Recently a UK design student won the James Dyson Award by creating a working prototype of a water bottle that can filter out 99.9% of  bacteria leaving the water sterilized in just a couple minutes. I wrote an article about a year ago on the LifeStraw which served the same purpose, however, the “Pure” water bottle design works much different.

Using a unique technology the water bottle uses a wind-up ultra violet bulb to steralize that water that is collected. The water then passes through a series of filters until it’s bacteria and virus free.

This water bottle could potentially save millions of lives in third world countries who can’t access fresh drinking water. It’ll be interesting to see how this is mass produced and where it’ll be most used.

I welcome you to start a discussion below on your thoughts and reactions to this new unique water bottle. Do you think this could ultimately save thousands of lives?

via [thedesignblog]

The scale will inform a user of the total calories in the portion being weighed and how many of those come from fat. The display then shows the proportion of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, salt, sugar, dietary fiber, carbs and protein in grams and milligrams. The device can even calculate a percentage of daily intake based on a diet of 2,000 calories. Intake data can be saved for daily totals analysis and monitoring, and a user can program in up to 99 custom food codes for anything that isn’t covered in the food code book.

The Perfect Portions Digital Food Scale shows weights in either grams or ounces, is powered by a couple of user-replaceable AA sized batteries and comes in black, white, silver, red, or blue.

Price: $49.99

Buy from: Sharper Image and Amazon.

via [gizmag]

Although there has been similar designs, nothing I’ve seen more modern and futuristic, whether you think it’s over the top or not is another question. Overall a great concept that I think not only would be used by many, but also a clever way to encourage people to use less water.

via [core77]

The concept does have its issues. One is the issue that the AtoD battery may not even have enough juice to keep a larger product running. Now the issue has been looked over and at this moment in time it seems as though AtoD battery’s may be used simply as a short term replacement. Another problem is the issue of heat when in contact with the memory foam coated battery. Despite a few questions, AtoD battery proves to be an intriguing concept that definitely has huge potential. It’ll be interesting to see how the concept improves as technology grows.

via [treehugger]

Finally GE has revealed their prototype for what the charge stations are going to look like all electric cars. The station not only displays great aesthetics, it also has the power supply to match it. The new GE stations can charge a car in as little as 4 hours, a great improvement over the 12-16 hour “top tier” chargers that have already been introduced.

Today, GE has unveiled its long-awaited scheme for electric-car charging points, complete with a design by Yves Béhar’s Fuseproject. The stations will drop the time required to charge a car down to as little as four hours.

The GE Wattstation charge point resembles the award winning work by FastCompany.com contributor Gadi Amit and NewDeal Design, for Better Place. The design is meant to be seen from the road. A LED indicator around the touchscreen indicates using colors whether the Wattstation is in use or not. The sloping top screen is meant to shed water and snow is rough conditions.

The GE Wattstations will be commercially available sometime in 2011 while a smaller home version will be introduced later on this year.

What a simple and clever idea. Now I’ve never been a manual guy, I tend to just try and figure things out as i go, but if I had seen this booklet I would definitely read parts of the book- even if was just to appreciate the creativity.

Designers Clara Gaggero, Adrian Westaway and Jaako Tuomivara are behind the “Out of the Box” concept which is a clever way to help guide new users around specific features of a phone. What a great idea for the later generations who are interested in smart phones for the first time.

Out of the box – book from adrian333 on Vimeo.

via  [Vitamins Design via Unplggd]

The prototype camera is able to “see” the third dimension by illuminating each frame of video with laser light pulses that last no longer than a few billionths of a second. These pulses reflect off the subjects then return to the camera, where they are registered by a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) micro-sensor, which then calculates the subjects’ distance from the camera. It’s not unlike sonar, except it uses light instead of sound.

For now it doesn’t seem this technology is ready for the big screen, however there are other potential uses this special camera could be used for. This could be used for interactive gaming allowing people to play a game without ever having to hold onto a remote. It could also be used for navigation purposes, perhaps as an electronic guide in places like parks and museums. It could also be incorporated into devices for elderly or disabled people to help them identify dangerous situations, such as those that could result in falls.

There’s no doubt there’s several uses for this new camera, and there’s no doubt in my mind that within this decade we’ll be able to see movies like Avatar in 3D without the shades.

via [gizmag]