If your hand has ever molded into a claw from typing on a conventional keyboard for too long, or you’re in the habit of hovering over your workspace with a bowl of noodles, pay attention. These 15 unusual keyboard designs include built-in bowls, flip-out panels for the fat-fingered, virtual displays and one-handed grips.

Keyboard-Plate Combo

Our computer keyboards are known to be among the most germ-ridden places known to man, but that doesn’t stop most of us from hovering over them as we eat our meals (thus, making the problem even worse.) This keyboard/plate combo by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius aims to solve that problem by adding a bowl to the center. Unfortunately, as much as gamers, students and over-achievers would probably love this to be a real product, it’s just a tongue-in-cheek concept.

Virtual Laser Keyboard

The future of keyboards is almost certainly virtual, with lasers projected onto a flat surface and optics that track the movement of your fingers. Keyboards like this still seem futuristic to many people, but they’re already available. This model goes for $119.99 at Brookstone.

Inside-Out Keyboard

The Inside-Out keyboard by designer Min Koo Yeo might just be a peek at what gesture-based keyboards will look like just a few years from now. While the front side is a standard keyboard with its own mini track pad, the back side is one big “smart” track pad for a greater range of gesture-based commands.

Wearable Sensors as Keyboards

The tiny keyboards on mobile devices can be frustrating for anyone with larger fingers. What if you could just cuff a couple devices onto your hands and ‘type’ on a flat surface instead? AirType detects the movement of your fingers and translates them into alphanumerical input. According to the creators, the device will learn from you, adapting to your personal typing style and habits.

Paper Keyboard

The Verbatim Virtual Keyboard by designer Florian Kraeutli turns a simple piece of paper printed with letters into a fully functioning keyboard. It puts the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to work measuring and identifying the location of letters on the paper. At 80% accuracy, the concept still needs work, but it’s an intriguing start.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Future Typing 15 Creative Keyboard Designs Concepts

Artificial environments designed for space have thus far remained totally utilitarian, but what if more aesthetic considerations were brought into the mix? These design concepts range from constantly morphing art galleries for the International Space Station to a moon base built using existing 3D printing technology and designed by a renowned architecture firm.

Tate in Space: Cultural Center for the International Space Station

Artists, designers and other creatives haven’t exactly been included in the process of space exploration thus far, but this project by ETALAB aims to change that with an outer space gallery where artists, curators and visitors interact with works of art and architecture in zones of zero and partial gravity. Docked at the International Space Station, ‘Tate in Space’ features a flexible ‘envelope’ made from a smart material based on biomechanics that enables the space to constantly shift in shape.

Olympic Stadium for the Moon

Designed as part of the ‘MARS ONE’ project that aims to start colonizing Mars and other locations in space within a matter of mere years, SILO (Stadium International Lunar Olympics) is a stadium for the moon complete with a hotel, restaurants and a solar electric system as well as seats for 100,000. The designers say, “Within the lunar colonies of the future, recreational activities will arise and evolve to take advantage of the moon’s micro-gravity. The sports we know today will be modified, and brand new sports will be invented. Lunar sports associations will be created, teams will be sponsored, games will be televised, and people from all over the globe will watch as the best of the best compete in an arena in which all the rules have changed.”

Mars Colonization by ZA Architects

Solar-powered robots could excavate dwellings for humans on Mars before the people ever arrive in this concept by ZA Architects. Choosing areas where the basalt rock has formed into hexagonal columns, which can be easily removed to create cathedral-like spaces, the robots would weave web-like structures from basalt fibers to create floors at various levels within the caves.

Self-Assembling House for the Moon

A crowd-funding initiative will send a self-assembling house to the moon in October 15th on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 spacecraft. The building, designed by American aerospace company Astrobotic, will be made from a thin sheet of specially developed cloth stretched over a carbon frame. Once it’s placed on the lunar surface, it will fill up with gas and stand erect within five to fifteen minutes.

Russian Space Station Hotel

Russia’s plans for a space hotel would house seven guests in four cabins, 217 miles above the surface of the Earth. The hotel would also function as accommodations for scientists on space-related missions, and as an emergency blowhole for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. A five-day stay will set guests back $100,000 in addition to the half-million it costs to get to space in the first place.

Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea

This series of fantastical images doesn’t even try to be technically correct or scientifically possible, but it was commissioned by NASA all the same to represent a vision of existence on Mars. The artists used photo-mosaic panoramas of expeditions by the rovers Spirit and Opportunity as backdrops for surreal scenes.

3D Moon Base by Foster + Partners

Architecture firm Foster + Partners, responsible for many iconic buildings on Earth, have designed a four-person lunar base that uses 3D printing technology to ‘print’ a protective layer of locally-sourced lunar soil over an inflatable dome. Commissioned by the European Space Agency, the project takes a look at the feasibility of actually building such a structure using currently existing technology.

Moon Dwelling by Royal Haskoning Architects

A transparent sphere houses living spaces for lunar residents in this concept by Royal Haskoning Architects, offering inhabitants unlimited views of the awe-inspiring setting if not a whole lot of privacy. But then again, who needs privacy when you live on the moon? A protective screen rotates around the sphere to protect the inside from the harsh rays of the sun. The sphere is envisioned as a mini-Earth with its own oxygen supply and various levels that inhabitants can simply float between rather than taking the stairs.

Martian Base by Janek Kozicki

Husband and wife design team Janek Kozicki and Joanna Kozicka have created a number of concept designs for Martian bases generally powered by either a radio-isotope generator or a small nuclear power plant, along with practical architectural guidelines for building on other planets. The design pictured above, by Kozicki, is a modular setup that would start with a single pod and grow with subsequent trips to and from Earth to ultimately accommodate several dozen people.

Inflatable Pods by Joanna Kozicka

Kozicka’s solutions include inflatable pods that are lightweight, easy to deploy, and ultimately offer a bigger payoff in terms of square footage for the size of the load sent to Mars. The designs address the sociopsychological problems that the couple identified in relation to living on another planet, avoiding isolated and confined environments in favor of large, comfortable spaces that let in sunlight and allow contact with nature.

Shackleton Crater Lunar Outpost

NASA’s Lunar Architecture Team is working on a design for a permanent lunar outpost that could be set up the next time humans land on the moon. Designed for Shackleton Crater, located at the south pole of the moon, the habitat would consist of larger modules sent ahead of time on a cargo lander.

Luna Ring Concept

The Luna Ring concept would put permanent solar collectors around the moon’s equator like a belt, with solar cells collecting energy that would then be beamed back to Earth via microwave power transmission antennae. A team of astronauts would supervise the robot construction workers carrying out the installation process.

Fractal Lunar Architecture

A fractal design for a lunar base by Hatem Al Khafaji of Dubai makes it easy to expand the available space as needed using a system of seven modular components of living pods, air locks, corridors and connectors. Layers of these modules would be placed around a central ‘heart’ and continuously stacked by teams of robots and human workers.

Most companies are primarily concerned with price when it comes to beverage and liquid product packaging, but what if designers were given free reign to tweak the standard designs so they’re more user-friendly? These 14 packaging design concepts solve annoyances like caps that are difficult to open, bottle shapes that force you to crane your neck to drink and the frustrating inability to reach those last drops of product in the bottom of a soap bottle.

Soft Hanging Soap and Shampoo Bottles

Soft bottles with suction cups to attach them to the shower walls eliminate all the clutter that various toiletries can create in the bathroom. These bottles are made from cornstarch vinyl, so they’re easy to squeeze, and making them transparent may help distinguish between different types of products stored inside.

Easy Drink

This simple change in the standard water bottle design seems so obvious, it’s amazing that it hasn’t been implemented already. Moving the mouth of the bottle from the top to a 45-degree angle makes it much easier to drink and re-fill. No more craning your neck to get those last drops.

Dumbbell Bottle

Since you’re probably carrying a water bottle or sports drink while working out anyway, why not make it do more? The Dumbbell sports drink bottle won’t exactly get you ripped at just .5kg (1.1 pounds), but you could always fill it with something heavier when the drink is gone.

