Stella Artois' Unique Dining Experience Engages the Five Senses

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.

Instant Touchscreen Devices

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. 

Transwheel concept proves future delivery drones don’t necessarily need to fly

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.

This Immersive TV Campaign for Sense8 Used Minds to Create Music

Published: Aug 4, 2015




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.

Your Credit Card Has Been Transformed into a Wristband, Keyring and Stickers

PSFK by Ido Lechner

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.

Obama’s Climate Action Plan is the strongest in US history

by Charley Cameron 08/03/2015

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.

2015's Most Expectation-Raising Innovations

These 15 innovations will set the customer expectations coming YOUR way soon!

Finally, the Jetson's flying car you've been waiting for is here

Netflix announces 'unlimited' maternity and paternity leave (NFLX)

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.

A Rainbow Colored Mural That Covers An Entire Town And Over 200 Houses

The Future of Safer Cycling: Augmented Reality Helmets

PSFK by Ido Lechner 


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.

A Financial Transformation Will Let You Bank without a Bank

PSFK by Guardian

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.

Sex Dolls with Artificial Intelligence to Ease Your Loneliness (and Maybe Shoot You a Text)

PSFK by Laura Yan

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.

Jeff Tennery: Is the Sharing Economy Creating Quality Jobs?

PSFK by Jeff Tennery, Moonlighting


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.

Let Your Brain Be Your Joystick

PSFK by Jason Brick


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.

Reach an Emergency Contact By Disconnecting Your Headphones

PSFK by Teo Armus

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.

Jeff Fromm: Zappos Embraces Holacracy as the Millennials Shape the Future of Work

 PSFK by Leah Swartz, FutureCast 


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.

What is Holacracy?

Not Impossible Labs Creates Open-Source Technology for Transformational Good

PSFK by Simone Spilka

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.

Leveraging Intelligent Customer Service Systems to Personalize Brand Experience

PSFK by PSFK Labs

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.

Emojis Speak Louder Than Words

PSFK by PSFK Labs

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.

Countering the Internet of Things’ Flow Toward Centralization

PSFK by Guardian



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

The chaotic evolution of the Internet of Things gives fuel to every utopian and dystopian imagining. The enthusiasts argue that it will be transformative; bringing convenience, efficiency and services never before imagined. Others see hackable vulnerabilities and a dark world of consumerism, inequality and surveillance.

Befriend 10 Nearby Strangers Anonymously

PSFK by Ido Lechner

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’s Walls Are Taking Fight Back to Public Urinators

PSFK by Azalea Pena

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.

Uber and the Negative Side of the On-Demand Economy

PSFK by Guardian


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.

Welcome to a City Designed for Testing Driverless Cars

PSFK by Teo Armus


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.

Changing the Way We Walk the Earth for a Cleaner Future

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

A Coffee Roastery Serves Up Jobs for the Homeless

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.

Show Off Your City’s Pollution Data in Style

Stefanie Posavec and Miriam Quick's wearable data objects, based on open data from air quality sensors, visualize the burden pollution places on us

Emma Hutchings  - 30 july 2015
 
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.

How Busy is the Bar? A Door Frame Sensor Will Tell You

Density is a sensor and app that measures establishment population data and shares it in real-time via the cloud

Charlie Stephens  - 30 july 2015
 
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.

The Inside of Your Ear Might Prove Key in Getting Pregnant

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.

Google Maps Gets You There, Walkonomics Gets You There Beautifully

The Walkonomics app will help you find more scenic walking routes along tree-lined streets (and avoid the dreary ones)

Laura Yan - 31 july 2015

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.

Coca-Cola : This Vending Machine Encourages People to Share by Giving Two Bottles

Published: Jul 22, 2015
JetBlue and Coca-Cola teamed up to create this cola ad and publicity stunt that encouraged people in an airport to share a coke. The coke machine was set up to produce two coke bottles each time someone used it. Instead of keeping both bottles the consumers were encouraged to share the second bottle, which read "humanity" on the label.

