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This simple, elegant Hearth Lamp looks like a Midcentury Modern design that's turned up in some Danish thrift shop. But in fact it's a new object, by British homeware brand Made in Search.

The shade is set back from the Walnut base just enough to provide access to the perfectly chosen switch.

A stainless steel base plate conceals the lamp's wiring.

You supply the bulb; it comes with an E27 socket and can handle up to 60W.

These run £345 (USD $465).

Can You Guess How This Hollow Clock with Floating Hands Works?

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This Hollow Clock was designed by Shinsaku Hiura, an engineering professor at the University of Hyogo. It was then 3D printed and assembled by content creator MechDesign98.

As the clock's name suggests, there is no pane of transparent material filling the circle. How, then, does the hour hand maintain its position as the minute hand rotates? Any guesses?

The answer:

Kate Schroder's Illuminated LED "Chandeliearrings"

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These chandeliearrings are by Kate Schroeder, a Missouri-based ceramic artist and jewelrymaker. They contain LEDs powered by LR41 button batteries, which provide about 30 hours of life (though the brightness dims over time).

Though Schroeder's background is in ceramic arts, these pieces are instead made of polymer clay, which hardens when heated. They range in weight from roughly 8g to 16g (0.28 oz to 0.56 oz) apiece, and run from $20 to $100 a pair. They also come in clip-on varieties, for those who don't have pierced ears.

She produces these herself, in batches that frequently sell out. She's currently taking pre-orders for the next batch, which is due to ship on November 15th.

Redneck & Designey Ways to Stop Vandals from Smashing Your Mailbox

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I live in rural America, and can say that the 20th-century sport of "mailbox baseball" is still alive and well. While these photos aren't mine, this is a common scene on my local roads:

This is a problem all around the country. Some creative homeowners have devised a solution, by sinking steel posts (rather than wood) into concrete footers. The mailboxes are then anchored to the posts and filled with a concrete surprise.

Wealthier homeowners can solve the baseball problem with expensive masonry.

And this Etsy seller creates designey unsmashable mailboxes.

Given that kids are supposed to be addicted to screens these days, perhaps it's surprising that this type of vandalism still exists. Well, you know what they say: People still crave tactile experiences.

A Table that Goes from Round to Square

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This transforming table is by Polish company Bauhausly. Its signature trick is that it goes from round to square:

Beneath you can see the concealed hinges that make it work.

It's possible the design isn't original; the company, a startup, does not identify a designer or person behind the company, and only says they manufacture in Vietnam.

A Magnetic-Footed Spider-Bot That Can Climb and Weld

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The Diden Spider is a robot that has magnetic feet and can weld. Developed by South Korea's Diden Robotics, the four-legged 'bot uses electric pulses to switch its magnetic feet on and off; once attached to a surface, they draw no power.

The robot was developed to tackle welding tasks in tricky places in a shipbuilding environment; it can stick to floors, walls and ceilings. It avoids the need to hoist a worker and their gear up into position. It can also navigate tricky obstacles en route to its welding task:

Additionally, the company says it can be used for inspection.

Diden is currently running trials with Spiders at three South Korean shipbuilders. Furthermore they've locked up a contract with a European shipbuilder, and expect to start mass production next year.

Hell in a Handbasket: Robotic Humanoid Torsos for Companionship

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Las-Vegas-based robotics company Realbotix is developing these Echo robots. These are companionship robots, imbued with AI software designed to carry conversations. To cut down on costs, the 'bots are just a head and torso, absent expensive joints and limbs.

Four models are in the works, named Aria, Mila, Dave and Amar. "Every Echo talks, listens, and reacts with a personality of its own," the company writes. Their silicone-skinned faces are said to be lifelike, their voices natural-sounding. Here's what one of the things looks and sounds like, supposedly—this appears to be AI video rather than actual footage:

The head-and-torso robots run $11,950. They'll also sell you a full-body one for $59,950, but it's not clear what they can do beyond move their arms.

Moreover, none of these 'bots, in their base configurations, can actually see you, recognize you and meet your eyes; for that you'd need to tack on the optional $24,950 vision system, which sticks cameras in their peepers.

And of course, there's a subscription involved:

The $20/month Base plan gets you just 10 hours of conversation.

The $40/month Plus plan gets you 40 hours of chatter, "more expressive voices," 100-plus languages or accents, and the ability to "edit" your 'bot's personality.

The $200/month Enterprise plan gets you 100 hours of talk, the "smartest" AI model, the ability to create your own characters and hook it up to your own AI models.

The company is taking $200 reservations now and says they'll ship next year.

Aegis Rider Fixes a Major UX Problem for HUDs for Motorcyclists

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Heads-up displays (HUDs) are available for both cars and motorcycles. However, there's a fundamental difference between those vehicle types, and that's led to a UX problem for the latter category. Cars have a natural fixed surface on which to project the HUD, which is the windshield.

With motorcycles, the HUD must instead be handled within the rider's helmet. Therein lies the problem. In a car, when you look around to check traffic, the HUD doesn't move. On a motorcycle, as you turn your head left and right at a stop sign, the HUD moves along with your head, staying firmly centered in your vision. Likewise when you tilt your head down to read your instruments. The persistent HUD can actually prevent you from seeing the very thing you're trying to spot.

Swiss augmented reality tech company Aegis Rider has introduced a solution.

