Design WOO

Humor aside, it’s quite tough to aim a heavy Lifesaver tube, accurately to a drowning person. It would be much easier to throw him the Rescue Stick, which is a baton shaped contraption. Contraption it is, coz it’s strings undergo a chemical reaction when they hit the water; they dissolve to release a horse-shoe shaped float. So basically the baton reacts to the water and becomes a life-saving device. As a back-up plan, in case the reaction fails, the tube can be inflated manually.
Details:

The reason why Rescue Stick can provide rapid and accurate assistance in the emergency situation can be divided into two facts; the high effectiveness of the type of form factor and chemical reaction. It has a dimension of 270×65×70(mm) and weight of 0.9(lb). Chemical reaction-wise, Rescue Stick can be inflated by the dissolvable strings. The rate of inflation is fast, reaching about 10L in 3~4 seconds. There are other materials like sodium azide, that can achieve faster inflation rate of 0.05 seconds, but the cost of external casing that can reach up to $200, which is a trade off which is almost unacceptable. In contrast, an alternative that involves other chemical compound and water costs a mere $5, but takes 20 seconds to inflate, which makes this option also unacceptable. The material we use, compressed CO2 gas in aluminum can, can pull the cost down to $15 and takes only 3~4 seconds to inflate. This is why we think that our option is an optimal choice. The materials used can all be recycled and no waste is left in the water after use. Just by refilling the relatively low cost compressed CO2 gas can and dissolvable string and refolding the tube after deflation, Rescue Stick can be recycled without much hassle.

Designers: Sungjoon Kim, Jangwoon Kim, Sook-kyung Lee & Keunhwan Pack

During the earthquake(s) this year in china, more than a few students and other civilians were seriously injured or killed by the tables they were hiding under. Haishan Deng has a definite swipe of a solution for instances such as these. Using the physics of the “Triangle of Life” Deng presents: the “Life Desk.”

The Life Desk is open for learning during regular times, and closed for danger during times of trouble. The main structure is high strength steel and nylon board, while the side structure is molten steel molded round to disperse stress.

Deng has already interviewed with the Bureau of Education in China and they will be producing a limited amount of these desks to try them out in schools. The cost of one desk is 80 Euro – anyone know how much a regular, non-earthquake table costs?

And, of course, how much is one life worth?

Designer: Haishan Deng

EINTOPF is a growing pot. It starts off as a shallow sauce pan but extension rings and a flexible outer shell can increase the pot’s volume by almost 3x. The rationale is simple. Sometimes you start with a smaller pot just to sear. You want heat convection to be fast so there’s no need to start with a larger pot. However, stage 2 of the recipe calls for other ingredients. This is where EINTOPE shines because you just add an extension ring and continue cooking all in one pot.
Designer: Barbara Ott

Next trip to the lake, don’t carry a tent to pitch, instead hire out an ingenious Kahuna. This is an open top outrigger kayak that converts into a tent with ease. It features a Mirage Drive pedal/crank mechanism designed by Hobie Kayaks, plus an ordinary paddle to assist in maneuvering the boat. Detachable, folding seats make way for spacious comfy interiors, when pitched as a tent. The all-in-one takes away the bother of carrying extra loads.
The outrigger hosts all your camping gear; a screen cloth mounts between the bars of the outrigger to serve as a base for the tent, similar to a camp bed.

To support the leg movement of the Mirage Drive a special detachable seat with a high back and a strong Lombard section has been especially develop.

Overall I would say it’s a neat concept, but since I’m not a camping-freak I wouldn’t know how effective this pitch would be.

Designer: Mario Weiss

When the airplane is going to EXPLODE?! Or, of course, also, if the airplane is taking off or landing? Usually, strange and uncomfortable situations ensue. Would you, instead, like to be a kangaroo on an airplane? I would. Kangaroos are safe. Kangaroos have safe ways. Designer Karsten Willmann has channeled the safe ways of the kangaroo into this airplane safety device for babies.

NOTE: Karsten WIllman never once mentioned a kangaroo in the describing of this design. It was all me. Give me all the kangaroo credit, all ye lovers of kangaroo ways.

Karsten notes that the device, called “Skylino,” is based on three-point belts used in modern planes. Physical contact is important, Williams continues, as the child is calmed by the parent, and the other passengers don’t flip out because of the screaming of the children.

Finally, the hard-backed child-pod can be detached or attached, leaving the adult’s hands free to carry luggage or punch other passengers out of the way as the plane is evacuated after it’s landed on Isla Nublar.

Designer: Karsten Willmann