This public display was captured on a hidden video camera inside New York’s Penn Station. The machine was set up for one day. During that one day over 150 people used the machine and 70 percent of those users shared their second bottle of coke with a stranger. This heart-warming cola ad was implemented to support Coca-Cola's 'Share a Coke with Humanity' stance.

Each person who shared a coke with a stranger was congratulated for their humanity-supporting act by receiving two free flight tickets. While the consumers had no idea there was an incentive for their kindness, it made the entire interaction even more special.

Interactive Sports Anchor Exhibits

The TSN SportCentreStudio Series Gives Fans a New Experience

Published: Aug 2, 2015 

The Hockey Hall of Fame (HHFM), located in Toronto is one of the premiere destinations for hockey fans. Established in 1943, HHFM is dedicated to memorializing those who have contributed to developed Canada's great winter sport -- ice hockey.

As part of its continual pursuit in providing attendees with new and unique ways to experience Canada’s favorite sport, HHFM recently unveiled a series of new interactive exhibits within the TSN/RDS Broadcast Zone. The most recent, and one of the most popular, being the new TSN SportsCentre Studio. The exhibit was designed as a replica of the TSN SportsCentre Studio set and offers guests the opportunity to test their sports anchor skills in front of a live camera and teleprompter.

Designed by Terry Heard Design and built by Holman, the interactive SportsCentre Studio exhibit give guests an authentic in-studio experience. All guests’ performances are recorded using the Cisco GameCAM Video System. This allows participants to download the video and have a keepsake that they can share online/social media.

The exhibit has become a popular attraction for hockey fans of all ages and has provided a photo-opp which can be seen on profile pictures across all social media platforms.

Sweat-Activated Drink Dispensers

Gatorade's Drink Vending Machine Only Serves People Who Sweat

Published: Jul 9, 2015 

Most drink vending machines are designed to dole out refreshment when the right amount of coins is traded in, but Gatorade's Sweat Machine operates a little differently.

The Sweat Machine was set up at various park locations in Toronto, calling out to runners, bikers and other active individuals as they passed by. Gatorade's machine asked people to place their hand on a panel in order to determine if they were sweaty enough to deserve a drink. If not, the machine challenged people to #KeepSweating by performing a few more squats, burpees or a jog on the spot.

With interactive stunts like these, Gatorade is beginning a shift in focus from celebrating professional athletes to rewarding ordinary people who are inspired to keep active every day.

A New Series Entices Audiences with Its Persona Synthetics Branding

Published: Jul 8, 2015

Humans is an upcoming ABC television series that used fake advertisements for an artificial intelligence brand called Persona Synthetics in order to create buzz with audiences. First rolling out a series of YouTube ads that advertised the lifelike qualities and capabilities of the robots, the ABC-produced series is a science fiction drama about the industrial robots and their everyday uses.

Depicted doing everything from cleaning up around the house to looking after children, the Persona Synthetics commercials are unsettling in a way that can't be explained. By setting up the series with an eerie take on a potential soon reality that is so unsettling, ABC and Humans are able to ensnare audiences with that first emotional connection.

The use of the fake branding for Persona Synthetics is an example of emotional marketing, as ABC's clever rollout speaks directly to the heart of consumers and namely, their fear of a future defined by AI robots.

Why Hoverboards Keep Exploding

Josh Valcarcel/WIRED

Those self-balancing scooters that everyone’s calling “hoverboards” don’t actually hover. But that’s not the strangest thing about them—that would be the fact that this year’s most popular holiday gift keeps catching on fire.
An exploding two-wheeler burned down a house in Louisiana a few weeks ago; another scooter combusted in the same state in the past week. A gyroboard caused significant damage to a home in New York a few days ago. At a mall in Washington this week, a scooterboard caught fire and shoppers were forced to evacuate. The perceived danger is significant enough that major airlines have banned the little vehicles altogether.
But what is actually causing all these fires? In the New York and Louisiana incidents, the board was plugged in and recharging. In the mall incident, the board wasn’t plugged in at all; there have also been reports of scooters bursting into flames while people were riding them. Plugged in or not, the big problem has to do with the quality of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries inside these things. They’re almost always tucked in one of the foot rests, and they work the same way as the lithium-ion batteries in our smartphones, tablets, and laptops. They’re just a lot more prone to defects.
Jay Whitacre, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, says that the problem doesn’t have to do with these self-balancing scooters themselves, but with the quality of the batteries being used. They’re cheap, and it makes sense: This is a hot (pun not intended) holiday product, the reputable models are pretty expensive, and more-affordable brands are using cheaper components to lure in shoppers that don’t want to spend a grand or more on a hands-free Segway. Predictably, a slew of cut-rate brands are flooding the market with shoddy scooters made from cheapo components.

