The Qoobo Interactive Cushion with a Tail That Could Replace Your Pet

Yukai engineering has successfully met its Kickstarter goal for the design of Qoobo, a robotic cushion with a tail meant to present a feeling of comfort to customers. When caressed, the plushy cushion waves gently. When rubbed, it swings playfully. The cushion also wags to say hello to its owners.

The interactive pillow was made to provide comforting communication that warms your heart how animals do. The robotic cushion makes users feel like they are interacting with live animals and provides them with a sense of relaxation, or ‘tail treatment.’ Through the Kickstarter campaign, Yukai engineering applied its experience and expertise in robotic engineering to help all people — such as people who have pet allergies or flat dwellers who can’t own pets. The engineers hope to develop the technology further, by continuing their study on the animal’s tail movements to offer even more realistic adventures.

‘We picked different materials for a variety of parts of the robot to boost the moves and also the tail’s look. We also made it durable to allow to be used in a variety of environments’, explains the design team. With over 400 backers, Qoobo attained its Kickstarter goal of more than 5 million yen or roughly 44,000 US dollars. A variety of styles and colors can be selected, which makes the pillow customizable for future ‘Qoobo’ owners. The very first batch of cushions is scheduled to be delivered by August 2018.

These Cosy Clay Sculptures Will Make You Feel Warm

This beautiful collection of clay sculptures is your handiwork of Israeli-based illustrator, personality and game programmer, Lena Guberman.

Presently working as an artist to get a games company, Lena’s artistic gifts cross lots of mediums — from book illustration to background and character design for movies.

Most recently, the artist has experimented with clay — a moderate now enjoying a fierce resurgence in the art world — crafting delicate sculptures of little girls living in a fanciful world.

A number of the cute characters enjoy creating snow angels and hanging out with gingerbread teddy bears, and others are sleeping. Discover more at lenag.carbonmade.com.

Laser-Cut Puzzles Created Based on Geological Forms

When you are an expert at putting together jigsaw puzzles, occasionally an everyday scenery picture just does not cut it — you need a more significant obstacle. But not worry, the design company Nervous System is here to help by giving you a challenge you’ll be focusing on solving for hours on end. They recently introduced ‘Geode,’ a computer-generated jigsaw puzzle created depending on the creation of agates, a colorful banded stone.

Every one of those jigsaw puzzles is a one-of-a-kind creation that’s made with the help of a computer application, which starts off by producing the borders of the puzzle and then building it up by going inwards. The founders of the brilliant piece highlighted its singularity by explaining that “each band of expansion shows slight changes in growth rate, color, and personality leading to an exceptional pattern.”

The parts of the puzzle are made from plywood that is laser cut at a dense, maze-like pattern, the most challenging cut design out there. One could say that the degree of the challenge this is quantified by a number of pieces and if you choose whether it’s going to be 180 and 360, you can get your hands on those unique jigsaw puzzles in their online store.

h/t Colossal / My Modern Met

Comical and Quirky Illustrations by Klaus Kremmerz

For German illustrator Klaus Kremmerz, there’s just one instrument that he loves to utilize; one that delivers artwork that looks like nothing else currently out there. And that’s the humble felt-tip pen.

This not only adds superb pleasing feel to his examples, but it also whips up an enormous sense of nostalgia.

Having a style that frequently follows straightforward lines and the odd cheeky story thrown in for good measure, his most recent work comprises a stunning illustration for Village Voice. Speaking of his choice of weapon to WeTransfer’s This Works, he said: “Felt-tips don’t let you become over-elaborate. You will need to find a fast solution, to prevent color spreading from control on the paper.

“it is a fresh media rich with potential. Each time that I start a new work, it feels like driving with no security belt. I really don’t know whether the picture is finished until is completed.”

To discover more of his work, visit his website or follow him on Instagram.

Emma Hartvig’s Photo Series Show The Beauty of Synchronised Swimmers

The Swimmers was made by Swedish photographer Emma Hartvig under a hot Californian sun in Los Angeles, after a request to collaborate with professional synchronized swimmers The Aqualillies.

“I chose to bring out a certain awkwardness, bizarreness, strength and collaborative perspective on the otherwise entertaining and beautiful performances,” says Emma. “Like a showground for your body, the swimming pool is a ready-made stage for these swimmers.

“And that is what I adore about synchronized swimmers, the artwork, and the performance but the extreme physical effort it requires. Their bodies have been engrossed and strengthened — heavier and lighter at the same moment. Weightless, but stronger.”

Surprisingly, it was the first time Emma had experimented with underwater photography: “It was quite challenging to try to remain still underwater and concentrate and do it correctly. Luckily, I am a woman born from the sea, so I am very good at holding my breath underwater, so it went easily.”

According to Paris, Emma’s work is always smartly staged and investigated narratives inspired by cinema with a dash of tongue-in-cheek. Discover more at emmahartvig.com.

These Enchanting Illustrations by Ukrainian illustrator Reveal Intriguing Tales

Long before Daria Skrybchenko had even realized that her real passion was illustration, she had obtained an MA in International Relations, a BA in Fine Arts and worked as a graphic designer and also a game artist for award-winning Leo Burnett Ukraine and Havas WorldWide Kiev.

Now, Daria is an independent editorial illustrator, creating the conceptual and narrative vision for numerous magazines and blogs, such as BBC Focus Magazine, The Bulletin Magazine, Scientific American and The MIT Media Lab. She’s also illustrated poems for recent issues of the literary magazine, Popshot. One such poem, entitled Museum of Spring, reads: “It has been a very long winter, so we built a museum, set up at a railway station, to celebrate spring, and its vital heritage.”

Represented in the USA by Fillin Global Agency and based in Kyiv, Ukraine, you can discover more of her most recent job at www.dskrybchenko.com.

These Optical Illusion Rugs Make It Look Like You’re Might Fall Into A Giant Hole

Watch out–if you are not careful, you might drop through this giant hole in the ground! Well, not very, however, the optical illusion rugs of designer Scott Jarvie will force you to think so. Calling the project Void Rug, the unique decoration is relatively simple in design–comprising just two colors–yet quite visually powerful. They are persuasive enough to make you think there’s a deep crater in the middle of your home.

Both floor coverings are best appreciated when you’ve got some distance from these; it makes the sliver of grey look like it’s really the border of a deep black hole. If you are standing on top of the carpet, it loses the fantastical effect. However, the abstract shapes still add some visual excitement to your area.

The modern rugs come in two sizes– there is around version that is designed for large spaces as well as a long rectangle that’s designated as a runner for tight areas like hallways.

Scott Jarvie has designed optical illusion rugs that, from the perfect angle, look like a giant crater has opened up in your property.

Scott Jarvie: Website | Instagram
h/t: Contemporist