Arena Media 

Cities are about to get ‘smarter’. Much like the Internet of Things, which has been well written about, Smart Sensors are all about injecting connectivity into objects. Intel have developed a range of sensors that track motion, weather, air quality and, more relevant for us, what they are calling the ‘life management’ sensor. Also dubbed the ‘marketing sensor’, it will gather data from user behaviour in the real world and use this as fuel for targeted advertising. They are currently trialling them in petrol stations in Brazil, where the sensors communicate with computers in cars to look at last tire rotations and engine needs to feed digital outdoor formats for the likes of Pirelli and Castrol.

Google Project Glass: One Day

Rumours of the Google Augmented Reality Glasses started flying around a month or so ago. Now the team at Google[x], the secretive creative technology arm, have released this day life video. It shows how the technology will function as part of everyday life from a POV perspective. Showing it using the handsfree technology to see and reply to Google+ messages, create reminders, view tube delays and directions and find his mate “Paul”. They are asking for user input on what you would want to see from Project Glass and created Circle that is open for feedback.

Heineken Ideas Brewery

Another a brand to jump on the co-creation train (Domino’s US’ Think Oven being the most recent and notable example), Heineken is launching a crowdsourced ideas portal called the Ideas Brewery. The project is focussed on creating a sustainable future for the brand and is initially looking at ideas to improve packaging as well as the transport of its products amongst others. It will place innovation in the hands of the fans with a view to create more meaningful and relevant products by doing so with consumers.

Self-sculpting sand

Researchers at MIT’s Distributed Robotics Laboratory are developing a material akin to ‘Self-sculpting Sand’, which could make it possible to spontaneously create new tools or duplicate broken mechanical parts. The idea is that you bury a tiny model of a footstool – for example – in a box of ‘smart sand’, which a few seconds later would assemble itself into a large scale replica of the model. The scientists have tested their algorithms to make this idea a reality using tiny cubes of ‘smart pebbles’ with built in processors and magnets that can communicate with each other. While 3D printing seems to be very much in the collective conscious, this shows other amazing potential for technologies in this field.

Nike: The Chance

At the end of February, Nike launched The Chance – a global online contest that aimed to recruit 100 of the best young football players in world. To participate, amateur teams from around the world had to set up their own Facebook page and generate a load of buzz around them and the competition. The most popular ones are entered into national and global play-offs, and the best players are then picked by Pep Guardiola. This is great example of advocacy marketing because Nike have created a mini- army of influencers who can produce and share engaging content, with the brand acting as the facilitator.