Billboards In Los Angeles Are Showing Artwork Instead Of Advertising

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If you happen to be in Los Angeles, and see billboards with artwork on them, you might be looking at the work of non-profit group The Billboard Creative. They take unused billboards and turn them into public art, with the art coming from artists from all over the world.
Their latest installation started on December 1st, and includes 33 artists. The billboards are only able to be seen until the end of the month.
h/t: contemporist

Cyclist-Favoring Weather Sensors

This Traffic Light Sensor Prioritizes Bike Riders in the Rain

Published: Dec 31, 2015 • References: rotterdam.nl & springwise

This traffic light sensor in the Dutch city of Rotterdam gives cyclists a green light faster in rainy weather. The sensor system is currently part of a trial that only makes bike riders wait for 40 seconds for the light to turn green when it's raining.

Other cities are also experimenting with traffic priority, but this is the only one to focus in on inclement weather conditions. This allows wet commuters to get to their destination faster while dry drivers compromise with longer sitting time at traffic lights. Currently the traffic light sensor only exists at one intersection, but there are plans to extend their reach in the future.

Rotterdam already has dedicated phasing for bicycle lanes, showing how invested the city council is to encouraging environmentally friendly (not to mention healthy) modes of transport.

50 Millennial Health Innovations

From Smart Connected Inhalers to Posture Correcting Trackers

Published: Jan 12, 2016

The Millennial consumer is focused on health innovation more so than any other consumer segment for a variety of reasons, and here you'll find a collection of the best and brightest grabbing their attention.

When it comes to healthcare and Millennials, it has become strikingly clear that it's all about prevention by using everything from a fitness tracker to maintain health or an app to determine susceptibility to certain illnesses.

Being that Millennials were raised around technology, the further integration of it into their lifestyles is rather intuitive. While Boomers and other segments might deal with issues as they come about, health innovation with the Millennial consumer is all about preventing, mitigating and managing health before it develops into a serious problem.

The Most Important Design Jobs Of The Future

Designers at Google, Microsoft, Autodesk, Ideo, Artefact, Teague, Lunar, Huge, New Deal, and fuseproject predict 18 new design jobs.

Yesterday's graphic designers are today's UX designers. Will tomorrow's UX designers will be avatar programmers, fusionists, and artificial organ designers? Yes, according to the illustrious roster of design leaders we spoke with here.

Design has matured from a largely stylistic endeavor to a field tasked with solving thorny technological and social problems, an evolution that will accelerate as companies enlist designers for increasingly complex opportunities, from self-driving cars to human biology. "Over the next five years, design as a profession will continue to evolve into a hybrid industry that is considered as much technical as it is creative," says Dave Miller, a recruiter at the design consultancy Artefact. "A new wave of designers formally educated in human-centered design—taught to weave together research, interaction, visual and code to solve incredibly gnarly 21st-century problems—will move into leadership positions. They will push the industry to new heights of sophistication."

Here are 18 of the most important design jobs of the future, as identified by the men and women who will no doubt do much of the hiring. Most looked three to five years out, but some peered farther into the future (see: organ designer).

Glasses Protect from Face Recognition

AVG reveals eyewear to protect your identity from facial recognition programs

Leo Lutero - 31 december 2015 

 

It might not be so obvious but AVG thinks we need to worry about how our facial photos are thrown about online. To answer the problem, the company introduces a simple solution: hacked eyeglass frames.
There are two main ways these eyeglasses can protect against automatic recognition.
The first one uses infrared lights. Infrared is a light beam visible to camera sensors but not the naked eye. When wearing glasses with embedded infrared in a photo op, software will be unable to use algorithms to recognize your face in the photo.
The second pair uses retro-reflective materials on the glasses’ surface to return the flash directly back at the camera. This means the eyes will be surrounded by a halo of light that will also make it hard for computers to tag a face.

