Alors que les sacs en plastique s’apprêtent à disparaître de notre quotidien marchand et que les préoccupations environnementales gagnent chaque jour un peu plus de part d’esprit, les marques sont aujourd’hui nombreuses à se poser la question de l’emballage de leurs produits. Les initiatives fusent de
partout. Evian vient nous proposer un système permettant de relier ses
bouteilles sans sur-emballage. Wattwiller, elle, mise sur un film de
regroupement 100% recyclé. Ailleurs, ce sont des « perles d’eau »
imaginées par Ooho comestibles, emballées dans des algues gélatineuses.
Ou encore, une bouteille entièrement biodégradable obtenue à partir de
la poudre d’agar, une substance créée à partir d’algues, mélangée à de
l’eau. Tant qu’elles sont remplies d’eau, ces bouteilles gardent leur
forme, mais dès qu’elles sont vides, elles commencent à se décomposer.
Aucun produit chimique n’entre en jeu et il est même possible de
grignoter un bout de bouteille pour ceux qui en apprécieraient le goût…
Quant à Ikea, elle a récemment annoncé s’intéresser de près aux
emballages conçus à partir de champignons…
Mise en vente des meubles et objets restant dans les stocks de la CAMIF Particuliers, le 16 décembre 2008 à Niort
Paris - La Camif, spécialiste de la vente à distance de mobilier
passé tout près de la disparition en 2008-2009, est redevenu rentable et
mise sur l'économie collaborative et le "made in France", espérant à
terme pouvoir détrôner Ikea.
En 2015, le site, basé à Niort, a réalisé un chiffre d'affaires de 40 millions d'euros, en hausse de 15%.
"On
gagne à nouveau de l'argent depuis deux ans. En 2015, notre bénéfice
net est de 250.000 euros, pour un Ebitda autour de 2 millions d'euros", se félicite Emery Jacquillat, PDG du groupe.
M.
Jacquillat avait repris la Camif en 2009 après sa liquidation en 2008.
Il a depuis totalement transformé le modèle de l'ancien vépéciste pour
se concentrer sur la vente en ligne - logistique et service clients ont
été externalisés, les boutiques ont été fermées - et mettre en avant les
meubles de fabrication française.
Aujourd'hui, 60% de l'offre du site est "made in France", soit 71% du chiffre d'affaires.
Pour 2016, le groupe ambitionne une croissance de 18% et une rentabilité multipliée par cinq.
"Mais l'objectif est d'aller encore plus loin, avec pour ambition de détrôner Ikea d'ici 25 ans", déclare Emery Jacquillat.
Grâce à une erreur de manipulation, Mya Le Thai a créé une batterie ultra puissante, supportant 200.000 cycles de chargement et déchargement. - Steve Zylius/UCI/YouTube
Un nouveau type de batterie supportant 200.000 cycles de chargement
et déchargement (contre seulement 7.000 pour la traditionnelle
technologie au lithium) vient d’être mise au point quasiment par hasard.
Protéger et renforcer des fils ultra fins
C’est en cherchant une façon de prolonger la vie des batteries
en utilisant des nanofils d’or et à la faveur d’une erreur de
manipulation qu’un membre de l’université de Californie à Irvine
(Etats-Unis) a, en effet, créé cette batterie ultra puissante et
révolutionnaire.
Jusqu’ici les scientifiques d’Irvine se heurtaient à l’extrême
fragilité des fils microscopiques. Ces derniers permettent une immense
autonomie des batteries, mais se révélaient impossibles à utiliser de
manière efficace.
Boutiques sans argent, boîtes à livres, cafés
“suspendus” pour le client suivant… La culture du don se développe. Par
solidarité mais aussi rejet du gaspillage.
Sur chaque rayonnage, vaisselle, petit électroménager, jouets pour enfants, une grosse étiquette indique le prix. « Zéro euro. » Pourtant, cela ne rate jamais. Les nouveaux clients posent la question, comme si leur cerveau ne pouvait intégrer l’information : « Et ça, c’est combien ? » C’est gratuit, doit répondre Debora Fischkandl toute la journée. Gratuit et déroutant.
Au début de l’été, la boutique sans argent a ouvert avenue Daumesnil, à Paris. Chacun peut y venir et prendre ce qui lui fait envie. Inutile de brandir un justificatif de chômage ni même de déposer un objet en échange. « La générosité est contagieuse », lance en souriant Mme
Fischkandl, la créatrice de cet espace de dons entre particuliers.
