What gadget do you wish existed - serious answers only please!

[witch]

To clarify:

Product design is the process that begins with the sketch and ends with the final product - made and working

She can come up with a variation on a theme but it must be a substantial one.

It doesn't really matter what it is made of - she can use wood, metal, plastic etc along with electrical,electronic, mechanical, hydraulic or any other process

[plexer]

A shredder that actually works, is fast and doesn't tempt to to put a thick wad of paper in at once because you are so impatient... and it jams.

 

Thing is though like anything else they're built to a price and spec you can get fast ones that will chew through anything but they're industrial and cost the earth so you can't really say you cheapy £10 from Tesco doesn't work.

 

Ben

[SiliconAlley_Sam]

I know that variations on this exist but some kind of device to check for drink spiking.

[AMLinington]

To clarify:

Product design is the process that begins with the sketch and ends with the final product - made and working

She can come up with a variation on a theme but it must be a substantial one.

It doesn't really matter what it is made of - she can use wood, metal, plastic etc along with electrical,electronic, mechanical, hydraulic or any other process

 

I came up with a design for my cat treat toy thing yesterday afternoon in about 5 minutes while doodling my way through hold music. Seriously thinking of prototyping it actually. Essentially it's a sissal scratching post with an air tube running down it, the air tube is attached to a bladder inside the toy. When the animal compresses the toy, the change in air pressure in the tube triggers a valve which opens a slot in a food dispenser and the treat drops down into a bowl.

 

There are issues I'd need to consider:

 

1) The air tube - my cat can chew his way through power cables. A Plastic fish-tank style air tube would be vulnerable. Current solution: That woven metal coating that looks like Chinese finger puzzles.

2) The valve/slot setup.

3) Treat storage - easy access for refilling

4) Replaceable parts - does the toy part come off? Is it separate from the 'internal' tube?

5) Stability - Fishing rod toys with a cat hanging off the end are inherently unstable. Current solution: Spring mechanism. Like those posh kitchen taps. Safety for the animal is paramount though.

[SYNACK]

Another thing I would like to see. Clips that can hold a switch into a rack so you don't have to hold it into position and screw it in at the same time.

 

How about a new form of cage bolt/nut that you can put in from the front that locks into place when tightened, as the bolt goes through the bolt has bits that get pushed out to lock into the rack, kind of like a masonry anchor. If done right it could save all sorts of time and injury.

[plexer]

@SYNACK they allready exist Cage Nuts - Front Fixing < Cage Nuts < Nuts & Push on Fasteners < Fasteners and Components < Products is just one example I've used others.

 

Ben

[witch]

Come on, you super-intelligent lot!

There must be something you have thought of that you wish existed.

You are all hitting the same problem she is - you think of something and then find it on t'interweb...

[Seb1780]

One thing I've always looked for and failed to find is a good camera carrying rucksac. Bags seem to fall into one of two categories; either a good bag for the hills that has the right straps and padding to make it comfortable for all day use or a camera bag with padding, compartmentalisation and lots of pockets for storing bits but useless straps that cut into you after half an hour walking.

 

Currently I use a smallish camera bag inside my "proper" rucksac but this has the disadvantage of being laden down with all the straps, buckles and other paraphenalia needed to make it a stand alone bag in its own right.

 

My ideal would be a padded, configurable container designed to fit into a standard rucksac without adding too much weight and bulk.

[AMLinington]

Come on, you super-intelligent lot!

There must be something you have thought of that you wish existed.

You are all hitting the same problem she is - you think of something and then find it on t'interweb...

 

Haven't found the cat treat scratch post on the web yet although if anyone else has please let me know as I'd like to buy him one.

[witch]

Haven't found the cat treat scratch post on the web yet although if anyone else has please let me know as I'd like to buy him one.

 

I thought you were going to build it yourself, or at least patent it? I didn't want to steal it

[mac_shinobi]

Come on, you super-intelligent lot!

There must be something you have thought of that you wish existed.

You are all hitting the same problem she is - you think of something and then find it on t'interweb...

 

I was going to say teleportation however refer to this video :

 

[sonofsanta]

Bit mad, but hey, it's an idea: some kind of iPhone case that locks with a weird sort of puzzle, so that it takes 30-60 seconds of effort (or getting up to find the master key you've put somewhere) to open. Would need to be able to answer phone calls through it, but it would a) make it much harder to be distracted by your phone when you're meant to be focusing on something, by making it too much effort to go off task b) work as a way of making your alarm clock really hard to turn off so you have to wake up instead of sleepily swiping for snooze.

