Check out this strange and unusual radio concept called MintRadio by Jongchul Kim (obviously, a Korean designer). From the physical views, you will find a white porcelain case with one white button, two holes, 1 LED display, and 4 pendulums hanging in the mid air. The while button is supposed to be the on/off button, the two holes are hosting stereo horn speakers, while the LED display will let you know the frequencies.

The question is, how to switch channel to channel if there is no tuner designed for this purpose? Unlike the Human antenna Carpet Radio where you can step on it to tune the frequency, this MintRadio doesn’t have such a feature. According to JongChul Kim the designer, the pendulums are the channel tuner where you must play with them to tune your channel. Weird, but it’s really an intriguing design that could be sold to the artist who loves unusual stuffs.

[MintPass] via [Source]

MintRadio: The Unusual FM Radio Concept by Jongchul Kim
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Helio DAB Radio concept is a magnificent eco-friendly concept for tuning radio without using electricity from the government. The reason is simple, the device has been equipped with Solar cell technology that will self-powered whenever a bright rays detected. More wonderful fact is, Helio DAB Radio Concept is using Gratzel Solar Cell technology, which proved to be working better inside your home instead of putting the Gratzel Solar cell outside at the roof or somewhere sun-catchy.

Helio DAB Radio concept is a beautiful concept because the device has been colorize by the colorful striped semi-transparent Gratzel solar cells. The solar cells are arranged in a manner that will easily capture most of the light spectrum that ever come around the sensor.

One more interesting feature on this Helio DAB radio concept is the Touch sensitive LED panel where you can navigate through the channel by a push of hand. The LED will light up as you hover your fingers and goes off when no motion detected. This is truly a beautiful concept that I sincerely wish to own one when it has been transformed into a real product.

FYI: Gratzel Solar Cell Technology

There’s a revolution going on in solar energy, which is about to become part of our daily lives in unexpected ways – appearing with multiple forms, richly coloured and with multiple functions.

A new generation of solar cells has been born : thin, coloured, translucent and even flexible. The source of this revolution is EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), where Professor Michael Gratzel, inspired by plant photosynthesis, began to use molecules from colorants to transform the sun’s light into electricity.

His work drew heavy praise from the scientific community, resulting in a World Technology Award. While many other technological developments have followed, designers need to take advantage of the extraordinary potential of these “dye-sensitized” solar cells.

It will ultimately be up to them to fully explore the possibilities of this form of solar energy – to render us conscious of the significance of this major change.

[via Tuvie]

Helio DAB Radio concept with Gratzel Solar Cell Technology
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