Designer Thanva Tivawong has come up with an innovative traffic light design that not only tells drivers whether to stop or go (or speed up before the yellow light changes!), but provides an indication of how much time they have to do any of those things.

Called “The Sand Glass,” the concept incorporates LED lights in the shape of a familiar countdown hourglass. Traditional colors remain, but in Tivawong’s version they would gradually fill the shape before transitioning to the next in the sequence.

While some obvious questions come up concerning those with color blindness (that’s why traditional lights are always in the same red-yellow-green order) and safety (even MORE people racing to beat that yellow or jumping the gun as the red lights near completion), the design would provide us with an alternate traffic light activity to checking email and thumbing texts.

Too much information? Maybe not. Why shouldn’t we be just as frustrated while waiting at a traffic light as we are while waiting for something to load on our computers?

Designer: Thanva Tivawong

Social networking is all about building and strengthening relationships by establishing online communities of individuals with shared interests.

According to Wikipedia, social networking sites “allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks.” Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace and a few other well-known social networking icons come to mind.

Now think back for a moment to a time, not so long ago, when your primary means of building and strengthening your relationships wasn’t text-based (or in the case of YouTube, video). When you preferred getting together with your “network” (a.k.a. friends) and actually chatting out loud (in cmplt wrds not txt abbrs – LMAOROTF) . Or you would pick up your phone and use that device for what it was originally intended: talking.

You remember talking, right? It was nice. Conversations are so much richer when a voice is actually involved. Which begs the question…where is the “voice” of social networking?

Enter Voicefield, a breakthrough social networking concept that capitalizes on the quaint notion that it’s nice to hear people speak. Think of Voicefield as “Voice-Twitter,” “YouTube for the Spoken Word,” or “Talking-PostSecret.”

Voicefield is the brainchild of New York City entrepreneur, Trevor MacDermid, who explains, “In essence, Voicefield captures voluntary voice messages and makes them available online—so you can say anything you like, and listen to others do the same. In an era of exploding self expression, Voicefield celebrates the most personal form of communication, which lately seems to have been cast aside: the human voice.”

While still in its infancy, the potential for Voicefield is obvious… and enormous. Who doesn’t enjoy taking the floor every once in awhile? (Think karaoke.)  And while, just like poorly-utilized Twitter, many early users treat their fellow Voicefielders to a description of the bar they’re trying to find their way out of, or the size and juiciness-factor of the burger they just downed, one can only imagine how more creative and ambitious users will leverage the technology.

Voicefield collects sentiments from any phone or from your computer’s built-in microphone, at any time.   Messages might be confessional, emotional, frank or drunk. Callers can choose to be anonymous, themselves, or a made-up persona. Here’s one of our favorites from user Andrew Andrew, titled “Waltz.”

The Voicefield interface is equipped with caller-ID, so messages can be attributed to a particular area code, time and date, and even a specific registered user, and tagged by subject matter, theme, response to question and popularity.

And of course, if you’re really entertaining, others can choose to follow you and your voice posts. (Just imagine what Twitter’s @sh*tmydadsays could’ve done with this!)

The best way to get a feel for Voicefield (and how much fun it can be) is to give it a try. Again, there aren’t a ton of great messages there yet; this is still a new concept. But that means the Voicefield is wide open for your expressions of brilliance.

There are two interfaces:

• by phone, (212) 937-8981 (there’s also a toll-free number: (877) WWW-VOICE);
• by web: www.voicefield.com.

So if you have something to say, stop typing and start talking…on Voicefield. Who knows? You might actually like what you hear.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of its classic board game, Hasbro has unveiled a radically new updated design it calls, “Monopoly: Revolution Edition.” This new format is an interesting example of literally thinking “outside-the-box.”

The re-conceptualized board game design is slick and round instead of traditional and square. It uses debit cards and an ATM instead of the familiar pastel colored paper money and a banker. The classic metal tokens (boot, car, dog, iron etc.) have also been replaced by clear plastic pieces. The Revolution version is also multimedia; it plays clips of popular songs (like Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” and Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”) after specific actions.
Monopoly: Revolution Edition is no doubt designed to appeal to the Gen-X and Gen-Y/Millennial tech-savvy generations. The game has also been adjusted for inflation…prizes are far more impressive. Just like the retention bonuses on Wall Street, players can collect $2 million dollars for passing “Go” instead of a mere $200.

Old-school fans can take some comfort in the fact that Monopoly: Revolution retains the classic Atlantic City-based street system. Yes, Boardwalk and Park Place still retain their status as beloved landmarks.

One recognized approach for developing innovative ideas is to bring together two seemingly unrelated elements, and see what you can create from them that is new, different and value-added.

If this isn’t just such an example, I don’t know what is.

The Roomba autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner used to create powerful artistic images, both photographically, of vibrant light and motion, as well as in print.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/roomba/pool/show/

Great fun to look at. And the floor got cleaned at the same time. How’s that for innovative efficiency?

Meet “Sixth Sense.”

According to the TED.org website, “This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.”

You owe it to yourself to check this out. Because this will be your life in the not-too-distant future. Thanks to Mark Jacobson for clueing us into this.