Visiblement dotée d’une confiance en l’humanité aussi solide que ses
soutiens institutionnels (région Ile-de-France, mairies de Paris et du 12e arrondissement, qui prête le lieu), l’ancienne chargée de communication dans l’associatif n’a observé « aucune razzia » depuis l’inauguration.
La société française Zapata Racing a fait sa réputation autour
de ses solutions Flyboard, des systèmes basés sur l'hydropropulsion que
vous avez sans doute déjà vus, au moins en vidéo. Avec le Flyboard Air,
la société va plus loin avec une unité autonome de propulsion (comme
l'appelle Zapata Racing) qui ferait passer l'hoverboard de Marty McFly pour une antiquité.
Mise à jour : Zapata Racing a publié sur sa page Facebook une seconde vidéo dans laquelle on voit l'atterrissage, pour répondre, je cite, « à tous ceux qui pensaient que le Flyboard Air était un fake ». L'équipe donne également rendez-vous ce WE, durant lequel elle compte « établir un record ».
Americans throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year and that’s a problem because it takes plastic around 450 years to decompose, which is kind of a long time. Ari Jónsson is a product design student who studies at the Icelandic Academy of Arts. Recently he came up with a way to create a completely biodegradable water bottle using red algae powder.
Ari Jónsson exhibited his biodegradable bottle at a design festival in Reykjavik earlier this month.
Lifestyle, consommation et innovation. Tels sont les mots qui
décrivent le contenu de ce cahier de tendances qui synthétise et analyse
les grands sujets de société en 13 thèmes découpés en 41 tendances. En
version digitale et rédigé en anglais, Megatrends est un outil
ergonomique et pratique qui vous aidera à comprendre le consommateur
d'aujourd'hui et de demain.
On somewhat of a heritage kick of late,
sportswear label Le Coq Sportif has unveiled its “Made in France”
capsule collection of sneakers. Contained within the pack are the LCS R
and Court MIF silhouettes, both of which perpetuate the athletic
traditions of the brand. These luxurious interpretations see the shoes
rendered in full-grain or nubuck leather, with subtle ornamental
trimmings like perforated branding and tri-color tongue detailing
rounding out each design.
The “Made in France” collection is available in Le Coq Sportif stores, online at lecoqsportif.com, and in a selection of retailers worldwide.
For more, be sure to check out the LCS RXVI “Anodized” pack.
Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis—chronic conditions such as these account for 84% of health care spending. Yet many are preventable. An estimated 40%
of all premature deaths can be attributed to lifestyle, such as smoking
and inactivity. How can the health care system shift focus (and
dollars) from acute to preventative care?
The Seattle-based design firm Artefact has created a compelling new concept called Chronicle.
It would be the first app to monitor someone’s health across various
chronic diseases, as it compares to others with similar conditions, in
real time.
"It’s about all this time you’re not actually focused on your
condition, sitting in your home doing research about it," says Matthew
Jordan, insights and strategy director at Artefact. "Real life is where
the biggest risks are, which is why we wanted to think of something like
Chronicle."
When it comes to colour, most of us are on safe ground with
the primaries – but when asked to differentiate between the different
shades of blue, for example, we might start to struggle.
That doesn't mean we're colour blind, more “hue illiterate”, perhaps –
a situation not helped by the increasingly creative means paint
companies employ to describe their wares – anyone for Farrow and Ball's
Borrowed Light? Or maybe their Dead Salmon?
Et
si la lumière n’était désormais plus limitée aux écrans et aux ampoules
? Grâce à cette nouvelle innovation révolutionnaire nommée Lightpaper,
il est maintenant possible d’imprimer de la lumière sur une feuille de
papier. DGS vous présente cette nouvelle technologie lumineuse qui va
révolutionner l’impression.
La boutique sans stock Bonobos sur la Cinquième avenue à New York. - Bonobos
C’est le monde à l’envers. Après les magasins qui se convertissent aux
ventes sur Internet, voici les sites Internet qui lancent… leurs
magasins ! Qu’on les appelle « boutiques connectées » ou « boutiques
sans stock », elles représentent la grande tendance du moment à New
York. La start-up Bonobos vient d’ouvrir un magasin sur la 5e Avenue de New York, qui permet aux hommes d’essayer pantalons et chemises… pour les acheter sur son site Internet ensuite.
