Appliances of the Future: Electrolux's Design Lab Finalists

Can you imagine a time when your washing machine is waterless or your refrigerator teleports food to you? Sound like Star Trek? Well, this was the theme of Electrolux's Design Lab competition, which invited undergraduate and graduate industrial design students to dream up appliances for the "next 90 years" in honor of Electrolux's 90-year anniversary.

The idea was for students to design products that will shape how people prepare and store food, wash clothes and do dishes over the next nine decades. This year over 900 entries were submitted from students in more than 50 countries. The eight finalists will compete for the Electrolux Design Lab 2009 grand prize of 5,000 euros and a six-month paid internship at one of the Electrolux global design centers.

Here are the 2009 finalists (in random order, of course!) Which one is your fave?

1. Water Catcher by Penghao Shan, Zhejiang Sci-tech University, China
Penghao Shan has created a product that addresses water shortage. His solution is "Water Catcher," a flying rain catcher and water purifier. This automated device dispatches small flying balls in the air to catch raindrops. After the raindrops are collected, the balls return to a homing tray that purifies the water for drinking. Once purified, the balls take the drinking water directly to a person for drinking. The homing tray also reads fingerprints to determine what additives should be added to the water to ensure the drinker optimizes their health. Crazy, right?! You have got to watch the Water Catcher video here to see this concept in action.

2. Bifoliate by Toma Brundzaite, Vilnius Academy of Art, Lithuania
Putting away clean dishes from the dishwasher is probably one of the least liked chores, especially around my house. That's why Toma Brundzaite has designed "Bifoliate," a space-saving, wall-mounted double dishwasher that allows the user to put dirty dishes in one compartment and use the other as a shelf for clean dishes. The dishwasher uses ultrasonic wave technology to clean making it more efficient and eco-friendly than today's dishwashers. No need to put the dishes away again! Learn more by watching the Bifoliate video here.

3. Cocoon by Rickard Hederstierna, Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden
Similar to heating popcorn in a microwave, Cocoon prepares genetically engineered and prepackaged meat and fish dishes by heating muscle cells identified by radio frequency identification (RFID) signals. These signals detect the specific food and suggest the required cooking time. This process uses science to create food, lifting a burden on the planet by reducing the need for further intensive farming and fishing. Learn more by watching the Cocoon video here.

4. Moléculaire by Nico Kläber, Köln International School of Design, Germany
"Moléculaire", the 3D molecular food printer, allows you to put in a picture of what you want to eat and then, get this, it will create the food in 3D. It's the hardest product to understand -- it seems crazy that this can be done -- so I suggest watching the Moléculaire video here.

5. Naturewash by Zhenpeng Li, Zhejiang University, China
"Naturewash" is a waterless washing machine that uses negative ions to wash nano-coated fabrics. It has three touch screen settings: clean clothes, grass scent and flower scent. A user can lie or sit on Naturewash to clean or refresh the clothes they are wearing. For a more thorough clean, clothes can be placed flat on the washer. Learn more by watching the Naturewash video here.

6. Renew by Louis Filosa, Purdue University, USA
"Renew" is a smart steamer that refreshes and cleans clothes with steam. An infrared scanner and radio frequency identification (RFID) gather information about a garment from specifically designed clothing tags. Renew is safe to use and disables the steamer if an unidentified object is detected, such as a hand. Smaller than a washing machine, Renew conserves space and is made of recycled aluminum and glass. Learn more by watching the Renew video here.

7. Le Petit Prince by Martin Miklica, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic (left)
"Le Petit Prince" is a robotic greenhouse designed to facilitate the future exploration and population of Mars. Yes, you heard that right. Le Petit Prince takes care of a plant it carries inside its glass case, which is mounted on top of its four-legged pod. In search of nutrients to care for the plant, the robot is programmed to intuitively learn the optimal method for this process. It also reports its movements and progress to its fellow greenhouse robots via wireless communication so that they can learn from each other. How cool is that? Learn more by watching the Le Petit Prince video here.

8. Teleport Fridge by Dulyawat Wongnawa, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand (right)
"Teleport Fridge" teleports food, eliminating the time and distance a person has to travel to buy fresh groceries or products from a store or farm. Using touch-screen technology as the interface for the teleportation process, the Teleport Fridge simply teleports food to compartments in its refrigeration and freezer units. I wonder if it can teleport me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right now...I'm starving. Learn more by watching the Teleport Fridge video here.

...and the winner is? Cocoon by Rickard Hederstierna took first place, with the Water Catcher in second and Renew in third. Which was your first choice?