To read more: https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/classic/history/c-111/?shortener=true
Tag Archives: Innovations
Food Trends: “Kitchen United” Delivery-Only Restaurants Wins “2019 Innovator Of The Year”
From a Restaurant Dive online article:
“What virtual kitchens, or the Kitchen United concept does, is create a new economic model, where no longer do [restaurants] have to invest in expensive real estate and fancy front-of-house overhead and dining rooms, [they] can share kitchen space, optimize capital that is there and hopefully create a more profitable model for delivery,” NPD Group Vice President David Portalatin told Restaurant Dive.
When Kitchen United received $40 million in funding from RXR Realty during the summer, it became clear the two-year-old shared kitchen startup is paving a path for rapid expansion. The company will partner with the real estate company to open kitchens in New York City and the tri-state area.
This partnership fits within Kitchen United’s overall goal of opening 400 kitchen centers and 5,000 kitchens within the next few years. But it certainly isn’t alone in opening virtual kitchens, or restaurants without a traditional retail storefront. Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats have all been trying their hand in delivery-only restaurants over the last two years.
To read more; https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/innovator-kitchen-united-restaurant-dive-awards/566463/
New Innovative Products: Portable “LaserPecker Pro” Engraves Almost Anything Automatically
LaserPecker Pro is upgraded with an auto-adjusting support stand that sets up and focuses in seconds. All you have to do is put the engraving target on the spot. The built-in 
sensors of the stand will measure the distance between the laser generator and the target and automatically adjust the height to make sure the focal point is the correct distance from the surface of the object.
Before engraving, LaserPecker Pro will first show the planned trajectory of the pattern by projecting a guide laser on the target surface. Users can easily adjust the size, position, and the rotation angle of the pattern based on the preview trajectory. Once satisfied with the pattern, just press the button to burn it in!
To read more and purchase: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laserpecker-pro/laserpecker-pro
Health: Caltech Scientists Develop “Wearable Sweat Sensor” To Detect Gout, Disease-Based Compounds
From a Caltech online news release:
“Such wearable sweat sensors have the potential to rapidly, continuously, and noninvasively capture changes in health at molecular levels,” Gao says. “They could enable personalized monitoring, early diagnosis, and timely intervention.”
The development of such sensors would allow doctors to continuously monitor the condition of patients with illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or kidney disease, all of which result in abnormal levels of nutrients or metabolites in the bloodstream. Patients would benefit from having their physician better informed of their condition, while also avoiding invasive and painful encounters with hypodermic needles.
Gao’s work is focused on developing devices based on microfluidics, a name for technologies that manipulate tiny amounts of liquids, usually through channels less than a quarter of a millimeter in width. Microfluidics are ideal for an application of this sort because they minimize the influence of sweat evaporation and skin contamination on the sensing accuracy. As freshly supplied sweat flows through the microchannels, the device can make more accurate measurements of sweat and can capture temporal changes in concentrations.
To read more: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/wearable-sweat-sensor-detects-gout-causing-compounds
Household Innovations: “SwitchBot” Curtain Robot Wirelessly Motorizes Your Drapes
From a Yanko Design online review:
Designed to universally retrofit onto most curtain rods, the SwitchBot comes with two hooks that hold it in place and a wheel that moves the bot left or right. Place the SwitchBot between the first and second loops of your curtain or blind, and the bot can now, on command, run up and down the curtain rod, maneuvering your curtains open or closed. SwitchBot runs on an app, but even supports voice commands via your phone or smart speaker, effectively allowing you to have your own “Let there be light” moment by commanding the curtains to open at will. IFTTT and shortcuts support even lets you sync SwitchBot with your alarm, or with the time of the day, thanks to the bot’s in-built light sensor.
To read more: https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/11/29/what-if-you-could-make-your-curtains-open-with-your-voice-or-better-with-your-alarm/
Modern Design: A “Vinyl Turntable Washbasin” By Pasque D. Mawalla
Santuri is a washbasin that pays homage to traditional musical roots.
Designed with cues from the iconic record player it’s a unique piece
aimed at all music lovers.
Its two-tone basin imitates the record players platter together with
its tonearm which in this case is the wash basins custom mixer.
The functionality of the wash basin also borrows cues from how record players had worked. The turning of its tonearm towards the basin allows water to flow through the headshell of the mixer and when the tonearm is moved back into its starting positions stopping the flow of water just as it would work on a record player.
To read more: https://www.behance.net/gallery/79515115/Santuri
Technology Innovations: “WI-CHARGE” Charges Smart Devices Wirelessly With Infrared Light
From an Interesting Engineering online review:
Wi-Charge says it has a solution to the problem. Its technology allows users to power small devices, such as smartphones, smart fire alarms, and smart locks, from several feet away without any wires.