Les avantages sont multiples : « Les clients qui se rendent dans nos
magasins achètent 50 % de plus, en moyenne, que ceux consultant
simplement notre site Internet », explique le PDG, Andy Dunn. La
marque n’ayant plus de stocks en boutique, elle peut aussi réduire son
personnel, son espace… et les vols. La marchandise est livrée
directement, de l’entrepôt de Boston jusqu’à chez le client. Le concept
est particulièrement adapté aux hommes, qui n’aiment guère s’encombrer
de paquets lorsqu’ils font du shopping. Bonobos a ouvert une vingtaine
de magasins aux Etats-Unis.
Présent sur Internet depuis 1999, le joaillier Blue Nile (500 millions
de dollars de chiffre d’affaires annuel) suit le même concept. Il vient
d’ouvrir une première « webroom » à Long Island, où les clients peuvent
essayer bagues et diamants avant de les acheter sur Internet. « Il y a une part de la population qui ne sera jamais prête à acheter une bague de fiançailles à 7.000 dollars sur Internet »,
explique le PDG, Harvey Kanter. C’est également le cas du vendeur de
lunettes Warby Parker et de Birchbox, qui se contentait de vendre des
produits de beauté sur Internet jusqu’alors. De nouvelles start-up
devraient encore suivre cette année : c’est notamment le cas d’Adore Me, qui vend de la lingerie sur Internet et espère créer de premiers magasins d’essayage dans les mois qui viennent.
Un blogueur a proposé une façon tout à fait inédite de visualiser les grands noms de l'Histoire de l'humanité.
«Rapidement, quelles figures historiques vivaient il y a environ cinq cents ans?»C’est une question complexe que pose le Washington Post sur son site. En pensant à Christophe Colomb, on peut alors se souvenir de Ferdinand le Catholique. «Mais pour la plupart d’entre nous, écrit le site, ce qui va nous venir à l’esprit est probablement le bourdonnement du néant, ou le doux chant des criquets.»
Et effectivement, nos souvenirs de collège et de lycée en matière
d’histoire peuvent avoir tendance à se transformer en une sorte de
mélasse dont il est difficile d’extirper les éléments clefs. C’est
pour cela que le site américain relaie le projet de Tim Urban, qui gère
le blog Wait But Why, et qui propose une autre façon d’aborder les
milliers d’années d’histoire de l’humanité: «l’histoire horizontale».
The ‘Teslasuit,’ a wireless suit created by a UK based company,
claims that their invention can allow users to feel sensations in the
virtual world. If the prototype is brought to the market, it could
revolutionize the world of entertainment.
Céline Alvarez. | ANNABELLE LOURENÇO POUR LE MONDE
L'ancienne enseignante a démissionné de l'éducation nationale, mais n'a pas renoncé à diffuser les outils de l'école de demain
Ne dites pas d'elle qu'elle est « professeure » : cela efface son sourire, assombrit son humeur. D'abord parce que l'année scolaire qui vient de débuter
se fera sans elle : Céline Alvarez n'a pas repris, ce 2 septembre, le
chemin de l'école maternelle Jean-Lurçat de Gennevilliers
(Hauts-de-Seine) où elle avait entrepris, en 2011, de croiser la pédagogie Montessori avec la recherche en sciences cognitives.
Faute de pouvoirélargir l'expérimentation, elle a pris la lourde décision de donner
sa démission. Ensuite parce que ce n'est pas pour « professer », comme
elle dit, que cette jolie trentenaire a passé en candidat libre, il y a
cinq ans, le concours de l'enseignement. Et elle le justifie sans s'embarrasser de fausse modestie : « C'était pour infiltrer le système et parvenir à le changer, pas pour enseigner. Je me laissais trois ans pour proposer un environnement de classe faisant l'effet d'une bombe pédagogique, explique-t-elle,trouver les bons outils permettant de révéler spontanément tout le potentiel des enfants, et réussir à les diffuser auprès des enseignants. »
Les trois années sont passées, et le « couperet » est tombé juste avant l'été : le projet
piloté par Céline Alvarez, d'autant plus inédit qu'il avait vu le jour
dans la ville de naissance des premières zones d'éducation prioritaire
(ZEP), et non dans les quartiers huppés de la capitale où les écoles
Montessori, toutes privées, font le plein d'élèves, ne sera pas étendu.
La plupart des gens n’ont pas encore réalisé que quelque chose d’extraordinaire se produit en ce moment. Il y a quelque mois, je me suis libéré des standards de la société. J’ai du casser mes chaines de peur qui me bloquaient à l’intérieur du système. Depuis, je vois le monde d’une perspective différente: Tout se passe à travers le changement et la plupart d’entre nous n’en sont pas conscient. Pourquoi le monde change? Dans cet article, je vais citer huit raisons qui m’ont porté à y croire.
