Lumeneo Smera Electric Compact Car Concept

One of the approaches to making a highly efficient electric car is to basically add a body and other car-like amenities to an electric scooter. You end up with something like the ultra-thin Smera concept from Lumeneo which looks more like a 4-wheeled motorcycle than a traditional automobile. At 8 feet long and just over 31 inches wide the Smera can only accommodate a single passenger with limited luggage, but it can reach a top speed of 80mph and will run for about 93 miles on a single charge.

Both of the front wheels on the Smera have their own 20hp electric motor which have a life expectancy of around 200,000 km. Those electric motors, as well as the rest of the vehicle, are all powered by a 144 volt lithium ion battery which weighs in at 180lbs. At the moment the Smera pictured above is just a concept, but the company hopes to have them ready for sale at the Paris Motor Show in October of this year for about $30,000 to $46,000. Good luck with that.

Collapsible Shelves

PLoP! is a storage shelving system made from eco-friendly corrugated board, PLoP! weighs a mere 1.8kg and is collapsible, so its pretty portable.

Lego Johnny Five Lacks Emotions

Anyone who grew up in the ’80s remembers Johnny Five of Short Circuit. The perfect killing machine with absolutely no desire to kill after having disbanded its deadly laser beam weaponry in favor of a pocket knife. Yea, Johnny Five’s a robo-boy scout but his redeeming quality is his vast knowledge of pop-culture. As tribute to the friendliest librarian robot around, Brickshelf user rack911 has constructed a Johnny Five model out of LEGOs and other compatible bricks.

Johnny Five says,

“It’s the all-new Johnny Five! Just look at these items! Increased memory: five hundred megabytes on-line! I come with a utility pack and dozens of gadgets for outdoor living, lots of Greenpeace stickers, and even my own Nike swoosh! And, if you act now, I’ll throw in, absolutely free, my all-new, multi-frequency remote control!”

Build Your Own LEGO Scanner

We love LEGOs and while we’re partial to the Mindstorms set, Anders Søborg has built and programmed his own NXT scanner comprised mostly of these bricks. For those not familiar with NXT scanners, they’re a “standalone” scanner that can scan and save images as BMP-files. The images scanned can be saved in either 24-bit true color, 8-bit color or gray scale.

Although the device isn’t faster than any other scanner on the market (it’s quite slow actually), cut it some slack: it’s made out of toy blocks. Anders was also nice enough to include DIY instructions on making your own, complete with programming instructions and all, on his website.

(Link)

Real Lego Guitar Rocks The Bricks

This is no fake jive ass git. This black Lego Guitar is a functioning instrument with the entire case made out of our favorite childhood toy. Jam out with your friends, and if a piece of the guitar falls off, just snap it back together.

Including pick-ups, bridge, and all of the functioning parts, all this baby needs is some strings. And judging from the comments on the source page, Viagra users just love it.

Lego Camaro Is Greased Lightnin’!

Fans of the Camaro are among the most hardcore enthusiasts, as can can be seen by this Floridian Lego modeler. Crafting a Camaro using nothing but Legos. It sure would have been a chick magnet back in the late 70s.

To make sure the Camaro adopted all of the curves of a modern automobile, the designer seems to use some pieces from the Lego Technic line of brick tools. This model is complete with fake engine and pimped interior. Pretty damn impressive.

World’s Tallest LEGO Tower Has Been Built

I’m pretty sure anyone who hates LEGOs is a commie bastard. The classic colored bricks have been a staple of everyone’s childhood and that love continues into adulthood. Case in point is the world’s largest LEGO tower, which contains 500,000 LEGO bricks and is 100 feet tall.

Built in Windsor, UK, the huge structure commemorates LEGO’s 50th anniversary. Personally, I haven’t bought a set in a few years, but I will never forget the early-’90s spaceship sets. Those were king. Either way, neither the tower nor those spaceship sets compare to the LEGO Camaro.

LEGO USB 2.0 Bluetooth Dongle

Messing with LEGOs is good times, even if you’re 53. That’s why some geek in Germany turned a few 2×2 transparent bricks (of a variety of colors) into high speed Bluetooth adapters. On sale in limited quantity, these bricks are priced at about $50 before shipping and handling. They’ll give you that “I’m an 8-year-old!” look and at the same time, sync your expensive top-of-the-line wireless gadgets together. While there are better ways to call attention to yourself, the LEGO Bluetooth Mini Dongle is ultimately more useful than the alternatives.

Surf Chair: Laziness to the Max

As part of the Scandinavian Furniture Fair, Kenneth Lylover entered his Surf Chair into the Internet Collection competition. It won “Best Product” and it’s easy to see why. This semi-circle-shaped chair comes with a built-in LCD on the front and a padded frame to allow for the most comfortable Internet browsing experience possible.

With a mouse and keyboard included, the only reason you’ll ever need to leave your inner circle is for chips and Mountain Dew. Using the bathroom? Ha! That’s for wimps. I shit my pants at least four times during a round of Snood.

Where The Hell Am I Going To Put This Thing

Straight out of the Beetlejuice film comes Dust Furniture, an acid-trip take on real furniture except for one thing: you can’t put books on it. Well, certain shelves seem straight but if you check out the gallery there are tons of these designs which aren’t practical shelving space. That’s alright though, as Dust Furniture is completely for show. Having guests for dinner who do nothing but comment on your curvy furniture? Dose them with acid - the shelves will straighten themselves.

Origami V12 Engine

Montreal native Yee is crazy for origami. Offering DIY kits on his site, you too can create an origami V12 paper engine that pumps just like the real thing (with the help of electrical wires, a resistor, a motor and a battery holder). Damn shame it can’t power a car with pencil shavings. Well, there’s always the next millennia.

No Keys Needed On This Glass Keyboard

This glass surface with the form of keys etched in it is the latest project from designer Kong Fanwen. Using a motion capture camera mounted at the top, it tracks your finger motion and translates it to the computer as if you were typing on any normal keyboard. The “No-key Keyboard” is the sleekest looking keyboard we’ve seen in awhile and is reminiscent of many other touch-sensitive glass gadgets we’ve seen.

No word on any retail information, but I’m sure that this’ll be a hit with all your co-workers at the office. I can’t wait to see the matching mouse.

(link)