Take control of your sleep!

How did you wake up this morning? Feeling fresh or rather had a bad sleep? In fact, we are all sometimes confronted with nights through which we didn't sleep that well, waking up in a bad mood as a result. However, waking up in a good mood feeling fresh is an extremely important element to be productive and efficient throughout the day.
That's why some scientists decided to create the Zeo personal sleep coach. This innovative system enables people to improve the quality of their lives through the power of sleep.

The system consists of a soft headband which accurately and safely measures sleep patterns based on the electrical signals produced by the brain. After transmission to a bedside receiver, the user of the Zeo system gets a personal sleep score every time he wakes up. Thanks to intelligent calculations, the device is able to reveal weekly trends and sleep patterns. But there is more: the Zeo personal coaching website makes it possible to make a long-term analysis of one's sleeping patterns. Users can transfer the information from their headband to the website, where a set of intelligent analytical tools can be used to discover correlations between one's lifestyle and his sleeping patterns. Top of the bill is the Zeo SmartWake alarm, an alarm clock that makes use of the revealed sleeping patterns to calculate one's natural awakening point. Based on these calculations, the alarm clock gently wakes you at the optimal point in your sleep cycle within half an hour of any specified time. The result is that you always wake up refreshed, never feeling in a bad mood.
Wouldn't the world just look so much better if everyone was able to use this kind of product?

Thomas Catteeuw

If we can't stop them, why not make them eco friendly?

Dear bloggers,

Although this idea is not a real innovation (since it was on television in 2008), I still think it’s worth mentioning in a blog about green innovations! “How can we make the war more eco friendly?”, a rather unconvenient question, but if you think it through, it’s right on! 

We all like to live in a peaceful world, but that’s not so easy as it may seem. So, if wars can not be avoided, can’t we at least make them more eco friendly? This question (in This video) was brought forward by the “Onion”, a United States-based parody newspaper, published weekly. Although they just want to mock the Americans and their government, I think it may not be such a bad idea to really think this through. The tanks, trucks and jeeps could perhaps run on solar energy? The amount of fuel that’s used for all those vehicles is enormous, so why not try to cut back on that? Or all the radar systems for instance, can’t we incorporate some solar panels?

What do you think about this idea? Do you think it’s rubbish? Or do you agree with me in saying this might have some opportunities? 

Good night to you all :)

Laura

Live a cashless life and pay with your cellphone!

Sure, coins and notes will never completely disappear in our society. However, since major players like Google and MasterCard have joined hands, it is possible to transfer the entire payment experience from the plastic credit card or traditional banknotes to a mobile device.
A few months ago, Google and MasterCard brought to life “Google Wallet”, a new step in moving customers away from credit cards and banknotes. Google Wallet is a mobile application that will turn phones into wallets. On the one hand, this gives customers the opportunity to save time and money while shopping. But on the other hand, it gives businesses the opportunity to strengthen customer relationships by adapting rewards or product deals to the needs of the customer.
In fact, the idea is quite simple: instead of deciding which credit card you are paying with in a store, you simply pay with Google Wallet, which works through an app on your smartphone. The only thing you need to do is tap your phone on the so-called “google bypass reader”  that can be found at checkout in several stores. Thanks to your existing credit card credentials that are stored, safe and sound, to a secure microchip on your phone, the payment is executed automatically. On top of that, loyalty rewards, product deals or purchase history can be easily integrated In the application, since the use of a personal smartphone enables merchants to identify customers in a more efficient way.
Will mobile devices eventually kill all of the plastic cards and bankotes in our wallet? Certainly not. But at least, this cashless initiative offers a convenient solution for digital natives aiming for an efficient way of in-store paying.

Thomas Catteeuw

Take a green ride!

Hi there!

Today, I have something very special to present to you, guys! It’s something fast, something green, something exciting and something for the dare devils among us! Any idea yet? (You’ll never guess it, actually! 

It’s an environmentally friendly roller coaster!!!!

Say what?! Yes, an eco friendly roller coaster. How does it work? Very simple, it does not run on electricity but on muscle power. This means that you are pedaling, instead of having it run on gasoline or electricity! It’s like riding a bike, but on a roller coaster! The thrills must be enormous, being so high up in the sky and knowing you worked you way up there all by yourself.

For the roller coaster lovers who are really interested in this attraction: it’s located in the Japanese amusement park “Eagle Feather Mountain Highland” on the island of Seto. Just jump on the next plane and enjoy the ride!

Laura

A watch called SEIKO

Dear bloggers,

After seeing the innovations of Super Friday and then more specific the one about the solar bag, you probably all know how important it is to think of new ways to create energy. Since one of the most promising alternatives is solar power, a lot of companies have integrated this in their products.

One of those companies is SEIKO, which makes “clean watches”. They are not just stylish, but also very eco friendly. Their product offer also includes a watch called the SEIKO Solar, a quartz watch which takes its energy from light and stores it in a self-recharging battery which never needs to be changed. In this way, batteries have become superfluous and the planet can get healthier.

For the fashionista’s among us: don’t panic, you never notice there’s a very tiny solar panel incorporated! This picture shows that you’ll never see the difference between a solar watch and a normal watch.

 Skeptical as you probably are, maybe you’ll think: “And what happens when it’s a cloudy day?!” Well, this watch can also be recharged with other kinds of light! So if you just put it in the light of a lamp, it will also charge! Great news, or what?!

Laura

Let you GoodGuide and buy green!

Green label, Future Friendly, Organic, Eco certified, Planeteco, Got2BeGreen, Ecorazzi, Brighter Planet, Eco Line, … These are just a few of the wide rang of ecologic labels that products carry in your local supermarket. But what do they mean exactly? Aren’t they rather misleading than giving relevant information to the customer?

That’s exactly why some IT professionals in the US developed a new smarthone app called the GoodGuide. As its name already reveals, the app wants to be a “good guide” towards the costumer while shopping in his/her favrourite supermarket.  Again and inherent in all smartphone apps I cited before (i.e. Paper Karma, Hootroot and iRecycle) , the ease of use is impressive. Simply by scanning the barcode of a product, you’ll immediately see its overall green score, which is calculated upon its health, environmental and social performance ratings. In a jiffy, you can separate green products from fake green products.  

Pieter Glorieux

Intelligent thermostat learns from your heating preferences

It might seem surprising, but heating thermostats control up to half of our monthly energy bill. With energy prices continually rising, shouldn’t we look for more effective ways to reduce our energy consumption? The “Nest” intelligent thermostat might be a good solution for all of us! Nest claims that it can cut home heating costs by more than 30% compared to a classic thermostat, by making the temperature in the room exactly fit to our preferences. Once installed, the intelligent thermostat just asks a few questions about your heating preferences, after which one can start using the thermostat as he would do normally: turning it on when coming in, turning it off when going out. The longer you use the thermostat, the more it will learn from your preferences and behaviors. As a result, the Nest thermostat will create an adapted heating schedule, which fits perfectly to the users’ preferences and habits, and it continues to learn over time. On top of that, some intelligent sensors are integrated in the thermostat. Those are able to detect whether somebody is in the room or not. Thanks to the energy history-feature, users can see how much energy they have consumed over a certain period.  So no more bleeding hot rooms wasting tons of energy, but  an intelligent and green way of heating, providing the exact temperature when and where you need it!

Thomas Catteeuw