Ideabing - Ideas for the world, FREE! Blogs on Ideation, Innovation, Technology and such. » design

A device that proves if you’re really sick

Allison Reilly — Tue, 03 May 2011 17:00:52 +0000

Calling in sick and “having a doctor’s note” won’t get you a free day off work anymore, at least not in Malaysia. A USB device, called SickVerify, will eventually substitute the role of doctors as providers of medical certificates. By August 2012, doctors across Malaysia will lose the legal authority to issue medical certificates. From then on, all workers will have to submit to a test using SickVerify to substantiate their claims for sick leave.

Using a complex series of algorithms, SickVerify measures the concentration of antibodies and cortisol (shows up specifically from stomach cramps) in the saliva sample to determine whether the subject was ill during the time period claimed for sick leave. The device is reportedly 98.9% accurate.

The test itself is blindingly simple and quick. The subject wets a fingernail-sized piece of cotton with his/her saliva. The cotton is inserted into the compartment of SickVerify, which is then plugged into any laptop or desktop via a USB socket. A program provided with SickVerify can then be run to begin the test (which takes approximately 3 minutes) and display the results.

This might not be a bad idea in the United States, as employers loss $1.8 billion from March Madness alone. But would verifying everyone’s sick leave excuses really fly in this country?

5 things Nokia can do to avoid becoming another Palm

Akshaya Murthy — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:05:46 +0000

The mobile OS market is changing on a daily basis now. Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems have changed the way mobile phones work. Google’s Android platform recently became the #1 smart phone OS in the US. The Android platform is now profitable according to Google’s Eric Schmidt and well on its way to becoming a $10 billion business for Google. So where does Nokia fit in? Nokia has struggled to make inroads into the world’s largest high end handset market- the USA. A slew of bad handsets, dated Symbian and lack of technology in Nokia’s offerings have made these handsets lackluster. On the other hand, Apple and Google have been making their platforms stronger by adding better hardware, beautiful touch screens, great hardware designs and compelling app stores into their products. The latest blow to Nokia has been the resignation of Meego chief Ari Jasski apart from a slew of other departures from the exec cabins at Nokia.

This leaves Nokia scampering for cover in a market slowly being taken over by Motorola, HTC and Samsung. Why am I comparing Nokia with these “handset manufacturers”? Because Nokia is becoming just that, because Nokia is slowly becoming “another” handset manufacturer. No longer does its flagship Symbian OS please people. So much so that Nokia is contemplating a switch to Windows Phone 7 and/or Android. If this ever happens, Nokia will end up competing in a crowded space with absolutely no differentiating factor. This is what happened to Palm a couple of years ago. Palm switched from its proprietary Palm OS to Windows mobile only to be welcome into a market that did not care about branding – just the OS. Although Nokia commands a strong following in the lower end of the segment, it’s the high end segment that churns out profits. Nokia has also been less innovative compared to its peers – no tablets, a failed netbook project and its stubbornness with resistive touch screens all contribute to Nokia’s low self esteem image. Nokia is trying to get into other markets – the car market for instance with its terminal mode offering. But this is not enough to survive in this market.

So what could Nokia do to survive in this cut throat market? I have 5 suggestions.

1. Move to capacitive touch screens, you don’t have to build your own touch screens.

Samsung’s AMOLED and Apple’s IPS touch screens have made customers open their eyes to brighter screens and more colorful images. Nokia is still stuck with resistive touch screens that require a stylus to operate well – even on their most high end phones. Move on, Nokia – no one wants to use a stylus. And the fact that the stylus hangs loose from the phone doesn’t help either. The technology is available for purchase – just contact Samsung or Apple. I am sure they will license the technology to you. And yes, it makes on-screen keyboards a zillion times more usable.

