Here's what we looked at this week:

Frank the Dogtopus is a smart design for a dog toy: It's low-tech, durable, eco-friendly and time-consuming.

With this $400 ultrasonic chef's knife, 40,000 vibrations a second do the cutting for you. (Alternatively, you could learn to sharpen the knife you already have.)

Succuc's handsome 3D printed vessels.

The Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro is an impressive portable outdoor theater with a 16.7' inflatable screen and surround sound.

Flos Design Space, featuring lighting design classics alongside contemporary models, opens in Chicago.

Industrial design case study (from a mechanical engineer): This beautiful, tiny Featherforged bike pump.

Charlotte, by Crest Robotics and Earthbuilt Technology, is a 3D printer that walks and lays walls.

Titaner's innovative take on the fractal vise.

Industrial designer Friedrich Gerlach's elegant Lecrase Stool is made of leather offcuts.

From Sweden, the Nomad Collection: Sleek, cast-aluminum power strips with plug-in lamps.

Fidlock's nifty variety of magnetic buckles.

Artist Sven Sauer's dazzling kinetic light installation brings a message of hope.

Nikon's compact indoor binoculars, designed for concert halls and museums.

The Stockman Trekka 01 is an Australian off-road camper trailer designed specifically for e-bikers.

This Trekka 01, by Australian pod trailer manufacturer Stockman, is an off-road camper trailer designed specifically for e-bikers.

Rather than having an exterior rack for the bikes, the Trekka has a two-bike garage in the nose, keeping them out of the elements. Loading is made easier via a retractable ramp.

In the garage, the bikes can be charged while you're on the move.

Stockman offers an option for rooftop solar.

When it's time to set up camp, the trailer automatically levels itself.

The interior is well-appointed. The roof pops up to provide headspace and light, and there's a queen-sized bed in the back.

A bench seat and table by the entry provide space to dine or work.

The tabletop stows away when not needed (I have no idea where it goes, they don't mention it) and there's a small kitchen opposite the bench.

Fore of the kitchen there's a wet room containing a shower and toilet. This being a pop-up camper, the walls don't go all the way to the ceiling, but at least there's visual privacy.

Incredibly, this camper has two kitchens. The second one is an outside kitchen.

Other nice touches include a backup camera, an electrically-deployed entry step and a pull-out awning.

These are Australian-market only, and run about AUD $130,000 (USD $85,000).

Most of the binoculars Nikon makes are bulky, black, have a technical look to them, and are made for the outdoors.

But they also make this discreet, compact 4x10D CF pair, designed to not look out of place in indoor settings. Specifically, concert halls, theaters and museums.

The design is simple and basic: The only things you fiddle with are the central focus knob, and the two halves, which are hinged to adjust for your eye spacing.

They offer 4x magnification and offer a wide field of view, making them ideal for concerts. But the lenses are such that for museum use, you can use them to see details of objects as close as 3.9 feet away.

They come in three colors, a leather case is included, and they run $225.

Visual Atelier 8 is an online platform that seeks to expose the general public to talented creatives. They presented this dazzling DEVIATION installation, created by Berlin-based artist Sven Sauer:

The piece is a direct comment on the divided state of today's world.

"The installation stretches across the room like a carpet of glass fragments, woven from shards collected worldwide. Broken glass often feels ominous: shattered windows before earthquakes, shards from riots, or jagged borders meant to keep people out. Today, it can seem as though shards are everywhere, and humanity doesn't always appear in the best light."

"Based on texts by historian @RutgerBregman, DEVIATION reveals another truth: in times of crisis, people tend to move closer together, and acts of kindness grow. Negativity may be louder, but history shows cooperation prevails. From certain angles, the processed shards catch light and divide it a hundredfold, turning fragments of destruction into reflections of hope."

Above is a condensed version of Sauer's statement. The full copy is below, as well as credit to all of the parties that helped bring this installation to light, no pun intended.

In the mid-2000s, Joachim Fiedler was a professional cellist in Germany. A tinkerer by nature, he found himself frustrated by the bow holders inside the lid of a cello case: They were fiddly and required two hands to open, whereas Fiedler wanted to do it one-handed. He thus prototyped and refined a magnetic bow holder. Pressing against a latch released the bow.

Despite having played with the Berlin Philharmonic and having toured the world with different orchestras, Fiedler became obsessed with magnetic connections rather than music. In 2007, he hung up the bow and started Fidlock, a company that makes magnetic buckles for bags, helmets, tents, clothes and more.

