Mobile Tech and Barcodes
Posted on | March 15, 2010 | No Comments
Scanning barcodes with your mobile phone always seemed like a bit too much work to me, I didn’t really see the point. When museums bragged about their exhibits complete with barcode curation, I couldn’t help but think to myself: Why would I take the time to scan a barcode at a museum to read more about the display in front of me? Wouldn’t a placard be more efficient? Read more
Tags: Barcodes > Location Based Services > Modifying Infrastructure
Using Cell Phones as Traffic Sensors
Posted on | March 15, 2010 | No Comments
UC Berkeley and Nokia researchers used GPS-enabled cell phones to test a technology that could soon transform the way drivers navigate through traffic. Detractors, of course, are concerned about the privacy issues that arise from using GPS technology in cell phones in a pervasive manner. Check out the video below to learn how GPS in mobile phones could replace stationary sensors to predict and monitor traffic flows through urban centers, minimizing the costs currently associated with sensor infrastructure.
Tags: California > Modifying Infrastructure > New Business Models > Urban Development > urban policy
Smart Tips for Using your Smart Phone
Posted on | March 11, 2010 | No Comments
Do you rely on your smart phone to help you get from point A to B? Do you rely on it for tips? Restaurant Recommendations? Does it help you stay connected with family and colleagues when you’re on the road? If so, then you’re probably completely stuck when the battery of your smartphone eventually dies. Read more
Are We About To Witness A Digital Service Revolution?
Posted on | March 10, 2010 | No Comments
The launch of the book ”Connected Cities: Your 256 Billion Euro Dividend” this week in London by Living Labs Global in collaborationwith Design London, heralds how introducing new digital services in cities promises the change the way citzens live in cities around the world.
Only few years ago, digital services were about bandwidth, wireless protocols, and emerging standards for mobile television. To the keen observer, however, there has recently been a significant shift from antennas to services that might completely change the way we as citizens live, work and interact with technology around us.
At The Well Connected City symposium at Imperial College, cities, companies and universities came together to share experience and create partnerships for how cities can become increasingly ”smart” with the help of new digital service layers. From the integrated digital services in the transportation system of Paris, to the integration og mobile and online public services of the City of Westminster, the way citizens interact with the city in which they live is changing rapidly.
Around the world, groundbreaking services are already being piloted to allow the visually impared to move seemlessly around cities, to solve congenstion problems once and for all through intelligent and personalised car pooling, and implement sensor-networks in cities to create a smart city that only cleans the streets, turn on the street lights, and empties the harbage bins when there is a need. The economic potential is staggering, and the societal upsides clear. However, the consensus is that although the technology is already there, political leadership is needed to introduce this technology to society on a massive scale.
Skinput from Microsoft
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | No Comments
If you haven’t already heard, the brains at Microsoft together with researchers from Carnegie Mellon came together last week to debut their innovative solution to our touchscreen-centric world, a technological leap that transforms one skin into their personal touchscreen. Read more
Tags: Design > Location Based Services > Modifying Infrastructure
Digital Capital Week, Washington DC
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | No Comments
The city and the people that brought us the Apps for Democracy Model for service innovation in 2009, will launch the 2010 Digital Capital Week in June of 2010; The Purpose of Digital Capital Week is to strengthen the capital region’s digital economy via a 10 day series of events focused on creativity, technology, entrepreneurship, marketing, content creation, and innovation.
In anticipation of the event, DC in partnership with iStrategy Labs has spearheaded its own mini-census in an effort to explore the potential to conduct and complete a mobile and innovative census data collection process; the US in the mean time is gearing up for the costly and labor intensive process of collecting data for the 2010 US census. Thus far, they have collected over 1500 responses. Though they do have a ways to go, it will be interesting to see where technology is at in 2020 for the next census and the role that mobile technologies will play.
Tags: digitized markets > Modifying Infrastructure > New Business Models
New Socialight Platform, New Socialight Business Model
Posted on | March 4, 2010 | No Comments
Socialight, the New York based location-based social networking site, launched a new offering for potential users this past week. The Socialight Community Platform lets people, companies, and organizations easily launch apps around location-based content and community. Read more
Tags: community application development > Location Based Services > Modifying Infrastructure > New Business Models > Urban Development
Better Understand the Soundscape around you
Posted on | March 2, 2010 | No Comments
Is the world around you literally very noisy? Trains keeping you up at night? Or, is early morning traffic impeding on your sleep? Then, you might be compelled to check out the WideNoise application for the iPhone, an application which allows you to measure the level of noise pollution that engulfs you on a day to day basis.
Read more
Tags: Application > Location Based Services > New Business Models > Sensors > Urban Development
A Savvy App for Texting Fiends
Posted on | March 2, 2010 | No Comments
For those of you who find yourself texting about sensitive information, be it professional or otherwise, you might take interest in ,TigerText.com, a new application for iPhones that allows senders to control the lifespan of individual texts. Read more
Tags: Design > Modifying Infrastructure > New Business Models
Our Handbook on Innovation in Services and Mobility in Cities – “Connected Cities: Your 256 Billion Euro Dividend” – now out!
Posted on | February 28, 2010 | No Comments
Tags: Cities > Design > DesignLondon > Handbook > Living Labs Global > Mobility > New Business Models > Service Innovation
