Tag Archives: Device

Say Goodbye to Cash

lollapalooza

Okay, so maybe this only applies to those attending Lollapalooza this summer. It isn’t officially time to rid ourselves of those green bills just yet. But, that does seem like a reality we are getting even closer to.

It was just announced that attendees of the three day music festival will be given wristbands to replace their wallets. Festival attendees will log their credit card information into a system and receive a bracelet using near-field connectivity technology allowing them to touch their wrist to the screen, enter a pin number and make a payment at all vendors. The wristband also function as the entry ticket for attendees so there is no way around not having one.

This is a great move forward for mobile payment systems. Not only does it make it easier for concert goers not to have to worry about carrying cash and credit cards around with them, but it’s a great sign for the future uses of devices like smartwatches. We could be approaching a time where something like a wristband will completely replace the credit card and leave cash even further behind in the dust.

What Sparks our Fire: Seeing an organization take advantage of new technologies and paving the way for innovative payment gateways at music festivals.

Where do you see the future of payments going?

Can You Smell Me Now?

I don’t know about you, but my Instagram feed is filled with people sharing pictures of their food. Sometimes a picture is not enough, these platters of chicken parm and fully loaded burgers look so great I wish I could smell just how delicious they are too. Well, this capability may be here sooner than you’d think.

Yesterday, Harvard professor David Edwards showed off his new product that allows you to share not just pictures and videos from your phone, but now the smell too. No, the smell does not come out of your phone. First, you snap a picture of the food. Then, as you would add filters on Instagram, you pick different smells to describe the picture you’re sending. The recipient, with their oPhone DUO device, can open your message and release the scent to experience it for themselves.

It may not quite be smell-o-vision, but it definitely shows forward thinking. A picture may say 1,000 words, but with the oPhone it will smell like even more. The device is not yet available, as they are currently raising money through Indiegogo, but you can check it out at the Museum of Natural History in New York City as of June 17.

What Sparks our Fire: Finally reaching the future with smell-o-vision.

Are you ready to share smells?

Can You Spot Me $5?

Splitting a cab just got so much easier.

The app Venmo has grown rapidly in popularity over the past few years and is making waves in how we handle money between friends. For years we have been spotting our friends, and trusting they’ll pay us back. Now you don’t have to go through awkwardly reminding them they owe you $8 for the cab you split in the summer of ’13, and can simply charge them. The app allows you to connect to a bank, debit card, or credit card to then collect and charge your Facebook friends and email contacts.

As someone who prefers to pay for most things by card, I rarely carry cash on me. I’ve been using Venmo ever more frequently to help not only keep track of what I owe my friends, but to easily pay them back.

Not to mention, the comments provide much needed comic relief on a rainy day like today.

What Sparks Our Fire: A quick and easy way to spot our friends and get paid back.

Would you use Venmo to pay and charge your friends?

Power Play

I have an iPhone 4S with a battery that barely lasts five hours. Because of that, I need to carry an extra rechargeable battery with me at all times. It’s bulky and I hate it, on top of which it takes forever to charge, somewhere between 20 minutes to a half-hour, and only to about 50% capacity.

Israeli startup StoreDot plans to use nanotech to solve the charge speed problem. A video released by the company shows a phone going from next to no charge to full charge in slightly less than 30 seconds. It works via nanodots, which are minuscule bio-organic conductive crystals that basically allow a greater amount of charge to pass through them faster than was possible with conventional tech.

The charger is still in prototype, but The Wall Street Journal has reported production is planned for the latter part of 2016. They hope to refine the device, which looks sort of like a laptop charger, for an industry that “is not ready for it,” CEO Dr. Doron Myersdorf said. “We are talking about a new type of materials that can be introduced into different types of devices.”

What Sparks Our Fire: Fast and comprehensive charging technology, helping us to waste less time.

Do you think this will solve the battery issues facing most smartphones today.

Exoskeleton Expansion

In 2008, the United States Army began to develop a technology that would lead a single doctor to save over 100 soldiers a leg amputation. The Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis is in essence a support system for legs injured by battle, created by making a mold of the injured leg and creating a carbon-fiber cast. It’s not a prosthetic, and it’s not a brace, but it functions a little like both. The relatively low-tech solution works by supporting the weaker parts of the leg with energy gathered from regular steps.

The most important part of this technology is that it is completely functional. Inventor Ryan Blanck says that many of his patients have considered amputation as a solution. “They might be able to stand on it, but they can’t fully bear weight on it. They can’t push off from it.” Blanck’s invention helps soldiers regain the use of their legs, eventually strengthening muscles and joints. The device can reduce pain to almost nothing, and can be used for daily wear, as well as more strenuous exercises like hiking and running.

Even better, this device will soon be available to civilians, allowing for even more people to regain their mobility. According to Mashable, several dozen patients are already waiting for their own.

What Sparks Our Fire: Low-tech solutions to serious medical issues, allowing soldiers and civilians to maintain their independence.

Do you know anyone who would benefit from this invention?