1. Nul ne peut continuer avec le modèle actuel de l’emploi.
Nous atteignons nos limites. Les gens
travaillant dans des grandes entreprises ne supportent plus leur emploi.
Le manque de but frappe à votre porte depuis l’intérieur comme un cris
de désespoir.
Les gens veulent abandonner, ils veulent
tout laisser tomber. Jetez un œil sur le fait que beaucoup de gens
partent en congés sabbatiques, les gens souffrant de dépression liés au
travail, les personnes en burnout.
2. Le modèle d’esprit d’entreprise est également en train de changer.
Ces dernières années, avec l’explosion
des startups, des milliers d’entrepreneurs changèrent leur garage en
bureau pour donner vie à leurs idées à millions de dollars. Le
tourbillon de l’esprit d’entreprise d’obtenir un financement était comme
gagner la Coupe du Monde ou le Super Bowl.
Que se passe-t-il une fois que vous êtes fiancés ?
N’est-ce pas absurde que nous, 7 milliard d’humains habitants la même planète, avons grandi plus espacé les uns des autres ?
Utiliser nos boyaux pour écouter de la musique ? Une idée un peu folle d'un artiste tchèque met ce principe en action, à nos risques et périls. Vous avez bien mangé ?
Il y a peu de temps, Tracks explorait déjà deux nouvelles manières d'écouter de la musique n'impliquant pas directement les oreilles : l'une agissait directement sur le système nerveux et l'autre passait carrément par le vagin de madame pour en faire profiter son bambin. Ce coup-ci, il va falloir s'ouvrir de l'intérieur pour ressentir la vibration de la musique... car c'est par vos tripes que vous allez danser.
Tara Button a fondé BuyMeOnce.com, une boutique en ligne d'objets
durables. Son objectif : faire connaître des entreprises qui résistent à
la mode du tout-jetable afin de limiter notre empreinte sur la planète.
Tara Button est la fondatrice de BuyMeOnce, une boutique certifiée sans obsolescence programmée (Crédit : BuyMeOnce)
Alors qu'elle lavait sa cocotte Le
Creuset, Tara Button s'est demandée pourquoi aussi peu d'autres objets
de sa cuisine étaient garantis à vie. Une interrogation qui lui a donné
une idée :"Ne serait-il pas fantastique que tout soit
comme cela ? Vous achetez un objet une fois et vous n’avez plus jamais à
le racheter," raconte-t-elle ainsi au journal The Daily Mail.
«Rapidement, quelles figures historiques vivaient il y a environ cinq cents ans?»C’est une question complexe que pose le Washington Post sur son site. En pensant à Christophe Colomb, on peut alors se souvenir de Ferdinand le Catholique. «Mais pour la plupart d’entre nous, écrit le site, ce qui va nous venir à l’esprit est probablement le bourdonnement du néant, ou le doux chant des criquets.»
Et effectivement, nos souvenirs de collège et de lycée en matière
d’histoire peuvent avoir tendance à se transformer en une sorte de
mélasse dont il est difficile d’extirper les éléments clefs. C’est
pour cela que le site américain relaie le projet de Tim Urban, qui gère
le blog Wait But Why, et qui propose une autre façon d’aborder les
milliers d’années d’histoire de l’humanité: «l’histoire horizontale».
Le designer coréen Jeabyun Yeon vient d'inventer un masque de plongée sous-marine révolutionnaire qui permet de respirer sous l'eau (un peu comme Obi wan Kenobi
dans Star Wars). Un genre de branchies artificielles qui extrait
l'oxygène sous l'eau à travers un filtre avec des trous plus petits que
les molécules d'eau à l'aide d'un puissant micro compresseur qui
comprime et stocke l'oxygène puis le renvoi dans les narines.
Published: Aug 11, 2015
This fall, Toronto will be host to a unique dining experience from Stella Artois called the 'Sensorium.'
The three-week experience is one part dining and one part theater, based
around the idea of involving all of the senses when eating and
drinking. A gigantic dome will be set up for the event, which will serve
as the immersive 360-degree theater for the tasting and viewings to go
on. For instance, when eating a course of seafood, projection mapping
will turn the interior of the dome into an underwater environment. Salty
scents from the sea will be projected in order to really recreate the
feeling of being by the ocean.
Considering that tickets have been flying off the shelves and it's
anticipated that more than 2,000 people will attend this unique dining
event, the pop-up dome gives the brand flexibility to bring the
Sensorium to other global cities.
