Tag Archives: shopping cart

[VIDEO] Kinect Grocery Cart: Shopping Made Easy

IP-shoppingcart

Whether you know this or not, I am a huge fan of technology. Some people may fear that technology makes us lazy, less socially available, as well as a variety of other issues. While I do agree that some technology has made it easier for us to be lazy and or avoid human interaction, I think it’s up to us to not just accept that and find ways to interact socially as well as not submit to laziness.

Another reason I like the technological advances that are being made is because it broadens our horizons and advances us as a race. If technology is the basis for most everything, then most everybody is going to have to have at least some understanding of how these devices and programs work. Someone who may not have cared before, may have to now and will have to use parts of the brain they didn’t care to use prior. Also, as the population continues to grow, making simple tasks more convenient is going to be helpful when in crowded places that would normally have lines. When you’re in a small town, lines are something that move quickly, but in a place like Los Angeles, New York, and Japan… lines are horrendous. For this reason, I think this way of shopping is genius:

(And just because things don’t work 100% of the time doesn’t mean they’ve failed, it means that they need improvements… as do most things)

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Mobile Homeless Shelter

This is by far one of the greatest alternatives to the shopping cart I have ever seen. There are more and more homeless people everyday. Obviously this wouldn’t be ideal for those who have no motivation and will continue to get hopped up on drugs, but for those hard working individuals that are down on their luck, this is a great solution to life without a home.

 


full view of the mobile homeless shelter

“design enthusiast, paul elkins, develops mobile units, and other small scale vehicles.
he previously designed the burning man bicycle camper and his latest development
is a mobile homeless shelter which he designed as part of a competition asking individuals
to meet the demands of the rapidly growing homeless society – a kind of substitute for the
grocery cart situation. elkins wanted his design construction to be a simple, light weight,
water tight insulated box on wheels, built with an area for displaying and selling handmade wares.”


construction of the mobile homeless shelter

“the shelter weighs 225 pounds when empty.
the roof acts as a rain catcher. when it starts raining, a valve is turned to stop the flow
of water to the collection tank to allow debris to be flushed from the roof. after a minute
of this cleaning process, the valve can be turned back on and collect free water.
when the tank is full, it has an overflow feature which allows excess water to drain to the ground.”


the cart being built


still under construction – interior view

the shelter includes a sleeping / resting area, a kitchen and makeshift washroom.


kitchen area


kitchen area


spigot installed over the sink


overview of the kitchen and sitting area


simple storage solutions


a louver adjustment will be installed at the rear of the vehicle by the two vents in case of strong winds


a cooler is built into the kitchen counter, made from a two gallon water dispenser


this area is meant to act as a night stand, with a small storage compartment below


toilet seat storage and bucket. the mid section of the floor is movable which allows for ample room for use of the bucket.


interior view – kitchen transformed into a sitting area


demonstrating how to push the cart


preliminary computer sketch


preliminary computer sketch

Source: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/9562/mobile-homeless-shelter.html

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