The technology works by sending out a thin beam of infrared light. A receiver on the enabled device then converts the beam into electricity.
Electronic waste is expected to exceed 50 million tonnes by 2020. That number simply isn’t sustainable.
One company is aiming to get rid of one of the main culprits in e-waste: the electronic cable. Wi-Charge has created a method for powering devices wirelessly using safe and efficient infrared technology.
Aside from having the potential to end a great deal of waste, the company is also aiming to meet a growing demand for power that will only increase with the advent of 5G.
Top Travel Accessories: PinFin’s “Alpha Jacket” Has Enough Pockets To “Replace A Backpack”
From a Yanko Design online review:
Alpha Jacket’s fabric is both stylish yet waterproof and wind-resistant, and its high-collar design and cut gives it the appeal of a casual blazer, but with reflective piping and a durable design that you can comfortably wear anywhere in the outdoors. Each jacket is armed with 8 pockets on the inside, for everything from your phone to your power-bank, keys, sunglasses, wallet, and even an iPad. Plus, a dedicated pouch for carrying a water-bladder to sip from while on the go. Pockets on the outside of the jacket find their place on the breast as well as the sleeve, secured with concealed YKK zippers that match the quality build of the rest of the jacket.
Alpha Jacket was built to truly support the often-traveler. Designed by Dan Truong and Linh Tran, a couple who endured a long-distance relationship and found themselves often traveling to meet each other, the Alpha Jacket sits at the intersection of “jacket that’s perfect for traveling” and “jacket I can step out for social events in”. For someone who finds themselves traveling often, the Alpha Jacket comes with a detachable hoodie that has a built-in neck pillow (you can choose between memory foam or microbeads) helping you get through long commutes, and for the alpha-human who wants to look their best, the jacket comes in a variety of four colors to choose from, with a cut that defines your silhouette just like a casual blazer would, but also gives you the advantage of storage so you don’t need to lug a backpack around with your stuff!
To read more: https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/11/13/this-urban-hoodie-packs-in-a-pillow-has-enough-space-so-you-can-ditch-your-backpack/
Future Of Avation: “Safe Return” Emergency Autolanding In A Cirrus G2 Vision Jet (Video)
From a New Atlas online review:
An important step towards autonomous aviation was taken today, as Cirrus Aviation announced “Safe Return” functionality for its G2 Vision jet, which will find the nearest airstrip, alert authorities and land itself in an emergency.
The Vision is a small private jet capable of seating seven people, cruising at over 300 knots at 31,000 feet. Small, quick and user-friendly, it’s good for those that wish to fly themselves, as well as being flown. It’s been a successful product for Cirrus, but its new functionality could represent something bigger. CEO Zean Nielsen calls it “a product that we believe is going to change personal aviation forever.”
Safe Return Autonomous Autoland, developed in conjunction with Garmin, manifests as a button on the roof of the Vision jet that is accessible to passengers. If something happens to the pilot, a passenger can hit the button and request an autoland.
To read more: https://newatlas.com/aircraft/cirrus-vision-g2-automatic-emergency-landing/
Technology: “PrinCube” Is The World’s Smallest Mobile Color Printer
From a YankoDesign.com online review:
The PrinCube sits on the throne of being the smallest (and the lightest) handheld color-printer. With a swift motion of your hand, the printer rapidly prints out one line at a time, measuring up to 0.56 inches in thickness. PrinCube’s multi-line feature lets you extend your prints by printing up to nearly 10 feet of content line after line. The wireless printer conveniently pairs with any device like your phone, tablet, or even laptop over a Wi-Fi connection, and each individual ink cartridge can handle approximately 415 A4 pages worth of printing before replacing. The battery on PrinCube’s pretty remarkable too, with the ability to print for 6 continuous hours before needing a recharge via the Type-C port in the PrinCube’s size.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/princube-the-world-s-smallest-mobile-color-printer#/
It looks like a block roughly half the size of a spray-paint can. In fact, that’s how you would hold the PrinCube too. Grab it with one hand and run it across any surface and the PrinCube performs a neat, seamless, colored inkjet-print on it. The PrinCube isn’t just small, it’s hand-held, wireless, and incredibly versatile. It can print on materials your desktop printer doesn’t even dream of. Paper, cardboard, wood, metal, cloth, working on flat, textured, and even curved surfaces. You could literally give yourself temporary tattoos too because the PrinCube even prints on the skin (it’s safe, if I may add).
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