The Curiosity Stop is a monthly snackable report of all things innovative, aimed to interest, inform, and above all, inspire.

1. CURIOSITY STOP
JUNE 2015

2. WE ARE SOCIAL
We Are Social is a global agency with offices in five continents (Antarctica is a little too chilly for
our liking).
We deliver world-class creative ideas with forward-thinking brands, and have fun doing it. Our
clients include adidas, Google, and Netflix.
As an international team of 550+, our passion is people. Our mission is to put social thinking at
the centre of marketing.

3. CURIOSITY STOP
Here at We Are Social, we love all things innovative. They’re what get us out of bed in the morning.
We don’t love innovation articles, littered with buzzwords and technobabble. We reckon if
information is going to be useful, normal humans should be able to understand it.
That’s why we created Curiosity Stop. Our global team of inquisitive brains look out for the next
big things, which we distil into this easy-to-read report.
Every month, we go on a jargon-free journey through the world of innovation - from travel to tech,
food to fashion. Grab a coffee and join us, won’t you?

4. Does it make something
better, faster, cheaper?
Does it make you smile?
Is it truly innovative?
Is it disruptive?
Does it have a social implication?
THE CURATION CHECKLIST

5. 1
Technology
2
Retail
4
Publishing
3
Internet of
Things
5
Electronics
6
Apps
7
Automotive
8
Food
9
Home &
Personal Care
10
FMCG
11
Sport
12
IT/ Infrastructure
13
Alcohol
14
Finance
15
Travel
16
Hospitality
18
Fashion
17
Luxury
CONTENTS

6. TECHNOLOGY
1
VoxieBox
Remember the Star Wars scene where R2-D2
projects a 3D message from Princess Leia? Now
meet the VoxieBox, a modern-day R2-D2.
It prints light in three dimensions thousands of
times a second, so we think we’re looking at a 3D
image. R2-D2 said of the new technology: Bleep.
Bleep. Bloop.
In the not-too-distant future, virtual and physical
blending will become a regular part of our social
interactions.
Sony's Light Bulb Speaker
Sony’s new LED light bulb can light up a room
with its melodies as well as its… actual light.
The light bulb screws into standard lamps and
other light fittings. It then connects with your
phone via Bluetooth, so you can control the
music it plays (which is for the best, or it’d play
Electric Light Orchestra on repeat).
Eco-friendly behaviour is a status symbol and
having a device that doubles up is only going to
grow your eco warrior creds.
Smart Street Lamps
General Electric has begun producing super-
efficient LED street lamps which could last for 20
years... as long as no one is in possession of
Dumbledore’s Deluminator.
These bulbs contain video, light and weather
sensors, so they can turn on and off, or dim and
brighten at relevant moments. The sensors will
also capture data, which cities can take
advantage of.
Once we have mastered the smart home we will
demand the powers deliver us smart cities, or at
least lamp posts.

7. RETAIL
2
Digital Malls
Westfield in the UK is looking to ‘change the way
people shop and buy’, by bringing the shopping
mall into the digital age.
Lost your friend somewhere between Starbucks
and Abercrombie? Track them down using
Westfield’s online service. Spot something you
like but need some time to think? Every product
in the mall will also be searchable online.
Maybe in the future malls won’t make you want
to die inside, and instead be intuitive,
replenishing places for us to connect socially.
Instacart
Meet Instacart, the Uber of the food world.
With Instacart, you can write a shopping list, then
sit back and relax while a designated shopper is
deployed to physically choose, purchase, and
deliver your groceries that same day.
Brands will start to take the dull tasks of life out
of our hands, giving us more time to spam our
mates with selfies.
Hassless Mattress
It’s the stuff of childhood dreams; a mattress
store with no one to stop you bouncing on the
beds.
Hassless Mattress shops open and close
remotely, with not a member of staff in sight.
Customers can choose and order mattresses
using in-store computers or the telephone
number provided.
Those looking for a five-finger discount shouldn’t
get excited though, the shops are closely
monitored via security cameras. Plus, it’s really
hard to fit a mattress in your pocket.