Yoga Pants, Laced With Tech, Make for a Self-Guided Vinyasa

The yoga experience gets infused with technology in a seamless and app-guided way

Eva Recinos - 11 january 2016

 

The grace, flexibility and strength that yoga requires comes with practice—and it’s helpful to hear feedback from an instructor, too. But a new clothing line called Nadi could help yoga lovers stay in top form without the constant need for an instructor.
Recently unveiled at CES, the specially designed line of tights caters to the yogi that aims to perfect his/her craft. Using haptic vibrations, the yoga pants help to correct the wearer’s form. With different frequencies and intensities, the vibrations guide the wearer through not only their positions but also their overall goals. Users can set these goals—and track their progress—with the help of an app. The vibrations happen in real time as the wearer changes movements.
Wearable Experiments—the brains behind Nadi—focuses specifically on this union between fashion and technology. They hope to create each fashionable item as an “untapped resource that, together with technology, can help people stay more connected and use their fashion in a more practical way,” as their website states.

Breath Sensor Helps Shift Conversation From Weight Loss to Fat Loss

A CES 2016 reveal, this breathalyzer will tell you if your workout is actually working or not

Leo Lutero - 11 january 2016

 

LEVL can tell if your body is actually burning off fat. By measuring acetone in the breath, it will be able to tell if your body is doing what you want it to.
The prototype features a dock with two breath pods. To carry out a test, the user would have to breath into one pod and put it into the dock which analyzes the sample. A reading is made and a LEVL score shows up on the dock’s display. This LEVL score serves as a quick summary of how a person is doing in terms of burning fat.

Emotion Tracking Could Change How Hollywood Makes Movies

Lightwave measured how audience members reacted to the emotional intensity of Golden Globe Best Picture Winner, The Revenant, using real-time biometric data

Rob Kleiman - 12 january 2016
 

Seeing films and stories on the silver screen allows us to witness and experience gripping and harrowing tales of survival and triumph. They allow us to experience wild highs and lows that we as modern day city dwellers would never actually experience. Then when the story is finished, the popcorn is eaten, the cinematic connection is forgotten. Soon after watching a film, a viewer quickly gets emotionally further away from how they felt while watching. That’s the problem with the current moviegoing experience; filmmakers have no way to get real data or evidence supporting how viewers actually felt during a movie.
Lightwave, a pioneering bioanalytics technology company, is in the business of tracking how we feel in these micro-moments and has partnered with 20th Century Fox to quantify the audience’s engagement to the action, drama and adventure of The Revenant based on their physiological responses, such as heart rate, electrodermal activity (changes in the electrical activity of the skin), and motion.

Feel Like You’re Walking on the Moon With Gravity-Defying Shoes

Magnets in the soles of these "moon shoes" create an out-of-this-world sensation

Vashti Hallissey - 13 january 2016

 

A pair of shoes will help people experience what it feels like to walk on the moon without having to land a job at NASA. The 20:16 Moonwalker and the 20:16 MoonWalker V2 include strategically placed magnets in two layers of the sole, creating a repellent effect that makes users feel light on their feet.
Created by New Yorked-based company Moonshine Crea, the 20:16 MoonWalker shoes have a thick white sole, a simple, molded body in gray and white and a padded non-slip tongue. The outer layers are made from water-resistant synthetic fabric and the top layer of the sole is made from memory foam, which adjusts to the unique shape of your foot. From the outside, they look like urban, slip-on trainers mixed with platform shoes.
While the shoes have a simple appearance, they have a lot going on beneath the surface. The insides are made with the same material NASA uses on their space station modules. And most impressively, they feature patent-pending technology that promises to make the user feel weightless.
The soles are embedded with 45 Neodymium magnets, ultra-powerful magnets which are generally used to lift things, from barbells to cars. These are strategically placed in the shoe to repel each other and push the layers apart, creating a force field that gives the user the feeling of being free from gravity.


