CURIOSITY STOPMAY 2015

CURIOSITY STOPInnovation is driven by curious minds and We Are Social has a global team of

inquisitive brains who are passionate about seeking out originative things happening in the world of tech, content, culture and business.

We’re all moving at the speed of light, so it’s nice to get information in one spot, and we believe that people (not machines) are the ones qualified to curate the

content that matters most.

So with this in mind, we’ve created ‘Curiosity Stop’ - a monthly snackable report of all things innovative, aimed to interest, inform, and above all, inspire.

Does it make something better, faster, cheaper, happier?

Does it make you smile?

Is it truly innovative?

Is it disruptive?

THE CURATION CHECKLIST

1 Technology

2 Retail

4Publishing

3Internet of

Things5

Electronics

6Apps

7Automotive

8Food

9Home &

Personal Care

10FMCG

11Sport

12IT/ Infrastructure

13Alcohol

14Finance

15Travel

16Hospitality

18Fashion

17Luxury

CONTENTS

Eye Tracker Eye Tracker’s ‘Tobii EyeX’ development kit is now available.

This gives shop window displays and adverts new possibilities, as they will be able to react to passers-by.

Microsoft’s Intelligent Scarf

Microsoft Research showcased an intelligent scarf at the Stanford University. The scarf can connect via an app with Bluetooth, vibrates and heats up.

In the future they want the scarf to react to biometric data so it can scan negative emotions and reactively give comfort.

360° live-streaming on YouTube

Together with Giroptic, Youtube now makes it possible to upload and livestream 360° videos.

This gives brands and agencies new opportunities for product staging and makes 360° videos available to a broader audience.

TECHNOLOGY ESTHER UHL

1

Burger King Relives the Pinch

Burger King lifted the spirits of Malaysians feeling the pinch by offering price discounts on popular food items according to the physical weight of customers’ wallets.

Customers weighed their purse or wallet at promotional scales located at the front of the restaurant to get their voucher. Heavier wallets received free drinks or fries, whereas lighter wallets earned more generous deals.

Participating outlets enjoyed a 20% increase in traffic over the three-day campaign.

KFC’s Edible Cups

KFC has unveiled its newest product: an edible coffee cup.

The cup, named the 'Scoff-ee Cup' is made from biscuit, wrapped in sugar paper and then lined with a layer of heat-resistant white chocolate to keep the coffee hot and the cup crispy.

Once the chocolate lining melts over time, the biscuit begins to soften causing it to melt in your mouth.

Denmark’s First Free Supermarket

Customers have to register online before going to the store and ‘shopping’ for whatever they need or fancy, with a limit of ten items per month. They must then try them out and review them, which they have to do within a certain timeframe, or else they’ll be fined.

The Freemarket will also charge shoppers 19 kroner (roughly £2 or $3.40) a month to cover physical operation costs.

RHODA SELLRETAIL

2

Smarter Coffee

Billed as "the world’s first bean to cup, Wi-Fi-enabled coffee machine," Smarter Coffee lets you brew your perfect cup of coffee from your smartphone or tablet.

The Smarter app controls the grinding of beans, coffee strength and how many cups to make, then wakes you when your coffee is ready and keeps it warm for 20-minutes.

Hello Barbie

Looks like Siri has some new competition. Toymaker Mattel has unveiled a high-tech Barbie, so not only will your child be able to dress her up and talk to her, but the doll is now able to respond thanks to Wi-Fi and voice recognition technology.

It can listen to your child, record its words, send them over the Internet for processing, talk back, then email you, as a parent, highlighting your youngster's conversations with the toy.

Office Activity in Real-Time

Do you know how many times the toilet in your office has been flushed today? How many sheets of paper your co-workers have printed this month? You do if you work at Sid Lee Paris. The design agency has created an online dashboard that collects mostly useless tidbits of data from around the office. The agency describes the project as a design exercise in “real-time (un)interesting data”, saying the goal was to take boring data and present it in an engaging way. The data is collected through Arduino sensors and reported to the web.

INTERNET OF THINGSROBERT WAINMAN

3

Virtual Currency

Tradio is the name given to a type of talk radio show format where listeners call in to buy or sell items. The service, which launched publicly, uses a system of virtual coins. You start with a cache of currency to invest in songs. You earn more as you complete missions – short tasks like ‘listen to two hip-hop songs’ – and challenges – such as ‘invest in 10 songs’.