Published: Aug 11, 2015
Technology is being incorporated into every facet of life and
is moving forward with useful tools like the any surface touchscreen.
The 'Ubi' sensor can turn any surface into a touchscreen and can be used
in both professional environments or for personal projects. The device
can be used for school or work presentations and allows users to control
what's on the screen. In the future, a device like this could
streamline any sort of selection process by presenting the information
faster and in a way that is more interactive.
The device lets you use any Windows application with three different
options -- the most simple being the 'finger-swipe' and 'in-air
gestures' options, which allow simple command-based controls and the
'uni-pen' which acts as a virtual whiteboard on any surface.
as a final project at shenkar college in israel, industrial design student kobi shiker introduces a set of concept robot drones named ‘transwheel’, that will help in the field of transportation and delivery.
it is an autonomous robotic wheel what a self balancing system with
retractable electric arms and GPS communication capabilities that enable
it to operate in isolation or as a troop. they’d be able to carry out
delivery needs around the clock, as small as courier boxes and as big as
shipping containers. kobi’s ‘transwheel’ concept expands upon unmanned
flying drones that are getting a fair amount of development from popular
stores like amazon and walmart, with wheeled counterparts that would be
more robust and versatile.
Sense8 is a show that follows the lives of eight individuals who are
emphatically and telepathically connected to one another. In order to
replicate what this unique group of people thinks and feels in the show,
an interactive TV campaign was set up for eight Netflix fans in the
form of the 'Sense8: Brainwave Symphony Experiment.'
After rounding up a group of eight people and having them binge-watch
the TV show, fans were connected to headsets that recorded their
brainwaves. As far as what came out of the experiment, using stimuli to
evoke certain reactions, the group was responsible for creating a piece
of music collectively, using only their minds.
As sci-fi as this sounds, the final Brainwave Symphony track can now be listened to on Spotify.
In a contactless world equipped with the Barclayscard, or bPay for short, buyers can make purchases via tapping their wristband, key ring or surface-affixed sticker on applicable reading machines. Users must register their device before wielding the power of instantaneous purchase in stores like Starbucks, David Lloyd, Pret a Manger, Mark & Spencer, among others.
Today President Obama unveiled the strongest climate action plan in
US history, and the first to set Federal limits on carbon emissions from
power plants. Under the new Clean Power Plan—which
will undoubtedly face legal challenges from the coal industry—power
plants will be required to cut emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels
by 2030 to help curb climate change. States can also avail themselves of new initiatives to increase renewable energy
generation. The plan amounts to the equivalent of taking 166 million
cars off the road and could reduce premature deaths due to power plant
emissions by 90 percent.
Employees at Netflix will now have unlimited time with their newborns during the child’s first year after birth. According to a recent post on Netflix’s blog, the company is offering “unlimited” maternity and paternity leave to its employees.
The
post says Netflix employees “can return part-time, full-time, or return
and then go back out as needed. We’ll just keep paying them normally,
eliminating the headache of switching to state or disability pay.”
Netflix
already has unlimited time off, so this change doesn’t mark a
substantial shift in policy as much as it shows a willingness of the
company to be kid friendly. Netflix says it wants to compete for the
best workers, and is acknowledging sometimes these workers are parents.
Perhaps
the company just wanted to give a little something back to its
employees, who helped it reach another all-time high on Tuesday. The
stock rose more than 8% in trading, as high as $122.79 per share.
The
construction of bike lanes in accordance with New York City’s Citi Bike
stations popping up around the city in recent years has stirred much
controversy. While the lanes seem to benefit delivery men and casual
bikers alike, many drivers have expressed their frustration over stolen
driving lanes and parking spaces now filled by the green bike path.
Moreover, the growing number of people encouraged to abandon their cars
or the subway in favor of a more health-minded and eco-friendly pursuit
inevitably spikes the number of biker-related casualties. Cue Future Cities Catapult, the developer behind a biking helmet laden with augmented reality (AR) capabilities.
“Many cities are spending serious money, time and attention on
improving the ‘hard infrastructure’ of cities to make cycling safer,
more convenient, more attractive,” explains chief design officer Dan
Hill, “[however] there is potential of a soft infrastructure which can
be overlaid on existing urban fabric to further support cycling, which
takes advantage of contemporary technologies such as wearables, Internet
of Things, real-time sensor data, and so on.”
The helmet comes attached with a flip-down visor that performs the AR
function and promises an HuD (Heads-Up Display) system via push
notifications, perhaps integrating a world of icons for a simplistic yet
crisp approach to the term “imageability,” as coined by urban
planner/designer Kevin Lynch.