For some examples of the actions, this SNAP pops open at the pull of a strap:

This 3-point JUNIOR is for baby carriages:

This magnetic ratcheting WINCH is for bags and outdoor gear:

This COINTRAP is for bike helmets, and is designed to be easy to use in cold weather, when one is wearing gloves:

You can see more of Fidlock's offerings here.

Let's be honest: when travelling, nobody is looking forward to the time at the gate, waiting to board. Airports also rarely tell a story unique to the place they're at, often being purely pragmatic, frequently pretty soulless spaces, sometimes not even offering a decent place to sit for everyone.

We were expecting just that for a 4-hour layover in Paris on a trip from South America to Germany, and even considered rushing into Paris or paying for a lounge. A delay and Charles de Gaulle's vast and confusing layout had us head to the gate at Terminal 2G straight away, and we were pleasantly surprised with possibly one of the most thoughtfully designed airport spaces we've ever encountered.

The airport

Charles de Gaulle itself is a bit of a user experience nightmare: signage isn't exactly clear, and you sometimes have to take long bus rides from one sub-terminal to the next. However, upon entering the – from the outside rather drab – Terminal 2G, you find yourself in a delightful ode to Parisian design history and flair.

A grand entrance with terazzo floors. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Frescos by Studio CHZON. Photo by Anki Delfmann

The escalator and stairs to the gates are the first sign of a waiting area that differs from the norm: custom floors, handrails, frescos and lamps lead the traveler upstairs into a space celebrating quintessentially French 20th century furniture and decorative arts.

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Recharging

Spaces to recharge. Photo by Anki Delfmann

The 1,300 sqm area designed by studio CHZON combines solutions for every traveler's most urgent functional needs (sitting, lounging or lying down comfortably, charging your devices) with the emotional benefits of feeling like you're still in Paris, enjoying carefully designed spaces inspired by the 1960s and 1970s, and thus extending your experience of place up until you board your flight.

Celebrating Paris

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

The centerpiece of the space is a monumental white sculpture by Jean-Marie and Marthe Simonnet made of glass-resin composites, resembling a bench under trees. An arch structure of the same material is a nod to the monuments of Paris, and a fountain surrounded by the unmistakable green metal chairs of the Jardin du Luxembourg completes the landmarks in the waiting area.

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Celebrating Parisian Monuments. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Waiting

Surrounding these, lingerers can choose from various arrangements of sofas and chairs, covered in leather or bespoke textile featuring an airplane pattern, and reclining seats – designed by the Italian architect and furniture designer Osvaldo Borsani.

Seating by Osvaldo Borsani. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Seating by Osvaldo Borsani. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Seating by Osvaldo Borsani. Photo by Anki Delfmann

Playing

Solid wood tables add an element of play with inlay work that creates boards for chess, checkers, and other popular games to pass the waiting time.

Photo by Anki Delfmann

Custom-designed lamps and recycling bins made from airplane trolleys complete this experience, which unexpectedly turns often dead space and time into something unique, interesting and entertaining.

Photo by Anki Delfmann

Photo by Anki Delfmann

See a video of the experience

Watch the Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2G Design Postcard to get a more immersive feeling of the space.

These Nomad Block power strips were designed by Swedish design studio Form Us With Love.

No fragile plastic here: The shells are cast out of 100% recycled aluminum.

They can also be pared with Nomad Lamps, which plug directly into the sockets.

There's also a Nomad Strip variant, designed to be flush-mounted.

The Nomad Collection was designed in collaboration with Forming Function, a Swedish manufacturer of designey technical accessories.

"Electricity and charging are among the most used and indispensable products in our daily lives, both at home and at work," the company writes. "Yet, they have long been the most overlooked when it comes to design, sustainability, and holistic system solutions. At Forming Function, we believe there's no reason to hide electricity and charging. Instead, we aim to make them a beautiful, integrated part of interior design."

This Lecrase Stool is by German industrial designer Friedrich Gerlach.

The form might suggest plywood, but it's in fact made of leather offcuts from the automotive and fashion industry; the carefully-chosen folds not only give the stool its flair, but exploits the material to allow it to support itself.

"In a world where increasing consumption generates more leftover materials, I see these not as waste, but as valuable resources," Gerlach told the Maison&Objet trade fair. "I find it exciting to work with what's already there – designing in a way that anticipates transformation, reuse, or even disappearance."

The stool won Gerlach a 2025 Rising Talent Award.

