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Spatial brings AR collaboration to the workplace

New York – The collaboration platform uses holographic transportation to remove the need for workplace video conferences or travel.

Using augmented reality (AR) headsets, Spatial connects users remotely in a digital workspace. When placed in the cross-reality conference, colleagues can see and talk to each other’s life-like avatars, which appear in the same room. Users can also brainstorm or visualise ideas through a voice-driven 3D web browser, demonstrating a new type of interface that isn’t confined to a computer.

‘With Spatial, collaboration becomes an immersive 3D experience where you can express ideas visually by just saying them, organise thoughts in the room around you and never let space confine your work,’ says Anand Agarawala, the company’s CEO and co-founder.

With workplace technology focused on collaborative working, such augmented reality systems may soon replace individuals’ office computers. For more on preparing your workplace for new technology, explore our Far Futures portal.

CBD wellness treatments land in London

LDN CBD

London – Cannabidiol (CBD) beauty treatments are now available at LDN CBD, an ethically focused beauty and wellbeing boutique.

The store aims to change the face of cannabis by approaching the substance with more maturity. Its product range does not include items like bongs and vapes, but instead comprises a selection of ethically sourced food supplements, premium essential oils and beauty products.

As of October 2018, LDN CBD has expanded its offer to include wellbeing experiences, with a treatment room for facials and massages, as well as wellness events such as yoga and sound baths that incorporate CBD. ‘Right now, around the world, these cannabidiol products are available and it’s time that London has its own sanctuary for consumers – especially those who are not comfortable with its counter-culture past,’ says founder Aaron Horn.

With CBD and hemp oil gaining credibility globally, brands are introducing a more sophisticated visual language to match the growing customer base for these products.

AI is shaping the future of fragrance

Germany – Commercial fragrance producer Symrise has collaborated with IBM to develop scents informed by artificial intelligence (AI).

Symrise has shared its 1.7m fragrance formulas with IBM, which are then added to a database that includes best-selling fragrances and the demographics buying them. By harnessing this information, an algorithm – dubbed Philyra – finds gaps in the market and creates new formulas targeted at specific consumers.

The brand has already developed two fragrances using Philyra, which have been sold to O Boticário, Brazil’s second-largest beauty retailer. According to Symrise, these scents were created to specifically target Brazilian Millennials, with the algorithm comparing formulas that are popular in this region and age range. The final, yet-to-be-named perfumes will be launched in more than 4,000 O Boticário stores next year.

AI is being harnessed to enhance and personalise skincare and cosmetics, and fragrance is naturally the next step in this shift. For more, read our macrotrend Algorithmic Beauty.

Symrise and IBM collaboration

Queue-jumping with biometric ID

Clear, Global

New York – Start-up Clear has launched its first campaign, which demonstrates how biometrics can be used to reduce waiting times at airports, concert venues and sports stadiums.

The campaign, You Get You Places, is based on the premise that consumers’ eyes and fingertips are their most accurate forms of ID, and could be used to speed up waiting times. Clear’s quirky campaign video, which acknowledges the power of our eyes and hands, hopes to increase the brand’s exposure across the US.

The company offers a subscription service for £139 ($179, €157) a year, which gives customers the ability to bypass security queues at airports or stadiums using one of Clear’s biometric scanners.

It recently entered a partnership with Major League Baseball to introduce biometric ticketing for the 2019 season. By bringing this technology to sports stadiums, Clear is tapping into the lucrative Luxury Sports Fan market.

Stat: Night-time beauty rituals are booming

British consumers are embracing beauty rituals that enhance their sleep more than ever, according to research by The NPD Group. In the 12 months to September 2018, the market for prestige night-time skincare was valued at £43m ($55m, €48m), with sales of these products growing by 7%.

This rise has been attributed to a growing interest in self-care and the pursuit of quality sleep, with consumers adding more steps to their night-time regime, such as creams, oils and eye masks. ‘While sleep experts provide top tips on how to get to sleep, it’s the beauty brands that are delivering their technical expertise with innovative products and the latest scientific formulas to work on the skin overnight,’ says June Jensen, director of NPD UK Beauty.

Thought-starter: The future according to Dutch Design Week

At this year’s show, designers positioned AI as a self-reflective tool, made technology more intuitive and devised alternative food supply chains, reports senior creative researcher Rachael Stott.

As expected, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) was a point of inspiration for many designers. But rather than view AI and emerging technologies as a threat to control, several designers envisaged it as a tool for self-discovery and reflection.

Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Camilo Oliveira addressed the growing existential crisis that our technology-saturated society has created in his project An I. The digital platform ‘will guide you on a journey of self-discovery’ through the use of an AI-powered avatar created in the image of each user.

As mistrust in large corporations grows, creative practitioners speculated about ways in which citizens could be self-sufficient and operate outside of a capitalist system. Plastic Culture by designer Marco Federico Cagnoni is a vertical farming concept that proposed growing species of plants such as black salsify and dandelions, which provide food and contain natural material that can be used to make bioplastic, helping to make communities more self-sustaining.

Explore our round-up of the most exciting themes from Dutch Design Week here.