Designed by a guy named Firdaus from Malaysia, this unique watch design would tell time by shooting light beams across the face of the display using tiny, focused LED beams. By projecting the beams onto a dark, non-glossy surface, Firdaus thinks the display would be viewable in both daylight and nighttime conditions – but of course would look best when viewed in the dark.

The designer says the Raitosho would create a “light performance” on the display, as the numbers bounce around the front of the watch, forming the individual numbers of the hours and minutes on a virtual 8-segment display. While it’s not clear from the concept images, it’s possible that it could have RGB LEDs, so it could support multiple colors. Sweet. Here’s an animation that shows off how the Raitosho would work:

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While I really like the design of this watch, the one thing I’m not crazy about is that each digit displays individually, which could make reading the time a little challenging – not impossible – but difficult for at-a-glance time checks. Still, it’s a cool design, and if you want to see it made, be sure to head over to the TokyoFlash design blog and give it your vote. I just did.

Engineer Lars Pontoppidan created Scopetris using an AtMega32 micro-controller to drive the beam of an oscilloscope to mimic the game play of the classic Soviet puzzle game.

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Lars had to create custom circuitry and programmed the beam to produce a similar visual result to that of those old vector graphic games. The game is controlled using a traditional Atari 9-pin digital joystick.

Unlike some lesser oscilloscope beam hacks which use simple video games like Pong, Lars really went all out to create a game with the relative complexity of Tetris. Using his significant programming prowess, Pontoppidan programmed the circuit to manage each individual as an independent object, allowing it to behave very similarly to the original arcade classic.

Kudos to Lars for an outstanding scope hack.

[via Hacked Gadgets via MAKE]

Their square Audio Spotlight speakers easily mount in place of standard 2′ x 2′ ceiling tiles and project a perfectly focused tunnel of sound towards the people standing beneath them. Step into the beam, and you’ll be able to hear the sound. Step out, and you won’t hear a thing. Designed for applications such as in-store marketing and exhibit design, they’d also be pretty cool mounted in an entryway or hallway.

[via Coolest-Gadgets]

Harold’s Mercury BEAM Robot was scavenged from a variety of junk parts, but an old PlayStation console was the primary contributor, giving the ‘bot its two motors and other internals that keep it chugging along.

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Just like a real insect, Mercury has an innate desire to seek out sources of light. It took Ilano many weeks of painstaking effort in order to get the light tracking just right.

Glad to see the old console is still being put to some good use. (For those of you who don’t know what a BEAM robot is, there’s a good explanation here.)

[StreetTech via MAKE]

The light stores and charges conveniently in your 12-volt cigarette lighter socket, putting it to good use if you’re a non-smoker. It’s available from Discount LED Lights and Knives for about 20 bucks.