Core77

Here's what we looked at this week: Gazelle's quick-assemble Hub Tents. Syitren's RM1 is a transparent CD player that doubles as display art. Unique form factor for a security robot: Rollo's monowheel 'bot. Bags designed to carry awkward objects: Sports ball bags. Insanely tight Japanese parking arrangements. "Design, Build, Ride:" The University of Iowa's bicycle-building class. Nich Fugal revives old-school hardware store rotating parts bins. LG and ALUFUS' strange transparent OLED display trolley.

Gazelle, a Wisconsin-based outdoor gear brand, makes these quick-assemble Hub Tents. They're so named because each facet of the tent features a hub, into which are (permanently) inserted fiberglass poles. These quickly go from folded to deployed, rather like an umbrella. The tents can thus be assembled in just 60 or 90 seconds, depending on the model: They offer 3-, 4- and 8-person designs, with prices ranging from $280 to $1,400.

Here's what we looked at this week: Flatbike's accessories let you fold your bike flat for storage. A gate with an elegant integrated latch. The Dutch community where people live on strips of land in a lake. Luxury furniture, or ID student project? A lounge chair inspired by a seed. Chinese autonomous buses are spreading around the world. Just not in America. Sonic's focus on the UX of pencil cases.

French company Manufactura designs and builds custom-fit retractable spiral staircases: "Our staircase allows you to access all the living spaces that your accommodation offers, even the most cramped ones such as a basement apartment, a rooftop or an attic. It unfolds and retracts in seconds. Offers a substantial space saving. Allows you to clear your stairwell to move furniture through." The company, which holds a patent on the design, customizes each staircase to the specifics of the space.

This strange-looking suitcase… …is actually a piece of portable mobility. "It is a lightweight 3-stage folding electric kickboard that can be easily carried with one hand," writes South Korean design firm Second White.

Colombia started building railroads in the mid-19th century, and they boomed up until the mid-20th. But by the 1990s, as roads and cars proliferated, the national rail company was liquidated. Rural communities lost service. The tracks, however, remained. So rural communities improvised these ingenious motobalineras, improvised wooden platforms for motorcycles or even bicycles. The bikes ride on a single rail and provide the propulsion, while the platform can be adapted to haul passengers or cargo.

To prevent sliding around on a tabletop, most wireless chargers have rubber feet or silicone pads under their bases. The folks over at Modhaus, a South Korean product brand, went with a more extreme solution: The base of their Upright charger is cast concrete. For the phone-facing surface, they went with hardwood, offering both Oak and Walnut. The $78 charger was Kickstarted within hours. The campaign's done now, but they're still taking pre-orders. Enter a caption (optional)

Recently we've covered a number of robots, ranging from creepy to nifty: UBTECH's U1 companion robots. Unitree's crazy off-road AS2-W. Hyundai's parking robots. AGIBOT's Expedition A3 packing itself away for transport. The Swiss LEVA cargo-carrying dog-bot. Unitree's GD-01 mecha-bot. As of today, they all have one thing in common: They're all banned by the United States government.

As a Partner and Executive Managing Director at IDEO San Francisco, Michelle Lee leads multidisciplinary teams of researchers, designers, and engineers across sectors ranging from healthcare and workplace culture to responsible digital design and the circular economy. This year, she brings that range to Fusion Forward: Design for Home, Core77's design competition with Autodesk Fusion, where she'll help evaluate entries designed for the domestic environment.

These powered arms eliminate the single biggest hassle of a roof rack: The loading and unloading. They're made by multiple Chinese manufacturers you've never heard of, like Sionto and Kayjay. Sadly, there's nothing to link to; these companies don't have web presences that I can find. They're the kind of thing you have to order by DM'ing shady Instagram accounts.