2. Add better processors into your phones

Although Nokias were capable of “multi tasking” on phones long before Apple or Google were, the processors on Nokias suck. Big time. The buzzword is “GHz” now. Talk to Qualcomm or TI – they may be able to sell you some GHz processors. You see, you may think that a 500 MHz processor will do but the customer doesn’t. The customer wants a “faster” phone although he/she will end up using the phone to listen to music, play Angry Birds and make phone calls.

3. Stick to Symbian. That’s the only differentiator you have.

Let’s admit it. iOS and Android have left you spoilt for choice. With GPS becoming a standard feature and the “phone” feature becoming a “feature” no one cares if your phone can make amazing phone calls. Consumers expect phones to make calls APART from everything else. So, make the Symbian 3 better – grab a star programmer from Apple and a start project manager from Google. Move your design house to the USA. Your OS offering should start to become awesome just by doing that. If Nokia lest go of Symbian, Nokia is more or less going to be dead soon – ready to be gobbled up by HTC or even Dell.

4. Create an app market and publicize it

Palm had an app market place too – remember? Just that it has less than a 1000 apps. Build an app marketplace for Nokia that makes sense. The problem with Nokia’s app offering is the hardware variation. Every phone is different. Make your app store adapt to this problem. No one wants to look around to see if an app is compatible with a particular device. People want to download stuff. NOW. And yes, bribe them developers to build apps for your platform. And publicize the platform. There is no point in having an amazing app store which has no visibility.

5. Market your phones better

Nokia has a problem with marketing its products in the US – they don’t market their products at all! Invest some money in marketing those high end phones you make. No one will buy the phone unless you saturate all types of media with your stuff. Of course, don’t make a crappy offering or don’t partner with AT&T to do your advertising. AT&T sucks at advertising anyway. I don’t understand why you can spend so much on advertising in India and not spend some money on the largest market.

Let’s just hope Nokia doesn’t get taken over by some company in the next year or so. They are certainly headed that way. Innovation is the only way you can survive and you are not innovating enough, Nokia.

Yesterday’s News Becomes Today’s Fashion

Allison Reilly — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 07:00:15 +0000

Four leading green fashion designers made news on Wednesday– “yesterday’s news’’ that is – by turning recycled newspaper into eco-friendly fashions. The unique, trend-setting designs were unveiled at the Yesterday’s News Green Catwalk Event and Workshop in New York City. Made with recycled newspaper, Yesterday’s News brand cat litter served as inspiration for eco-friendly designers Anthony Lilore of RESTORE CLOTHING™, Bahar Shahpar, Lara Miller and Samantha Pleet, who debuted their original fashions made from newspaper at the New York City event. The designs will all be auctioned off for charity from Sept. 22-29, 2010 (www.DoGooderChallenge.com), with proceeds going to each designer’s green charity of choice.

The fashion show and green workshop event was part of the Yesterday’s News Do-Gooder Design Challenge, a campaign to celebrate the millions of cat owners across the country who make good green choices for their cats, home and environment. The campaign is also helping to spread the word that going green is in fashion all year-round.

“Today’s event demonstrates that good, green choices should be a part of every aspect of our lives – from the way we dress to the food we eat to the way we care for our cats,” said Renee Loux, green living expert, author and spokesperson for the Yesterday’s News Do-Gooder Design Challenge. “It was a thrill to see the amazing and stylish newspaper fashions created by these leading eco-friendly designers. Now, cat owners everywhere can do their part by bidding on their favorite designs to benefit green charities.”

“It was exciting to see our designers embrace the Do-Gooder Design Challenge and transform newspaper into fashion-forward designs that looked fabulous on the runway and will benefit good green causes,” said Vanessa Hutt, Assistant Brand Manager, Yesterday’s News. “We know that millions of cat owners share our commitment to ‘do good’ all year round and we encourage everyone to start taking small steps to live green in their daily lives.”

Following the fashion show, attendees were also invited to visit the Green Workshop to learn green living tips for their cats, home and environment from a number of eco-friendly experts including: Kaight, Riverkeeper, Teens Turning Green, DEX New York, green living expert Renee Loux and the five eco-friendly designers.

