Developed by engineers at Hiroshima University in Japan, this mobile folding ‘scissor bridge’ platform can carry people, cars and supplies across gaps in emergencies, like earthquakes, for instances, for which its country of origin is all too well known.

Designed for portability and inspired by origami, the steel structure can be deployed to help deal with landslides and floods that wipe out area bridges, or new voids that form when the ground shifts. The entire system fits on the back of a typical flatbed truck, able to make its way along conventional roads with typical size and span limitations. Its creators claim it is  “the world’s fastest, largest, strongest, and lightest expanding temporary bridge.”

Dr. Ichiro Ario and his team created the Mobile Bridge Version 4.0 as a prototype, but even this draft version is fully functional and able to unfold and refold in less than 5 minutes (though setting it up still takes a full half hour). While it could be a boon in emergency situations, the same system could be used to temporarily replace or work around bridges that are being repaired or rebuilt as well. As compact and efficient as the current design already is, no doubt additional iterations will also help improve it on all fronts.

The post Origami Crossing: Portable Flat-Pack Accordion Bridge first appeared on Gajitz.

If you ever wanted to experience the pure effortless joy of a dolphin cruising through the ocean, the X2 Sport Underwater Jet Pack system will remake you into a sea-worthy mammal.

Six miles per hour may not sound like much, but it is twice the world record speed of an unenhanced human swimmer. The devices strap to your pack and arms, propelling you gracefully and without additional human power through the water.

Add scuba gear or other breathing accessories and you can dive deep and fast. A handheld mechanism lets you grip to go forward and speed up, aiming your arms where you want to travel, while your back carries the majority of the mechanism.

Hopefully some future iteration of this device will add foot-worn additions to the equation, potentially further bolstering speed and giving you more dynamic and omnidirectional control to boot. For now, the beta-tested version is being developed at a steep price tag of $1,400, so you may want to rent before you aim to own.

The post Swim Like a Sea Mammal: Underwater Jet Pack Thrusters first appeared on Gajitz.

Elegant, simple and space-saving, these variously-shaped pop-up lights come in thin packaging then open up to reveal a fixture and shade that can sit in unoccupied corners of a room.

Simple typography and colors make the shapes pop out against their background and create a complete design package (complete with cord) that is lovingly executed at each stage -a pleasure to unbox, or unenvelope as it were.

A conventional curved lampshade look is offered as well as various tilted triangles and rectangles, each with its own associated color backdrop.

“The Pop-up lamp is constructed from a sheet of tinted cardboard.The sheet is cut and incised, in such a way to produce a square, triangular or circular module when folded at a 90° angle. Intended for the corner of a room, the lamp creates a luminous shape, interacting with the architecture. It cleverly takes advantage of a space often unexploited in design. The Pop-up lamp is delivered in an envelope with the electric cord.”

The post Pop-Up Wall Lamps: Flat-Pack Lights Fit Inside Corners first appeared on Gajitz.