Tastable cookbook



Want to taste a dish before you make it? Then the TEASER digital cookbook concept is for you.



Designed by Scott Shim of Ohio State University and Xi Calvin Chen of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, it sports a touchscreen and an edible print system with 18 "flavour" cartridges to recreate the taste of the dishes in the book.



There's even the option to tweak the taste of a dish if you don't like the printed sample, letting you tweak the recipe before you begin cooking.



(Image: Scott Shim, Ohio State University and Xi Calvin Chen of Purdue University)

Instant Braille



Non-Braille books are made accessible to the blind with the Haptic Reader, designed by researchers at Handong Global University and Keimyung University, both in South Korea.



When placed on a page, the reader scans typed letters and converts them to their Braille equivalent on the device's upper surface. The text can also be converted to speech.



(Image: David Lee and Yuna Kim, Handong Global University, South Korea, and Hansub Lee, Keimyung University, South Korea) Advertisement

Trashy trainers



The latest Nike basketball shoe, the Trash Talk, is made from the leftover leather, foam and rubber that's normally thrown away after making trainers.



The shoe was awarded "best in show" for 2009.



(Image: Kasey Jarvis, Andreas Harlow, Fred Dojan and Dan Johnson of Nike Inc.)

Contact shades



Sunglasses and contact sports don't make happy bedfellows. Jin-young Yoon, Jun-kyo Lee and Young-ho Lee of the Korea Design Membership, South Korea, have an answer – contact lenses that act as sunglasses.



The lenses are available in four different shades for different weather conditions and activities.



(Image: Jin-young Yoon, Jun-kyo Lee and Young-ho Lee of Korea Design Membership, South Korea)

Multiview map



People are beginning to throw away unwieldy city maps in favour of the GPS systems and maps built into some smart phones. But the information-rich Panamap from Urban Mapping, a San Francisco-based firm, could reverse the trend.



It uses new print technology to display three complementary maps on one sheet. Tilt the map and you'll see either a street map, the public transport routes, or the town's main districts.



(Image: Ian White of Urban Mapping, Inc and Christopher Cannon of Isotope 221)

Folding plug



The British three-pin plug is a lot more bulky than two-pin equivalents. So Min-kyu Choi at the Royal College of Art in London, UK, has designed a folding version that saves space.



The folded plug is just 10 millimetres thick for maximum portability.



(Image: Min-Kyu Choi, Royal College of Art)

Personal cycle lane



Cycle lanes are a good way of keeping bikes away from cars and minimising accidents, but they aren't available on every road.



Evan Gant at the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and Alex Tee of Altitude Inc in Somerville, Massachusetts, have designed a portable cycle "Light Lane" that straps to the back of a bike.



A laser projects an image of a cycle lane onto the road directly behind the cyclist to remind approaching cars to leave room.



(Image: Evan Gant, IDSA and Alex Tee, Altitude Inc)

Grating bucket



Traditional graters must be used with a plate or board to stop the grated food from spreading and making a mess.



Henrik Holbæk and Claus Jensen of Tools Design in Denmark simply added a solid bottom to a grater to create a tool that holds the food without spillage.



(Image: Henrik Holbæk and Claus Jensen, Tools Design)