[TrendTalk] Mirror, mirror on the wall

Our lives are being transformed rapidly with the introduction of intelligent wearables, smart home technology, various apps to streamline basic functions, new technologies to transform our reality. Some are the stuff of sci-fi novels and these are the most interesting I've come across in the past month:

Source Fast Company

1. Mirror mirror on the wall, what's wrong with me?

Now there's a mirror that can tell if you've been eating or drinking too much. No ignoring that inner voice any longer! The so-called Wize Mirror is being developed by 11 European research groups and scientists, confident that it will be able to diagnose a host of health problems by analysing people's faces.

No invasive tests needed as the mirror has sensors that go more than skin deep to check your health every day. Fast Company reports that behind the mirror are multispectral cameras to check blood flow and other factors using various light analysis. There is even a breathalyzer to check blood sugar, drinking and smoking levels. A real health breakthrough. The innovation is in year two of a three-year development and the plan is to put them in gyms, pharmacies and maybe even our own homes.

©Allison Herreid via 123RF

2. All-natural Algae

The danger that we will run out of many natural resources in the future due to over-consumption, as well as the impact of synthetic products on our health, is what is driving much of the innovation in the search for new materials and algae is up there, already being used to make clothing, power buildings, suck up highway pollution and feed farm animals, reports Fast Company.

Then there is a new business called Bloom Foam which plans to use algae to make malleable foam products used in yoga mats, sneakers, sandals, luggage and bath toys which are sustainable, anti-odour and safer for humans. According to FastCoexist.com, using algae as a plastics replacement is logical because it is freely available, any strain can be used, it can be mined from rivers and streams where it is a danger to fish and other plant life and water resources, and it is less harmful to humans than paraffin-based products used in plastic manufacture.

3. Apple Automobiles

With all the negative press about faked emissions from leading car manufacturers, the announcement from Apple that it is developing an electric car had Apple fan boys swooning. Because of course, with Apple, we know it will be beautiful too. Apple is apparently developing the 'Titan' electric car with a 2019 launch date, and speculation is that a driverless car is also in its long-term plans. The Atlantic described the car market as a time of "unprecedented disruption".

It speculated that, "perhaps Apple wants to establish itself in the car industry by first introducing a car fully integrated with its existing operating systems before eventually moving to a driverless model. That gradual approach to autonomy is the one favoured by traditional automakers, which plan to move their vehicles toward 'driverlessness' feature-by-feature." More anticipated than the Apple Watch!

Image via Lycs Architecture

4. Purrfect cat naps

As a cat lover, this is my absolute best. A beautiful decorative home furnishings feature that is attractive as seating to cats as well. This designer is a very special person and I will need more cats to implement! The modular decorative blocks, the CATable, are by Lycs Architecture and discovered on Brightside.me.

Image via Brightside

5. Design-led

Product design and product innovation is starting to be led by our new design-focussed culture, which the world's leading design thinkers have been espousing at forums like Design Indaba for over a decade. Waste and built-in obsolescence are design flaws and it is acknowledged that design thinking is transforming organisations and encouraging innovation.

For more on product innovation coming our way from some amazing designers, someone has already produced a list of '20 of the most terrific things invented in 2015'. In the curated list from Brightside.me, it covers the CATable 2.0, as well as a portable weather station which shows the next day's weather complete with lightning flashes; shoes with removable heels; decorative rolling pins for fancy cookies; and an automatic projector for cyclists that projects their road signals on their backs at night.