Tag: proud-partner

Name-your-price hotel rooms

Add / Remove Hotels are often left with unfilled rooms, which is why we have seen websites offering to cancel and rebook rooms for customers, and make the most of fluctuating room prices. Polish startup Findbed reverses the booking process by enabling customers to name their ideal price, leaving the hoteliers to decide whether or not to accept their offers. We have already seen taxi and private jet services use the ‘name-your-price’ business model. Now, FindBed enables customers to book a room at a rate of their choice. To begin, customers declare their desired price and the platform sends out the offer to all appropriate venues. Then, the manager of the hotel has three hours to decide whether or not to accept the offer. Finally, the customer is sent a list of all the places that will offer a room at that price and the user chooses their favorite. What other industries could integrate this model? Website: www.findbed.pl Contact: rafal@findbed.pl The post Name-your-price hotel rooms appeared first on Springwise .

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Name-your-price hotel rooms

Recycled plastic denim line could help clean up the oceans

Add / Remove The vast amount of plastic in our oceans is a man-made environmental catastrophe, damaging ecosystems and coastal economies. We have seen a number of companies tackling the issue with recycling schemes and products . Now, clothing brand G-Star is doing the same on a huge scale, through its G-Star Raw for the Oceans clothing line. The project, launched in collaboration with pop star Pharrell Williams’ Bionic Yarn, includes a documentary, a game and a collection of denim clothes made from recycled ocean plastic. The Raw for the Oceans collection includes jeans, jackets, sweatshirts and other clothing for men and women. All the denim products are made from plastic retrieved from the shorelines. The discarded products are first broken down into chips and shredded into fibre, before being spun into a yarn that is combined with cotton. The yarn is then knitted or weaved into fabrics. Some of the garments include provocative slogans such as “WTF are you doing to my oceans?”, while others have the octopus emblem used in the marketing campaign. Could other clothing companies be doing more to help with environmental issues? Website: www.rawfortheoceans.g-star.com Contact: www.g-star.com/contact The post Recycled plastic denim line could help clean up the oceans appeared first on Springwise .

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Recycled plastic denim line could help clean up the oceans

Neuro-headsets for under USD 500 could help market research

Add / Remove EEG headsets are invaluable devices, used in hospitals and labs to aid researchers’ understanding of brain activity. Previously, their cost has made them unaffordable to smaller teams, but now Emotiv have developed a range of headset that cost under USD 500. This means that schools, small research programs and individuals can experiment with brain monitoring functionalities. Emotiv’s devices — including the EPOC and the Insight — are both worn on the head. Each wireless headset has multiple channels — the EPOC has 14 EEG channels, while the Insight has five. They can be used for anything from emotion tracking and creating brain maps, to controlling games and smart objects with the wearer’s brain. Additionally, the devices could be used by people with physical disabilities to communicate and interact with their surroundings. Market researchers could also find the headsets useful. EEG works by translating brain activity and facial expressions into readable emotions, so by getting subjects to wear the headsets, the process of screening a new advert or campaign could be streamlined and made more accurate. The Emotiv Insight was crowdfunded on Kickstarter and is now available from USD 358.95. How else could the headsets be used to advance research and experimentation? Website: www.emotiv.com Contact: hello@emotiv.com The post Neuro-headsets for under USD 500 could help market research appeared first on Springwise .

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Neuro-headsets for under USD 500 could help market research

Tool translates sentences into a picture

Add / Remove Artists and creatives have always been able to translate imaginative ideas into physical visuals using skills such as painting and sculpturing, but technology such as 3D printing has been democratizing some of the modes of creating. We have already seen ThinkerThing — a system that uses neurosensory tech to enable users to 3D print physical manifestations of their imagination. Now, WordsEye is an incredibly accessible online tool, which enables users to experiment with digital art by turning their words into surreal images. To begin, users register on the Beta version of the program. They can then create an image through language by inputting sentences that include nouns, adjectives and measurements. The program automatically recognizes the different elements of speech and translates the description into a visual. For example, if the user types ‘the small striped elephant is 3 feet in front of the red house,’ WordsEye uses speech tagging and analysis to produce that image, filling in any missing details itself. WordsEyes stores a vast database of language and its corresponding imagery and will eventually be built out with suggestions from users too. Initially conceived as a fun, creative tool for self expression, the program could also be used as an educational tool to assist with literacy, teaching new languages or to empower those with physical disabilities. WordsEye is expected launch as an app for iOS and Android in the near future. How else could the tool be used? Website: www.wordseye.com Contact: type-a-picture@wordseye.com The post Tool translates sentences into a picture appeared first on Springwise .

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Soft thermometer sticker monitors temperatures remotely

Add / Remove The digital thermometer market is worth USD 800 million, so it is no wonder we have seen devices such as the Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer trying to break into it. However, while most offerings simply rework the classic thermometer design for the smart era, Fever Scout from VivaLnk is an innovative new product that offers continuous temperature monitoring for parents of sick babies. Fever Scout is a wearable thermometer in the form of a soft patch. It is reusable, rechargeable and connects to a companion smartphone app via Bluetooth. To begin, parents attach the patch to their poorly child and launch the app. Then they can monitor their child’s temperature on their smartphone and receive customized notifications if they develop a high fever. The device is particularly useful during the night, when checking the child’s temperature is likely to disturb them and do more harm than good. Fever Scout is currently available to preorder for USD 59, it is expected to ship in early 2016. How else could health monitors be adapted to be more child-friendly? Website: www.vivalnk.com/feverscout Contact: inquiries@vivalnk.com The post Soft thermometer sticker monitors temperatures remotely appeared first on Springwise .