Watch me Date

The Guardian has launched a new way of dating. Each week, they choose two different people, give them two pairs of Google Glass and pack them off on a date (there is usually a lot of alcohol involved too). Filming begins the minute they meet, and that off-button is only pressed once they’ve said goodbye. The results? You’re right there with them, on these awkward, often funny and sometimes even romantic first dates.

A Tank Made of Books

In celebration of World Book Day, 7UP teamed up with Buenos Aires-based artist Raul Lemesoff to create ‘Weapons of Mass Instruction’, a traveling library that tours Argentina in the shape of a tank.

PUBLISHING TOM OLLERTON

4

pplkpr Tech-loving US artists Lauren McCarthy and Kyle McDonald have invented an app named pplkpr. Which shows you, via digital wristbands which of your social contacts make you happy, angry or nervous.

Mogees Turn Objects into Instruments

Mogees is a novel technology that turns physical objects into unique musical instruments by converting the vibrations we make when we touch them into sound.

The Mogees sensor is combined with a mobile app that detects and analyses the acoustic properties of physical objects and augments them into music.

‘Imagination Machine' Turns Brains Into Game

Tellart set up a game controlled by users minds in a shopping mall. Passers-by were asked what their dream holiday destination was and tasked with guiding a virtual plane to it with the power of their imagination.

A headset monitored concentration levels of the user, and the more focused they were on their destination the more exact the plane followed the flight path.

ELECTRONICS MATT PAYNE

5

Pocket Points Rewards Students for Not Using Their Phone Students can earn free food and discounts by not using their phone in class. The Pocket Points app recognises when a phone is in a classroom. To earn points students have to open the app at the start of class and then lock their phone. The longer the phone is locked, the more points they accumulate.

BBC Puts Your Life in Context The BBC has invented a web-app that allows you take a look at your life by putting your Facebook profile in context with current affairs. They use their archives to match with your information. So, for example, you could get information about the song that was top 10 the day you were born.

GUM turns barcodes into social pinboards

Got something to say about the drink you’re having or the shoes you just bought? Gum is a new app, which allows you to attach digital messages to barcodes, turning physical things into social pinboards.

By simply scanning the bar code you can add your message and read all the messages that have already been tagged by others.

APPS ESTHER UHL

6

Electricity-Generating Tires

What if your car could be powered where the rubber meets the road? Goodyear has announced its concept for a heat-gathering, electricity-generating tire at the 2015 Geneva International Auto Show, and the tire could change the face of electric cars by charging them quicker.

3D Printed Cars The 3D printed car revolution is here. Showcasing the power of co-creation and micro manufacturing, the Local Motors Strati struts its stuff on the NAIAS floor from January 12 - 25. Be one of the first to own an electric-powered 3D-printed car from Factory of the Future™.

Reflective Cycling Paint

LifePaint is a unique reflective safety spray aimed at increasing the visibility and safety of cyclists, and other vulnerable road users. Invisible by day, it glows brightly in the glare of car headlights, so cyclists are visible at night.

NICK DODD

AUTOMOTIVE

7

IKEA’s Concept Kitchen The Swedish furniture giant has launched Concept Kitchen 2025, their vision of the future. It includes an ordinary-looking table, which, in fact has built-in sensors designed to weigh ingredients, suggest recipes and offer food tutorials. It also includes touch-sensitive cooking equipment.

The Environmental Pizza Box GreenBox is a fully recycled pizza box designed with the environment in mind. The lid of the box can be easily torn up into four pieces, which function as plates, and the base then transforms into a container for leftovers.

Pepper Hacker Turns Off Technology

Dolmio (Australia) has launched a new campaign called Pepper Hacker, designed to reclaim family dinnertime from technology.

As well as adding seasoning to a dish, one twist of the Pepper Hacker powers down TVs, shuts off Wi-Fi and closes mobile apps for 30-minutes, taking away dinnertime distractions.

FOODCHARLOTTE MILLER

8

A Revolutionary Toothbrush

Although this product may look suspiciously like a sex toy, it is in fact an all-silicone toothbrush, created by Sweden-based company Foreo. The toothbrush works for as long as a year on a single charge, and bends easily so you have access to all the nooks and crannies in your mouth. The head only has to be replaced yearly too—a win for those annoyed by the high price of new brush heads.

Toothpaste Start-Up Could Redefine Dental Care

A Silicon Valley startup has created a new tooth gel, which they claim is more than twice as effective as traditional toothpaste. Livionex claims to attack bacteria at the molecular level, making it harder for it to stick to our teeth. After three-weeks, subjects who used Livionex had 2.5 times less plaque than ordinary toothpaste users.