 

A Chinese finger iPhone Trap, basically.

[SYNACK]

@SYNACK they allready exist Cage Nuts - Front Fixing < Cage Nuts < Nuts & Push on Fasteners < Fasteners and Components < Products is just one example I've used others.

 

Ben

 

Oh well, at least proves it was a good idea as other people are already profiting from it.

[AMLinington]

I thought you were going to build it yourself, or at least patent it? I didn't want to steal it

 

LOL I have other things to worry about at the moment than designing something, making a prototype, faffing about with manufacturers. There are many more 'concept' ideas out there better than mine. I might have a crack at making a 'home made' one for Enzo to enjoy at some point though.

[X-13]

Haven't found the cat treat scratch post on the web yet although if anyone else has please let me know as I'd like to buy him one.

 

Interactive Cat Scratch Post and Food Treat Training Feeder for Sale | Wayfair

 

 

Looks like all the good ideas have been taken already.

[AMLinington]

Interactive Cat Scratch Post and Food Treat Training Feeder for Sale | Wayfair

 

 

Looks like all the good ideas have been taken already.

 

Yeah I saw that but my toy isn't actually about the scratching, it's about the dangly 'fishing rod' toy bit - the purpose of which is to get cats active. My idea is still different from this.

[mac_shinobi]

Bit mad, but hey, it's an idea: some kind of iPhone case that locks with a weird sort of puzzle, so that it takes 30-60 seconds of effort (or getting up to find the master key you've put somewhere) to open. Would need to be able to answer phone calls through it, but it would a) make it much harder to be distracted by your phone when you're meant to be focusing on something, by making it too much effort to go off task b) work as a way of making your alarm clock really hard to turn off so you have to wake up instead of sleepily swiping for snooze.

 

A Chinese finger iPhone Trap, basically.

 

A digital rubix cube that you have to get the colours in the correct place within an alotted time frame which will then unlock said phone otherwise it will not unlock lol ?

[AMLinington]

A digital rubix cube that you have to get the colours in the correct place within an alotted time frame which will then unlock said phone otherwise it will not unlock lol ?

 

Need to build in the whole 'calling emergency services even though the phone is locked' capability though.

 

Who???

 

I assume you for being a smart-alec lol

[sonofsanta]

A digital rubix cube that you have to get the colours in the correct place within an alotted time frame which will then unlock said phone otherwise it will not unlock lol ?

 

Oh god no, I'd never get into my phone again. Rubik's Cubes are beyond my simple brain.

 

There are some iOS apps that do something like this for alarm clocks - make you answer a comprehension question, or solve a maths sum or something* - but a physical case would help in periods of "I should really finish editing this story but ooh Facebook/Flipboard/anything".

 

*On a related note, Gmail once implemented a feature where emails sent during a certain time period needed a maths problem solving before it would send, to prevent drunk emailing of ex-partners.

[witch]

Any more ideas? Can be anything you like as long as it is practical and can be made by a student with access to proper workshops

[witch]

 

Any more ideas please?

[sonofsanta]

Heard on Radio 6 yesterday: someone wishing that gloves/scarves made a sound when they hit the ground, so you would realise you'd dropped them. Could apply to a lot of things beyond just gloves & scarves, of course.

[creese]

Heard on Radio 6 yesterday: someone wishing that gloves/scarves made a sound when they hit the ground, so you would realise you'd dropped them. Could apply to a lot of things beyond just gloves & scarves, of course.

 

[mac_shinobi]

I know it exists already here but would be great to use something like this to grab the beers out of a large bucket / tub that has ice and cold water in , save me getting off my deck chair lol

 

Although I was thinking smaller with a robotic claw like the arcade machines have, maybe a camera ( web cam / ip camera ) so you could see what you were trying to grab using the arm ( a screen on the remote control that links to the camera on the helicopter )

 

Edited June 19, 2014 by mac_shinobi

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Portable trebuchet? Who wouldn't want one of those.

 

On a serious note, a tent that doesn't touch the floor except by feet. No more flooding and damp as the groundsheet gets older. Plus the grass will prefer it