Future of Food Experience by Koz Susani Design Design Duo Koz Susani have been working on bringing a new food concept to life that would transform the culture of eating altogether. “Just add Water” is a set of appliances which connect to an app that answers the tells you what to eat for dinner, and then makes it for you. Taking into consideration basic facts from your day, like if you exercised or perhaps if you are recovering from a cold, it calculates the perfect meal. “Flavor pills,” tiny water-soluble pods filled with organic spices and nutritional supplements, get added to one of the appliances along with fresh produce and some water. “The ingredients and condiments are perfectly dosed, and the recipe is ‘contained’ inside the flavor pills,” explains Marco Susani from Koz Susani Design, the firm that created the new system. The flavor pills, which contain only a tiny amount of food and are packed using techniques from molecular gastronomy, can be shipped to consumers with little carbon footprint. www.kozsusanidesign.com
Shop Jeen: teen site conquers social media but faces customer backlash | US news In a world where Tumblr stars, Snapchat phenoms, and aspiring Instagram models rack up the kind of online following that rivals traditional celebrities, Erin Yogasundram holds center court. Like other young people, Yogasundram has an Instagram feed peppered with selfies, memes, and close-up snaps of nail art. But unlike many 23-year-olds, her photos elicit responses like “My queen!,” “Why are you so perfect?” Yogasundram, a New York native, is the founder and CEO of the online boutique Shop Jeen. The site’s homepage feels like a dizzying combination of Tumblr gifs, 1990s nostalgia, and the incessant strobe lights in a dark karaoke room. Shop Jeen clearly isn’t for everyone (including all members of the population older than 20). Yogasundram created Shop Jeen in 2012 while she was a student at George Washington University. As a teenager, Yogasundram earned supplemental income by selling everything from celebrity autographs to Celine bags on eBay.
Prosthetic Hand Lets Paralysed Man 'Feel' A prosthetic hand wired directly to the brain has allowed a paralysed man to "feel". It is the first time a person has been able to feel physical sensations through a prosthetic device. The technology is so advanced the 28-year-old man could even identify which mechanical finger was being gently touched. The system was designed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is part of the US Department of Defense. Programme manager Justin Sanchez said: "We've completed the circuit. Video: Aug: 3D-Printing Prosthetics "Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise, but without feedback from signals travelling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements. "By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function." Video: Swipe: Robots And Prosthetics
High street retailers fight back against online rivals In 2000, a young marketing executive changed the face of British fashion retailing, founding Asos to sell cheap imitations of celebrities’ outfits. Last week Nick Robertson, the great-grandson of retailer Austin Reed, resigned as chief executive of the business, just as another shake-up of the industry is under way. The UK’s online retail market is large and growing. Its value increased 17 per cent in 2014 to £42bn, according to Euromonitor. But the growth of pure-play digital retailers is under threat as their marketplace becomes increasingly crowded. “The high street has fought back,” says retail analyst John Stevenson, of City stockbroker Peel Hunt. Large retail chains — such as John Lewis and Dixons Carphone — claim that using “bricks and clicks” together creates a better experience for customers. John Lewis makes 33 per cent of sales online, according to figures provided by the department store group. Still, many online retailers have struggled in recent months.
Intelligent Machines: The jobs robots will steal first - BBC News Image copyright Thinkstock If you are sitting at a desk, driving a taxi or carrying a hod, stop for a moment and ask: could a robot or machine do this job better? The answer, unfortunately for you, is probably - yes. The debate about whether machines will eliminate the need for human employment is no longer just academic. Boston Consulting Group predicts that by 2025, up to a quarter of jobs will be replaced by either smart software or robots, while a study from Oxford University has suggested that 35% of existing UK jobs are at risk of automation in the next 20 years. Office workers who do repetitive jobs such as writing reports or drawing up spreadsheets are easily replaced with software but what other jobs are under threat? To find out more about whether your job is at risk of automation in the next two decades, check out the BBC's interactive graphic. Image copyright Transport Systems Catapult For the moment though "the other dude in the car" is in defiant mood. Life's a beach?
Will Mass Customisation Work For Fashion? | Intelligence LONDON, United Kingdom — Ours is a customisable world. From Spotify playlists to sandwiches, we routinely custom-build things according to our individual tastes and requirements. Indeed, in industries as diverse as window manufacturing and personal computers, it is now the norm for companies to tailor individual products to the needs of individual customers. In footwear, Nike and Converse have built popular ‘mass customisation’ services, which allow customers to participate in the design of their products, which are then built to order in large-scale factories, blending the benefits of traditional craft production with the efficiencies of modern industrial processes. Nike's Nike iD process on display| Source: Courtesy of Nike With mass customisation, customers get products exactly configured to their needs and tastes. Yet mass customisation has yet to really take off in fashion, especially at the higher end of the market. Bow and Drape's "Fries Over Guys" sweater | Source: Courtesy
'Super Voice' 4G service from Three offers better signal - BBC News Image copyright Thinkstock Mobile phone provider Three has launched a UK service it says will improve reception inside buildings and in rural black spots. Its 4G Super Voice enables customers to make calls and send texts using a lower frequency spectrum. Other networks are looking into introducing the technology, known as Voice Over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE). It currently works on only the Samsung Galaxy S5, but recent iPhone handsets will be added in the coming months. It is being rolled out in: LondonEdinburghExeterBirminghamCardiffManchesterLiverpoolBristol Three said up to 5.5 million customers would have access to the service by 2017. Chief technology officer Bryn Jones said: "By the end of the year, one million of our customers will have access to better indoor coverage and be able to use their phones in more places than ever before."
Apple Watch Gets First Major Updates, Including Partnership With Hermès Apple hosted Wednesday's product release event one year to the day after it first announced Apple Watch, and the watch got its first round of updates on its first anniversary. There are a few new accessories, two new metal colors, and a partnership with luxury brand Hermès. Apple began its watch announcements with the splashiest. For the Apple Watch Hermès, Apple partnered with the French luxury brand to create leather straps for the standard stainless steel model and a trio of special watch faces that recall Hermès's traditional watches. There are also now rose gold and gold-colored anodized aluminum Apple Watch Sport models, which let customers get a look similar to the $10,000-plus Apple Watch Edition starting at a friendlier $349 price point. Apple also announced that watchOS 2, the first major update to the Apple Watch's operating system, will be available Sept. 16. Since the Apple Watch first burst onto the scene in April, smartwatch competition has heated up.
Burberry Becomes First Fashion Brand to Launch Apple Music Channel | News & Analysis LONDON, United Kingdom — UK luxury-goods maker Burberry Group Plc introduced a channel on Apple Inc.’s music service in the latest example of the fashion and technology industries coming together. The channel will showcase Burberry’s collaborations with emerging and iconic British talent including Lilla Vargen and Alison Moyet, and feature performances, songs and films alongside regular playlists, the London-based company said Tuesday in a statement. The partnership with Apple is the latest in a series of initiatives by the trenchcoat maker to widen its influence and reinforce its image as a purveyor of cool. Subscribers to Apple Music will be able to follow Burberry and gain access to musical updates and behind-the-scenes stories. Fans will also be able to comment or share the content via messages, Facebook, Twitter and email, Burberry said. The connection between Apple and Burberry is the latest example of fashion and technology colliding.