Amazon Dash Button

Amazon is testing a new service that allows its customers to instantly order some household items.The buttons have an adhesive stick at the back and can be mounted close to where a customer is likely to realise that a given product is running low - for example on a washing machine for laundry detergent.By pushing the button, the customer alerts Amazon’s systems through Wi-Fi and Amazon delivers the product within a couple of days. The service is only available currently in the US.

SOPHIE FITZGERALDHOME & PERSONAL CARE

9

Hellmann’s £15M Campaign

Hellmann’s is launching a new £15m campaign, taking its slogan from a Facebook fan comment. The brand has used a Facebook post from a fan posted earlier this year, which proclaimed the brand’s mayonnaise was “One Of The Greatest Things Ever Created”. The ad shows the Facebook post, which sparked the activity. It ends on the tagline: “The greatest thing ever created. Apparently.”

The Perfect Alarm Clock?

The hacks at the Artefact Group have created an alarm clock that can order a Pizza to your door. Those who want to use the services have to set it up by inputting their credit card, delivery info, and the toppings and specifications of their regular pizzas.

Once set-up, you can order your pizza with just a turn of a knob. Not surprisingly, the clock is a bit of an overachiever. In addition to ordering your pizza, it gives you a countdown of how long it will take for it to be made.

Absolut vodka gets Punchdrunk

Punchdrunk is usually responsible for interactive theatre productions. Now though, it’s revealing the results of a far more intricate project, an Andy Warhol-inspired app. The app, Silverpoint, was developed as a collaboration with Absolut vodka, and is based on Warhol’s blotted-line drawings. Just as participants in Punchdrunk shows meander through various scraps of narrative and interaction, users of the app gradually work through snippets of information to work out a mystery. The game, has used a combination of technologies including iBeacon and has been described as an experiment in fusing digital and real world experiences.

FMCG LUKE CARRELL

10

The World’s Coolest Basketball Court? Nike’s Jordan brand has devised an immersive, genre-bending installation called ‘The Last Shot’ to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Air Jordan which is like a video game augmenting real-life. When you step inside: you find yourself on a basketball half-court. At first, the walls around you are white but then those walls come to life, and a realistic-looking crowd surrounds you - because the walls are actually massive LED displays.

Data Not Humans Run Danish Football Club

FC Midtjylland is not just a football club. It’s a laboratory for a radical experiment. The experiment — outlined by their chairman Rasmus Ankersen is to test the thesis that you can run a football club based on statistical analysis; stamping out emotional decision-making and replacing it with the scientific method, and by doing so, you can give a small club a competitive edge over its richer opponents. This is radical stuff in the game that the New York Times dubbed the least statistical of all major sports.

Which Premier League Club Has The Most Followers?

If you think you know where Premiere League football fans are located, you may be surprised by our new Twitter fan map, which shows a detailed global breakdown of the followers of all 20 clubs. The map was created by looking at the official Twitter accounts for each team, using their followers as an indicator of allegiance (as opposed to, say, instances in which people mention a team whilst watching an interesting matchup or talking about a team’s rival).

SPORT DAN SANTORO

11

A Power Cable Which Can’t Shock

The International Safety and Development (ISD) has devised a socket that can tell the difference between a finger and a plug. Each Brio features two outlet points and fits into a wall like a standard power outlet. Brio's default state is off though, so no electricity will flow out of it unless the unit detects that an electrical device is plugged-in, and not a tiny human's fingers, or a fork. According to the creators, when its embedded sensor detects a valid plug, Brio enters a 24 V sensing mode to look for the correct level of resistance. Once the onboard microprocessor gives the OK, Brio then lets 120 V flow to the appliance.

DHL Delivers To Audi’s

Audi have announced it will be teaming up with Amazon and DHL to run a pilot scheme to make parcel deliveries to an Audi owner's boot. The idea is that if a delivery person tries to leave a package at a person's home, there's a good chance the recipient won't be there and the package will have to go back to the processing facility. If the delivery person tries to take a package to a person's car, they can use keyless access to it and leave it there securely. The pilot is only open to people who live in Munich, have Audis, and are Amazon Prime members.

Amazon Floating On A Cloud

For the first time ever, Amazon has disclosed financials for its cloud computing operation, Amazon Web Services, and Wall Street was shocked to discover that it's pulling in about $6 billion per year. This gives concrete proof that they are, by at least one measure, the biggest cloud computing infrastructure player of all.

