Korean Emart recently placed 3D QR code sculptures throughout the city of Seoul that could only be scanned between noon and 1 pm each day — consumers were given discounts at the store during those quiet shopping hours.
Periodic lulls in business are a fact of life for most retailers, and we’ve already seen solutions including daily deals that are valid only during those quiet times. Recently, however, we came across a concept that takes such efforts even further. Specifically, Korean Emart recently placed 3D QR code sculptures throughout the city of Seoul that could only be scanned between noon and 1 pm each day — consumers who succeeded were rewarded with discounts at the store during those quiet shopping hours.
Dubbed “Sunny Sale,” Emart’s effort involved setting up a series of what it calls “shadow” QR codes that depend on peak sunlight for proper viewing and were scannable only between 12 and 1 pm each day. Successfully scanning a code took consumers to a dedicated home page with special offers including a coupon worth USD 12. Purchases could then be made via smartphone for delivery direct to the consumer’s door. The video below explains the campaign in more detail:
As a result of its creative promotion, Emart reportedly saw membership increase by 58 percent in February over the previous month, they also observed a 25 percent increase in sales during lunch hours. Retailers around the globe: One for inspiration?
Small
satellites capable of docking in orbit could be used as "space building
blocks" to create larger spacecraft, says UK firm Surrey Satellite
Technology. Not content with putting a smartphone app in space, the company now plans to launch a satellite equipped with a Kinect depth camera, allowing it to locate and join with other nearby satellites.
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is the latest of many large-scale vehicles to dock in space,
but joining small and low-cost craft has not been attempted before.
Surrey Satellite Technology's Strand-2 mission will launch two 30cm-long
satellites on the same rocket, then attempt to dock them by using the
Kinect sensor to align together in 3D space.
"Once
you can launch low cost nanosatellites that dock together, the
possibilities are endless - like space building blocks," says project
leader Shaun Kenyon. For example, it might be possible to launch
the components for a larger spacecraft one piece at a time, then have
them automatically assemble in space.
Even your most advanced toaster won't ask that much of you these
days. No matter what you're browning, it all boils down to lowering that
lever and knowing that something is about to get toasty.
So, how do you make a complex piece of technology such as a 3D
printer easy enough for everyone to use, like a toaster? Well, to start,
you focus around a one-button design. There are 3D printers on the way
that want you to be able to start fabricating cool stuff just like that — just with one button. For the most part, it really can be that easy.
Here we preview 3D System's forthcoming Cube 3D printer, which is
looking toward a nearer-than-you-think future where 3D fabrication is
commonplace and something anyone can do.
Photo Credit: Kevin Hall/DVICE
With One Press Of This Button
If there really is a 3D printing at home revolution waiting to
happen, then 3D printers need to sort out two big barriers to entry: 1)
the steep learning curve one must overcome to use the technology and 2)
the capability of easily providing people with useful stuff to print.
While there are a number of options available
and on the way, the trailblazer for 3D printing at home was Makerbot's
Thing-O-Matic, followed up by the group's more versatile Replicator.
The Thing-O-Matic epitomizes the 3D printer as geared toward hobbyists:
it's industrial looking, requires technical know-how to get started and
— though you could buy them fully assembled — the Thing-O-Matic was
designed to be put together by someone who can solder. With the
Replicator, Makerbot hasn't left its hobbyists behind, offering a bigger
build space and two-color printing, but the platform now comes fully
assembled and tested, and Makerbot's robust and growing Thingiverse makes finding designs to print easy and free.
That same thinking — making 3D printing easier out of the box — is
shared by 3D Systems but taken along a little farther with the Cube. The
Cube comes in a box like any old gadget on a shelf. It also doesn't
look industrial and tinkery like other 3D printers, appearing a lot more
like a desktop PC or a sewing machine. Where the Replicator would be at
home in your workshop or garage, the Cube can sit on a kitchen counter
next to your toaster. The Cube also connects to your home network via
Wi-Fi, meaning you can use your PC to push new designs over to it,
although you don't need a PC to get it to work.
