London Design and style Festival 2015: the studio launched by London designer Benjamin Hubert has partnered with environmental consultancy Carbon Trust to produce a idea wearable that could track individual carbon footprints (+ film).
Although even now at a conceptual stage, the WorldBeing wristband would track a wearers’ carbon usage by connecting a selection of information sources to create personal maps of consumption.
Linking to a smartphone or tablet app, the wearable could measure and report on everything from items purchased and meals eaten, to modes of transport taken and energy utilized in the wearers’ home.
Quick visual suggestions could be presented to wearers of the wristband all through the day, utilizing cloud-shaped graphics that would alter colour and size to indicate carbon consumption.
An accompanying app would supply rewards – such as badges and reductions at local organizations – and competition with other consumers would be used to motivate wearers to greater their individual carbon “scores”.
An inbuilt electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor could also measure the wearer’s heartbeat, and use it as a distinctive signature for secure contactless payments.
Hubert has designed the wristband to be injection-moulded from recycled discarded products, to get benefit of the 20 to 50 million tonnes of electronic waste produced close to the planet every single yr.
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Even though some of the proposed functions aren’t achievable nevertheless, the wearable has been created for a time when the flow of digital data is much less restricted – that means monitoring could grow to be an automated procedure with out the wearer obtaining to add information about what they’re acquiring or undertaking.
Hubert and the Carbon Fund are at present raising awareness of the task with a Thunderclap Crowdshouting campaign, and strategy to invite a round of traders to help bring the project to fruition.
“There has never been a far better time to use style as a instrument to create meaningful conversation close to our individual accountability to make changes to our lifestyles to quit global warming,” explained Hubert.
“We desperately want a platform that aids the globe to recognize what our personal carbon footprint is and why we should be decreasing it in an accessible manner that has a higher level of engagement,” he extra.
His design and style company Layer – which launched earlier this 12 months to concentrate on “human-focused projects” – recently partnered with Uk cancer charity Maggie’s to redesign the charity collection box.
A a lot more tongue-in-cheek wearable gadget has been proposed by grownup enjoyment web site Pornhub, which suggested a fictional Wankband that could produce energy when moved in a repetitive up-and-down movement.
WorldBeing was on show at the designjunction exhibition during London Design and style Festival 2015, which ran from 19 to 27 September.
Also launched at designjunction this year was Joel Hoff’s rotate-to-dim light for Incorrect for Hay, Plumen designer Samuel Wilkinson’s first timepiece for new watch brand Nomad, and Tylko’s customisable Yves Behar-developed table.