Their Vision helmet contains a tracking camera that watches the motorcycle. This, coupled with a sensor fixed to the bike, can work out what the bike is doing relative to your head's position and angle. The helmet's software can thus keep the HUD data centered on the road:

"Speed and navigation and more sit on the road ahead of you, anchored to your motorcycle, not to your head," the company says. "Turn to check a mirror or look into a curve and the display steps out of your way."

It's a great example of really thinking the UX through.

The Vision helmet comes in seven sizes, from XS to triple XL, and runs $2,000.

A Modern Take on the Split-Rail Fence

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This is what's called a split-rail fence:

The design is a classic example of more-work-up-front, less-work-later. With a traditional nailed fence, like this…

…if one of the rails becomes damaged, you need to de-nail it to remove it. If a post requires replacement, you must de-nail all of the boards going into it.

In contrast, the split-rail design uses rails that simply slide into through-mortises in the posts. It's more work up front because you have to sharpen the rail ends and bore out the mortises. But when it comes time to replace components, it can be done quickly and without tools.

Out where I am, I see plenty of split-rail fences. But I've never seen someone put this twist on it, as Norwegian architecture firm Rever & Drage has at a visitor's center in Farstadsanden:

I can't imagine how much more steel I-beams cost than wooden posts, but yeah, they'll never need to be replaced.

The (Partially) Hide-Away Urban Desk

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This Urban Desk is by UrbanNature, a space-saving furniture brand started by German industrial designer Jörg Brachmann.

It's not a full hideaway desk, but tucks its lower worksurface away in order to become less obtrusive. The mechanism is low-tech and human-powered.

"The fixed superstructure remains in place when the desk is extended. This means the monitor, lamp, and work accessories don't need to be rearranged each time. Two integrated A4-sized drawers provide additional storage for documents and everyday office supplies."

The Urban Desk is made of Ash, and sells in Europe for €995 (USD $1,114).

An Alternate Take on Booklights

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Here's a peculiar device that, if the reviews are to be believed, a subset of book readers love: The AwesomePre, a portable book light designed by Seoul-based ID firm Bebop.

Rather than being a light that shines on your book from a distance, it instead resembles a screen and is placed atop the page. The device uses an LED technology developed by client MemsLux, which apparently uses "light wavelengths most comfortable to the eyes."

The obvious use case is if you're reading in bed and don't want to disturb a sleeping partner. I could also see this being useful on airplanes, where I find the reading light often produces an unpleasant, glaring hotspot that drops off around the edges.

The device features five brightness settings, and you can choose between three different light temperatures.

You'd have to turn it sideways to read larger books or magazines; the reading window measures 183mm × 107mm (7.2" × 4.2"). And I could see it being annoying when it doesn't reach the full width of a page, as seen below.

That aside, the panel is 4 mm (0.2") thick, and the device weighs 90 grams (3.2 oz).

The AwesomePre runs $69, not including shipping.

PureSelfMade's Build-Your-Own Wind Turbine Workshops

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Since the 1970s, self-taught engineer Hugh Piggott has been building wind turbines from scratch in his native Scotland. In the 2000s, he started holding workshops showing participants how to build their own. Jonathan Schreiber, an Austrian renewable-energy practitioner, took Piggott's course in 2012.

Piggott no longer teaches, but now Schreiber has picked up the mantle. He formed PureSelfMade, an independent-energy education project, and since 2013 has hosted workshops showing participants how to build Piggott's design.

At these workshops, you do not assemble a wind turbine kit. Instead you literally build the entire thing, including the generator, from scratch. You learn to carve the blades, wind copper wire to make the coils, use an angle grinder to cut the steel, et cetera:

PureSelfMade's upcoming wind turbine workshops are held in Germany and Austria, and conducted in German. They're also working on setting up English-language workshops in the UK.

The Unique Fairings on Bandit9's RED 800 Motorcycle

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You probably know of RED, Bono's organization that raises fund to fight preventable diseases, through their many collaborations with Apple and Jony Ive; there were special RED iPod Nanos, iPhones and even a Mac Pro.

Now RED's moved into the motorsports space, partnering with motorcycle designer Daryl Villanueva. Villanueva's firm, Bandit9, will be producing nine of these RED 800 Ducati-powered motorcycles:

As you can see, rather than painting the entire thing red, Villanueva's opted to carefully fade a hand-painted finish into the brushed aluminum of the fairing.

"Fewer parts," writes Villanueva, "demand more scrutiny."

The bikes will run $49,900, with $14,000 of that going towards RED's healthcare initiatives. The lead time is expected to be 8 to 12 months.

Automatic Drop Down Seals for Doors

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The automatic door bottom is a clever bit of engineering that prevents under-door drafts, without installing a skirt that drags across your floor. Also called an automatic drop seal, it consists of an aluminum extrusion mounted in a dado cut into the bottom of the door. A little brass plunger protrudes from one end on the hinge side.

As you close the door, the plunger is forced inside the assembly, where it triggers the spring-loaded seal to drop to the threshold, sealing the gap. Opening the door causes the seal to retract.

Automatic door bottoms are useful not only for sealing drafts, but also for soundproofing and light control (as in a darkroom).

They're made by companies like Trademark Soundproofing and Pemko. And for those that don't want to, or cannot, cut a mortise in the bottom of the door, they also make surface-mounted variants (that are a bit ugly).