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SALT LAKE CITY — If there's one thing that your pet currently cannot do, it's float seven centimeters above the ground. However, the crushing reality that your pet is unable to deliver you midair cuteness on demand need no longer keep you up at night. Scandinavian engineers, as always, have got your back.
The skunkwork geniuses at MiCasa Labs have been tinkering around and managed to produce the magnet-powered flying carpet that holds the hilarious pug above, complete with adorable, if somewhat strange, cone-shaped hat.
Their purpose? To think outside the box — way outside the box — when it comes to furniture and accessories. Like a rocking chair that powers your iPad, cell phones that double as tiny piercings and motorcycles powered by air.
Seriously, how have we not invented this iPad rocking chair thing yet? You wily Nordic geniuses.
"The main objective of the lab is to experiment," Per Cromwell told Wired magazine. "Like our flying carpet: we've created a prototype that can lift a cat or dog a few centimeters. We have a bit more research to do before we can lift a person, but we have a picture of a man watching CSI from a flying carpet that keeps us going."
Related:
Utah innovators honored for their 'genius'
Many of Utah's best and brightest minds were recognized for their technical savvy, creativity and overall geekiness.Cromwell, who co-founded the ad agency Studio Total, is helping to turn MiCasa into an experimental product development company called the Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery, which will start operations in the Fall and include eight companies in the region.
"We wanted to create a platform where engineers and designers could experiment with new types of furniture," Cromwell said
He told Wired he is looking to include scientists, engineers and "crazy people."
Their next iteration of the flying carpet will be able to hold a 22-pound pet and fly up to 8 inches off the ground.
Crazy indeed. Like a fox. Or a flying pug.
Image by Photos by Helena Karlsson for Wired.
