Springwise Updates

It’s always exciting to hear about the progress made by businesses that we’ve previously featured. Here are some updates from founders who have all got in touch to share their latest news: Bribespot When political and governmental authorities suffer from corruption, it can affect the lives of citizens in numerous negative ways. While it can be difficult to tackle abuse of power head on, the Bribespot app has helped uncover hundreds of cases of bribery in countries from Italy and Guatemala to Argentina and Kenya since launching its Android app in 2011. Having since created a version for iPhone users – available in nine different languages – to widen its reach, the team behind the app hope it will continue to provide empowerment to citizens. id&c Attendees at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival may remember the usual wristbands used to gain entry offered something new – in the form of RFID-enabled social media integration. UK-based id&c, which provided the wristbands, has since brought the technology to the recent Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee and 200,000 of the devices are currently bringing extra engagement and security to the Robbie Williams UK tour in collaboration with Samsung. ConnectIreland When the global financial crisis hit in 2007, one of the worst affected countries was Ireland and it is still experiencing the fallout, with unemployment rates of over 13 percent. One solution proposed by ConnectIreland – a government collaboration with development agency IDA Ireland – was to use crowdsourcing to find businesses looking to expand in Europe and subsidise their setting up in the country. The enterprise recently announced the secured creation of 70 new jobs in Country Meath and reports suggest that – despite initial skepticism – the scheme may be providing some cause for optimism. SPARKON When we first covered SPARKON back in 2012, it had a rather different guise. Known then as Empower.me, the site was focused on helping parents to incentivize their children to perform well in school and do the chores at home. In order to engage young people, SPARKON has now shifted to a teen-centric platform that aims to help them unlock their potential. By providing details about their interests, students can download a personalized report that maps out their potential futures, with fun learning videos to inspire them to work on realizing their dreams and rewards for reaching personal achievements. uChek Biosense’s urine checking app isn’t the most attractive use of a smartphone, but nonetheless an important one – especially considering it can detect up to 25 different conditions without the need for expensive medical equipment. Although still available to buy in India and the US, the app recently came under fire from the Food and Drugs Administration in the latter country, which claims that the developers have not gained clearance to sell the app. Biosense maintains that it is registered with the FDA, and that the app itself isn’t a medical product, it merely works in collaboration with urine dipsticks that already have FDA clearance. It remains to be seen what will happen with uChek, but it will certainly have repercussions for other startups hoping to launch similar platforms.

Video utility bills break down charges visually

Bills are notoriously difficult things to understand sometimes, and we’ve already seen efforts – such as BillGuard – to help make checking them an easier task. Now telecoms giant AT&T has introduced the U-Verse Video Bill, which aims to give a clearer snapshot of monthly charges. Rather than send customers of its U-verse TV and High Speed Internet packages a plain black-and-white list of charges, the company has developed a scheme that enables users to receive a personalized video each month detailing the bill. The idea behind the initiative is to make the billing process as visual and engaging as the services users receive, encouraging them to better understand what they’ve been charged for, as well as complete the payment. If the idea catches on, could there be room here for video production companies to specialize in explanatory bills? Or perhaps businesses could go one step further and create web-based interactive bills?

Airport vending machine ‘restaurant’ offers gourmet menu

Manufacturers are always trying to improve the design of bikes, but rarely make efforts to change the traditional structure of the devices – aside from startups such as Loopwheels, for example. Autobike is another innovative company that hopes to bring automatic gear shifting to two-wheel transport. One of the reasons consumers may avoid getting started on a bike in the first place is having to remember when and how to change gears when the terrain changes. With the aim to make riding a simpler affair, the Autobike features a mechanism that sets the gear ratio automatically based on rider speed and grade of incline. A dynamo located at the front of the bike generates electricity to power a small on-board computer that determines the factors needed to set the gear. The system uses a continuously variable planetary gear hub that enables smooth continuous transitions. Because different riders have different rhythms when they cycle – something that can affect which gear ratio is best for them – users can set their cadence through buttons located on the bike, or through a Bluetooth connection with their smartphone.

