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It is now illegal to drink and drone in Japan

15 Jun

Japan’s parliament passed a law this week outlawing the operation of a drone while under the influence of alcohol. If authorities catch anyone flying an unmanned aerial vehicle while intoxicated, offenders will face up to a year in prison and a fine of 300,000 yen (roughly $ 2,763.00). ‘We believe operating drones after consuming alcohol is as serious as (drink) driving,’ a Japanese transport ministry official told the AFP news agency.

This latest legislation was passed to also address the growing popularity of drones coupled with the reckless and illegal activity taking place in the country’s more tourist-friendly areas. Dangerous stunts, which have become more common, including quickly plunging a drone towards crowds, can result in a fine of up to 500,000 yen ($ 4,607).

Areas where drones are now banned include a distance within 985 feet of Japan’s armed forces, U.S. military personnel, and ‘defense-related facilities’ without prior permission from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The new restrictions follow an earlier ban on approaching nuclear power plants, Japan’s parliament buildings, and the prime minister’s office. Stadiums and other sites hosting the forthcoming 2020 Olympic festivities are also off-limits.

The new law covers drones weighing more than 200g (close to half a pound). Operating a drone in Japan does not require a license. However, remote pilots much abide by a series of regulations including:

Staying below 150 meters (492 feet)
Avoiding airports
Avoiding crowded areas
Only flying during daylight
Keeping the drone in sight at all times

Anyone who is caught violating any of the established regulations could face a fine of up to 500,000 yen (or $ 4,607).

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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These drink coasters look like a camera lens when stacked

02 Sep

Looking for a stylish way to keep condensation from forming unsightly rings on your desk? Are you a huge photography nerd? Fotodiox has a solution that will keep both parts of your psyche nice and happy: cup coasters that, when you stack them together, appear to form a single camera lens.

Fotodiox calls the quirky product the CraftMaster LenzCoaster, and offers them in three different varieties.

A careful look at each LenzCoaster ‘lens’ reveals that it is split into five sections, each section a different drink coaster with silicone padding. Magnets embedded in each coaster keep the pieces together when stacked.

The lens coasters are offered in white and black, the latter of which comes in a variety with black and red ‘caps.’ Fotodiox is offering all three versions now for $ 25.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Water You Can Eat: Edible Drink Bubbles Aim to Eliminate Plastic Bottle Waste

09 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

So far so good: the creators of these edible water balls have begun deploying them at large-scale festivals, the kinds of places where hundreds of disposable plastic bottles are used and trashed. But while this type of innovation bodes well for the future of biodegradable design, there are still some flaws to be sorted out before it can begin to seriously tackle the big problem: 35 billion plastic water bottles tossed in the garbage every year.

Ooho!’s solution is pretty simple and ingenious: drop frozen balls of water (or other beverages) into a (thankfully) tasteless solution that forms a gelatinous layer around the outside. Once the ice melts, drinkers can pick up and pop a gulp, or if that seems too strange: puncture the membrane (which then biodegrades in weeks) and drink from it. Made of seaweed, the “container” layer can also be colored and flavored.

Between crowdfunders and other backers, they have a lot of funding behind them, and “the team at Skipping Rocks Lab—made up of chemists, engineers, designers and business advisors–are continuing to pioneer the use of seaweed in other packaging uses, with a mission to become the leading global producer of seaweed-based packaging.”

The whole process uses a lot less energy than normal bottles require, but does it serve to replace them? In pop-up settings, like festivals and sporting events, it could — especially if the machinery used to make them can be made mobile. But for ordinary everyday use the problem is trickier — the membranes are delicate and would pop if tossed into bags or pockets.

Still, the science is worth pursuing: the same method could be expanded to make more robust and larger frameworks (better analogs for ordinary bottles). And the technology could be improved to, made to create and dispense water balls on a more mobile and automatic basis in public-event settings (e.g. ball-vending machines). For now, it isn’t the invention to end plastic bottles some might hope, but it is a step in the right direction and — at least in limited contexts — makes for a sustainable drinking alternative.

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

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Posted in Creativity

McBike: Meal Tote Helps Cyclists Carry Burger, Fries & Drink

16 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Products & Packaging. ]

mcbike meal tote

Solving a series of long-standing issues associated with taking out the typical fast food trifecta, this clever carrying case is a useful alternative to Happy Meal boxes, bags and cupholders that work better for cars than people traveling on foot or by bike.

The solution is more subtle than it might first appear – yes, it solves the timeless question of how to hold a drink as well as a meal, but it also separates out the warm foods (french fries and hamburger above) from the cool drink (soda or shake suspended below), then unfolds into a ready-to-eat spread. Thin cardboard makes the entire container easy to collapse as well.

im lovin it

Customers can hold the package in their hand or slip it over the handlebars and continue cycling unencumbered. Targeted initially toward markets in two bicycle-friendly cities (Copenhagen, Denmark and Medellin, Colombia), the company is also looking to give these a go in Amsterdam, Holland and Tokyo, Japan.

mcbike drive through

mcbike system

For now, it is a trial redesign that is as much about marketing toward young urban bikers, but if the packaging is sound there seems to be no obvious reason for McDonalds not to ultimately deploy these around the world (and for other fast food chains to follow suit).