8. INTERNET OF THINGS
3
Nuimo
Nuimo is a universal dial designed for the
Internet of Things. Do you currently control your
household appliances with a smartphone app?
How very 2014 of you.
Nuimo connects to your computer or phone via
Bluetooth, allowing you to control all your
gadgets with just a touch of the dial. Simply
switch between your microwave, stereo and
shower by giving it a twist.
Family arguments over the remote just went
phygital.
GeniCan
They say one man’s trash is another man’s
treasure, and the GeniCan is ready to take
advantage of this.
The GeniCan fixes onto your trash can, and
scans barcodes as you drop packaging in the bin.
These items can then be added to a list for your
perusal, or automatically reordered. Any chance
it can order us a takeaway, too?
Wasting stuff makes us feel bad and there’s huge
scope here to make a social status on how much
we recycle.
BOCCO
Meet the adorable-looking robot designed to
keep families connected. BOCCO is aimed at
children and anyone else without a smartphone.
With a press of a button, BOCCO lets you send
voice messages to a loved one’s smartphone.
When your family member responds from their
far-flung airport lounge, BOCCO will let the family
know it’s received a message, and play it back.
This is a forerunner of the social internet of
things that will connect us to each other, via stuff
that isn’t just our phones.

9. PUBLISHING
4
Musical Innovation
Make what you will of their music, but Snow
Patrol should win a Grammy for Innovation (just
kidding, that definitely doesn’t exist. Yet.) The
band run their own music publishing service, a
love-child of data and creativity.
For example, the information they collect means
the band can change their set list from country
to country, depending on each song’s popularity.
360° Trailers
It’s official: Marvel and Samsung have raised the
bar for movie trailers AND YouTube videos.
Give their 360° clip a watch on an Android phone
for the full, heart-thumping experience. The
morning commute just got interesting.
With Facebook buying Oculus Rift, we will see the
dawn of social 360° video when Facebook
release their social VR platform next year.
Apple Watch Publishing
Publishers like NYT, CNN and The Economist are
taking an Apple Watch gamble, developing apps
before the rest of the world, giving the wearable
its seal of approval.
The New York Times is thinking ‘watch up’ rather
than ‘desktop down’, with an app featuring
exclusive one-sentence stories. Talk about bite-
sized content.
The Apple Watch is an accessory and not a
necessity, but it has brought the web to the wrist
- and social will be there, en masse before too
long.

10. ELECTRONICS
5
iSkin
Have you heard the news? iSkin is the new skin.
You place an iSkin ‘sticker’ anywhere on your
body (no, not there), and that area transforms
into a sort of touch screen for the body.
For example, you could control the volume of
your speakers using a sticker placed behind your
ear. Talk about a great party trick.
With our bodies becoming controllers for the
digital world, the next step is using them as
communication devices.
Hands Omni
Engineering students at Rice University have
created a glove prototype, which lets you feel
virtual objects as if they were really there. Tiny air
bladders in the fingertips expand and contract,
depending on what you’re touching.
This is especially interesting for gamers, who
could potentially reach out and ‘touch’ their
surroundings in a game.
One prediction of this tech is that we will be able
to hug our kids goodnight remotely, and be able
to physically feel the sensation.
Dynamic Sanctuary
Designed with the interior of the 2016 Ford Edge
in mind, the Dynamic Sanctuary was an
interactive project showcased at NYCxDesign.
Visitors were invited to walk (alone) into a
seemingly weightless environment. They then
attached their finger to a pulse monitor, so that
the interior lighting could match their heartbeat.
By having the interior respond to an input we
wouldn’t normally see at that scale, Dynamic
Sanctuary was designed to relax visitors.