In the past, it was common for a Western company to release some hot new object, then Chinese manufacturers would rush in with knock-offs. Thankfully we're seeing a shift away from this, where Chinese manufacturers are starting to add their own innovations to improve existing products. As one example Titaner, a Chinese manufacturer of titanium tools, is taking a more Apple-like approach: Let others be the first, then take your time to design a better version of that object.

In this case, the object that's having a moment is the fractal vise. This all started in 2021, when artist Steve J. Lindsay designed his based on a jaw he'd seen on a milling machine from the early 1900s.

Lindsay's design went viral, and later that year product designer Chris Borge made 3D-print files of a similar design available.

Earlier this year, British tool manufacturer MetMo successfully Kickstarted their own fractal vise design, to the tune of $1.8 million.

Enter Titaner. Rather than merely knock off the designs above, the company instead decided to design the ultimate version of a fractal vise.

First off it's on a ball joint, greatly improving the ergonomics.

Secondly, it has a feature critical for working on delicate objects: The ability to set the clamping pressure. The user dials it in via a torque mechanism, and when the vise hits the desired pressure, it audibly clicks, like a torque wrench.

Thirdly the jaws have a width capacity of nearly 4 inches.

Lastly the jaws are reversible, allowing you to hold objects from the inside out.

The tool, being made entirely out of precision-CNC-milled titanium, is well expensive, starting at $1,100. The company's only making 1,000 units and selling them on Kickstarter. At press time the campaign had been successfully funded, with 85 units spoken for and 27 days left to pledge.

There is a fascinating type of wasp where I live called a mud dauber. These little guys are like the 3D printers of the natural world. They take individual globs of mud and, using their mandibles, shape them into layers attached to vertical surfaces in order to build cylindrical nests.

Image: Mike Dunn, Walter Magazine

You can clearly see the "print lines" on their nests. The different colors are from different types of mud, and while adjacent nests can be made from different muds, they always go mono-mud for individual nests.

Image: Pollinator, CC BY-SA 3.0

Anyway I thought of mud daubers while looking at this Charlotte robot. It was developed by two Australian firms, Crest Robotics and climate technology company Earthbuilt Technology, as a response to Australia's housing crisis.

Like the mud dauber, Charlotte uses local materials to build. It's hooked up to wheeled vehicle that's loaded with sand, earth and waste products like crushed brick. The 'bot essentially digests these, then poops out a composite material in layers to build walls.

The point of all this is that you're not transporting construction materials to the site. "Raw materials go in. Solid walls come out. Easy," writes Earthbuilt Technology.

"Earthbuilt® was conceived with a simple insight: the real cost and carbon of construction come from repeated industrial processing and endless transport. Our patented printer shortens the supply chain to a single, low-energy, high-speed process. Using local soil or clean waste, Earthbuilt® creates strong, durable walls without cement, firing, or manual laying."

Earthbuilt says the robot is fast, affordable and accurate. They also envision it being used in the future to build structures on the moon.

Functioning prototypes have been built, and are reportedly on display at the currently-running International Astronautical Congress in Sydney. However, at press time we could not locate any videos of Charlotte in action.

This Featherforged: Nano is a tiny, elegant bike pump. It was created by an anonymous mechanical engineer, who posted the project online. ME credentials aside, this makes for a great ID case study.

I wanted to show off a personal project I spent many months on (designing, testing, building).

After some extremely long rides into remote areas, such as my 14 hour ride from Denver to the top of Mt Evans/Blue Sky and back, I wanted to create a bike pump that was infinitely reliable (all metal/overbuilt design/no plastic/batteries) and also would fit in a tiny seat post bag. It would also be small enough to pair with CO2 cartridges as a last resort if the CO2 ran out.

I settled on a design that would fit directly onto a presta valve stem- no rubber tubes or attachments to add weight or potentially fail or add complexity.

I created the computer aided design (CAD) in Fusion 360 and added drawings and tolerances for important components (I'm a mechanical engineer with 15 years of designing >100 products for tool/defense/medical companies. This is my first solo build of a product for myself).

I ran finite element analysis in Fusion 360 to ensure that everything was overbuilt (A casing that was laughably designed to hold many thousands of PSI, for example, when it would only see about 100 psi). This would ensure it would survive drops, impacts, crashes, etc (I did take a 35mph, worst crash of my life, with this pump, and it obviously did not suffer ill effects, like I did).