IT/INFRASTRUCTURE

TOBIAS CRAGG

12

Powdered Alcohol Allowed In US

A powdered form of alcohol called Palcohol is now approved for sale in the United States. So far there has been approval to sell four flavours: vodka, rum, cosmopolitan and Powderita (margarita). When a packet of Palcohol is mixed with 177 ml of water, the resulting drink has the same alcohol content as a standard mixed drink, the company says. Palcohol's maker expects to begin selling the product this summer.

Beer Bottles Unlock Movies With A Tap

Grolsch Brewery is offering customers an additional incentive when they buy a beer: a free at-home movie, paid for by tapping the beer bottle on any device. App developers Heads and Hands created the new campaign as a way to streamline promo offers; instead of requiring customers to enter a code to redeem a free movie, each bottle is capable of unlocking a movie with just a tap. The bottles are equipped with Bluetooth beacon technology, that enable the user to pay for a movie on any device with a simple tap.

Carlsberg’s Billboard Gives Out Free Beer

Carlsberg have made what they claim is “Probably the Best Poster in the World” by turning it into a working beer tap. The Danish brewer unveiled a beer-dispensing billboard at The Old Truman Brewery, London. Carlsberg is planning two more publicity stunts for later this year, in addition to wider advertising and sponsorships.

ALCOHOL HANNAH JONES

13

Barclays Code Playground

Barclays has launched a website to teach children about coding as part of ongoing plans to increase digital skills among its customers. The Code Playground website provides an introduction to basic programming skills, as well as allowing customers to book a teaching session in a branch with one of Barclays 12,000 ‘Digital Eagles’ staff. The service is also aimed at encouraging parents and grandparents to expand their knowledge of digital technology.

Apple Pay On Apple Watch

Apple Watch owners will be able to use their devices to pay with a tap for everyday purchases. Apple Pay pulls your credit cards, debit cards, and other sensitive-payment data from the Passbook app, enabling you to use an iPhone 6 or Apple Watch as a wallet at store checkouts.

It’s launched in the US, and is expected to launch in the UK soon but negotiations are being described as "tricky", with at least one of Britain's biggest banks fearing an ‘invasion’ of the banking industry and feeling uncomfortable about sharing too much information with Apple.

VISA Uses Cloud For Payments

Nine Polish banks have confirmed plans to commercially launch mobile contactless payments using Visa's Host Card Emulation technology from early next year. Banks are planning on rolling out services utilising Visa’s Cloud-based Payment specifications, enabling customers with payment apps utilising HCE functionality to make contactless payments using an NFC-enabled Android smartphone.

FINANCE YUSH KALIA

14

Agency Aims To Help Teens Overcome Differences In Language

Smartphone app called UniVoca has been designed to help people, particularly teens, with the differences in language between North and South Korea.

DreamTouchForAll, a non-profit education organisation, helped to develop the app which works like a digital dictionary. It includes 3,600 words used in Korean language textbooks for high school students. When a user scans an unfamiliar word with a smartphone, the translated text appears.

Snakes and Fountains

Remember all those hours you used to while away playing Snake on your Nokia 3210? Londoners can now relive that frustration on a much grander and public scale.

If you download the Granary Squirt app, the fountains in Kings Cross' Granary Square turn into a big game of Snake. Players control the lights in the fountains by tilting their phones, which sends the snake in various directions. The game was designed by the same team behind the fountains at King's Cross.

Intelligent Power Outlets

While airlines work to install more power outlets on airplanes, technology is working to make those outlets smarter. BAE Systems introduced their ‘IntelliCabin’ technology, which features power outlets that are able to sense your gadget’s power need and adjust the charge accordingly. This means that your phone, at 15 percent battery, will charge faster than your seatmate’s, at 80 percent.

TRAVEL FLORENCE OSPICI

15

Humanoid Hotel

Scheduled to open in July, the Henn-na Hotel in Japan will be staffed by several, humanoid robots that will do everything from greeting guests, completing the check-in process, carrying bags to the guest’s room and general housekeeping duties.

The robots are able to respond to the guest’s body language, and can also converse in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

No Man’s Fort

A converted sea fort in the Solent has been converted into a unique hotel. No Man's Fort was built between 1865-1880, and was designed to protect Portsmouth from attack.