11. APPS
6
Pikinis
Sometimes technology is used as a force for
good, and sometimes it’s used to find pictures of
your friends in bikinis. You can probably guess
which one Pikinis is.
It’s an iPhone app which uses algorithms to find
your Facebook friends’ ‘fun summer photos’.
Visual search is getting better by the day, and
soon our social images will have their data value
unlocked.
Binder
Scottish warm beer specialists Tennant’s have
created the evil twin of Tinder. It’s a smartphone
app that will outsource the dumping of your
partner.
All you have to do is enter in their details and the
app will send them a brutal text explaining how
happy you are to be separated.
And just to make sure they throw in a breakup
song to sweeten the pill.
Walk and Talk
Walk and Talk is an app powered by your
movement. When you start walking, it will match
you to another random user. If you stop, it will
hang up.
Walk and Talk allows you to chat to people from
around the world while stretching those legs.
New ways of messaging keep popping up,
satisfying almost every nuance of chatting
occasions.

12. The Inspiration
Accidents caused by tired drivers on long shifts is
a recurring issue. The Inspiration Truck, which
can drive itself, is the first road-legal rig aiming to
solve that problem.
The Inspiration can stay in a designated lane,
maintain a legal speed, and brake safely when
needed. All admirable qualities, but can it track
down a Big Mac when we’re stuck in traffic?
Automotive promises to be the next frontier of
media opportunities. If we’re not driving or
parking our cars, we’ll probably use the free time
to look at pictures of our ex on Facebook.
EO Smart Connecting Car
The EOscc2 is everything a megacity needs in a
car. Created by German artificial intelligence
researchers, the vehicle can turn on the spot,
shorten on command and parallel park like a pro.
Just a warning though - at any moment the EO
could also burst into an expertly choreographed
song and dance. That’s what we reckon, anyway.
Artificial Intelligence controls the content in our
Facebook feeds, and now it’s parking our cars.
The social impact of AI is creeping up on us.
The Tweeting Pothole
Forget spending hours on hold to a call centre -
Telemetro Reporta has got the right idea when it
comes to making an effective complaint.
The news show in Panama City has installed
devices in some of the worst potholes in the city.
When a car drives over that device, it
automatically sends a tweet to the Department of
Public Works.
As a result of this positive trolling (if such a thing
exists), potholes have started disappearing. All in
a day’s work for Telemetro Reporta.
AUTOMOTIVE
7

13. FOOD
8
Space Cups
You can now enjoy a cup of jo without ruining
your spacesuit, thanks to microgravity Space
Cups. Before this, astronauts were resigned to
sucking liquid out of a bag.
Scientists believe that the research carried out
to make these 3D printed cups will help them
with other fluid systems like oxygen supply. Not
just a pretty cup, eh?
The Eating Set
New Zealand company Fold Project has created
a flatpack picnic set, designed to eliminate waste
while remaining light and easy-to-carry.
The Eating Set looks like a few pieces of
lightweight plastic with fold lines, but transforms
into a bowl, cup, fork and spoon.
When you’ve finished eating, you can simply
dismantle the set and pack it in your bag for
next time. Easy.
GoSun
The GoSun Grill runs entirely on solar power and
has a ‘battery’ which charges in just two hours,
meaning you can cook even when it’s cloudy
(useful here in Britain).
Your food sits in a tube and can be baked, boiled,
steamed or roasted - all thanks to a special
phase-change organic wax found in the GoSun.
Right, who’s up for a barbecue?

14. HOME & PERSONAL CARE
9
3D Ultrasound Prints
Blind parents will no longer have to miss out on
the joy of ‘meeting’ their baby at an ultrasound
scan.
Mum-to-be Tatiana Guerra lost her sight when
she was 17, and so didn’t expect to be able to
see how her baby was growing inside her.
Amazingly, her doctor surprised her with a 3D
print of her baby Murilo, allowing her to bond
with her child in an extremely profound way.
Breast Milk Facials
Forget mud facials, for truly glowing skin it’s all
about the breast milk facial.
For a small extra fee ($10), Chicago-based salon
Mud will massage your face with the offerings of
local American mothers.
Studies show that lauric acid in breast milk has
properties which help calm the skin. We’ll stick
to face masks, we think.
Fragrance Emission Device
Google has filed a patent for a wearable which
freshens your armpits when you start smelling a
bit… armpitty.
If you’re in need of a shower, it will also let you
know when friends are nearby, so you can take
the long way home to avoid them. Which might
work up a bit of a sweat, ironically.

