Todays & Tomorrows Technology

Not something our US readers will necessarily find frustrating (unless you regularly travel) but our UK contingent will probably join with me in fervently hoping this folding plug concept makes it to production. The handiwork of Min Kyo Choi, the plug takes the usual bulky three-pin design and squeezes it into a folded slice less than a centimeter thick.

Despite that, there are still the usual safety features. Two wing sections fold out as a shield (revealing a useful pull-hole) and the fuse slots in via a neat holder. Plugging in is as simple as flipping the two shorter pins around and opening up the shield.

Even better, there’s a fantastic second concept for using up to three of the folding plugs with a single outlet, keeping them folded and thus squeezing in three connections into the space of roughly one traditional plug-adapter. There’s also a USB charger concept that can be used with it. We hope Min Kyo Choi has all this patented, because we reckon there’ll be peripheral and accessory companies sniffing around this concept very soon.

Now this is pretty cool. The Scamander was built to go over anything and it truly lives up to its build promise. Peter Wheeler decided to make a car that could go anywhere and before he died, he saw his dream fulfilled.

It sports 35-inch tires, paddles on the rear wheels, individual braking systems, and a 2.0 litre Ford Zetec engine. He called it an “RRV” or a “rapid response vehicle” because it could change its function immediately for whatever you needed.

The body is constructed from foam plastic pods that are situated within the aluminum frame, making it aerodynamic and lightweight–perfect for those treks through the lake. It can hold four people and is really just about one of the coolest cars ever. Good on you Mr. Wheeler!

Concept cars are a dime a dozen around these parts -- but concept lawnmowers? A little more rare, and the latest from Husqvarna looks to be about as closely related to that rusty John Deere in your shed as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes McLaren F1 car is to your boss's E-Class. It has paddles on the wheel for adjusting three independent mowing blades, a "sophisticated" LCD display that displays speed and obstacle proximity, and a rechargeable lithium-phosphate battery with enough staying power to trim your yard for two hours straight, all shown in a soothing and thoroughly rendered promo video after the break. The one thing it can't do, apparently, is tame the wild locks of Swedish male models.