By using QR codes implemented on a cookie,this unique head  device with its built in camera, can transform the taste of a plain cookie to any of seven flavours.

This is how we can manipulate the brain by visual texture and fool our sense of smell!

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TrendOriginal: Tajuki Narumi and colleagues, University of Tokyo, Japan.

Trend Spotter: New Scientist

This augmented reality tattoo is a remarkable barcode marker viewed through a web camera. The image comes as a three dimensional animation of a dragon flying next to it.

Other smart tattoo applications:

Conductive ink tattoos

Tattoos as an interface for cellphones

To-Do Tattoos

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Trend Spotter: Design Boom

Trend Original: Thinkanapp.com

“Puppy Tweets” dog’s collar allows  dog owners to follow their dog on twitter. This plastic tag (introduced by Mattel), comes equipped with a sound and motion sensor, and with pre-recorded tweets.

In accordance to the dog’s movements and behavior, it’ll post tweets to the dog’s Twitter account announcing it status.

Related trends: Communicating with those who can’t

Pets focused devices:

• A collar tag from Boston-based SNIF Labs lets pet owners forge new connections with fellow dog-walkers, both online and off.
• The Bowlingual Voice bark translator developed by Takara Tomy, a Japanese toy company,  is a device that allegedly translates a dog’s bark or feelings into words people can understand.
• Pets Locator - GPS device by Location Based Technologies.

Plants devices:

• Botanicalls-  Plants are given the ability to call and text message people to request assistance.
• Twitter controlled Christmas tree

Trend Original: Mattel

Trend Spotter: CNNMoney

Get drunk without drinking using a unique chemical technique that turns liquid alcohol  into powder pills. The new technique can solidify any kind of alcohol, including whisky, cognac, wine and beer.

“Dry” vodka can be wrapped in small paper and carried around in a pocket or a bag. Vodka in form of a pill would come handy at for  “consumers” once it can be calculated with exact required dosage.

From a marketing point of view the product resembles other innovations we previously categorized as “inhaled food & drinks”:

• Inhaled chocolate
• Inhaled alcohol (as a product),
• Inhaled alcohol atmosphere (a bar: Alcoholic Architecture, UK)
• Inhaled caffeine

TrendOriginal: Russian professor Evgeny Moskalev of Saint Petersburg Technological University.

Trend Spotter: The Times Of India via Holy Kaw/Alltop

Walk About Love is a social love - peace movement. For the third year in a row, people from all over the world intend to gather in Israel for this event. The idea is for people from different backgrounds and cultures to come and see the real Israel and exchange knowledge and understanding at a grassroots level - an action for peace.

Participants will walk, see, eat, drink, dance, make music, volunteer for good causes they meet during their walk and discuss different models of how to live harmoniously together with local communities all over Israel.

The name “Walk About” is adopted from the Aboriginal slang term meaning “to go for a long walk for an unspecified period, where the walk itself and not the destination is the emphasis”.

The story:

When the Second Lebanon War broke out two years ago, Rea Pasternak, a 23-year-old former soldier from Israel, felt frustrated and helpless. He was traveling in Australia at the time, so was not required to come back to fight. He found, though, that try as he might he could not enjoy himself while his friends back home were in danger. His thoughts were consumed with concern for their wellbeing and frustration at the situation they faced.

He wanted to do something. Something big. Something to change people’s perceptions and help set the groundwork for peace on a personal, social level. “I was sitting with my aunt in her house in Sydney, watching the news,” Pasternak recounts, “when in one second the idea came to me. I went directly to my room and spent the next three days writing and laying out plans for Walk About Love.”

In India he learned about non-violent affirmative action for peace, and how effective it has been in the past. In Australia he met immigrants from all over the world who are successfully harmonious, interested and benefiting from each other’s cultural variety.

In Australia, he started spreading word of his idea, asking for advice and meeting with people who enthusiastically offered to help create the event. Reinforced with new energy from his experiences, Pasternak found himself inundated with phone calls from people wanting to contribute to Walk About Love. He gave up his independent lifestyle and moved back to his family home in Israel, to devote his energy full time to the cause.