Imageability refers to the learning process by which we familiarize ourselves with our surroundings.
“This prototype explores how technology might support a learning
process based on imageability, such that the device and its interface
essentially disappears over time, and the rider pays attention to the
city around them” explains the team. “On a bike, we particularly need
cyclists to develop a heads-up stance, looking at the environment around
them, rather than down at a phone.”
Coupled with a blind-spot visualization prototype, a device that
draws upon side-mounted projectors attached to larger-sized vehicles and
sends signals back to the helmet, Future Cities Catapult hopes to
significantly reduce the number of biker-related casualties while
simultaneously helping them select shorter or less dangerous paths.
Beyond the helmet, the team has also designed various mounted add-ons
to enhance the biking experience. A device attached to your handlebars
gauges air quality of current trails and offers alternative pathways
with less fumes, exhaust and overall pollution.
Dissatisfaction with the banking sector over the last decade has led
to numerous calls for the industry to change. Last month, the governor
of the Bank of England spoke of
how the UK financial sector bears the scars of a market gone wrong,
while others have highlighted how the oligopoly of our big five UK banks
are not only too big to fail and too big to jail, but simply too big to compete and unable to serve customers needs.
Abyss Creations, the company beyond Realdoll (life-sized, silicone sex dolls), wants to start making robotic sex dolls that talk back, flirt and interact with the customer. The project, called Realbotix, is the company’s first venture into the world of artificial intelligence. It involves an AI-powered animatronic head that can be fitted onto preexisting doll bodies, a pocket-pet doll accessible through an app and a version of the doll in virtual reality.
With the rise of income marketplaces like
Uber and Airbnb, people are trying to define what this part-time
employment phenomenon should actually be called. Some are calling it
the “sharing economy” or the “on-demand economy,” all in an attempt to
describe this seismic shift in employment. But thanks to the millennial generation, this change in employment
status has become hip and cool. Hipsters from the latest generation
have also coined it as the “gig economy” and are embracing the part-time
status, rather than actively fighting it.
Back in 2008, when the market crashed and full-time jobs evaporated,
millennials graduating from college were left with few secure employment
opportunities. This particular group had very little choice but to
move into their parents’ basement and work entry-level jobs that did not
match their degrees or interests.
The team at This Place got excited about
Google Glass to the point they are compelled to find ways to improve the
concept. They asked “What could we do to better navigate this device?”
and MindRDR was their answer. MindRDR links your mind to Google glass via EEG, allowing you to control the interface with your thoughts.
Not Alone
allows users to discretely reach out to family members or the police in
times of crisis by simply pulling the headphones out of their
smartphone.
The app—which was created by five students in Uppsala, Sweden for an
entrepreneurship class—is meant to be used in any situation where a user
might feel unsafe.
As powerful consumers, marketers have had
their eye on the millennial generation for some time now. These young
adults born between 1977 and 2000 have revolutionized the consumer
economy and created the most connected and innovative culture in
history. However, while marketers were spending their time trying to
understand these young adults from a consumer perspective, millennials
were busy growing up, graduating college and entering what we like to
call, the real world.
Today, millennials represent a strong majority of the workforce and by 2020 they will make up 50 percent of the total adult working population
in the United States. Unfortunately, millennials are a generation that
is still largely affected by unemployment. More than 15 percent of
millennials are currently unemployed and just one third has obtained a
bachelor’s degree. A large reason for this high percentage of
unemployment is largely due to the fact that millennials are having a
hard time finding jobs that align with their values and future goals.
Unlike previous generations, millennials are not willing to get a job
simply for the reason of “having a job.” As a highly aspirational
generation, these young adults feel very strongly about the places they
work and don’t want to be just another cog in the machine. Millennials
want work environments that align with their collaborative nature and
propensity to voice their opinions.
In an effort to adapt to a new workplace structure that is more
millennial focused, many brands are turning towards the concept of
Holacracy. However, Zappos is the leader when it comes to the
implementation of a self-governed work environment.
Not Impossible Labs aims to create accessible technology on an open-source platform in the spaces of mobility, health and communication, and then use storytelling to inspire others to do the same.
The company with a massive vision to do good for humanity first caught our attention when developing the EyeWriter, an open-source software that enabled TEMPT, a paralyzed graffiti artist with ALS, the ability to paint again. The technology, a low-cost pair of eye-tracking glasses, allows TEMPT to control a virtual paint brush by blinking to turn it on and off, and moving his eyes to draw.
