Traffic Light with progress bar

Eko Light is specifically designed so it can be easily installed onto existing traffic light systems without much effort. It claims to bring forward following benefits: - Less pollution, as drivers can turn their engines off and cut carbon emissions while waiting for the green light, - Less fuel consumption, as turning off vehicle engines lowers fuel consumption in the long run, - Less stress, since drivers know exactly how long to wait, and - Safer driving, as all traffic participants are fully aware of how much time they have left before the light changes, reducing the chance for potential traffic accidents.

http://infosthetics.com/
filed under: automotive, electronics, lighting

Property spectrum: Feedback
Systems and subsystems tend to evolve from requiring external input to becoming self-controlling through the use of feedback mechanisms. This traffic light informs drivers of the time until the light change.

EcoCarro

A Villena ecocarro has invented a biodegradable shopping cart, made only of cardboard, which may support more than ten kilos and is mounted in four seconds.

The creator of the Angel Hernández Villena, defined yesterday its original shopping cart with three words: ecological, economical and ephemeral. Ecological because all it is made of is biodegradable cardboard. Economical because its price is around one euro and it is designed to be disposable, that is, to be used only once before being thrown into the container to recycle paper and cardboard.

http://noticias.charramonover.com/
filed under: packaging, paper, retail

Property spectrum: Components
Increasing the number of dissimilar elements in a system can bring additional functionality, improved operability, and convenience. Creating a shopping cart out of cardboard makes it ecological and economical.

Diverging Diamond Interchange

Want to avoid gridlock? Drive on the wrong side of the road. In July, traffic engineers in Springfield, Missouri, reconfigured the jammed I-44/Kansas Expressway interchange. The new design does away with risky left turns. The street approaching the highway now diverts to the left, and cars get uninterrupted access to the highway, which, experts say, can reduce clogging by as much as 60 percent. Think of it as a one-way street. Drivers who want to turn left onto the highway can do so without crossing oncoming traffic. Through-traffic, meanwhile, stays on the left side of the road until it reaches a second stoplight, where it passes back over to the right. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the diverging diamond configuration, the first in the U.S., enables 600 left turns onto the freeway per hour per lane - double that of an ordinary interchange, where drivers cross oncoming traffic. Plans are under way to implement similar designs around Kansas City and St. Louis.

http://www.modot.mo.gov/
filed under: automotive, building & construction, transport

Property spectrum: Shape
We live in a three dimensional world, but many of the products we make are limited to one or two dimensions. Changing the shape of highways can help reduce congestion.

 Touchless Pointing System

Touchscreens are wondrous things, but nobody likes smudges, and attempts to magically prevent oil from sticking haven't always found success. The proper solution might not be in fancy screen coatings but rather in removing the touchability together. Tokyo University has developed a system that uses a high-res camera to identify where a finger is in 3D space, so moving around and even air-clicking is detected.

http://www.engadget.com/
filed under: computers & accessories, electronics, gadgets

Property spectrum: Information
The use of intelligent feedback helps create a system that can identify finger movements and react accordingly.

Another "why nobody has thought of it before" product. And if you are considering a house renovation, you should have a look at this "Extension Cord" designed by Meysam Movahedi. Hidden behind the socket for most of the time, the 1.5 meters cord could be easily pulled out when you need to use hair driers, vacuum cleaners and other electronics. As a result, you room will always look neat, without messy wires mounted on the wall or pilled on the floor.

http://www.inewidea.com/
filed under: building & construction, electronics

Property spectrum: Porosity
Solid bodies and shapes trend towards increased porosity. Porosity is achieved through the incorporation of hollow spaces or pores. Porosity can help create a space to store something in.

Trufocals

As simple as TruFocals are to use, their technology is very sophisticated.

Each "lens" is actually a set of two lenses, one flexible and one firm. The flexible lens (near the eye) has a transparent distensible membrane attached to a clear rigid surface. The pocket between them holds a small quantity of crystal clear fluid. As you move the slider on the bridge, it pushes the fluid and alters the shape of the flexible lens. Changing the shape changes the correction. This mimics the way the lenses in your eyes used to perform when you were younger.

This allows you to choose the exact correction that works best for you at any distance and under any lighting conditions. The result: clear, undistorted vision over a wide field of view: no zones, no lines.

http://trufocals.com/
filed under: optics, personal care

Property spectrum: State
One of the most prominent property spectra is the state. It describes an evolution of products and processes starting with solid matter and then moving to liquids, gases and finally fields. A liquid lens can easily be altered to the desired focal correction of the wearer.