For the last two years Rea has lived and breathed Walk About Love. He has been networking with people, building websites, raising funds and sending ambassadors around the world to the US, Mexico, Australia, South America, Iceland, London, Australia, Japan, the Balkans and Europe, with Walk About Love T-shirts, fliers and other promotional materials to spread the word.

Pasternak hopes that Walk About Love will prove to be not only a venue for cultural exchange, but an economic boost for the local communities involved. “Even if I wanted to I couldn’t stop it now,” he gleams, energetically. “The ball is rolling and people are responding from all over the world.”

Pasternak’s ambitious dream of a grassroots event to expand cultural exchange may well become a reality. He emphatically describes his initial vision of “all the people from all over the world walking through Israel, fighting without weapons! Our mission is to plant the seeds of understanding between people and cultures”

Following in the tradition of Gandhi’s famous Salt March through India in 1930, this walk is expected to take three months to complete, taking time to visit local neighborhoods across Israel and learn from Israelis of all ethnicities.

the 2010 travel begins on the 1st of March.

Trend Original: Rea Pasternak, Walk About Love. Facebook group

Selk’Bag sleeping bag looks more like a body bag. With the shape of the human body, it allows free movement during sleep and while you are awake. By that it takes the traditional sleeping bag one step forward.

The innovation process reminds me the one of the Snuggie - which adjust the the blanket to more common uses.

Trend Original: Rodrigo Alonso Schramm, graphic designer, Selk’Bag

Trend Spotter: The Cool Hunter

A solution to track foods expiration date by using a graphical visual was introduced by TO-GENKYO studio design. The new design changes its color based on the level of ammonia the food emits as it ages. After it has passed its expiration date the bar code is no longer readable, making it impossible to sell.

As an outcome of the recession, American households are eating out less. Nielsen reports (November 2009) that Perishable departments are becoming one of the most productive departments at retail. During the last year, supermarkets enjoy an even stronger share of produce (0.3 share increase versus year ago). Fresh meat and seafood cooked up sales of $437 per year for a 4% gain, produce increased 3% based on annual average sales of $279 per household.

While many manufacturers are trying to deal with freshness dating (“best when used by”) they find difficulties in attending to it. They have  little control on how long their product may sit on the store shelf and have no suitable graphic solution to communicate the freshness of their products. TO-GENKYO’s innovative design can provide such a solution and set consumers with the tools needed for their decision making.

The Freshness Label was presented at the Good Design Expo known as one of the leading design events in Asia which was held at Tokyo Big Sight in August 2009.

Trend Original: “TO-GENKYO”: Naoki Hirota,Yuki Ijiri,Koji Takahashi, Kyoto

Trend Spotter: Spoon & Tamago

via: Monty Menzer

The “Circle Board”, now riding all around Manhattan,was constructed from nine skateboards. Mark Gonzales, (also known as “Gonz” ) the street-skateboarding artist, invented the Circle Board almost a decade ago. Currently it is rolling as part of Gonzales exhibit, Round n’ Round, at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery, NYC (ends Nov. 28th).

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Trend Original: Mark Gonzales

Trend Spotter: The Jailbreak

Pavegen converts kinetic energy produced by pedestrians while walking into electricity that is stored withing the slab. With a minuscule flex of 5mm, the energy generating pavement is able to absorb the kinetic energy produced by every footstep, creating 2.1 watts of electricity per hour. This energy can potentially power lights, computers, automatic doors and ticket machines at tube stations. The system has been tested in East England.

Similar use of kinetic energy:

• East Japan Railway Company: kinetic energy generated by the crowds walking on Tokyo Station’s floor will power the ticket gates and the display systems.
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• POWERleap is a floor tiling system that converts wasted energy from human foot traffic into electricity.

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TrendOriiginal: Laurence Kemball-Cook, Pavegen Systems

Trend Spotter: inhabitat

The “YikeBike” electric bike

is designed for city journeys of up to 9km, reaching a top speed of 20km/h with zero emission. It weighs only 9.8 kilograms  and comfortably folds to 67×56×12 cm to fit into your backpack. A small powerful 1.2 kW electric motor replaces all the traditional mechanics.

The YikeBike currently costs $4860. The hype around all electric urban transportation clearly suggests that if found safe and affordable -  we will see many of those around.

See them drive:

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Trend Original: Yikebike

Trend Spotter: The Design Blog