We live in an ergonomically-challenged world. It really is amazing how much our appliances and gadgets rely on archaic designs that are almost senselessly stress-inducing
So we got to thinking—what are some simple ways we could improve the appliances around us to be more people-friendly? So I called up the best product design expert I know: human factors design consultant Eric Porges, who also happens to be my brother.
We brainstormed ways to improve our products, and came up with these original concept designs. Our mock sketches won’t win any awards, but hopefully they’ll make your life a little better once they hit shelves.
A Freezer-Friendly Blender:
You know those freezer mugs that come lined with a gel that keeps your drink cool? Why not apply that to a blender—home to many a frozen beverage. Just throw this thing in the freezer and your concoction will stay cool for hours when you take it out.
A Less-Stressful Toaster:
If all you’ve got on deck is a cheese sandwich, then your $7 Target toaster is fine. But if you’re toasting for a party, switching slices from the slots every few minutes is tiresome.
With this toaster, simply load a full loaf of pre-sliced bread onto the entry tray. One at a time, the slices enter the toaster, and are popped out on the other tray when done. No needless switching, and a perfect slice every time.
An Easy-to-Clean Microwave:
Hard angles are hard to clean up. Until hot dog companies learn to make a frankfurter that doesn’t explode, this will have to do. The idea is simple: the inside of the microwave is rounded, and contains no hard angles, meaning simple wipes will clean up any mess, effortlessly.
A Smarter Headphone:
This feature could be integrated into either a digital audio player or headphones. For it, we took a cue from luxury cars that automatically adjust the stereo volume when the road gets noisy—particularly at high speeds and bumpy terrains.
A built-in microphone picks up the level of ambient noise. When it goes up, so too does the volume of your music, without forcing you to thumb through your pockets for the scrollwheel.
Seth Porges writes on future technology and its role in personal electronics for his column, The Futurist. It appears every Thursday and an archive of past columns is available here.
http://marketplace.hgtv.com/View_Listing.asp?Lid=529-HGTV03FDA0
That is the freezable blender pitcher.
If you need to toast large amounts of bread for a party, I’d suggest using your oven get your toasting game on. It is easy to warm and crisp bread in the oven. Plus it is more efficient.
Easy clean microwave ovens would be nice, but it’d be hard to fit a lot of larger items into the microwave, or if you made it big enough to have space for serving plates and the like, it’d be hard to find space enough in your kitchen for it.
I like the idea of self adjusting headphones, but it’d be hard to market it to everyone. I like listening to music much more quietly through my headphones that most (I can’t stand my cellphone volume being greater than minimum), but I know my roommate loves to rock out with his music cranked up all the way. But I like the idea. Maybe if you could add on a clip on device that fed back into the music player and you can set settings on volume control and stuff.