Bike configured for automatic gear shifting

Manufacturers are always trying to improve the design of bikes, but rarely make efforts to change the traditional structure of the devices – aside from startups such as Loopwheels, for example. Autobike is another innovative company that hopes to bring automatic gear shifting to two-wheel transport. One of the reasons consumers may avoid getting started on a bike in the first place is having to remember when and how to change gears when the terrain changes. With the aim to make riding a simpler affair, the Autobike features a mechanism that sets the gear ratio automatically based on rider speed and grade of incline. A dynamo located at the front of the bike generates electricity to power a small on-board computer that determines the factors needed to set the gear. The system uses a continuously variable planetary gear hub that enables smooth continuous transitions. Because different riders have different rhythms when they cycle – something that can affect which gear ratio is best for them – users can set their cadence through buttons located on the bike, or through a Bluetooth connection with their smartphone.

Restaurant sells food in edible packaging

Customers at Bob’s fast food chain in Brazil have already experienced edible packaging with their burgers as part of a marketing campaign. Now the WikiBar in Paris is hoping to turn a similar idea into a sustainable business, offering only foods that come in an edible container. Designed by Mathieu Lehanneur, the space centers around a circular bar which serves items such as ice cream, yoghurts and cheese in a skin that keeps the food fresh as well as enables consumers to eat the products with their hands. The bar is one of a series of outlets planned around the world that will sell WikiPearl products. Created by Harvard professor David Edwards, the invention uses natural food products in place of plastic packaging – for example, its mango ice cream comes in a skin of coconut, while its vanilla ice cream is wrapped in a peanut-based container. The wrappings are biodegradable but designed to be eaten along with the product inside. WikiBar serves to provide consumers with an easy and eco-friendly way to enjoy non-solid foods, while also serving as a promotional and trial tool for the fledgling technology. WikiFoods, the company behind the idea, has stated that it wants to eventually bring its products into supermarkets, depending on consumer reaction. Could this be the future of package-free food?

Through app, users take a photo of an outfit to find out where to buy

Platforms such as myStorey have already enabled consumers to tap the crowds for information on the products they find in images online. Now the UK’s Snap Fashion is an app that lets users take a photo of an outfit they like and instantly find out where they can buy them. Available for free on the App Store, users first select the type of item they’ve spotted – whether a dress, skirt, trousers, shorts, top or shoes. They can then take a photograph the item and the app uses image matching software to detect the exact item, along with links to partners who have it in stock. If it can’t find an exact match then users are presented with options that match the color, cut and style of the item they’ve snapped. Those options can then be saved for later or purchased there and then. Users can also share their searches and purchases with their contacts and create custom wishlists. Snap Fashion has already teamed up with high street brands such as Topshop, Gap, Uniqlo, French Connection and Kurt Geiger, making its database of fashions diverse and comprehensive. Could this platform work for other types of products?

In Madrid, dog poo left in public places is mailed back to owners

One way to ensure dog owners pick up their pet’s waste is to offer them and incentive – something the Terra Poo Wifi campaign trialled in Mexico’s parks. Another option is to use negative reinforcement. The Council of Brunete’s Cacas Express scheme saw those neglecting to pick up their dog’s poo have it sent back to them in the post. The council had previously worked with advertising agency McCann on a scheme that sent a motorized plastic dog poo around the municipal region with a message to encourage the cleaning up of pet waste. Noting that the campaign only saw temporary success, the local authority once again hired the agency for its new initiative. 20 agents were hired to follow citizens around the region to catch those who were letting their dogs foul in public places without clearing it up. The agents boxed the poo then approached the culprits and started a friendly conversation to determine the dog’s name and breed. This information was later cross-referenced with the town’s registered pet database to find out the name and address of the owner. The poo was then delievered to them as property from the ‘Lost & Found Department’, along with a notice informing them that next time there would be a fine.