15. NARS Christopher Kane Breakthrough
For its latest cosmetic collection, NARS
performed a digital ‘strip-tease’.
The Christopher Kane line was hidden inside a
rotating orb. Every time a fan used either
#NARSChristopherKaneUS or
#NARSChristopherKaneUK (depending on their
location), one of four pneumatic hammers
would give the orb a bash.
Eventually, the orb broke, revealing the
collection to the world.
Shelfie
What do you do when the item you’re after is
nowhere to be seen on the shop shelf? You take
a Shelfie of course!
When you take a Shelfie with the app, you get
points (which mean prizes). The shop can react to
the information, and brands can learn from it
too. It’s win-win-win, really.
FMCG
10
Gender Bending
Cupcakes are no longer the preserve of the
pinterest mad mummy blogger.
The butch bakery have cooked up camouflage
cupcakes for men to hide their sugar cravings
behind something more manly.
Chocolate toolkits, six pack style kitkats and
meatloaf with whipped potato cupcakes are
giving him a girly snack in a way he can be
proud of eating.

16. SPORT
11
Nike HyperVenom Transform
As Nike say goodbye to their HyperVenom
football boots, they’re giving fans one last
hurrah.
The HyperVenom Transform looks like a pair of
regular black football boots (well… as regular as
limited edition Nikes can be), until you get them
out on the pitch.
Heat-activated material gradually reveals a
vibrant pattern, which only disappears after the
player has removed their boots.
adidas x Spotify
One of the hardest parts of running (apart from
summoning the energy to get out of bed) is
getting your playlist right. Eighties power ballads
are all well and good for motivation, but try
getting some pace out of ‘Take My Breath Away’.
The new app by adidas and Spotify called adidas
go will work out your stride rate, then play you
tracks with matching beats. All you have to do?
Put one foot in front of the other. Quickly.
Smart Tennis Sensor
Unlike runners and cyclists, tennis players have
been somewhat left out of the tracking world -
until now. Sony’s Smart Tennis Sensor fits onto
the grip end of your racket, and will record
statistics like swing type, swing speed and ball
spin.
Players can then access the data on the Smart
Tennis Sensor app, helping them to improve their
game.
The sensor battery lasts for three hours, meaning
you should be able to record a full match - unless
your name is Isner or Mahut.

17. IT/INFRASTRUCTURE
12
Docker vs appc
Software containers may not sound sexy, but
they cut costs for companies by making their IT
infrastructure more efficient.
Startup Docker plans to do just that, if new
competitor appc doesn’t get there first.
With both companies gunning for the industry
top spot, this could be like Apple vs Android all
over again.
OpenStack on Mars
Turns out the main obstacle keeping humans
from landing on Mars isn’t whether they’ll get on
with the aliens, it’s technology.
Openstack, which is the love child of Rackspace
and Nasa, is finding a solution for the modern
spacecraft that can produce up to 80 terabytes
of data a day.
Openstack is creating capacity to allow the Mars
space program to generate as much data as they
need to land on Mars. Cheers, guys.
Cortana
Remember Cortana, Microsoft’s digital personal
assistant and Siri’s arch enemy? Developers can
now build her/its features, for example voice
recognition, into their own applications.
The Cortana services, released under Project
Oxford, are currently free for anyone with an
Azure account.

18. ALCOHOL
13
Violent Coasters
To combat alcohol-related crimes, Japanese
nightlife brand Yaocho Bar Group have launched
Violent Coasters, which are printed with a
thermochemical ink technology.
These drink mats have photos of typical Japanese
women on them. If you place your drink on one,
however, cuts and bruises will gradually emerge
on the woman’s face.
The Boldest Glass
The folks at Johnnie Walker appreciate that
drinking whisky is an experience, which is why
they’ve created The Boldest Glass.
When the drinker takes a sip from their glass,
bone conduction technology will transmit sound
to their ears via the teeth.
The personalised tune will enhance the whisky’s
flavours, as well as keeping the drinker
entertained. Cheers to that!
Bottle With a Mission
We’re all going on a beer hunt… well, the good
people of Amsterdam were anyway.
Heineken placed beer bottles fitted with tracking
devices throughout the city. When picked up, the
bottle would activate, then start to vibrate. The
bottle cap would then light up and rotate,
showing people the way to the Heineken
Experience Brewery.

