In Zlango’s World, Emoticons Are The Future (And The Future Revenue Model)
"Zlango is a mobile chat app that is on emoticon crack cocaine. Instead of pure text-based chats, it supports emoticons married to words. There are standard packs of pictures in the app, but users can upgrade and pay for new packs of themed emoticons using virtual currency. There are Walking Dead-themed packs, Terminator-themed images and ones that draw their inspiration from anime. When you type words in Zlango, it will auto-suggest different emoticons from its library of more than 1,000 free images"
TechCrunch
Performative Light Installation Mirrors Human Movement
"It studies human movement by mirroring interaction in dance, light and sound, while exploring the present and future self. The ‘Future Self’ exhibition at MADE in Berlin is open to the public until June 2nd, where they can experience how light, music and technology come together and react to their own physical movements."
via PSFK
Electric virus powers liquid crystal display in piezoelectric breakthrough
"Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a means of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy using a harmless, specially engineered virus. By simply tapping a finger on a virus-coated electrode the size of a postage stamp, the scientists were able to produce enough current to drive a liquid crystal display, albeit a very small one. The scientists claim that this is the first time that the piezoelectrical properties of a biological material have been harnessed."
via Gizmag
eHighway electric lines to power hybrid trucks in LA
"the infrastructure foundation of ‘eHighway’ is a series of overhead wires that would be installed over at least one travel lane of a highway, similar to the electrical wires of tram lines and electric streetcars. specially equipped hybrid trucks would automatically (or manually) connect to these lines via pantographs along their roofs. when connected, the truck runs exclusively on electrical power, switching seamlessly to diesel upon disconnection (for passing, swerving, exiting, or other situations). when the truck brakes, energy can be recuperated from the kinetic motion and fed back into the grid for usage by other connected vehicles."
via DesignBoom
LCD-Free Digital Concept Camera Encourages Selective Photography
"Timeless Capture is made up of a camera and a viewer, with captured photos sent wirelessly to the viewer once the camera is nearby. The touch-screen viewer is also the only way to see the images as the camera has no LCD display. It has limited storage capacity so the user is encouraged to take control of the content. Click through to see pictures of the concept camera:"
via PSFK
Transfer Data Through The Human Body To Your Devices
"It uses a technique called “capacitive coupling,” where the natural electrical properties of the human body are used to transmit signals with digital information. So, in the future you could be using your smartphone to pass data through your body to devices such as as electronic locks, printers, speakers and screens. ‘Connected Me’ was introduced at CES in January and at CTIA Wireless last week, and could go commercial as early as next year, with a number of equipment makers considering the technology in their devices."
via PSFK
What’s for dinner? Just check the spectrometer
"The micro electromechanical system (MEMS) spectrometer can probe under the surface of any food type, even when it is enveloped in thin packaging film. The user points it at a piece of fruit, for example, and it reflects back a spectrum of infrared light that the system analyses by comparing it with information stored in a database. […] This means that the spectrometer could be integrated into smartphones and be used to make purchasing recommendations – i.e. an App could tell you when the avocado you are about to buy will be ready to eat."
via Gizmag
An App Turns The Whole World Into A Museum
"The creators of geocodedArt, a new project looking for funding on Kickstarter, purport to have gathered a database of 1000s of famous paintings from around the world and coded the precise locations their canvases depict. Being at the site of where a work of art was conceived would surely lend an entirely unique perspective from which to appreciate the piece – one that couldn’t be found in a museum. In fact we must surely pass by locations each week in our day-to-day commutes that served as the inspiration for brilliant art pieces."
via PSFK
Crowdfunded bridge will be only as long as citizens are willing to pay for
"a wooden pedestrian bridge dubbed the Luchtsingel will span 350 meters and require 17,000 planks. Citizens are invited to chip in and help fund the effort with donations of anywhere between EUR 25 for one plank and EUR 1,250 for an entire bridge section — whatever the size of their purchase, they can inscribe the result with their name or any other text of their choice. Perhaps most interesting of all is that the length of the bridge will depend on the number of planks purchased. With more than 1,000 participants to date, roughly 14 percent of the bridge has been built so far."
via Springwise
Understoodit Lets Students Voice Their Confusion Without Having to Raise Their Hands
"During a lecture, students can use their phones, tablets or laptops to tell their teachers when they are confused and when they understood something. Teachers then see this data in real time and can adjust their lectures accordingly. The app does not actually tell the teacher who in the class isn’t quite able to follow along, so students don’t have to worry about voicing their concerns."
via TechCrunch