Yesterday’s News is a cat litter made from recycled materials including paper and sawdust. On average, 44 million pounds of paper is recycled into Yesterday’s News each year. The eco-friendly cat litter introduced a new recyclable bag – one of the first in the pet care industry – in January 2010. For more information on Yesterday’s News, the Do Gooder Design Challenge and Handbag Design Contest, go to www.DoGooderChallenge.com.

As long as the water is safe for swimming

Allison Reilly — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:00:15 +0000

The Seaventures Dive Resort is an old oil rig in the Pacific Ocean breathing new life as a hotel for snorkelers and diving enthusiasts. It’s eco-friendly in the idea of reusing the oil rig (we will need a use for them once oil runs out) and in the fact that the purpose of the resort is to help folks experience pristine ocean ecosystems. The downside is that the best parts are all outside and underneath the oil rig.

According to the Wall Street Journal‘s report on the hotel: “The 25 tiny guest rooms, although spotlessly clean, resemble those on a cruise ship that has seen better days. A visitor’s room had a rusty metal locker without hangers to serve as a closet, and the reading lights and shower water heater didn’t work. The air smelled from the oil powering the generators.”

So, the luxury is in the underwater scenery and not the facilities, as the Seaventures Dive Resort is located in the Celebes Sea, surrounded by Borneo, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It’s a prime location of coral reefs, sea cliffs, and hundreds of species of colorful tropical fish, but not in terms of convenient location. The trip to get there includes “a flight to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia; another flight to Tawau, on the east coast of the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah; an hour’s drive and an overnight in the tiny port city of Semporna; then an hour’s boat ride to the oil rig.” But, for scuba divers around the world, it’s all worth it for a glimpse of extraordinary sea creatures.

[via Treehugger]

Rethinking the bicycle seat

Allison Reilly — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 07:00:42 +0000

Riding a bike is great for the environment, but bike seats aren’t known for their comfort, especially for men. But sexual health and comfort can be improved for male bicyclists with the no-nose bicycle seat, which the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has conducted studies on and concluded that have demonstrated the effectiveness of no-nose bicycle saddles in reducing pressure in the groin and improving the sexual health of male bicycle patrol police officers. The seat is designed to move the pressure to different parts of the body, and needs to be adjusted for a rider’s height and physiology.

But not all bikes and bike seats are created equal, and for male bicyclists who go through similar problems, it actually might be best to just adjust the current seat on the bike rather than get a new one with a sleek design. Bicycle saddles only cause numbness 1) if the bike is improperly adjusted; 2) when a rider isn’t fit and 3) after a very long and intense ride. Also, not all bikes have adjustable seats or additional seat posts, so its best to check first with a bike shop or doctor about the options. Nonetheless, there’s no reason to give up bike riding all together, as numbness and discomfort is solvable. Just keep in mind three things:

Exercise is good for sexual health! Sitting in a car and cubicle every day is not a recipe for a great love life.
With proper bike fiting, cycling should be numbness and pain free.
Experiment with different seats–nose as well as no-nose. Everyone’s physiology is different and there are myriad saddle styles to choose from. Here’s a little tip, though: don’t go with the saddle that feels softest to the touch, and do a reasonably-long ride on a saddle before making a decision!

The World’s First Solar-Powered Air Conditioner Is Here

Allison Reilly — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 19:10:21 +0000