EasyOpen Tab-Pull Bottle Cap

Sometimes you’re caught without a bottle opener, and using your teeth isn’t exactly a good idea unless you’re willing to part with them. What if bottle caps had little easy-pull tabs on them? The ‘EasyOpen’ concept would certainly do what the name suggests.

Aqua Jar Turns Bottles into Pitchers

The Aqua Jar by GH Lab extends the life of a plastic bottle by turning it into an easy-pour pitcher. It’s made from biodegradable and recyclable plastic, and fits the universal coil of any plastic bottle.

Eco Coke

“Same classic design, just greener,” says Andrew Kim, designer of the Eco Coke bottle. So what makes it different – and superior – to the current bottle design? Aside from being 100% plant-based, this bottle is also collapsible, making it easier to keep it on hand until a recycling bin is nearby. Since it has a smaller footprint, space for nearly two additional bottles is recovered within standard boxes.

Retap

While some people will reuse plastic bottles a few times, they’re awkward to clean, and can leach chemicals into the water over time. Glass is safer – and nicer-looking. Retap is a designer water bottle concept that’s easily refillable, without any sharp corners to make cleaning difficult.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Bottle Sell It 14 Designer Bottles That Break The Mold

The rise of surveillance technology, including face recognition software, drones, body scans and cell phones as GPS locators, has resulted in some creative attempts to elude it. Designer Adam Harvey experiments with “fashion to challenge authoritarian surveillance” in a series called Stealth Wear (via PSFK). Anti-Drone garments protect against thermal imaging, a special cell phone pocket blocks signals, and off-the-wall makeup and hair styling techniques make it hard to ID faces.

The Anti-Drone garments are made with a lightweight, breathable metallized fabric that reflects heat, masking the wearer’s thermal signature so they won’t show up in thermal imaging scans. Two of the designs are inspired by Muslim garments, including the burqa and scarf. “Conceptually, these garments align themselves with the rationale behind the traditional hijab and burqa: to act as ‘the veil which separates man or the world from God,’ replacing God with drone,” says Harvey.

These garments aren’t intended to be serious gear for survivalists looking to elude The Man. They’re fashion, Harvey explains, exploring the ways in which we can interact and aestheticize our culture of rising surveillance. Technically, even the small parts that aren’t covered by the garments, like the hands and face, can give you away. The OFF Pocket, however, is definitely usable: it’s a flexible waterproof cover fitting most sizes of phones, including Nexus and iPhones, that blocks all incoming and outgoing call signals.

If you want to avoid facial recognition software determining your identity, you’ll have to get even more creative. Developed as his master’s thesis, Harvey’s project CV Dazzle attempted to find makeup and hair styles that would elude recognition. This collaboration between hair stylists, makeup artists and fashion designers used custom software that exposes the vulnerabilities of the OpenCV face detection algorithm, creating styles that exploit these weaknesses. The looks are definitely a bit cyber-punk, but it’s interesting to see them gain a little practicality. Check out an article on ‘how to hide from machines’ that explores more of these techniques at DISmagazine.

Inspired by ‘plantimals’, photosynthetic organisms like lichen, sea slugs and salamanders that welcome algae into their bodies in order to thrive, the Algaculture Symbiosis Suit aims to enhance humans with new, partially artificial bodily organs. The suit designs a new symbiotic relationship between us and algae, letting us become more plant-like by gaining food from light.

Exploring alternative ways in which we could sustain ourselves in the future, designers Michiko Nitta and Michael Burton propose suits made of plastic tubes that wrap and wind around the body, looking a bit like an artificial exoskeleton.

Essentially, the algae inside the tubes is fed both by sunlight and by the carbon dioxide in the wearer’s breath, and is then consumed by the human wearing the suit. In this way, our own breath is helping to produce the nutrients that we take in. “As such, we will be symbionts (meaning that both entities entirely depend on each other for survival), entering into a mutually beneficial relationship with the algae,” say the designers.

One of the suits was used in The Algae Opera, another project by Nitta and Burton that used the extraordinarily large lung capacity of a professional opera singer to produce the highest quality algae-product possible, enriching its taste. “So in the age of biotechnology not only can the audience listen to her talent but they can also savor her unique blend of algae that are enriched by her song.”

Via CollabCubed