My initial 3D print and then metal prototype build had a tiny handle that was extremely uncomfortable, and gave me blisters, so I added a large, thick, and comfortable aluminum handle that gave it a "flash bang" aesthetic. Then, I added neodymium magnets for quick latching and a sort of fidget mechanic.

I purchased a simple reciprocating jig and tested the O-rings, lubricants, and seals to a million cycles at 130F and running high pressures.

For my final build, I sent out the drawings and CAD to a CNC shop for the parts to be manufactured. I received enough parts for about 300 pumps (it's much more cost effective per unit to order a lot of parts than even just a few). When these parts arrived, I assembled them by hand and give them a mirror polish.

Overall, I'm very happy with the results and carry it everywhere for my bikes and even my car (God forbid).

It takes about 2 minutes to add a few psi and about 10 minutes for a completely flat tire. My rationale for this is: Flat tires are rare with tubeless, at most, one per year. It can be combined with CO2 or electric as a final last resort pump, if you get frequent flats (CO2 and electric being less reliable/limited). I would rather carry a very small/light pump for two thousand plus miles a year and spend ten minutes on the side of the road once per year, than carrying a large pump all year for this rare occasion (but this is just my experience and opinion).

I've posted this project on Etsy and I sell about 1 per month, so I plan to break even on my expenditure in like 2030 (haha) (It's been a passion project). I named it the Featherforged: nanotap (seemed like a fitting name for an ultralight/full-metal project). I would like to design more all-metal/ultralight tools in the future.

As for the "I sell about 1 per month," claim, the units sold out within five days of the project being posted!

This month lighting brand Flos launched the Flos Design Space in Chicago, a shop located within the Lightology showroom.

On hand for in-person viewing are the company's classics, alongside contemporary designs:

Bilboquet by Philippe Malouin

IC Lights by Michael Anastassiades

Snoopy table lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni

Arrangements by Michael Anastassiades

"Flos Design Spaces are minimalistic in approach yet have a theatrical flair, drawing customers into the brand's philosophy and enduring designs. A palette of rough concrete, milled wood, black calamine iron, and dark grey plaster allows for layered lighting e?ects and flexible modular display solutions o?er infinite configurations that mirror true living environments so shoppers can visualize what a piece might look like in their own homes."Taccia table lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Noctambule by Konstantin GrcicCéramique by Ronan Bouroullec

SuperWire Table lamp by Simone Farresin and Andrea Trimarchi of FormaFantasma

Skynest by Marcel Wanders

The space is located at 215 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60654. It's open 9am – 5:30pm on weekdays, and 10am – 5pm on Saturdays.

Once known primarily for design piracy, Chinese companies are finally moving towards true innovation and original experimentation. Companies that made smartphones ten years ago are now making electric cars. Anker, which once made phone chargers and power banks, now has an A/V spin-off called Nebula; their latest is this crazy Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro, a portable outdoor theater system.

In its travel configuration, it looks like a rolling piece of luggage or maybe a karaoke machine.

Once on-site, these little rectangular thingies…

…can be deployed from the unit. They're actually a quartet of wireless speakers that provide 360° sound.

The 16.7' inflatable screen comes with a battery-powered air pump. The company says it takes about five minutes to inflate or deflate the screen. You do have to anchor the thing down, of course; it comes with ropes, stakes, and ballast bags that you can fill with water.

The projector can be placed at up to a 25° angle from the screen; built-in sensors detect the actual boundaries of the screen and automatically compensate, the company says, to provide a focused and proportional image.

And it actually can be used as a karaoke machine; two wireless microphones are included, while a built-in subwoofer provides the bass.

Obviously the image quality in the renderings is depicted as perfect. Here's video of an actual unit in operation, which looks pretty impressive:

Demand is high, to say the least; the company's racked up $4.4 million on Kickstarter and counting, with 43 days left to pledge at press time. With the 16.7' screen, the units are going for $3,700 and are slated to ship in December.

These handsome vessels, 3D printed on Bambu Lab machines, are by European company Succuc.

To my eye they're a wonderfully restrained application of the technology: Simple, visually arresting, doesn't wear their 3D-printedness on their sleeve. And they make you want to touch them.

At first blush, you think perhaps they're ceramic and were made by the world's most fastidious Japanese artisan. It's only when you get up really close that the production method reveals itself.

The vessels run in the $30 to $60 range, depending on size, and are available on Etsy.

We've seen ultrasonic cutters before, for craft applications. These are basically powered X-Acto knives that use ultrasonic vibrations to do the cutting for you.