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Soft thermometer sticker monitors temperatures remotely

Bacteria powered breathable clothing

Add / Remove From probiotic yoghurt to a lightbulb powered by bacterial bioluminescence, the large diversity of microorgamisms in the natural world have had huge benefits for humans. Researchers at MIT’s Tangible Media Group have now found a way to use bacteria in clothing. The team used Bacillus Subtilis Natto — the same cultures used to ferment the Japanese soybean breakfast dish — to create electronics-free ‘smart’ fabrics. The clothing, called bioLogic, looks like sportswear with vents spread across the back. These vents contain layers of the bacteria spread across the body’s natural heat and sweat points. The bacteria naturally swell in the presence of humidity, so that when the wearer begins to sweat, the vents open up, allowing heat to escape naturally. With the ability to grow huge amounts of useful bacteria in labs relatively cheaply, what other industries could benefit from bacterial design? Website: www.tangible.media.mit.edu Contact: tangible-admin@media.mit.edu The post Bacteria powered breathable clothing appeared first on Springwise .

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Police support via Skype

Add / Remove Police forces are often overstretched and have to balance neighborhood patrols with emergency situations and ongoing investigations. Now, officers of Peterborough in the UK are trialling a Skype service that enables members of the public to speak to the police remotely through video chat, rather than arranging a home visit, which can be very time consuming. The service will be offered to those who dial 101 rather than the emergency number 999. It provides another communication option for victims of crimes and exists alongside other emergency response procedures. Police officers will still visit people’s homes if that is necessary, but it is hoped the Skype option will improve response times and enhance communication between law enforcement and the public. Telephone and Skype appointments will provide flexibility for victims, with appointments available seven days a week from 8am-10pm. The initiative echoes similar movements in the health service, which enable patients access to health professionals via Skype and telemedicine platforms. What other public services could be enhanced through remote video technology? Website: www.cambs.police.uk/Peterborough Contact: www.twitter.com/PboroCops The post Police support via Skype appeared first on Springwise .

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Police support via Skype

Fluorescent dressing glows to detect infections

Add / Remove There’s a huge demand for engineering materials that detect dangerous substances invisible to the naked eye, such as these gloves that change color in the presence of hazardous substances. Similarly, researchers at the University of Bath have been developing a material to detect potentially deadly bacteria on open wounds. Using a hydrogel containing fluorescent dye, the prototype wound-dressing glows in the presence of bacterial ‘biofilms’ — a state bacteria exist in that’s difficult for drugs to penetrate. Treating open wounds can be complicated by the presence of certain bacteria, which can lead to infections, prolonging treatment and making the situation potentially fatal. These infections can currently only be detected after they’ve taken hold, so standard medical practice requires removing and replacing the dressing, leading to patient distress. This new solution is capable of detecting a number of infectious bacterial species, and organisms normally present on human skin don’t trigger the color change. Whilst a long way from the clinical trial stage, the wound dressing shows that early detection of invisible infections is possible. Could the glowing appearance of this solution be a hit with children? Website: www.pubs.acs.org Contact: a.t.a.jenkins@bath.ac.uk The post Fluorescent dressing glows to detect infections appeared first on Springwise .

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New smartphone battery lasts 10h with 5 minutes charging

Add / Remove With the growing ubiquity of smart tech, the fear of a dying battery will soon be a thing of the past. Prieto’s redesign of the traditional rechargeable lithium ion batteries used in smartphones and laptops is promising revolutionary battery power. Traditional lithium batteries are one-directional, with current flowing from the negative cathode to the positive anode, requiring them to be placed in the correct orientation. The method is inefficient and the bulk of batteries restricts the shape of the tech they’re powering, as well as causing environmental damage due to the toxic acids used to coat the anode. Prieto’s battery is three dimensional so that current can flow with multi-directionality, producing 10 hours of battery life with five minutes charging. It can be moulded into any shape, so that for the first time, batteries can be designed to fit the product, rather than the other way around. Prieto’s patent-pending design doesn’t require the use of toxic acids — the anode is instead coated with a electrolyte polymer capable of self-healing — and they claim it will be cheap and scalable. Prieto are currently seeking investors for their batteries, having already secured a partnership with Intel for computing devices. What products can be created using this new battery design? Website: www.prietobattery.com Contact: inquiries@PrietoBattery.com The post New smartphone battery lasts 10h with 5 minutes charging appeared first on Springwise .

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An unmanned restaurant where guests cook for themselves

Add / Remove Pushing the idea of the ‘restaurant’ to its absolute limit, Foodsy is a new DIY Amsterdam eatery that does away with staff altogether. Instead, patrons cook, serve and even pay themselves using the food, equipment and instructions provided. Foodsy was created by chef Edwin Sander, and will open in a temporary location this week. Guests will be provided with a menu of recipe cards that they can use to cook for themselves easily in under 20 minutes — diners simply use the raw ingredients, or in some cases pre-prepared soups or stews. There are also instructions for how to tap a beer and the best setting to make their own coffee. Once they have eaten, guests simply pay for their meal using an iPad app. Because there is no staff, most of the meals are significantly cheaper than they would be elsewhere. Of course the unmanned restaurant experience is very unlikely to replace the pleasure of being waited on, but the concept could definitely thrive in busy areas where the trade of casual lunches are prevalent. We have already seen a pop-up restaurant that serves only food cooked by individuals in their homes. How else could eating out be adapted to suit different locations? Website: www.foodsy.amsterdam Contact: info@foodsy.amsterdam The post An unmanned restaurant where guests cook for themselves appeared first on Springwise .

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