19. FINANCE
14
Activity Savings Account
We all know that exercising pays off, but being
paid to work out is quite novel.
Russia's Alfa-Bank allows users to link their
savings account to an activity tracker. The more
you exercise, the higher your interest rate.
As you move, the service transfers money from
your current account to this special savings
account with a higher interest rate. We don’t
know about you, but we’re off for a run. To
Russia.
La’Zooz
Think of La’Zooz as Uber for the people. In the
same way that BitTorrent helped bring down
Napster, La’Zooz offers a decentralised version of
ride-sharing.
Anyone can join the transportation web network,
and drivers will be paid in Zooz - their very own
cryptocurrency.
With ride-sharing and digital currency growing in
popularity, the two were bound to get together
sooner or later.
Barclays Code Playground
Think banks and coding are for squares? Think
again. Barclays are encouraging young people to
have a go at coding, with a website designed to
put the party into programming.
Your input on the website can affect how a
dinosaur dances, how quickly a crab walks, or
how fast a rainbow boot travels. Trust us, you
won’t even realise that you’re learning. With a
bank.

20. TRAVEL
15
Bluesmart
Bluesmart is a smart suitcase that will solve all
your travel woes. OK, it can’t refill your miniature
G&T on the plane, but it can be controlled from
your phone.
The Bluesmart app gives you the power to lock &
unlock it, weigh it, and track its location.
It even has a built-in charger, which will charge
your phone 6 times over. That’s what we call
travelling in style.
Windowless Aircraft
Big news for extreme cloud-watchers - the
Centre for Process Innovation plans to do away
with airplane windows.
Don’t panic though, you can still gaze pensively
out at the big blue abyss - the new aircrafts, as
imagined by CPI, will use video to offer up-to-the-
minute full-length panoramic views.
Project Jewel
Singapore’s latest plans for Jewel Changi Airport
include an indoor living forest, cinema, and four-
storey slide.
Jaw not quite dropped? We forgot to mention
‘The Rain Vortex’ - the world’s largest indoor
waterfall, housed in the new terminal. And we
thought getting a Wagamama in Terminal Five
was cool.

21. 16
Jamala Wildlife Lodge
The Jamala Wildlife Lodge is offering guests the
opportunity to take a bath with bears or have
lunch with lions.
The hotel rooms are merged with animal habitats,
meaning you can get up close and personal with
the animals, and vice versa. Gulp.
Hydropolis
Once it's built, the Hydropolis Underwater Hotel
and Resort Dubai will have an underwater leisure
complex, allowing guests to sleep in one of the
220 suites built below ground.
Sleeping with the fishes has never felt so
comfortable. Sorry.
Bud & Breakfast
Colorado (of course) has opened two cannabis-
friendly Bud & Breakfast guesthouses, offering
‘Wake & Bake’ breakfast sessions as well as
cannabis-infused massages.
They even look after those with a bad case of the
munchies - happy hour is food-focussed, with
items such as pigs in blanket and barbecue
chicken pizza on the menu. Talk about catering
to your target market.
HOSPITALITY

22. LUXURY
17
Beds on Board
Finding a place to stay left you all at sea? Beds on
Board won’t leave you stranded.
The nautical Airbnb lets you stay on board a
luxury yacht from less than £50 a night.
The only catch? You can’t take it out of the
marina. Time to drop anchor and take it easy on
the deck, Captain.
Where there’s a ‘thing’, there’s someone trying to
make money with an AirBnB type business
model. Will our things become our second
income?
Marriott Mobile Requests
Reckon your hotel bed needs just one more
pillow? If you’re staying at a Marriott, simply visit
their phone app to request it.
The Marriott app even has a chat-function, so
you can make those strange ‘only in a hotel’
requests quickly and easily. That’ll be three
bathrobes and a toothbrush, if you please.
Press Print To Eat
A Michelin-starred chef recently served up dishes
made entirely from 3D printed foods.
The pop-up London restaurant even whipped up
(sorry, printed out) a 3D globe, which was a
functioning map of the world as well as a flavour
sensation.
Will the new social status symbol be waste-free
and edition-of-one products?

