Our innovation, design and development teams track trends across the industries in which we work. Here are some stories you might find as interesting as we did.

 

Google Timelapse

“On Thursday, Google's 3D mapping tool available on desktop or mobile app added a fourth dimension: time. With Timelapse videos you can see 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years stitched together to show a different perspective of the world." (Mashable)

Cities, Infrastructure, & Sustainability

  • See the world change: Google Earth's new timelapse feature | Mashable and Vogue
  • Vulcan and Tableau team up to protect the planet with EarthRanger | Geek Wire
  • Unpicking the London Plan | Architects’ Journal
  • Massachusetts climate-resilient construction targeted in new online tool | MassLive
  • Super-white paint could cut air conditioning bills by 80 percent | Popular Science
  • This peeler did not need to be wrapped in so much plastic | The New York Times

 

Monkey MindPong

“Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company focused on developing brain-machine interfaces, has posted a video to YouTube that appears to show a monkey navigating an on-screen cursor using only its mind." (The Verge)

Healthcare, Science, & Technology

 

Electric Plane

“Even though electric planes have been around since the 1970s, they haven't really taken off. So, what's keeping them grounded?” (Business Insider)

Aerospace, Aviation, & Mobility

  • Why electric planes haven't taken off yet | Business Insider
  • 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS is a declaration of maximum electric luxury | The Verge
  • Exclusive look at designs for US supersonic presidential jet | CNN Travel
  • Nasa successfully flies small helicopter on Mars | BBC News
  • NASA is looking for people for a spaceflight simulation study | Digital Trends
  • Airbus will use lasers to improve the worst part of flying | INVERSE

 

Deep Nostalgia

“The Deep Nostalgia tool, powered by a deep learning algorithm created by D-ID, gave many users another opportunity to have a brief emotional connection with a loved one they’d lost.” (Gizmodo)

AI, Robotics, & Tech

  • ‘Deep Nostalgia’: make old photos of relatives dance and blow kisses | Gizmodo
  • [Long Read] Redesigning AI | Boston Review
  • How to shut down Spot the robot 'dog,' should you ever need to | Mashable
  • How AI can help companies set prices more ethically | Harvard Business Review
  • Robotic ankle restores abilities for people with prostheses | Futurity
  • Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., America’s first Black Air Force chief, on race, tech, and the trouble with AI | Fast Company

 

IBM Watson 3


“There is an enormous gap between how successfully brands believe that they are understanding and contacting their customers, and the reality their customers perceive.” (Wired UK)

Brand, Culture, & Trends

  • Customers are more than just data. IBM Watson is helping brands see people in the numbers | Wired UK
  • A year in lockdown trends | Google Trends
  • European Super League: where football's breakaway went wrong | The Drum
  • What would a meat-free world look like? | Mic
  • New Netflix docuseries revisits the infamous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist | Boston.com


 

Dark Patterns

“Dark patterns have for years been tricking internet users into giving up their data, money, and time. But if some advocates and regulators get their way, they may not be able to do that for much longer.” (Vox/recode)

Business, Design, & Innovation

  • Dark patterns, the tricks websites use to make you say yes | Vox / recode
  • What 21st-century design looks like | UX Collective
  • Embrace imperfection to design with character | gj.
  • Innovation Management - the complete guide | runpondr
  • Law of diminishing returns, design and decision making | UX Mag
  • [Podcast] What we mean when we talk about strategy | New Layer

 

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