In a similar (or not so?) similar fashion, you could have your very own park bench – in as little as ten minutes, in fact, if you’re super strong and have a couple of people helping you out while you set it up.

These Tree Benches are a part of Utrecht-based spatial designer Rogier Martens‘ ”Aandeboom” series, which translates to something like “attached to trees.” Martens came up with these benches after the Dutch city of Amersfoort invited him to design a temporary bench for a local park.

All you need to set up the benches is a strong and sturdy tree trunk. The suspension system makes it quick and easy to “fasten” the bench onto the tree, so to speak.

These Tree Benches would be great to add additional seating to parks and other public areas during huge events or concerts. You should contact Rogier if you want to inquire about the pricing on his benches, in case you want one for yourself.

[via Pop Up City]

Tests have yielded a 98% percent recognition success rate. The data gets sent back to a laptop where it is aggregated into a reading of your specific butt. Then it can be used as the “key” to keep others from using your car.

It might also alert you to the fact that you are gaining weight if it one day refuses to turn on the car. That will teach you to eat the entire bag of chips.

[via TechCrunch via Geekosysytem]

Thanks to the guys at Japan’s always entertaining Thanko, you can now keep your rear end chilled even if you are used to sitting in the proverbial hot seat.

With this water-cooled cushion under your derriere, you’ll be chilling your assets from a scorching 140°F, down to a more pleasant 82°F in less than 5 seconds flat. It’s not clear how much cooler it’ll make things if it’s not that hot out, but I can only imagine that sitting on a chilled cushion of water on any hot day would help cool you down.

The gadget comes with a water pump and cooler which runs on your car’s 12 VDC cigarette lighter, and it looks like it cools not just your butt but your back too. The only problem I can see with this thing is that if you forget it’s there, you might think you wet yourself (and hopefully it’s watertight so you don’t actually wet yourself.) You can bet your bottom (dollar) that you can get the Thanko Seat Cushion over at GeekStuff4U for about $245 (USD).

So what is this thing that reminds me of another technically unrelated term? (If you’re curious, the words I’m thinking of are “land fill.”) Well, it’s an innovative floor mat that’s setting out to change the world of mats for good. It’s flexible and foldable, and because of that last attribute, it’s also portable. Pull the folds open and spread it out wide on the floor to go from one tile to a full-sized mat in minutes (or maybe even seconds if you’re fast!)

Need an extra chair in that corner? No problem. Another table on your side of the mat? Easy peasy. Just peel some panels off the floor and fold it up, origami-style, and there you go: instant furniture. And if you find yourself low in energy, simply scooch on over to a flat panel of mat, prop up a pillow (or a pile of clothes) and lie yourself down for some quick Zzz’s.

The Land Peel is a project designed by Shin Yamashita who is a student at the Kyoto Institute of Technology. Since we all know that Japan is the place to be for all sorts of innovative and out-of-this-world gadgets, it won’t come as much of a surprise when these floor mats will be sold in stores there soon.

[via Fast Company]

You can choose to sit on a brown bear or a pink sheep, both shaped like a flower for some reason. The cord is pretty long at around 3.6′, long enough to plug into your desktop or laptop without hitting any snags.

Since it’s powered via a USB port, you can take it around with your laptop to create that perfect mobile workstation.

This USB seat cushion is available from Gadget4all for $19.90. I wouldn’t mind one right now, as my chair isn’t that warm.

[via GeekAlerts]

The sit-down electric YikeBike tops out at 20km/hr (appx. 12 MPH). An electric chainless drive powers the bike up to 10 kilometers (appx. 6 miles) on a quick 30 minute charge. While that’s not a ton of range, it’s certainly enough for most urban commuters to get to and from work. It’s also great for short haul travel from public transportation sites like trains and buses.

And thanks to an innovative lightweight folding carbon composite frame, you can carry the YikeBike up to your office during the day for a recharge (and to protect it from theft on the street). The whole thing weighs just 9.8 kg (appx. 21 lbs.) which means it won’t break your back carrying it around either.

If you can get past the annoying song in this commercial, the YikeBike actually looks pretty cool…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Here’s a better (and far less irritating) video that shows off the YikeBike being put through its paces on a variety of challenging terrains. It’s surprisingly agile, given its unassuming looks.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Expect the YikeBike to start shipping sometime in 2010. Final pricing hasn’t been set yet, but it’s likely to run between €3500 and €3900 (appx. $5180 to $5772 USD). You can reserve one now with a €100 (appx. $148 USD) deposit here.

Perfect for lighting up your drab living space, these Léon and Max chairs from French designer Philippe Boulet light up using color-changing RGB LEDs inside the seats, backs, and armrests. And best of all, they’re not tacky in the least.

Created by the Belgian sustainable furniture design firm Utilia, the ScooterDesk gives you a solid work surface for your laptop, and lets you sit in a comfortable upright position while you work. The desk is also available in a dual version which lets you sit side-by-side with another person. Assuming you can agree on what direction to go in, the dual model could be a good idea for pair-programming teams.

While I don’t think you could sit on a bicycle seat all day while working at your computer, it’s an cool idea for quick tasks like filling out forms, taking meeting notes or sending the occasional e-mail.

[Yanko Design via Le Journal du Geek]

The Visomate is a little LED device that plugs into your USB port and keeps watch on the position of your