something that has limitless potential. Certainly, it may be much harder to get a phone to move in a path as opposed to rotate. But before Cycloramic it  had never been considered that it was possible to make the motion, caused by the ringer vibration, be precise at all.

Games That Solve Real Puzzles

This will be the first pure "idea" as opposed to a specific product. Though we will bring up some examples.

Here is the idea. Create games that use the power of the "Crowd" to solve real world problems. Essentially, have people use their collective brainpower to complete a task and have them enjoy it.

One of the leaders behind this concept is Adrien Treuille an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon. Adrien is the force behind games such as "foldit" and "eteRNA." Within these games players finds ways to most efficiently fold RNA and other proteins. Researchers then use the patterns created by the player to design new proteins and see how they may be used to perform such tasks as fighting cancer. But the users see it as just a cool puzzle.

This is a great idea, first of all, because it has collected the brainpower of thousands of people to perform a task that a computer is unable to do. Second, it has collected this brainpower in a way that makes the people want to continue for their own enjoyment. Turning a complex research project into a game that people enjoy playing is a great idea. Now, time that would normally be wasted with useless puzzles or games like "Angry Birds" is taken up with puzzles of Nature that need solved. Imagine having thousands of people, each spending dozens of hours, performing simple tasks that a computer is unable to do (such as pattern recognition) this turns into an incredible force. Games like "foldit" have already helped in making breakthroughs in HIV research.

The possibilities of this concept are almost endless. Just like crowdfunding and other crowd usage concepts that have come from the internet a little given by a lot is big.

Crowd-Sourcing through games can become a simple way to solve complex tasks. Someone could create a game that allows players to create stronger molecules. Or they could search for patterns in the stars. Any number of Nature's puzzles can be solved if enough people just look at it and enjoy it.

The Ipod

The Ipod. The music player that dominated and led to the transformation of an industry. But what is so special about it?

First, one must look at its signature wheel. The wheel that differentiated it from all other digital players then or after. The wheel was an beautiful and functional design that made "A thousand songs in your pocket," possible. Before the Ipod wheel there were only arrow buttons. Press it once and you move to the next song. Imagine how unusable the iPod would have been if one had to scroll one song at a time through the entire list of songs. The wheel allowed the user to seamlessly and quickly navigate to a location in their playlist. It was a brilliant and different design. Not only does it cater to our instincts (we naturally like round things) but it is just fun to use.

The iPod also had a huge impact on the music industry. With its creation came the creation of iTunes which was one of the first legitimate music purchasing sites. iTunes partnered with the music industry in a way that had never been done before. Making it possible for people to easily and relatively inexpensively get the songs that they wanted.

The iPod is recognized for its usable design that took it above and beyond other players but also for the infrastructure that was created around it.

Gravity Light

Let us now begin with our first great idea.

GravityLight is a grand concept because of its simplicity. By raising a weight that is hooked to the cord of GravityLight, someone is then provided with electric light for up to 25 minutes.

The reason GravityLight is such an excellent concept is because it was an idea that should have been staring people in the face. For years many have worked to create clean and cheap light for underdeveloped nations. Most looked at solar or wind or even generators run by fires. And all the while we walked in a source of unlimited power. The gravity of our own planet. GravityLight uses a universal power-source that is present anywhere. All it takes is a few calories of effort to raise the weight and recharge the light for another half hour. 

The GravityLight is an elegant solution that has solved a very old problem. And it leaves open potential for so many other applications. It could possibly charge cellphones or even be taken to Mars to light the landing capsules of astronauts.

What is a TIMD

We're going to set a precedent here and create a new word.

"timd"
noun, acronym
     1. an acronym created from the first letters of the words Thoughts, Ideas, Minds, or Designs.
     2. a concept that inspires new ideas or thoughts that did not exist before.
     3. anything that can be considered "extraordinarily."
     4. an idea that inspires fresh thinking in those that are exposed to it.
     5. anything that is just plain cool.

Now that we have the dictionary version, let's just talk about a timds.

To put it simply we choose timds based upon how much they influence the world around them. To do this we evaluate how "out-of-the-box" a concept is, how significant it is, how original it is, how much it has affected society, and how much potential it has.

True, this evaluation can be very subjective. But one must remember that the entire point if the site that evaluates timds and created this grand new name for them is to share great ideas so that others can grow and learn from them.