The Cube has a build space that's 5.5-inches all around (length,
width and height), which makes it perfect for action figures, cups,
jewelry and anything small. Larger objects can also be made, you just
need to print them out in smaller pieces and put them together. The Cube
will come paired with different apps and software to help you design
specific objects. For instance, one app we saw was like Build-A-Bear, but you were putting together your own robot instead.
In our video below, 3D Systems Social Media Manager Adam Reichental
walks us through just how easy it is to fire the Cube up.
Screencap: Cubify.com
If Apple's App Store Sold 3D Objects
The real difference between the Cube and its hobbyist competitors is
how you discover objects to print. For 3D printing enthusiasts,
Thingiverse represents the easiest go-to. Outside of Thingiverse and
Google-fishing for objects, you're really only left with the option of
making your own designs.
3D System's solution? Cubify, a Thingiverse-like site with some crucial differences.
Whereas objects on Thingiverse are free, on Cubify they aren't. Think
of Cubify as the Apple App Store of the 3D printing world — it's
curated. Designs uploaded to the site are checked out individually
before they're approved, and any obscene or copyright infringing
templates won't get through. This also allows 3D Systems to test the
designs and make sure they're ready to print with the Cube, taking out
some of the guesswork on your end.
You buy the 3D models you want to print, which range from a few bucks to this $155 oil rig design,
which is the most expensive model we could find. Cubify also lets folks
who don't own 3D printers buy objects, and 3D Systems will print it out
for them and mail it over. That service also starts out cheap, and goes
all the way up to this $8,799 table,
which would take quite a while to print out in small chunks using the
Cube; 3D Systems also operates an industrial printing arm for heavier
duty print jobs. One upside to charging for 3D objects: you support the
designers. Like app makers, 3D modelers will get a cut of the cash for
objects sold.
Using the Cube doesn't mean you have to use Cubify, however. Any
printable 3D model that conforms to the Cube's build area should work.
That said, paired up with Cubify, the Cube promises an experience that
is as easy as browsing for a design on your computer, sending it to the
Cube via Wi-Fi and then printing that object out with the touch of a
button.
How To Get One
The 3D Systems Cube 3D printer is available for a $1,299 pre-order now and starts shipping this Friday, May 25.
Last September, during the f8 Developers’ Conference, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor said that the company had no plans for a “central app repository” – an app store. Today, Facebook is changing its tune. The social giant has announced App Center,
a section of Facebook dedicated to discovering and deploying
high-quality apps on the company’s platform. The App Center will push
apps to iPhone, Android and the mobile Web, giving Facebook its first
true store for mobile app discovery.
The departure from Facebook’s previous company line
comes as the social platform ramps up its mobile offerings to make money
from its hundreds of millions of mobile users. This is not your
father's app store, though.
Let's start with the requirements. Facebook has announced a strict
set of style and quality guidelines to get apps placed in App
Center. Apps that are considered high-quality, as decided by Facebook’s
Insights analytics platform, will get prominent placement. Quality is
determined by user ratings and app engagement. Apps that receive poor
ratings or do not meet Facebook’s quality guidelines won't be listed.
Whether or not an app is a potential Facebook App Center candidate hinges on several factors. It must
• have a canvas page (a page that sets the app's permissions on Facebook’s platform)
• be built for iOS, Android or the mobile Web
• use a Facebook Login or be a website that uses a Facebook Login.
Facebook is in a tricky spot with App Center. It will house not only
apps that are specifically run through its platform but also iOS and
Android apps. Thus it needs to achieve a balance between competition and
cooperation with some of the most powerful forces in the tech universe.
If an app in App Center requires a download, the download link on the
app’s detail page will bring the user to the appropriate app repository,
either Apple's App Store or Android’s Google Play.