Patti Maes Demos the Sixth Sense

Of course, the area of health, fitness and wellness is always full of innovative processes and technological advances. But here’s an example of innovation that truly helps everyday people solve an everyday problem, utilizing bleeding edge technology that would’ve been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Not long ago, a friend told me about a revolutionary device he read about that tracks the number of calories your burn with unprecedented accuracy – not just while you’re working out (like a heart rate monitor), but 24 hours a day, even while you’re sleeping. Combined with a highly personalized website that allows you to easily input your personal stats, set weight and fitness goals, and track your calorie intake, this product represents true innovation in the area of health and wellness.

bodybugg is technological innovation at its best. It combines a sophisticated web-based user interface, an exceptionally “smart” device you wear on your arm that monitors FIVE different physical responses to accurately track calorie burn, and an optional digital display that reports it all to you in real time.

The bodybugg website describes it like this…

“The bodybugg armband calorie tracking device uses a patented process to monitor and interpret your calorie burn throughout the day or during your workouts. Using data from four physiological sensors in conjunction with your body parameters (age, gender, height, and weight), the bodybugg electronic calorie counter provides the most accurate estimation of energy expenditure available outside of a clinical setting.

“The bodybugg system uses a patented process for interpreting calorie burn. The process is based on:

• Steps: The accelerometer counts steps by measuring the distinct patterns created by running or walking.
• Galvanic skin response: When you sweat, your skin becomes more electrically conductive. This meas
• Motion: The armband contains an accelerometer that measures motion from multiple perspectives.
• urement helps the device understand how active you are.
• Skin temperature: There’s an electronic thermometer inside your armband that monitors how hot you are.
• Heat flux: When you move, your muscles produce heat. Your armband measures the heat that’s flowing from your body into the environment.”

The bodybugg is sold by a company called 24 Hour Fitness. You can learn more about bodybugg at the 24 Hour Fitness website.

The thing I love the most about living in NYC is the surprise of running into something very cool and unexpected with regular frequency. The city seems to be the testing ground for tomorrow’s new media innovations.

Until not that long ago, about the only way you could deliver brand messages to consumers outside the home was on a billboard or a bus shelter. Just like everything else, this has clearly changed. Last week, I had the unexpected pleasure of running into what looked like a science fiction scene straight out of Ridley’s Scott’s classic movie, Blade Runner.

On that rainy evening, I came face-to-face with four figures walking abreast identically clad in blue rain slickers holding large, white dome-shaped umbrellas. What made this sight so extraordinary was the front canopies of the umbrellas were lit up like a movie screen with projected photographs promoting a public service message for the Red Cross of New York. I had encountered the first-ever, world debut of the “Projectella.”

Upon closer inspection of the futuristic-looking Projectella, one could see the ingenious tiny projector mounted on the handle of the tricked out bumbershoot. This new promotional medium was so cool to behold, it literally stopped pedestrians dead in their tracks. How many experiential marketing professionals can make that type of claim?

The Projectella is the brainchild of JP Freeley, inventor and President of BlueBlastMedia http://www.BlueBlastMedia.com in partnership with National Media Services (www.nationalmediaservicesinc.com). To see a video of Projectellas on the streets of NYC, visit: http://vimeo.com/channels/blueblastmedia#3981816  

You can see more of JP’s innovative media ideas at: http://www.nationalmediaservicesinc.com/examples/programs/

At the risk of over- overstating the obvious, the iPhone is a paradigm changing device in so many ways. No more on that. But one of the most remarkable thing about it is the opportunity it provides for others to develop truly innovative (see our earlier post, “Innovation Plain & Simple” for a good definition) applications.

reQall

Here’s one I came across today. I actually saw it profiled on the morning news — reQall — described on their website as “…a voice-enabled memory aid that seamlessly integrates your mobile phone, email, text messaging and IM into a powerful organizer, reminder system and productivity assistant. reQall lets you capture your ideas, tasks and commitments before you forget, and it proactively keeps you well-prepared and memory-strong.”

Just as amazing is the fact that reQall is FREE, at least for its basic version. A more feature-rich Pro version is available with a monthly or annual subscription.

Considering the success of the Getting Things Done system, the need for automated task organization and reminders is huge. This app should be a very useful tool for many looking for just such automation.

Check it out, at http://www.reqall.com – whether you’re an iPhone user or not. It just may be the thing that convinces you.

While watching President Obama’s news conference on the economy the other evening on CNN, I was struck by how powerfully the news organization used a word cloud to analyze the ideas, content and themes within Obama’s opening remarks.

Besides being a magnificent typographical work of art worthy of exhibition at MoMA, the Obama word cloud also served as catalyst for lively debates between moderators who exchanged viewpoints about the meaning and context implied by the size and weight of Obama’s words.

Word clouds, for those who are new to the word-mapping tool, are a poster-like visual representation highlighting the frequency with which a word appears in text (or spoken in a speech); the bigger the word in the cloud, the more times it appears in the text or speech.

“Keyword” clouds are used by web designers to display the content available on a site and quickly indicate the most popular areas based on frequency of visits; the bigger the keyword, the more people visited that area.

Word cloud technology is a relatively new tool for interpreting and understanding the world around us. There are countless applications for it in art & design, media, education and business. If you are doing something innovative with it, we want to know.

Word cloud based on Obama's Inaugural Address

Creating your own word cloud:

Words clouds aren’t difficult to learn to program. In fact, Wordle offers a simple and easy way to generate your own word cloud. All you need to do is cut and paste your text into the website… and it automatically generates a cloud from your content. It also allows you to customize your word cloud in a range of different colors, styles and layouts.