I really have to give it to designer Toby McInnes for his “Bedu” concept emergency kit. It comes in a beautiful orange canister that resembles a propane tank. According to product renderings, the kit can apparently hold enough shit to provide shelter for the entire starting lineup of the New York Giants. I spy, with my eye, a tent, stove, a medkit, cooking utensils and pots, luggage, a thermos and a generator. Who knows, there’s probably a keg in there somewhere too.

All humor aside, if this concept became a reality it would prove extremely useful in both emergency humanitarian situations and military setups. There’s also an Annex for those of you who need a, erm…private moment?

Link

Not sure if you have ever noticed that some fluorescent lights do glow in the dark for a while after you’ve turned off the power, that’s because the excited particles (ions) take time to give out the light (photon) after being excited by electrical energy. NEC has extended this behavior of fluorescence material and apply it to their new Hotalook-alpha household lighting system, which was demoed at the Lighting Fair in Japan.

This has captured immense attention in Tokyo as Japan is a country where earthquakes are common, so when the lights go off, you’ll still be able to see around, hide under the table or gather everyone at the exits. This might also be useful in offices, when you would like to check if you have left anything before leaving, or in your bedroom so that you don’t have to fiddle your way on bed after turning off the lights. Another really important use is when the lamp gets smashed, you’ll still be able to see the pieces in dark and pick up the mess. The Hotalook-alpha series has just started selling in Japan, it is priced close to similar products without Hota-look-alpha technology. –Sam Chan

Tokyo Lighting Fair [Impress]

The scary thing about earthquakes is not so much about falling ceilings anymore, at least in Japan. More injuries are incurred due to the fact that the power is off and people can’t see (along with gas explosions, fire and falling shelf objects). Most commercial office buildings are equipped with emergency lighting, but what if you want them at home? A Japanese company, Anzen-net (safety-net), has developed this automatically lighting system that can light up automatically when it detects an earthquake greater than Richter Scale 5 or smoke in times of fire. A 70dB siren is also built in should you want to be woken up. Since it runs on lithium battery, it will not be affected by the powercut. Thanks to its relatively small size, you can put as many as you want in your room, but that will cost you a fortune; these lights are selling for $147 each. — Sam Chan

Pioma product page [Anzen-net]