One of the more interesting parts of App Center is that Facebook will
allow paid apps. This is a huge move for Facebook as it provides a
boost to its Credits payment service. One of the benefits of having a
store is that whoever controls the store also controls transactions
arising from the items in it, whether payments per download or in-app
purchases. This will go a long way towards Facebook’s goal of monetizing
its mobile presence without relying on advertising.
Facebook App Center Icon Guidelines
Developers interested in publishing apps to Facebook’s App Center should take a look at both the guidelines and the tutorial
that outlines how to upload the appropriate icons, how to request
permissions, how to use Single Sign On (SSO, a requirement for App
Center) and the app detail page.
This is a good move for Facebook. It will give the company several
avenues to start making money off of mobile but also strengthen its
position as one of the backbones of the Web. For instance, App Center is
both separate from iOS and Android but also a part of it. Through App
Center, Facebook can direct traffic to its apps, monitor who and how
users are downloading applications and keep itself at the center of the
user experience.
A paper-based touch pad on an alarmed cardboard box
detects the change in capacitance associated with the touch of a finger
to one of its buttons.
The keypad requires the appropriate sequence of
touches to disarm the system. Image credit: Mazzeo, et al.
The touch pads are made of metallized paper, which is paper coated in
aluminum and transparent polymer. The paper can function as a capacitor, and a laser can be used to cut several individual capacitors in the paper, each corresponding to a key on the touch pad.
When a person touches a key, the key’s capacitance is increased. Once
the keys are linked to external circuitry and a power source, the system
can detect when a key is touched by detecting the increased
capacitance.
According to lead researcher Aaron Mazzeo of Harvard University, the
next steps will be finding a power source and electronics that are
cheap, flexible, and disposable.
Among the applications, inexpensive touch pads could be used for
security purposes. The researchers have already developed a box with an
alarm and keypad that requires a code to allow authorized access.
Disposable touch pads could also be useful in sterile or contaminated
medical environments.
The cloud storage scene has heated up recently, with a long-awaited
entry by Google and a revamped SkyDrive from Microsoft. Dropbox has gone
unchallenged by the major players for a long time, but that’s changed –
both Google and Microsoft are now challenging Dropbox on its own turf,
and all three services have their own compelling features. One thing’s
for sure – Dropbox is no longer the one-size-fits-all solution.
These three aren’t the only cloud storage services – the cloud
storage arena is full of services with different features and
priorities, including privacy-protecting encryption and the ability to
synchronize any folder on your system.
Dropbox
introduced cloud storage to the masses, with its simple approach to
cloud storage and synchronization – a single magic folder that follows
you everywhere. Dropbox deserves credit for being a pioneer in this
space and the new Google Drive and SkyDrive both build on the foundation
that Dropbox laid.
Dropbox doesn’t have strong integration with any ecosystems – which
can be a good thing, as it is an ecosystem-agnostic approach that isn’t
tied to Google, Microsoft, Apple, or any other company’s platform.
Dropbox today is a compelling and mature offering supporting a wide
variety of platforms. Dropbox offers less free storage than the other
services (unless you get involved in their referral scheme) and its
prices are significantly higher than those of competing services – for
example, an extra 100GB is four times more expensive with Dropbox compared to Google Drive.
Price for Additional Storage: 50 GB for $10/month, 100 GB for $20/month.
File Size Limit: Unlimited.
Standout Features: the Public folder is an easy way to share files.
Other services allow you to share files, but it isn’t quite as easy.
You can sync files from other computers running Dropbox over the local
network, speeding up transfers and taking a load off your Internet
connection.
Google Drive is the evolution of Google Docs,
which already allowed you to upload any file – Google Drive bumps the
storage space up from 1 GB to 5 GB, offers desktop sync clients, and
provides a new web interface and APIs for web app developers.
Google Drive is a serious entry from Google, not just an afterthought like the upload-any-file option was in Google Docs.
Its integration with third-party web apps – you can install apps and
associate them with file types in Google Drive – shows Google’s vision
of Google Drive being a web-based hard drive that eventually replaces
the need for desktop sync clients entirely.
