A Better Jump-Rope - Old-school goes high-tech...

As manufacturers continue to feel the need to unnecessarily cram technology into every part of our lives, even the most classic of toys isn't safe from feature creep. But this time, it's actually something usable rather than just technology for technology's sake: from designer Jacky Wu on Yanko Design, this concept jump-rope uses LEDs embedded in the rope itself to display a running (er, jumping?) count in the air right in front of the user. It uses a technique called "persistence of vision," which allows a single moving line of LEDs to display a whole 2-dimensional display - pretty much as shown in the concept image at left. There have been jump-ropes with counters built in before, but the displays have been on the handles, where they're not visible until you tragically stop your record-attempting jumping streak just before you reach the threshhold. And counting in your head, well, that's just cruel. Here's to a genuine advance in the world of sidewalk sports!
[via Make]