In Dezhou, China, the Shandong Vicot Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. unveiled the world’s first directly solar-powered air conditioning unit at a solar-powered air conditioning conference (demonstrating that conferences exist for things that yet don’t). Experts and academics present at the conference unanimously agreed that Vicot’s solar-powered air conditioning unit is a great innovation in China’s solar-powered technologies sector, and an extremely significant step forward for the industry’s future strategy and development.
Predictions have been made that by 2060, the world will run out of traditional energy sources, meaning that humankind would not be able to keep cool in the summer heat. The goal is to have renewable energy sources make up 30 percent of all energy sources by 2020, 50 percent by 2050. This new air-conditioning system boasts an optimal 85% thermal cooling conversion efficiency, and its ability to utilize solar power is twenty-seven times that of the average water heating unit. It also allows for 24-hour continuous cooling, heating, and supply of hot water, while natural gas can be used as a supplemental energy supply.
“This solar-powered air conditioning unit is the result of three years of hard work and the pioneering research efforts of Chinese and American scientists and engineers. The product is a fine example of globally cutting-edge technology. Solar-powered air conditioning units can be widely used in low-carbon buildings, and its cost is relatively low, so in 3.5 years, the unit’s initial investment can be recouped, and in 6.7, the entire investment can be recovered,” remarked Shandong Vicot Air Conditioning Co., Ltd.’s president Li Wen.

Statistics show that consumption of energy by buildings and other structures in China is 27.45% of the country’s overall energy consumption, so the incorporation of energy-saving measures in these structures is imminent as well as relevant and substantial. Currently, energy consumption in buildings and structures is mainly attributable to heating units (65%), water heating units (15%), electricity (14%), and kitchen appliances (6%).

The Wrist Computer Makes Us Drool. In Stores In 2020.

Allison Reilly — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 07:00:34 +0000

It is, but it won’t be here for another 10 years. Designer Hiromi Kiriki’s “Nextep” computer concept is constructed out of a flexible OLED touchscreen. Expected to be on shelves in 2020, the Nextep features a holographic projector (for screen), pull-out extra keyboard panels and social networking compatibility. It’s to be worn on our wrists like a watch, and flexible to fit the shape and size of any wrist. There’s not too much information out there, as to the product’s cost and durability, but the pictures are enough to make us want one.

[via Yanko Design]

Air-purifying road surface!

Allison Reilly — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:00:52 +0000

Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have tested pollution-eating concrete on about 1,000 square meters of roads in the town of Hengelo. The results? A 25 to 45 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) over the special roads, meaning that someday our roads and other concrete structures could be used to clean up the air. Maybe the carbon emissions from out cars will be offset by the roads themselves?
Science News explains that vehicle exhaust gases contain NOx, which cause acid rain and smog. The pollution-eating concrete contains titanium dioxide, a photocatalytic material that removes the nitrogen oxides from the air and converts them with the aid of sunlight into harmless nitrate. These stones also have another advantage: they break down algae and dirt, so that they always stay clean. Titainium oxide is naturally occuring,
The pollution-eating concrete can also be mixed with regular asphalt for use where you don’t necessarily need a concrete road, so it could maybe be used in sidewalks, at playgrounds, and in plazas as well.

[via Treehugger]

It’s Flying, with Style

Allison Reilly — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:00:41 +0000

Efforts are underway to harness the wind in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which could contain as much as 870 terawatts of power — that’s 870 trillion watts! Being able to harness this energy has one significant advantage: it would take less raw material per watt of power, translating to a lower cost per watt.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.

Beyond Politics, Poverty, and War

Allison Reilly — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 19:00:32 +0000

Is it possible? Well, the Venus Project will try. The Venus Project “advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before.” This project is seeking to make natural resources a common heritage and cultural value for all of humankind and to create a resource-based economy instead of a monetary-based one. The project is based in Venus, Florida, where Phase One of this alternative vision has already taken shape with domed-shape buildings and a conference center. They also have plans in motion to develop futuristic transportation, clean energy sources, city architecture and efficient housing. The project’s plans for city systems includes Research City, a brand new city that would expound these ideals without replacing old cities and solving the problems of the old ones. The new city would come without all those problems. Research City has a circular arrangement that will be surrounded by, and incorporated into the city design, parks and lovely gardens. This city will be designed to operate with the minimum expenditure of energy using the cleanest technology available. This system facilitates efficient transportation for city residents, eliminating the need for automobiles.

Ideabing - Ideas for the world, FREE! Blogs on Ideation, Innovation, Technology and such. » design

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