Product Inspiration

Sending sound through our bones seems like a really strange concept. You put a ’speaker’ of sorts on some bone of your body, and it vibrates the bone to create and send the sound throughout your body (most importantly, to your inner ear). In the last year or two, there have been a few new products that take advantage of this concept, such as headphones and even a children’s toothbrush. This time, developers have built it into a cell phone.

One nice advantage of using bone conduction is that headphones can become much smaller and less obtrusive. In a few years, will this be the one of the first technologies that starts the horrendous-yet-inevitable trend of installing electronic hardware on our bodies?

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/10/bone-conduction.html

Until recently, remote GPS tracking systems have only been able to send the location, speed, and direction of a vehicle through wireless networks. Onstar has pioneered some improvements to such systems by offering the ability to unlock vehicles and turn them off when they are stolen.

The system pictured above takes it to the next step on a few different levels. The additional services include driver identification and sobriety testing, speeding detection, remote locking, and light/horn control. Although products like this may conjure up thoughts of Big Brother, the potential savings to companies through reduced accidents and theft will continue to create a demand for remote monitoring and control of any costly company property.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/03/technology/hijack_proof_truck.biz2/?se ction=money_technology

Redesigning the mouse trap has been a mainstay of inventors for quite a long time. This most recent advancement has quite a few cool tricks up its sleeve to get rid of your rodent problem. Once a mouse is lured inside the case of the trap by the smell of food, the trap doors close, and carbon dioxide is pumped into the chamber, suffocating the mouse. As a last technological touch, the trap sends you a text message that it has caught something.

http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20071008/rentokil-radar-the-humane-hite ch-killing-machine/

This T-shirt has a graphic that changes depending on how close you are to a wireless network. Here’s what I really like about it

• It is a wearable piece of technology that serves a useful function
• It is another great example of how dynamic displays can be built into clothes
• Its another step in the ongoing trend of geeky stuff becoming mainstream

I hope this type of stuff gets cool before I’m too old to wear T-shirts. The lack of wireless networks in my rural area, and a fleeting grain of pride, will keep be from buying this. For now.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/generic/991e/?cpg=cj via gizmodo

This phone is stuffed full of all kinds of different sensors which provide lots of information on your bodily health. It has a pedometer, pulse recording sensors, ‘bad breath’ sensors, and an obesity calculator. It would be nice if Uncle Sam would subsidize this type of stuff to get our collective butts back in shape.http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20071004/140249/

Animals such as birds and bats use the earth’s unique magnetic field to navigate during their yearly migrations. This new technology aims to use the same method to provide electronic location information (just like GPS). The system references survey data which record the magnetic field strength and direction at points all over the planet to determine where exactly you are. While this is still very early, maybe it could turn into a supplemental ‘backup’ to today’s gps systems.

http://technology.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn12714&feedId=tech_r ss20