CanadianBusiness.com, Canada Monday, October 29, 2007 Trend spotting By Calvin Leung Canadian Business Online, October 29, 2007 Quote: "Jeremy Gutsche, who heads a network of over 17,000 "Trend Hunters" around the globe, says innovations for the blind is one of the world's hottest trends." Question: What are some emerging consumer trends? Answer: Sure, it's not for everyone, but Klara Jirkova, a student at The Berlin University of the Arts, has invented a way to create Braille tattoos: implant tiny surgical-grade stainless steel balls under the skin. Over in Ireland, researchers at IBM are developing virtual worlds based on sounds rather than images. Fort Wayne, Ind.-based GM Micro recently launched the Voice Sense, a PDF for the visually impaired. Jeremy Gutsche, who heads a network of over 17,000 "Trend Hunters" around the globe, says innovations for the blind is one of the world's hottest trends. Another product category that could be huge: voice-activated communication and entertainment systems in cars. Ford recently launched Sync, a technology that lets you play specific songs from an iPod or make calls on your cell phone by using verbal commands. "The Sync is something that might make people consider Ford, even if it wasn't in their consideration set, and will have other companies racing to have the same technology," says Gutsche. Like cars, vending machines could also see some major changes. These devices may soon reward thirsty consumers with a free drink for watching a 30-second ad. That's one idea in the works at Apex Corp, a vending machine company in Japan. The Beautiful Vending Styler, which straightens hair and comes from The Beautiful Vending Company in the U.K., is spreading from nightclubs in London to cities such as New York. In Amsterdam, you can rent bicycles from automated machines. "Vending machines aren't just going to be about pop anymore," says Gutsche. Of all the emerging consumer trends on his radar, Gutsche thinks "eco innovation" will be one of the biggest in Canada. He points our Vancouver has a condo developments, which brand themselves as being zero carbon. In other words, these buildings have features that offset the damage to the environment caused by its residents. Now if someone could just invent a way to make Canada's weather warmer during the winters, we'd be set. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/columnists/calvin_leung/article.jsp?content=20071029_165539_2844 BlindNews Mailing List Subscribe: BlindNews-Request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" as subject Unsubscribe: BlindNews-Request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" as subject Moderator: BlindNews-Moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Archive: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind RSS: http://GeoffAndWen.com/BlindNewsRSS.asp More information about RSS feeds will be published shortly.