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INSPECTOR GADGETS

You’ll have a need for stuff tomorrow that doesn’t even exist today. So we asked the next generation – students in the acclaimed Industrial Design program at the University of Alberta – to dream up the must-have toys for 2054.

1 | 2 | 3 | MAY '04

KITCHEN

Lazer Blade by Jamie Johnson
jkj3@ualberta.ca

What would the future be without lasers? I’m just doing my part to ensure that this does become a reality. This is a knife that can cut through anything with ease. This cool kitchen gadget uses a high powered laser as a blade. The laser is activated with a finger trigger on the knife handle, and the beam is stopped at the other end by the titanium frame. To avoid accidents, the laser beam shuts off automatically if it senses skin in its path.

Waterless Dishwasher by Jason Berryman
jberryman@shaw.ca
www.ualberta.ca/~berryman/index.html

The waterless dishwasher was developed in response to growing concerns over both unsustainable water consumption and the problem of diminishing urban living space. Dirty dishes are placed on the retractable rubber conveyor where, upon activation, they automatically enter the cleaning unit. A blast of UV light first flash-hardens food particles on the dish and kills bacteria. A sonic pulse is then applied that breaks down food particles and dislodges them from the dish. An electrostatic magnet then removes the vaporized particles before the dish exits the unit along the conveyor, completely spotless and bacteria-free. Besides saving much more space than a traditional dishwasher, cupboard space does not need to be cluttered with excess kitchenware since the instant cleaning action makes a build-up of dishes a thing of the past.

Nano-Composter by Ian Campana
contact@iancampana.com

Ian Campana is a student finalist in the Lights of the Future 2004 Third European Luminaire Design Competition for Energy-Efficient Dedicated Lighting Fixtures in the Residential Market (www.eu-greenlight.org/competition.htm).

Nano technology has a very promising future in the society of tomorrow. This ultra-high-tech technology breaks down all matter into its respective molecules and atoms. This process would solve our overwhelming issue of overflowing landfills and waste, from industry and everyday living. Imagine the possibilities, society could drastically reduce consumption of our depleting natural resources. We could mine our landfills for fuels and nutrients.

The NanoComposter is a household appliance that works in conjunction with a household system. The NanoComposter accepts waste from the household, office,
garden, etc. and breaks down everything into simple molecules and atoms which could then be banked in a home storage system. This supply could be used for a vehicle fuel
source, and even fabricate food with a NanoCook.

BATHROOM

Smart Shower by Tracy Paiement
www3.telus.net/tpaiement paiement@ualberta.ca

When an individual steps into the SmartShower, it senses the user’s weight and body height and adjusts to the predetermined settings for the user. Some settings include length of time for water and drying cycles and water direction, pressure and temperature unique to that user. The soap/shampoo/conditioner dispenser is motion sensitive and will dispense when the user places their hand below it, the length of time the hand is under determines the amount of product dispensed. There are labels on the product dispensers to inform users of the product. The SmartShower also features a "quick-dry" system, which shoots air though the tubular shape of the shower, allowing for quick drying of the user's body and eliminates the need for towel drying.

Nano-Tiles by Samuel Ho
www.samuelho.com or sam@samuelho.com

Kitchen and bathroom tiles are often in the high-germ traffic areas of our houses. Plagued with bacteria, fungus and harmful irritants, these areas – if not well kept – can be incubators for disease and health-related problems. The Nano-tile system utilizes nanotechnology and artificial intelligence in the cleaning and maintenance of a clean kitchen or bathroom area. With a self-regenerating system of millions of nano-bots within self-contained grids, these bots work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week cleaning your floors and other surfaces. Each nano-bot is equipped to break down debris back to its elements. As a collective the bots tackle household irritants such as food debris, fungus and even dust mites. Because of their nano sizes they have great durability against high foot traffic, and with regenerating stations, worn or broken bots can be repaired or replaced easily. Cleaning the floors is not its only job: when installed on wall units and charging their thorax-like back ends to a negative charge, they attract positively-charged dust, pollen, dander and smoke and act as millions of small air ionizers. They may be tiny in size but tackling problem of cleanliness in the household is no small task.

1 | 2 | 3 | MAY '04