Toyota推出Winglet

這次豐田給我們帶來的這款產品，秉承了日系廠商小巧的特點，和Segway比起來是有些許的可愛，名字也起得不錯， Winglet，雙翼。你可以馬上聯想到造型酷似昆蟲的翅膀，同時這個系列的產品提供了3個型號，S，M，L，顯而易見是為那些不同身高的人準備的；和 Segway的原理是一樣的，配置了許多感應器，包括平衡感應，可以感知人體的傾斜度從而實現前進後退，同時還增加了一個障礙物感應功能，可以在你看不 見或者是開小差的時候幫助躲閃，在接下來的2009，Winglet會在日本國際機場和酒店等場合進行進一步測試，在2010年量產，我們已經迫不及待要 知道價格了。 Winglet S:265×464×462mm，重9.9公斤，最高速度6 km/h，充電時間1小時，可巡航5 km。 Winglet M:265×464×680mm，重12.3公斤，最高速度6 km/h，充電時間1小時，可巡航10 km。 Winglet L:265×464×1,130mm，重12.3公控，最高速度6 km/h，充電時間1小時，可巡航10 km。 http://chinese.engadget.com/2008/08/04/segway-toyota-winglet/

Bi-Cycle

A fun bicycle, and a new way to ride the tandem bicycle. A unique tandem bicycle, Bi-Cycle allows both riders to contribute equally to the riding experience. Since both riders can steer and pedal at the same time, riding this bike demands a trust bond between the riders. Check out see the video.

Bust a Moov: concept bike goes 'biomechanical'

I know what you're thinking: "I've always wanted to get into extreme sports, but they're just not high-tech enough for me." Let me introduce you to the Moov, a seriously badass concept bike conceived by student Jean-Michel Raad. He designed it so the rider can quickly change the separation between the rear wheels, making it easier to perform acrobatic stunts. When Raad presented the concept at the Coventry University MA Design Show last December, he described the Moov using "biomechanical muscles" to achieve its transforming ability, but exactly how they work isn't clear. What is clear is that Raad knows what he's talking about when it comes to extreme biking — he's an aficionado of Parkour (a.k.a. "free running"), the French practice of cycling through treacherous urban landscapes and generally tearing up the streets of Paris. The judges at the design show were apparently convinced, and they gave him first prize based solely on the concept and some animation. We like the idea — and love the design — but hope Raad gets Mooving on a prototype soon, lest we turn to the ScarPar for our extreme needs. — Peter Pachal

BMW GINA LIGHT VISIONARY: CLOTH BODY

The GINA LIGHT is a roadster concept on which the usual body sheet metal found on production vehicles such as bonnet, side panels and doors have been all replaced with a special, flexible, highly durable and extremely expansion-resistant fabric material that stretches across a metal wire structure. A number of elements of the substructure are actually movable and the driver can shift them by means of electric and electric-hydraulic controls resulting to a change the shape of the outer skin. For example, when the headlights are not active they are hidden under the special fabric cover. As soon as the driver turns on the lights, the contour of the front ends changes revealing the twin-headlights –just like a human being opens his eyes. http://www.bmw-web.tv/en/channel/new

Extravagant Designs by Luigi Colani

Luigi Colani is a legend among industrial designers (see both his sites 1 and 2). We've featured radical-looking Colani trucks, and his streamlined piano, but now - thanks to the photo material provided by Roger Todd, exclusively for DRB - we can have a glimpse of his other designs, namely - Aerodynamic Planes, Trains and (more) Automobiles ...all from a never-never land of the most far-reaching imagination of the modern designers. To describe these concepts simply as streamlined is a huge understatement. They are wild, exciting, totally unexpected forms - a tribute to a Golden Age of futurism (see our futurism category). This era is largely gone... we don't see designers becoming superstar celebrities anymore, who would capture and shape world's imagination. Industrial design has become an 'apropos' feature of our life, but perhaps it lost some of its glamour and inspirational influence that defined the image of 1960s and 70s. Let's start with trains. A steam train for Soviet Russia, no less! -

This is the Coal-Dust-Powered Steam Locomotive for Siberia, 1979, more precisely for the BAM (Baikal Amur Mainline). I have no trouble imagining these beasts devouring infinite taiga-covered miles, no trouble at all. Too bad it did not materialize (BAM itself was not properly finished) -

Mono-track ideas? Sure. Here is an experimental shape for the Hamburg-Munich line "HM-1" -

More ideas for the aerodynamic high-speed trains:(I wonder if Japan is going to use any of them for their Shinkansen "bullet" trains)

Outrageous TransportationGiant Flying Boat (Ekranoplan) "The Lida", 1983Considering the Soviet love for ekranoplans ("wing-in-ground" vehicles), it is really surprising that they did not actually made this beauty:

Even larger one:

This is what I call truly radical aircraft conceptsSome of them beg the question "Why not?" (like this sketch done for the Japan Air Lines) -

...and others will leave you scratching your head, but also - perhaps considering the thought that the modern aviation is long overdue for a design overhaul:

Cars & bikes that will re-define luxury (again)

More recent design for the streamlined mobile home:

Horch Luxury Automobile design (so over-the-top that no apologies are necessary) -

Check out this hood ornament:

More incredible aerodynamic shapes:

"Frog" - aerodynamic study for a motorcycle, 1973:

Many of his shapes will haunt your sense of beauty - you can either love them, or hate them, there is no middle ground. However, this is the essence of exciting design: to challenge the predetermined (and possibly stale) mainstream sensibilities. Luigi Colani has been doing this like no one else since the 1970s.Final image: This is how our space program could look, if designers like Luigi Colani had their say -

資料來源:http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/05/extravagant-designs-by-luigi-colani.html

YAMAHA-BRANDED WEARABLE MOTORCYCLE CONCEPT

Challenged to rethink motorcycle transportation, Art Center College of Design student Jake Loniak decided the idea of a machine as an extension of the body should be taken literally. Inspired by Biomechatronics and called the Deus Ex Machina, Loniak’s concept is an electric vertically parking motorcycle controlled by 36 pneumatic muscles with 2 linear actuators. The Deus Ex Machina remains in the concept stage, but it’s expected to go from zero to 60 in three seconds and achieve a top speed of 75mph. It has an incorporated helmet, but no storage space. The single motor is contained in the central wheel and, fortunate for the environment, runs off of nano-phosphate batteries similar to those in hybrid cars. 資料來源:http://www.flylyf.com/yamaha-branded-wearable-motorcycle-concept/