Video credit: TODAYdigital

Two students from Singapore Polytechnic (SP) have developed a low-cost water filtration cartridge that can help ease the shortage of clean water in rural Vietnam, according to Singapore’s online Today newspaper.

Students Sandy Loh and Koh Yong Xiang created the Gravity Filter cartridge under the guidance of Dr. Adrian Yeo, who is a research fellow at the Environment and Water Research Institute of Nanyang Technological University. The filter costs only SGD 11 (about VND190,000) and can last up to two years.

Yeo said they have done some work in Vietnam and hope to offer a sustainable method of providing clean water to people who live in remote areas.

The Gravity Filter consists of hollow-fibre polysulfone membranes with a pore size of 0.1 microns that block almost all harmful bacteria and micro-organisms. It requires no energy input and produces 200-600 millilitres of clean water per minute.

The research group says the filter is cheap and uses readily available technology.

A pilot test of 50 filters will be conducted in Vietnam next month.

Singaporean students helps purify water in Vietnam [Vietmaz]

Sports technology has come a long way over the past 10 years, but there is one particular sector that has been widely neglected when it comes to monitoring devices: swimming. designed in collaboration with tribudesign, ‘instabeat’ – a heads-up display monitor that mounts on the straps of any swimming goggles – reads the heart rate from the temporal artery without a chest belt, and displays it in real-time on the lens through a color code indicating the heart rate zone. the device also tracks calories burned, lap times and breathing frequency – with all data available once the device is synced to the computer.

instabeat: the google glass of swimming goggles [DesignBoom]

The Jackcard is a conceptual device that aims to take all of the cards you use in your daily life and drop them onto one device. Stephen Reon Francisco’s Jackcard would be able to function as everything from a debit card to a passport. It would also be able to identify people using facial and voice recognition along with fingerprints.

Transforming Digital ID Cards [TrendHunter]

V-Tent is an ecofriendly parking system that protects and charges vehicles. It is a collapsible canopy that can be used in both personal and public parking areas. Aiming to create a sustainable system for urban environment, V-Tent offers a safe space for electric cars either at home or in city. Functioning as a canopy that prevents weather side-effects such as sun heat or snow, design protects vehicles physically from environmental conditions.

Therefore, it prolongs the life and maintenance cycle of vehicles in the long run. Also designed as a precaution for theft, structural elements of design work as barriers. System of V-Tent in public usage is designed as a space saving parking lot space that runs on fee. With a simple interface, user is able to choose parking period and make payment by card. Being informed with an estimated charging time, drivers can access the system interface remotely via smartphone applications.

Band light on V-Tent indicates availability and charge percentage with color and length. Produced energy from solar power can be used in urban applications such as lighting, where individual users can also benefit carbon-free energy for their usage.

V-Tent Car Charging and Protection Unit by Hakan Gürsu

Rain — the scourge of the night driver! Too many times have distracting droplets proved an annoyance for those traveling roads after dark. New technology co-developed by Intel and Carnegie Mellon University could one day change all that.

Instead of relying on a bog-standard bulb to beam light out over a darkened road, the futuristic setup would use something more akin to a projector. Meanwhile a camera sits nestled beneath that projector, keeping an eye on drops of rain as they enter the headlights’ beams. Information from that camera is sent to a processing unit, which identifies raindrops and makes a guess as to where each droplet is headed.

The projector then blots out the bits of its projection where the rain drops are. The result is a light that shines out from the front of a car in the dark, but doesn’t highlight any rain.

Future headlights turn rain invisible [CNet]

The idea for Jifiti came about because Shaul Weisband — one of the creators of the app and company behind it — wanted to “teleport” gifts to friends. While teleportation is still not really possible, the team at Jifiti has done the next best thing and is aiming to incorporate this into a new way of shopping. And I think retailers are going to like it.

The concept behind Jifiti is quite simple; go shopping in a participating brick-and-mortar store and when you see an item you would like to purchase for someone, you scan that item’s standard retail barcode with your smartphone. Next, you pick a friend you would like to send the item to and a gift code is created and emailed to that friend so they can download the app, redeem the code and pick up that same item at a participating store near them.

