This week’s innovation includes facial recognition apps from Samsung and VW, a Farmville charitable concept and Chrome’s impressive mobile synched gaming experiment.
Number 5) Samsung Gave Away a Galaxy S4 To Anyone Who Could Stare At It For 60 Minutes
Samsung developed a clever stunt in Zurich to demonstrate the SmartPause eye-tracking functionality of the Galaxy S4. An installation invited members of the public to simply stare at it for 60 minutes to win the phone. If they looked away, the sensor would recognise it and they’d be disqualified. Sounds easy, but they deployed some cunning distractions including hot dog carts and motor cyclists to make it a lot more tricky…
Via Business Insider
Referrer: @y0z2a
Number 4) Repair the Rockways
The Rockways is an area of New York still devastated long after Hurricane Sandy’s departure. To help reinvigorate the public’s efforts 7 month’s post the area’s demise, Mother / Casserole Labs created a clever Farmville-style game encouraging people to donate bricks to the reconstruction of the area. The game is a novel way of visualising rebuilding efforts required as well as raising direct funds: for $20, a person can place a pile of bricks on an empty plot; for $100 you get a wall; for $400, you can build a virtual house.
Via Co.Create
Number 3) VW Start-Stop Chrome Store App
To promote VW’s start/stop functionality they released a cunning YouTube Chrome app. Whenever you move your eyes away from the screen, the video player automatically stops. The facial recognition technology then detects when you look back at the screen and restarts the video. Certainly seems like a smart contextual way of demonstrating their engineering.
Via Digital Buzz Blog
Number 2) AR diving mask identifies deep sea creatures
The Smart Swimming Goggles look set to be an incredible piece of technology-influenced product design. They’ve got an AR display that identifies fish to tell you what they are, GPS location of other divers and a 3D camera. Coming out in 2015, they’re sure to be the perfect gadget for any diving geek.
Via PSFK
Number 1) Google Roll-It
Number 1 this week is the latest ingenious Chrome experiment called Roll-It. Synchronise your phone to your Chrome browser and it becomes a Wii-like remote control enabling you to flick your wrist to direct the ball’s trajectory. Using your phone to manipulate the environment feels like a strong opportunity for engagement – it would certainly be great to see some of this dual-screen technology used more widely in advertising this year.
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That’s it for this week. As ever, if anything screamingly awesome has been missed out, let us know in the comments below. Or feel free to ping any recommendations for next week to @jamescfilmer.
James Filmer
Chief Innovation Officer
UM