Now the technology has been applied to kitchen knives. A startup called Seattle Ultrasonics has developed this C-200 Ultrasonic 8" Chef's Knife.

When you hit the button on the handle, the blade vibrates—imperceptibly and inaudibly—and cleanly slices through food. It can even be used as a bread knife.

And yes, the housing is waterproof.

The knife runs $400. It has a USB-C port for charging, you supply the cable. But if you'd like to spend more, for $500 you can get both the knife and this wireless charging tile.

I do all my own cooking, and I'd never buy one of these; learning to properly sharpen a kitchen knife isn't that difficult. That said, our gadget-crazed culture will probably go nuts for this thing, and I expect it to sell like hotcakes.

The company is taking pre-orders now and expects to ship in January. Here's the pitch:

As a dog owner, I'm lucky I live in the country. Any excess energy my dogs have is burned off running around outside. Dogs in urban or suburban areas aren't so lucky, and a $4 billion dog toy market has emerged to create diversions for cooped-up pooches.

This Frank the Dogtopus, designed by dog owner Ian Stack, is a smart design for a dog toy. Being made out of recycled fire hoses, it's virtually indestructible. Each of its tentacles have three "treat pockets" made out of natural rubber.

You load the thing up with treats, then tie the tentacles into knots.

This creates a compelling "puzzle" for dogs who can smell the treats, but can only get at them by gnawing and tugging to undo the arms. Stack reckons this can tie a dog up for over half an hour.

Some dog owners might be uncomfortable with this fact, but the gnawing and tugging motions required to undo the thing simulate what it's like to rip a small animal apart. Dogs, being descended from wolves, find these activities compelling. And it's a lot more acceptable, in a modern household, for your dog to run around with an opened Dogtopus rather than say, an eviscerated groundhog. (I've seen it firsthand; it's pretty gross.)

Frank the Dogtopus is doing gangbusters on Kickstarter, where Stack was seeking a mere $3,000. At press time it was up to nearly $125K, with 29 days left to pledge. Prices start at $50, and the units are slated to ship in December.

Here's what we looked at this week:

The Roborock H60 Hub Series is a stick vacuum that automatically empties itself.

This Brazilian invention straightens scrap rebar for reuse.

Industrial designer wins 2025 Ig Nobel Prize for "Smelly Shoes — An Opportunity for Shoe Rack Re-Design."

Meta unveils new display glasses, with wrist-based gesture control.

Starmork finds Kickstarter success—by knocking off Wyrmwood's gaming table designs.

A plate designed specifically for Ikea meatballs, by architect/designer Gustaf Westman.

You can now buy a replica McLaren F1 seat for your racing sim. There's a reason why Peloton tanked and racing sims soared.

The X12 is an innovative all-terrain stair-climbing wheelchair from China.

At Auburn University, Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering students collaborated on the design of a surgical device.

Brian Brocken is building a full-size flying DeLorean.

The V&A's super cool, massive East Storehouse makes archival storage publicly accessible.

Specialty tool: The Trend Corner Chisel quickly squares hinge mortises.

Innovative toy design: The ZipString Aracna is is a Spider-Man-inspired wrist-mounted "web shooter."

GoPro's new Max 2, with 8K 360 video, adds a few physical UX improvements as well.

How the new, radical RLS bike helmet design greatly reduces rotational forces.

This elegant Kinetic Driver, designed by Giacomo Di Muro, features a kinetic flywheel that does the driving for you.

Experimental interactive lighting: Relvãokellermann's Tangent lamp illuminates when you attach the magnetic ball to the steel structure.
Industrial design case study: Hatch Duo designs a performance-boosting device for athletes and firefighters.

Palm cooling is a technology developed by researchers at Stanford University. The idea is that due to the unique vascular structures in the palm, artificially cooling the palm lowers the body's core temperature during bouts of intense physical activity. The technology has been shown to speed recovery, increase strength gains, extend time-to-exhaustion and improve physical output. It's something like non-pharmacological steroids.

A company called Apex Cool Labs wanted to turn the technology into a product that athletes and firefighters could use. To realize the project, they contacted industrial design and engineering firm Hatch Duo.

The Narwhals: Cools Palms, Accelerate RecoveryHatch Duo partnered with Apex Cool Labs to create the Next Generation Narwhals, designed for athletes who demand superior performance during training and competition. Heat causes fatigue. Aided with physics, The Narwhals create a Cool-not-Cold™ surface for palm cooling, regulating the heat in your body, allowing for faster recovery and mitigating heat stress. This updated device is lighter, more durable, and features easily swappable Cool-not-Cold™ packs for extended use.

