The humble manhole is literally spat upon during its daily existence, but things could change in the future as folks pay more respect to it, assuming it comes in the form of the Map Hole concept. This concept is a road guidance tool that was specially designed to direct pedestrians and travelers to their final destination using current elements in the urban landscape. It will detect where the pedestrian is, offering information on the exact distance or average walk time to listed landmarks. Too bad you can't input your own direction of choice though, and how the heck is it going to be powered?

Going green seems to be all the rage, and this fact is not lost on Peugeot with their HYbrid 3 Evolution Scooter concept. Capable of producing low emissions and running on a hybrid engine, this mode of transportation is different from the rest since it will rely on electric motors found in each of its two front wheels, alongside a naturally aspirated engine at the rear backing it up. The motors will be powered by lithium-ion batteries which can be recharged via an onboard regenerative braking mechanism. No idea on whether this will be realized or not, but the world would be better off for it when the former happens.

The Polpettek wireless projector and speaker set offers something new, although it might not look too kosher for some faiths. These speakers come with magnetized feet, allowing you to stack them into a singular, multi-channel speaker if you so desire. No idea on the specifications, but this has the classic feel of a concept that will never take off, at least in the forseeable future.

Dreaming about an invisibility cloak after watching Harry Potter? Well, it seems that while we don’t have an actual invisibility cloak just yet, researchers are certainly moving closer to making it a reality (and hopefully mass production!) The folks over at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany have come up with a new virtualization tool that can render a room containing a partially or completely cloaked object, showing the visual effects of such a cloaking mechanism and its imperfections. It isn’t flawless just yet, as you can see that something is certainly amiss at the floor in the picture, but it has cloaked a bump in the floor, so at least we know it’s working right? We’re hoping for the day where we can just waltz into Walmart and pick up a fully functional invisibility cloak.

Thanks to the wonders of technology, researchers have been able to build thin, flexible silicon electronics on silk substrates that almost completely dissolve inside the body, and in English, it means that we might be looking at LED tattoos in the future. Of course, this will still need to go through lots of testing and approval before you’ll able to tattoo a Firefox neon light on your chest (now that’d be a sight!) The question is, would you do it if it were possible?

Now here’s a nifty idea. Many folks insist that toothbrushes should be sterilized, after all, if you don’t, your toothbrush could become a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty bacteria. This concept toothbrush will harness the kinetic energy that we generate through the activity of us brushing out teeth. If you brush for 3 minutes, you should have made about 700 strokes, enough to power the UV LED in the tooth brush to zap the bacteria in the toothbrush.

Check out the MI-O Cell Phone Cradle concept that helps keep the phone close enough to the socket while wrapping the charger wire in a neat fashion around its expandable wings to prevent clutter from building up on your desk. Using it is a snap - all you need to do is position the device between the electrical outlet and handset charger, insert the charger cable into small opening on either side of platform to securely hold handset in place. Once done, just coil the charger cable around its expandable wings on device base.

Nokia looks forward into the mobile future, specifically in 2015, where a possible device could come with location sharing capability, face recognition, projection keyboards, a dual-display netbook alongside a modular system that allows one to switch passport data between a full-sized handset alongside a smaller unit that is more suitable for exercise-wear. No idea on whether these concepts will move to the realm of prototypes or not, but we can hope, can't we?

How many times have you been at the airport, tired, and just wanting to get a quick (but comfortable) 40 winks? Well, the Sleep Box concept is trying to solve that problem for you. It’s a little booth, that has Wi-Fi, LCD display, electrical outlets, a bed with sheets that are changed. Sleep Boxes will customers to rent them for 15 minutes or longer, which isn’t too bad, after all, sometimes we just need to crash for 15-30 minutes, right? Let’s see if this concept becomes a reality anytime soon.

How’s this for taking a kid’s homemade toy and turning the concept into something cool and fun? Back in the days before every kid had their own cell phone, it was easy to try and make your own phone with 2 cups and a bit of string right? Well, welcome to the digital age, and thanks to technology, these walkie-talkie cups allow you to talk to each other without that pesky string. Tug on the cord to activate it, and squeeze to talk. Cute, isn’t it?

It seems that Aerospace firms are quite busy competing for a classified UK MoD contract to build a robotic military stealth aircraft. Said aircraft would be rather special, seeing that it would be able to hover like a helicopter or fold its rotors and fly as an airplane. Of course, just flying around would be rather boring, that’s why it would also be able to deploy radical new weapons, such as microwave or laser ray guns. Now we wonder how many more years it will take before we as citizens will be able to purchase one of these.

Having a well-stocked fridge is always a good thing, as it allows you to entertain guests any time of the day without worrying what to serve them. Unfortunately for some of us, what remains out of sight is also out of mind, which means items that were previously well stocked could end up being well past their expiry date. The Freshrolling device aims to prevent that, where you can set the expiry date on them when attached to a milk carton or bottle of juice. At the end of the set date, the alarm will go off so that you know which goodies to avoid.

Design maestros Art Lebedev has come up with this power socket that features built-in power plugs that will kill reliance on a power strip. It will remain flat until more than a single plug is required, allowing you to hook up multiple devices to it while looking cool. Gotta love the blue strip which adds a touch of geekiness, that's for sure.

Want to kick back in your favorite chair and be immersed by the music from your iPod? Well, if this concept design by Martin Emilia becomes a reality, you certainly will be able to do so. The Media Chair pictured here allows you to integrate your iPod into the arm of the chair, and the headset sports a 3-way speaker that gives you a nice and fancy surround sound. If you want some visual entertainment, there is also a compact projector on the left side of the chair’s headrest. Would you replace your current computer chair with this?