PSFK catches up with Not Impossible Labs Founder Mick Ebeling about his new book Not Impossible, the journey in working with TEMPT and other DIY initiatives that have the power to improve the lives of people around the world.
PSFK: Can you tell me about your background and that of Not Impossible Labs?
Mick Ebeling: Not Impossible Labs started after being inspired by TEMPT and creating the EyeWriter, looking at its success and questioning why we shouldn’t do it again.
I’m a political scientist, but I am a producer. Science isn’t my background. The reason we’ve been successful is the way in which we approach things from the perspective of a producer. A producer looks at what needs to be done regardless of whether or not they have the expertise, then figure out how to pull it off.
I receive flight options with times and prices curated from my previous travel behavior. No phone, email or search bar necessary; I’m using the text-based service Operator, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that pairs customers with a personal concierge to help with tracking down hard-to-find products.
“I need an affordable flight from New York to San Francisco anytime next week,” I tell the Operator.
“Would you like a direct flight that leaves in the AM from JFK and an aisle seat?” the Operator responds.
“Yes – direct flight and aisle seat. Either AM or PM is fine.”
Like most services today, the automation feature tracks past searches and previous purchases, enabling highly-personalized suggestions for each particular purchase and individual.
Though most people would prefer to outsource said monotonous tasks to another person, the price of employing someone to assist in our product search trumps convenience. Rather than render human services obsolete, intelligent systems are working in collaboration with live assistants in order to better serve customer needs. This is where services like Operator excel, intuitively and efficiently connecting human experts to consumers.
Visual language predates the written word and has trumped text communication since its inception. Thousands of years after engraving animal shapes on cave walls, we are returning to a time of image-based communications. Where cavemen had engravings and Egyptians hieroglyphics, the smartphone generation uses emojis, bitmojis and GIFs to successfully connect and communicate. One miniature, graphic image can represent a medley of situations, capturing an emotion, physical state or current location.
In an efficient, visual way these cases of digital imagery depict irony, sarcasm, emotional peaks and defeats in instances that words can’t. The modern consumer sends them with fervor to animate a text conversation: over 40 million Apple users have downloaded the emoji app to date.
The grand vision of the Internet of Things is currently an exercise in imagination. It is about what happens when more and more of the real, physical world comes online, as devices and sensors proliferate, connecting everything.
The promise is that the Internet of Things won’t just connect our homes, hospitals, schools and streets – it will enable whole new ranges of interactions, services and efficiencies. It’s not just about the things, in other words – it’s about the people and environments that animate them.
This wider vision of the Internet of Things is still evolving, with considerable excitement from tech firms, entrepreneurs and governments. But it’s far from fully realised yet. And like any evolutionary process, a heady brew of nature and chaos will determine its outcomes. Order in chaos
No Facebook, no phone number, no authorization nor names, Nod is an ‘anonymous proximity messenger’ app available on the app store. Not to be confused with NOD, News on Demand, or the other Nod— send custom built emojis to your friends—this Nod operates under the assumption that you have no friends, or simply want more (we’ll go with that one).
Requiring an updated iOs 8.3 or later, Nod is a group-chat-based ephemeral messaging on-the-go social network allowing chat rooms of up to 10 people.
San Francisco has the ultimate weapon in combatting the city’s growing problem of public urination. Anyone who will try to relieve themselves publicly will now get what’s coming to them. Mohammed Nuru, San Francisco Public Works Director, has started the campaign to paint walls with pee-repellent paint that will make every public urinator think twice about their next move.
Nuru expressed his dismay about this dirty problem in San Francisco. “Nobody wants to smell urine. We are trying different things to try to make San Francisco smell nice and look beautiful,” he told SF Gate.
Back in 2002, a legislation banning public urinating was passed. Violators are subject to pay fines ranging from $50 to $500. However, this persistent problem continues to plague San Francisco. According to SF Gate, Public Works has received 375 requests to steam-clean pungent smelling alleyways and walls since January. This comprises five percent of the total requests made to Public Works to clean up the streets.
In February, Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky compared his firm’s defiance of local housing ordinances with that of Gandhi’s passive resistance to British rule. Meanwhile, a tweeter compared Uber to Rosa Parks, defying unjust laws. Chesky quickly backed down after widespread mockery. Companies acting out of self-interest comparing themselves with the noble heroes of civil rights movements is as absurd as it is insulting.
But there is a better analogy from the US civil rights era for law-flouting firms of the on-demand economy. It’s just not the one corporate leaders claim. They are engaged in what we call “corporate nullification,” following in the footsteps of Southern governors and legislatures in the United States who declared themselves free to “nullify” federal law on the basis of strained and opportunistic constitutional interpretation.
