Christmas tree illuminated by sprouts
2-12-2013
Sprouts aren’t exactly beloved vegetables amongst children. The London Southbank Center shows the hidden powers of sprouts, making the vegetables became a lot more attractive. The battery system of five power cells with each 200 sprouts creates a chemical reaction by using the natural electrolytes from the sprouts to power lights in a Christmas tree. The initiators expect that the 1000 sprouts will lighten the tree for a month, after which they are replaced to keep the tree illuminated throughout the holiday season. Other types of fruits and vegetables can also be used in the battery system. The vegetable-powered battery was created by scientists from The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair.
Google Streetview from airports
27-11-2013
Traveling often brings along a fair amount of stress. Google relieves this a bit with the introduction of Google Streetview inside airports and other travel hubs. KLM already used Streetview technology to explore destinations and it is possible to feature 360 degrees photographs from restaurant interiors. In the near future it’s possible to ‘test-walk’ through your trip in Streetview.
Disposable tableware at Qbic Hotel London
25-11-2013
Qbic Hotel London will replace all the hotel porcelain by sustainable design disposable tableware. The hotel will use the product lines: Sucadrops (made from sugar cane), Hampi (made of palm leaves) and Aspenware (made of wood). The disposable tableware is part of the products by the Dutch company SD Trading. After using the disposable tableware, it will be composted and spread out over the roof of the hotel. Additional benefits are the decrease of the dishwasher use , which saves energy and reduce of staff costs.
Luminous carpet
21-11-2013
Philips started a partnership with carpet specialist Desso. The companies will develop innovative light-emitting carpets based on LED lighting. It will be possible to integrate LED lighting in surfaces, which also gives the carpet a safety function such as painting out emergency exits and escape routes. The luminous carpet brings atmosphere and inspiration in areas and it will appeal to the senses of people. It is a new innovative way to inform people in areas like offices, hotels and conference centers. Philips and Desso are working on pilot projects, but in 2014 they will introduce the product name.
YESTAP puts the FAST back into fast food
20-11-2013
Startup YES.TAP is removing the annoying queue’s at fast food restaurants. They’ve developed an app that lets you order by tapping your smartphone on a poster of the product you want to order. Through this innovative approach, they expect to attract new customers and retain loyal customers by offering a simple one tap mobile solution. The YES.TAP team are supported by Startupbootcamp to boost their concept. Visit getyestap.com to learn more.
National Geographic augmented reality
8-11-2013
National Geograpic celebrates its birthday in the coming months. To promote this, an exhibition of 36 premium photographs will travel to several train stations in the Netherlands until February. A giant virtual reality show is set-up to promote the exhibition. Passers-by can see and photograph themselves with a rhino, astronaut and dinosaurs. See the video for an impression. The exhibition travels to Eindhoven (December), The Hague Central station (January) and Arnhem (February).
Optimal sound experience Wilmink theatre
6-11-2013
More and more inhabitants of The Netherlands have hearing problems. At the moment one in seven people has hearing problems. To provide every visitor with the optimal hearing experience Your Sense has installed YSFM hearing systems in the auditoria of the Wilmink theatre. People that wear a hearing aid can connect to a FM system for optimal listening quality. Apart from the acoustics the Wilmink theatre now distinguishes itself by offering an ultimate sound experience to its visitors with hearing problems.
Kitchen video stream
5-11-2013
On the terrace of ‘A Taberna do Pescador’ in Albufeira, Portugal there is a television screen with a live stream from the kitchen. The terrace is situated in a busy shopping street and the screen combined with a glass display full fresh fish seduces passersby in an original way.
Glow in the dark ice cream
5-11-2013
Ice cream maker Charlie Frances has developed a glow in the dark ice cream. One of the secret ingredients is glow in the dark jellyfish, it’s calcium activated and glows when licked. One scoop is quite expensive, around € 165 euro’s. He created a non-jellyfish version as well, with quinine from tonic as UV reflective substance.
Information about pensions at the PensioenCafe
31-10-2013
The Dutch pension fund Hospitality & Catering has noticed that the obligatory pension information sent to the customers is barely read. That’s why they have developed an accessible way to communicate pension information to the customers. The dynamic PensionCafé website contains information and videos to inform employees in the hotel and catering sector about their pension. Relevant information about, for example the influence of divorce and death on the future of their pension is easily accessible at the site.