Like Google with Google Drive, Microsoft’s new SkyDrive product imitates the magic folder pioneered by Dropbox.
Microsoft offers the most free storage space at 7 GB – although this is down from the original 25 GB. Microsoft also offers good prices for additional storage.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Windows Phone, iOS, Web.
Free Storage: 7 GB.
Price for Additional Storage: 20 GB for $10/year, 50 GB for $25/year, 100 GB for $50/year
File Size Limit: 2 GB
Standout Features: Ability to fetch unsynced files from outside the synced folders on connected PCs, if they’ve been left on.
Other Services
SugarSync is a popular
alternative to Dropbox. It offers a free 5 GB of storage and it lets you
choose the folders you want to synchronize – a feature missing in the
above services, although you can use some tricks
to synchronize other folders. SugarSync also has clients for mobile
platforms that don’t get a lot of love, including Symbian, Windows
Mobile, and Blackberry (Dropbox also has a Blackberry client).
Amazon also offers their own cloud storage service, known as Amazon Cloud Drive.
There’s one big problem, though – there’s no official desktop sync
client. Expect Amazon to launch their own desktop sync program if
they’re serious about competing in this space. If you really want to use Amazon Cloud Drive, you can use a third-party application to access it from your desktop.
Box is popular, but its 25 MB file
size limit is extremely low. It also offers no desktop sync client
(except for businesses). While Box may be a good fit for the enterprise,
it can’t stand toe-to-toe with the other services here for consumer
cloud storage and syncing.
If you’re worried about the privacy of your data, you can use an encrypted service, such as SpiderOak or Wuala, instead. Or, if you prefer one of these services, use an app like BoxCryptor to encrypt files and store them on any cloud storage service.
Green plants use photosynthesis to convert
water and sunlight into energy used to help the plant grow. Scientists
have created the first practical artificial leaf that mimics the natural
process and holds promise for sustainable green energy. The key to this
practical artificial leaf is that unlike earlier devices it doesn’t use
expensive components in its construction.
The new artificial leaf is made from inexpensive materials and uses
low-cost engineering and manufacturing processes making it much more
practical. The artificial leaf has an component to collect sunlight
sandwich between two films that generate oxygen and hydrogen gas. When
the artificial leaf is placed into a jar of water and placed in
sunlight, it bubbles, releasing hydrogen that can be used by fuel cells
to make electricity. Previous designs needed expensive materials like
platinum along with expensive manufacturing processes.
The new artificial leaf replaces the costly platinum with a less
expensive nickel-molybdenum-zinc compound. The opposite side of the leaf
has a cobalt film that generates oxygen gas. The hope is that this sort
of device can be used to generate electricity for remote places that
are off the electrical grid. The tech could also be used to power all
sorts of devices including phones and more.
“Considering that it is the 6 billion nonlegacy users
that are driving the enormous increase in energy demand by midcentury, a
research target of delivering solar energy to the poor with discoveries
such as the artificial leaf provides global society its most direct
path to a sustainable energy future,” he says.
Some researchers are about to try to run facial recognition algorythm on Mona Lisa painting in order to try to know who is she... but do we really want to know?
Sourcemap shows supply-chain maps that reveal all the places in the
world that feed into the common goods we consume in our lives. The
service's about page
implies that the supply-chain data comes from companies themselves, but
there's a lot of what seem to be user-generated maps like this complex map labelled "Laptop Computer". It's a tantalizing set of maps, but I wish there was more information on the data-sources that went into each map.
On the other hand, I'm loving this reconstruction of Western Electric's 1927 telephone manufacturing supply chain
by Matthew Hockenberry, who added this information: "This is a
reconstruction of the supply chain for the Western Electric produced
'candlestick' style telephones of the late 1920s. Information is largely
drawn from archival Western Electric/AT&T materials, as well as
those of supplier companies. Some imagery is currently included for
cotton and copper sources. This is a rough draft - many details are
missing or incomplete."