Jifiti Lets You Teleport Products To Your Friends…Sorta [Techcrunch]

A beer bottle is something that we all take for granted, yet Heineken leads the way to turn it into a creative item; introducing new bottle shapes, materials (PET and Aluminium) and printing techniques (UV ink etc).

Heineken’s first smart beer bottle can interact with other Ignite bottles, its environment and the people around it, bringing together: interaction, data and networking thinking. It enriches social experiences using the bottle and technology in a surprising way and making high tech feel fun, organic and seamless.

Heineken’s first interactive bottle uses micro sensors and wireless networking technology to sense the moment when a bottle is being used to say “Cheers”. The bottle can also actively respond to the music and the output of specific audio and data cues. For example, it can detect various motion types such as cheering, drinking and sitting idle on the bar top. The motions trigger certain light effects lighting up the complete bottle, enhanced by the swirls of beer, carbon dioxide and oxygen. Next to that the bottle lights can be remotely activated, so that each bottle becomes an active light source controlled by specially developed VJ software, allowing to synchronize all bottles to the music beat.

Just how real are images on an LG IPS monitor? To help prove its exceptional IPS picture quality, LG enlisted the help of its cinematic IPS 21:9 UltraWide monitor.

Directed by LG Electronics Benelux office, Stage Fright – So Real It’s Scary 2 tests the theory with hidden cameras that men cannot go to the bathroom when someone is watching them. In the video, LG installs its IPS 21:9 UltraWide monitors above a row of urinals in a restroom. As unsuspecting gentlemen attempt to relieve themselves, the monitors display faces of beautiful women. Proving how realistic images are on an LG IPS monitor, several men experience ‘performance issues’ as they genuinely believe they were being observed. The clip resonated with viewers in a pre-release survey that involved 600 participants. The video ranked in the top five percent of all viral ads shown to the group.

LG leads the next generation monitor market with superior IPS display technology and creative design concepts. As seen in Stage Fright – So Real It’s Scary 2, the LG IPS 21:9 UltraWide monitor delivers stunningly real picture quality on a screen that is significantly wider than a conventional 16:9 model. The monitor is a versatile powerhouse, boasting powerful multitasking via its 4-Screen Split and Dual-Link Up features. LG’s IPS 21:9 Ultrawide expresses more than 99 percent of the sRGB color space, providing the most vivid, lifelike colors and incredible image clarity. The first monitor to offer users the cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio, LG’s unique monitor is ideal for immersive gaming and movie viewing experiences.

The Supraflux stabilizer combines many of the essential features of a professional-level camera stabilizer, such as frictionless ball bearings and precision-machined construction, resulting in a stabilizer that provides exceptionally smooth footage. The new Brake camera control system ensures such smooth footage can be achieved even during turns. The electronic system is a patent-pending device that works by locking the pan axis at the touch of a button, while maintaining the camera balance.

University of Illinois nano scientist John Rogers developed a method to print ultra-thin silicon circuits, like those on a computer chip, onto a highly-elastic surface that you can stick on your skin. Think of a temporary tattoo containing electronic components that are one-fifth the thickness of human hair. The possible uses of this are broad, ranging from a tiny patch that will detect when you need more sunscreen and alert you, to implantable (yes implantable) sensors that keep a constant vigil for infections inside the body. Rogers spun out a company called MC10 to commercialize the technology and has already partnered with Reebok on a forthcoming wearable device to track athletic performance.

Smartly Dressed: The Future of Wearable Computing (LifeScoop)

Sometimes all you need is just a little motivation to get moving, or someone yelling at you. To that end, Google teamed up with Adidas to create a talking shoe that yells at you to get you moving. Sit around for too long and your shoe complains. Conversely, it loves being on the move and will sing you praises for running and jumping. Mobile and social network-connected, the shoe shares its comments to your friends to let them know what you’re up to. The fun and interactive object debuted at this year’s SXSW and is yet another example of how wearable technology is becoming the hottest new trend in fashion.

Google, Adidas Create “Talking” Sneaker That Nags You to Get Moving [Ecouterre]