Since the fort is no longer used in active defence, the once impenetrable island has been transformed into a luxury hotel and invites intruders to its sanctuary all-year round.

Pokémon Hotel Adventure

The Peninsula Tokyo has launched a unique accommodation plan called the Pokémon Hotel Adventure: The Power of Ten. Using advanced optics technology to create an augmented experience, guests are encouraged to don a Pikachu hat and set forth on the fun and imaginative quest to seek out various interactive Pokémon characters hiding throughout the hotel.

SOPHIE FITZGERALD

HOSPITALITY

16

Veuve Clicquot on Tumblr

The luxury Champagne brand has launched on Tumblr. The page features both a user-generated content section as well as an assortment of hashtags that categorises the images uploaded to the page. In addition, the brand has incorporated an ecommerce link to its Tumblr page. At the bottom of Veuve Clicquot’s Tumblr’s page, followers can easily access a link to purchase products they’ve seen in photos.

Tag Heuer To Release Luxury Smartwatch

Tag Heuer plans to release a smartwatch using Google’s Android operating system in conjunction with chipmaker Intel, to compete head-on with the Apple Watch. With Apple Watch hitting the market it’s no longer viable for Swiss watchmakers to bury their heads in the sand. Now Tag Heuer has signalled its intention to enter the smartwatch market it is certain others will follow.

Four Season’s Launches First Fully-Branded Private Jet

Four Seasons hotel group has revealed that its guests would have new means of travelling from one of its properties to another, by announcing that it’s launching the industry’s first fully branded private jet.

Each Four Seasons flight will only accommodate 52 passengers and comes with its own executive chef, sous chef, guest services manager, and an in-flight concierge to cater for all their needs.

LUXURY FRANKIE HOLLOWAY

17

Anti-Paparazzi Hoodie

Design company Betabrand, known for its wearable-tech clothing innovations, has come out with a hoodie called the Flashback Photobomber. The hoodie lives up to its name thanks to its ‘glass nanosphere’ coating that creates a reflective effect when light hits it. According to Betabrand, the Flashback's wearable tech,"turns ordinary iPhone images into thermonuclear photobombs."

Intel Ensures Your Personal Space Is Protected

Fashion designer Anouk Wipprecht has created the Spider Dress in conjunction with Intel. The 3-D printed ensemble has robotic spider legs surrounding the collar and is powered by Intel Edison technology. Proximity sensors and biometric signals measure your stress levels and infer when someone gets a little too close for comfort. In response, the legs shoot forward in a territorial attack.

The Clever Shoe That Grows Five Sizes

American inventor and philanthropist Kenton Lee has designed expandable shoes for children living in extreme poverty in Africa.Nearly, 300 million children around the world have no shoes to wear and due to the lack of proper footwear, many of them are injured or infected by soil-transmitted parasites and diseases. The Shoe That Grows promises to last up to five years, and feature flexible compressed rubber soles and adjustable leather straps that wrap the feet. The size of the shoes can be adjusted in three places to cope with the demands of growing feet.

FASHION JENNI SMIT

18

TECHNOLOGYYouTube’s 360 live streamingMicrosoft’s Intelligent ScarfEye Tracker Tobii EyeX

AUTOMOTIVE3D Printed CarsGoodyear’s electricity-generating tiresLifepaint

RETAILBurger King rewardsKFC edible cupsFreemarket

INTERNET OF THINGSSmarter CoffeeMattel Hello BarbieSid Lee Paris

PUBLISHINGWeapons of Mass InstructionTradioGuardian’s Watch Me Date

ELECTRONICSMogeesW+K Amsterdam S7 Airlinespplkpr

APPSBBC Your StoryPocket PointsGum

FOODIKEA Concept KitchenGreenBoxDolmio Pepper Hacker

HOME & PERSONAL CARELivionexForeoAmazon Dash Button

FMCGDominos Pizza Alarm ClockHellman’sPunchdrunk and Absolut

SPORTThe Last ShotFC MidtjyllandPremier League on Twitter

IT/INFRASTRUCTUREBrioDHL/Audi/AmazonAmazon’s Cloud

ALCOHOLPalcoholGrolschCarlsberg

FINANCEBarclaysApple WatchVISA Cloud

TRAVELUniVocaGranary SquirtIntelliCabin

HOSPITALITYHenn-na HotelNo Man’s FortPokemon Hotel

LUXURYVeuve ClicquotTag HeuerFour Seasons

FASHIONBetabrandIntelThe Shoe That Grows