Category Archives: Technology

Louis Braille, Meet the 21st Century

brailleipad

The creators of the Blitab, a new “haptic tablet,” are bringing new meaning to the word “touchscreen.” Designed to be a Kindle for the visually impaired, their device allows users to actually feel their electronic devices.

The device works like an e-reader with a few major changes. Instead of using an LCD display that users can read off of, the “haptic tablet” uses “smart liquid” that forms bubbles on the surface. Blind and visually impaired users can than read the bubbles as Braille letters. “We call the materials ‘tixels’ from ‘tactile pixels’ because we do not use any mechanical elements to trigger the dots,” says Bitlab’s founder, Kristina Tsvetanova. The software converts text from webpages and USB drives.

Tsvetanova has a working prototype and is still looking to get seed-funding to bring her product to market. And while similar products already exist with astronomical price tags of over $15,000, Tsvetanova’s goal is to make the “haptic tablet” more affordable, so that more people can use it.

What Sparks Our Fire: Creative design improving internet accessibility for the blind and visually impaired in the tablet-era.

Use Solar Power Anywhere

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With a majority of Americans and people worldwide that consider solar power to be their number one choice of energy, SunPort is introducing a new way to use solar energy, with their new innovative and affordable outlet adapter. This portable outlet adapter allows users to power all of their gadgets on clean solar energy. Once plugging in a device into the SunPort, the application will automatically calculate how much power you’re using and quickly give you the option to upgrade to solar energy. Once upgrading, it will automatically purchase solar micro-credits that are provided through a non-profit organization called ReChoice. It’s a more affordable and less cumbersome option than those industrial-sized solar panels.

3048930-inline-i-0-this-plug-automatically-runs-your-gadgets-on-solar-powerDue to cost being an issue when purchasing solar panels, the inventor of SunPort, Paul Droege, believes they will eventually offer their customers a chance to upgrade their entire home at an affordable and reasonable cost. This will allow those with high interest to use clean solar energy and help create a demand for more solar production.

The use of solar energy has increased tremendously throughout the years and will continue to grow. Nivea Sun ads, which generated a great deal of praise and attention worldwide, used a similar approach.

What Sparks Our Fire: Making solar power more affordable, more portable, and more accessible to change the way we use energy.

 

The World’s First “Smart” Ad

bahio

M&C Saatchi is experimenting with a new artificially intelligent advertisement for coffee brand Bahio, which uses a “Darwinian” algorithm to test different aspects of the ad like copy, layout, format, and image. The ad, monitored by a camera embedded in the poster, adjusts to the viewer’s reaction. Layouts that fail to engage are rearranged, and ads that viewers respond well to are reused and modified.

Chief Innovation Officer of M&C Saatchi David Cox says that although this software is experimental, “automated creativity” is quickly becoming the norm. The point of the exercise is to test the computer’s strength in determining the strongest creative execution, and to create layouts that may not have been conceptualized by the team.

If interactive ads become fully integrated in digital advertising, they could have huge implications in helping optimize viewer content and interaction.

What Sparks Our Fire: Brands coming up with innovative and tech-savvy ways to advertise to and engage with consumers.

The New Meaning of “Broadcast”

chromecast

With streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus on the rise (such as Netflix announcing that its second-quarter revenue exceeded estimates at $1.64 billion), tech giants are competing to enhance the streaming experience, revolutionizing the way we watch TV.

It’s clear that this is a step in the right direction, according to a report from Google regarding engagement via Chromecast that revealed users transmitting media to their TVs watch 50% more video than the average mobile app user. Chromecast, along with competitors such as Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV, represents another huge push toward digital streaming over regularly scheduled programming, which could mean the end of TV as we know it now.

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Earlier this year, The Artifice reported that more than 40% of American homes used a streaming service as of the fall of 2014, which shows that the demand for “on-demand” services has increased dramatically and is becoming rapidly integrated with the average consumer lifestyle.

What Sparks Our Fire: Data that shows how a consumer preference shift and new technology is changing the traditional pastime of watching television

The Urban Jungle

smart palm

Dubai is known for continually being on the forefront of modern technology. This summer, it has one more surprise for its residents—massive, 20-foot-high “palm trees” made of metal that harness the power of solar energy to provide Wi-Fi and power.

“Smart Palm” boasts Wi-Fi hotspots, phone-charging stations, informational touchscreens, and even security cameras and an emergency button for safety. They’re completely self-sustained and green, thanks to giant solar panels that serve as the fronds.

While there are only two standing for now, the company plans on introducing another 103 across Dubai, and potentially switching to a 3-D printing manufacturing process. Viktor Nelepa, the company’s founder, wrote in a press release that his goal was “to provide data, connectivity, energy [all] in a sustainable manner,” while still maintaining the cultural significance of the date palm.

What Sparks Our Fire: Making technology greener and more accessible to the modern user.