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Posted by hipstomp / Rain Noe | 25 Oct 2010
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Comments (2)
Bet Bucky Fuller never saw this one coming: Teague designer Dana Krieger has incorporated Fuller's Tensegrity concept, whereby rods and wires in tension and compression provide strength and flexibility, to the design of their 20/20 headphones.
Conventional headphones use a series of pivots and slides to locate the ear relative to the head. Executed in plastic and metal, these pivots squeak and rattle as they struggle to accommodate listeners. In contrast to this noisy intrusion, 20/20 leverages the unique properties of tensegrity to offer silent, organic motion.
TEAGUE 20/20 Concept from TEAGUE on Vimeo.
The 20/20s are currently just a concept, not a production model--a shame, as we're dying to try these out and rock out Bucky-style. Learn more about them here.
Comments
Credit where credit is due: Tensegrity structures were actually thought up, prototyped, and all-around invented (and patented) by Kenneth Snelson, the sculptor. Fuller was his professor and coined the term "tensegrity" for Snelson's astonishing invention. And then Fuller claimed credit for the entire idea, not just the name, annoying Snelson greatly. Bucky was one amazingly inventive dude, true, but tensegrity was Snelson's invention, not Fuller's.
And as everyone who fools with them discovers, tensegrity structures are amazingly cool ... and amazingly difficult to construct if you are going for serious rigidity. Kudos to Teague if they've figured out a decent manufacturing process.
Nice cans, Dana Krieger! Can we get matching earrings next?
BTW, I agree with Ken K, but be careful: Fuller played a huge role in inventing tensegrity, along with Snelson, Emmerich, and others. See http://tensegritywiki.com/Chronology+of+Tensegrity for more details, or http://tensegrity.wikispaces.com/Snelson,+Kenneth