Skylock is the prototype of a connected bike u-lock created by San Francisco-based start-up Velo Labs. It can be unlocked via bluetooth using a smartphone app. In case the user's phone is down, it can still be unlocked with a keypad featured on the device…
As part of the efforts to enhance cities' accessibility, recent technologies allow significant improvements to let the visually-impaired move safely and independently in an urban environment. Innovations based on sensors, visual recognition systems, bone…
Last year, we mentioned the “Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge” organized by the City of New York to imagine the future of its old public phones network.More than a year after the finalist projects were selected, the City launched a call for proposals…
Transport for London (TfL) partnered with telecoms firm Telent and IT company CGI to set-up a giant network of sensors in the London Subway.This initiative aims at allowing a centralized management and monitoring of escalators, loudspeakers, air…
According to a report published by IDATE, a European think tank focused on the digital economy, the connected cars market will experience sustained growth in the coming years.The number of connected vehicles in the world could grow from 45 million in 2013…
As part of an academic project at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, design students Alexandra Coym, Sam Slover and Steve Cordova created a "living" street furniture concept. "Pop Pop" is a connected pedestrian crossing sign able to interact…
Japanese telecom company NTT Docomo just unveiled a prototype of augmented reality glasses at the CEATEC Show held in Tokyo. This device's main feature is a real-time translation application based on character recognition technology. It allows users to…
After several months of rumors, Samsung finally presented its "Galaxy Gear" smart connected watch at the IFA show in Berlin. This new device will be equipped with a 1.63-inch AMOLED touchscreen, a 1.9-megapixel camera and a microphone. It is intended to…
According to data provided by the South Korean Ministry of Science, Creative and Future Planning, there were 22.9 million LTE 4G network subscribers by the end of June 2013 in the country. This represents 41% of the country's mobile phone users, while it…
According to a report published by The GSMA, the global association of mobile operators, the gap is growing between the US and Europe in mobile wireless performance and deployment of future mobile technologies.For instance, mobile connections in the US…
The City of Nice and Cisco just inaugurated the "Connected Boulevard", an experiment aiming at testing the internet of things for urban management at the scale of a street. 200 sensors were installed on the street lights, sidewalks and waste containers on…
New York-based design agency Breakfast created an interactive and connected wayfinding system called "Points" able to indicate directions and display information according to passers-by's requests. This 9-foot high dynamic street sign consists in three…
According to a survey on multi-screen viewing carried out by mobile advertising network InMobi, mobile devices have become the favorite channel for mobile web users to consume media.This study based on 15,000 mobile web users in 14 different countries…
A research team from the University of Washington has developed a gesture-recognition system based on Wi-Fi.Unlike the Microsoft Kinect, this new technology called the WiSee doesn't need any sensors or cameras to detect motions.It only uses a device and…
Air France and KLM just launched an experiment to operate onboard Wi-Fi connectivity for two long-haul flights (Paris-New York and Amsterdam-Panama).This new service will allow passengers to access internet on their mobile devices and will cost EUR 10.95…
According to a report by Juniper Research, 20% of all consumer cars in Western Europe and North America will be connected by 2017, reaching 90 million vehicles.This report underlines in particular the key role played in this new market by the MirrorLink…
Founded in 1987 and held every spring in Austin, Texas, the "South by Southwest" (SXSW) music, film and interactive festivals have become over the years a major event in the innovation world. The numerous conferences organized during SXSW are a way to…
… up with advertising agency Cheil to create "Wi-Fi" movie posters. Wi-Fi devices were installed on several billboards …
Rumors have intensified lately about the possible launch by Apple of a smart connected watch called the iWatch, even though the Cupertino-based company never confirmed anything on that issue. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal recently echoed…
According to the latest Mobility Report published by telecommunications company Ericsson, global mobile data traffic doubled between Q4 2011 and Q4 2012 and grew by 28% between Q3 2012 and Q4 2012, reaching 1,300 petabytes per month by the end of the year…