Autonomous cars may not be driving down real roads anytime soon, but with Mcity at the University of Michigan, they now have their own private small town.
MCity—a fully functional, 32-acre suburban landscape located just outside Michigan’s flagship campus in Ann Arbor—was unveiled earlier this week as it begins hosting research by the university’s Mobility Transformation Center.
“There are many challenges ahead as automated vehicles are increasingly deployed on real roadways,” says Peter Sweatman, the center’s director. “Mcity is a safe, controlled, and realistic environment where we are going to figure out how the incredible potential of connected and automated vehicles can be realized quickly, efficiently and safely.”
The site is designed to include every obstacle a driverless car could encounter while out on real roads, especially environments where a car would be challenged. A series of straight and curved roads atop different kinds of material goes past traffic signals, sidewalks, and mock construction obstacles, in addition to signs covered in graffiti and faded lane markings.
The textile market has become an
increasingly progressive arena for innovation. In line with industry
objectives and technological advancements, one designer aims to redefine
the way in which textiles are produced, consumed and recycled. Designer
Ammo Liao
has developed the Bio-Knit—a single material that takes on multiple
physical properties—in hopes to reshape the current sneaker industry. PSFK
by Christina Mauro
Lucy, a barista at Old Spike Roastery
in London, isn’t your typical coffee shop employee. She’s very
friendly, but she has only just started to learn English. She can make a
mean flat white, yet she learned how to do so only five months ago,
when the shop’s owners hired her right off the street.
And her story is emblematic of the mission at Old Spike, a coffee
roastery founded by Cemel Ezal and Richard Robinson, that focuses on
helping the local homeless population as much as it does on serving up
conscientious cups of joe.
The pair initially began speaking with Lucy—who is originally from Romania—when they saw her selling copies of the Big Issue
outside a train station, drawn in by her consistently positive
attitude. After a few conversations through Google Translate, they
convinced her to join Old Spike as the store’s first barista.
Data artists Stefanie Posavec and Miriam Quick created a collection of necklaces and glasses that communicate the physical burden air pollution places on people’s bodies. Air Transformed are wearable data objects that look decorative but are entirely based on open data from air quality sensors in Sheffield.
This U.K. city is known for its steelmaking heritage and notorious for its poor air quality.
The densification of cities, or lack there of, is a hot topic right now. As our population grows, the demographic makeup of our cities will change, and the way we live will be affected. But there has been less talk about the crowding nature of the spaces within the places we live. That’s all starting to change thanks to Density, a small sensor that measures the real-time population of places like cafés, bars, gyms, and retail centers.
The device can be placed in storefront entrances to measure the inflow and outflow of people—giving business owners historical and real-time data of daily foot traffic. It acts as a break-beam sensor and does the job of a video monitor, but it is cheaper, more aesthetically pleasing, anonymous, and the data is more readily accessible.
YONO (You Know) Labs developed an in-ear wearable device that will help women track their ovulation cycles, so that one’s fertility window is best determined. This device should help couples in trying to make a baby and when family planning.
Walkonomics
is an app that wants you to take the more scenic route. The app will
find attractive, beautiful streets for your route, rather than the most
direct way to go. The app is build using government Open Data and OpenStreetMap, and currently includes walkability ratings for over 700,000 streets and footpaths in New York, San Francisco, and England.
Grâce à une erreur de manipulation, Mya Le Thai a créé une batterie ultra puissante, supportant 200.000 cycles de chargement et déchargement. - Steve Zylius/UCI/YouTube
Mark Wilson 03.09.16
as a final project at shenkar college in israel, industrial design student kobi shiker introduces a set of concept robot drones named ‘transwheel’, that will help in the field of transportation and delivery.
it is an autonomous robotic wheel what a self balancing system with
retractable electric arms and GPS communication capabilities that enable
it to operate in isolation or as a troop. they’d be able to carry out
delivery needs around the clock, as small as courier boxes and as big as
shipping containers. kobi’s ‘transwheel’ concept expands upon unmanned
flying drones that are getting a fair amount of development from popular
stores like amazon and walmart, with wheeled counterparts that would be
more robust and versatile.
Not Alone
allows users to discretely reach out to family members or the police in
times of crisis by simply pulling the headphones out of their
smartphone.
Not Alone
allows users to discretely reach out to family members or the police in
times of crisis by simply pulling the headphones out of their
smartphone.