The 20:16 MoonWalker V2 is another version of the shoes which gives the user the option of customizing the design. They can connect the shoes to a smartphone app to display updates on the soles using e-ink.
While the details of how this would work are less clear, the main selling point of the 20:16 MoonWalker is that they give people the chance to feel what it’s like to walk on another celestial body just by putting on a pair of shoes. It’s a concept that has captured many peoples’ imaginations; the 20:16 MoonWalker Indiegogo campaign has raised over $99,000, beating its target of $20,000 with 19 days left to go.



While these shoes sadly won’t give users the ability to moonwalk like Michael Jackson, they could offer people an outer space experience without even having to leave the house.

When It Comes to Wearables, It’s Time to Design for Wearers’ Needs

Macala Wright - 13 january 2016

 

Without experience standards, we will not see adoption of wearables at scale

Wearables at CES this year finally took a turn in the right direction, resembling devices that people will actually purchase and, yes, wear. In its fifth year of development, the wearable tech landscape continues to evolve in its complexity. From design aesthetics to the technical specifications of products to accuracy of data, companies and product designers are starting to understand that they must master all of these aspects in order to successfully enter the wearables market and turn a profit as only three percent of the consumer population has started wearing tech.
What’s more, it was clear that my predictions in 2014 and 2015— that consumer behavior surrounding wearables would remain constant and that companies would need to further develop products that cater to wearers’ needs in order to further adoption (e.g. purchase)—have clearly started to come true. From what we saw on the show floor, consumers want products that feature intuitive design, practical use applications, don’t hinder task performance and enhance their ability to accomplish action.

Wearable Technology = Big Revenue

Juniper Research recently released “Smart Wearable Devices: Fitness, Healthcare, Entertainment & Enterprise: 2013-2018.” The study anticipates that the retail revenue from smart wearable devices, including smartwatches and glasses, will reach $19 billion by 2018. High price points, combined with anticipated strong demand, will drive the growth of the wearable industry. According to another Juniper Research study, the smart wearables market is expected to generate $53 billion hardware revenues by 2019.

Makeup Mirror at CES 2016 Takes All the Guesswork Out of Beauty

Pucker your lips and watch augmented reality transform them

Germany opens the first 3 miles of a 60-mile bicycle superhighway

Move over, bike lanes. Move wayyyy over. Germany put its pedals where its mouth is and opened its first bicycle-only highway, a three-mile stretch of protected roadway that is closed to cars and other motor vehicles. Unlike a traditional bike lane, which is separated only by paint on the asphalt, a bicycle highway is an entirely separate roadway where cyclists can zoom along on their merry way without worrying about car traffic at all.

10 CEOs Make Predictions For The Future Of Business In 2016

From more transparency to more streaming video and honesty in marketing, 10 leaders tell us what they think the next year has in store. 

By Stephanie Vozza



2016 is already being called the a "year of change." So what changes are on the horizon? We got some insights from 10 leaders and here’s what they predict for 2016.

AEQUOREA, LA VILLE AUTOSUFFISANTE SUBAQUATIQUE IMPRIMÉE EN 3D

LES CLÉS DE DEMAIN - 05 JANVIER 2016

Ce « gratte-océan » est imprimé en 3D dans un matériau composé d'algues et de déchets plastiques marins recyclés...

Vincent Callebaut, architecte notamment connu pour avoir été missionné par la ville de Paris afin d'imaginer à quoi pourrait ressembler la capitale française d'ici trente ans dans le cadre du projet Paris Smart City 2050, a tout récemment dévoilé un nouveau projet « futuriste », baptisé Aequorea.

The 7 Best Ideas From CES 2016

The Consumer Electronics Show holds thousands of new ideas. But these are the ones that will matter into the future.

This week in Las Vegas, the electronics industry assembled to woo journalists with the shiny new toys of the year. Most of them aren’t worth your time: Thinner TVs. Dumb objects with Wi-Fi. Apps you’ll never use.
But if you have the patience to sort through the pile, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will show you the trends to come: 2016 will be a year of virtual reality, big drones, small mechanics, and wireless power. Here are the best ideas from CES 2016:

HTC Vive "Chaperone" Mode

HTC