?Key Audiences:Fire ServiceEnhance incident rehab by minimizing heat stress to accelerate recovery and extend work capacity.AthleticsBoost heart rate recovery and mitigate heat stress during games and training to maintain stamina longer.Strength & ConditioningGet stronger faster by accelerating interset recovery to increase high-quality training volume.

Empowering the UserWe aimed to reflect Apex Cool Lab's core brand values in the design of their next-generation Narwhals by focusing on the contexts where the device would be most used. From firetrucks to sports fields to weight rooms, we designed the Narwhals to feel at home in these demanding environments. The rugged form and durable construction were inspired by the intense nature of these tasks. The surface detailing reflects this as well, where textured finishes not only enhance the visual robustness but also provide a secure grip and protection against drops and impact—ensuring the product is as practical as it is reliable.

?Handle ErgonomicsWe tested many prototypes to make sure the handle was comfortable for all hand sizes. We also tested different cap shapes to ensure they provided a secure grip and thumb rest for easy usability. Throughout the process, we kept the proportions balanced so the product looks and feels premium. The final design is tough, reliable, and fits perfectly in the hands of people who tackle some of the hardest jobs out there.

Integrating Physics and DesignTo ensure The Narwhals effectively reduce heat stress without causing vasoconstriction, we designed around Apex Cool Labs' proven system of copper heat pipes and Cool-Not-Cold™ packs to maintain an optimal therapeutic temperature range of 50-60°F. The heat pipes use a phase-change mechanism to rapidly transfer heat away from the palms, while the Cool-Not-Cold™ packs stabilize the temperature by absorbing heat through a specialized material. This precise integration ensures consistent cooling, enabling athletes to lower core body temperature, enhance performance, and recover faster in even the most demanding conditions.

The DesignStaying true to the original Narwhal, we refined the design to convey professionalism and quality, seamlessly integrating with an athlete's performance gear. Through emphasizing form, we developed a design that is bottom heavy and stable, ensuring the Cool-Not-Cold™ handles are always ready and within reach. Every aspect of the design—from its rugged contours to the carefully chosen materials—was crafted to embody the confidence, resilience, and determination of its users. By blending aesthetics with practicality, the Narwhals deliver a reliable, performance-driven solution that athletes can trust in any environment.

You can see more of Hatch Duo's work here.

Relvãokellermann is a Munich-based design studio, run by industrial designers Ana Relvão and Gerhardt Kellermann. (They're the ones who did those handsome, stackable cork storage boxes.) In addition to doing client work, they have an in-house skunkworks called RK Lab. "RK Lab is a space within our practice where we explore new ways of experiencing objects," they write. "It serves as an independent playground, enabling us to question established typologies and open pathways to new forms of perception and use."

Out of that playground came this experimental Tangent lamp:

A magnetic sphere. A block of oxidized steel. A light filament.

Now picture this: the moment when the magnetic sphere touches the block of oxidized steel. A single point of contact. In that instant, the circuit wakes up, current flows, and the filament lights up.

It all happens through the tangent. Yet, every time the hand decides differently, and both the light mood and the lamp transform accordingly to the hand's intentions.

Tangent is a product exploration produced and developed within RK Lab, our in-house platform for experimentation. Conceived as an exercise in questioning conventions, the object investigates the relationship between experience, technology and the purpose of light itself. By focusing on essential elements, the lamp highlights how a simple tangent connection can create both functionality and a new way of experiencing an everyday object.

This elegant Kinetic Driver was designed by Giacomo Di Muro, the YouTube maker and de facto product designer.

It's produced by Di Muro's Placed Atoms brand, and they make no bones about the fact that no one needs this tool; the intent was to design something so beautiful and pleasurable to use that it becomes an object of desire.

The key feature of the tool is the kinetic flywheel, shown here in brass:

This has been carefully weighted and rides on a ceramic bearing; giving it a mere spin creates enough momentum that the tool does the driving, or unscrewing, for you.

Upon the tool's release several years ago, the flywheel was the brass one shown above; in the current version, the flywheel is chromed steel. It's a pity because the brass really provides visual pop, but I assume shifting supply conditions led to the material change.

The Kinetic Driver runs $120 and comes with the case, as well as 24 bits.