23. 18
Fashion Revolution
Non-profit organisation Fashion Revolution
taught bargain-hunters a lesson about cheap
clothing. Passer-bys on a Berlin street were
lured to a vending machine by the offer of shirts
for only two euro. Before they received them,
however, the savvy shoppers had to watch a
video about exploited sweatshop labourers.
Obviously, most people passed on the shirt
offer in favour of a donation to Fashion
Revolution’s cause. Let’s not talk about the other
folks.
FASHION
Magnum Chocolate Scarf
Ever dreamt of bathing in chocolate? We’ve got
the next best thing.
Thanks to Magnum, you can now wrap yourself
in a scarf which not only looks like smooth
Belgian chocolate, but smells like it too.
Prepared to get sniffed by strangers. A lot.
Smart Changing Rooms
Picture this - you’re trying on jeans in a shop’s
changing room, when the mirror suggests the
perfect top to go with your choice. Freaky?
Slightly. Useful? Definitely.
New ‘smart’ mirrors will even video you, so you
can compare different outfits side-by-side. Cher
Horowitz, eat your heart out.

24. TECHNOLOGY
VoxieBox
GeniCan
BOCCO
AUTOMOTIVE
EO Smart Connecting Car
The Inspiration
The Tweeting Pothole
RETAIL
Hassless Mattress
Digital Westfield
Instacart
INTERNET OF THINGS
Nuimo
Sony’s Light Bulb Speaker
Smart Street Lamps
PUBLISHING
Musical Innovation
360° Trailers
Apple Watch Publishing
ELECTRONICS
Hands Omni
iSkin
Dynamic Sanctuary
APPS
Pikinis
LoungeBuddy
Walk and Talk
FOOD
Space Cups
The Eating Set
GoSun Grill
HOME & PERSONAL CARE
3D Ultrasound Prints
Breast Milk Facials
Fragrance Emission Device
FMCG
Nars Christopher Kane
Breakthrough
Amazon Prime Now
Shelfie
SPORT
Nike HyperVenom Transform
Adidas x Spotify
Smart Tennis Sensor
IT/INFRASTRUCTURE
Cortana
OpenStack on Mars
Docker vs appc
ALCOHOL
Violent Coasters
The Boldest Glass
Bottle With A Mission
FINANCE
Barclays Code Playground
Activity Savings Account
La’Zooz
TRAVEL
Bluesmart
Windowless Aircraft
Project Jewel
HOSPITALITY
Jamala Wildlife Lodge
Hydropolis
Bud & Breakfast
LUXURY
Marriott Mobile Requests
Press Print To Eat
Beds on Board
FASHION
Fashion Revolution
Magnum
Smart Changing Rooms

25. BUZZWORD BUSTER
The Internet of Things Imagine
that your appliances can not only
listen, but talk to each other too.
Your coffee machine has a sugar-
free vanilla latte with soy milk
ready as soon as the alarm clock
buzzes. Your swimming pool
(wishful thinking) heats up when
a barbecue is in the diary. The
best bit? You didn’t have to do a
thing. This is the Internet of
Things.
Wearable Tech Think of a
wearable as your phone and
your bracelet getting together to
make sweet, innovative love. Any
electronic gadget which you can
wear, either as an accessory or
as part of your clothes, is a
wearable. These gadgets can also
connect to the internet, which is
what makes them so darn clever.
3D Printing This does what it
says on the robot-made tin. If
you had a 3D printer, instead of
spitting out gig tickets and
boarding passes, it could
produce dinner for two or even
an entire house (or at least the
parts). It effectively does this by
sticking together a whole bunch
of layers - with not a paper jam in
sight.

26. talktous@wearesocial.net