News 21.07.2020

Need to Know

A self-sufficient food supply for Copenhagen, Universal Everything’s new app transforms bodies with AR and why India presents untapped retail opportunities.

An architect imagines Copenhagen's self-sufficient future

The Green Structure of Copenhagen by Agnes Josefin Hekla, Copenhagen
The Green Structure of Copenhagen by Agnes Josefin Hekla, Copenhagen
The Green Structure of Copenhagen by Agnes Josefin Hekla envisages a self-sufficient city through locally produced foods

Copenhagen – The Green Structure of Copenhagen envisages a sustainable, self-sufficient future for the city.

Created by Agnes Josefin Hekla, a master’s graduate from the School of Architecture at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, the project has been designed as a response to changing global conditions. Through data simulations and performance investigations, it imagines what Copenhagen would look like if the city's food supply became self-sufficient.

In an effort to cultivate vegetables without soil, the proposal features a hydroponic cultural landscape across the city’s rooftops, car parks and railway beds. ‘Besides supplying the city with vegetables and collecting large volumes of precipitation, the urban landscape is ideal for movement, recreation and working together to grow vegetables,’ explains Hekla.

As global communities face ever-growing urban populations and a need for shortened food miles, our diets are undergoing seismic shifts.

Super You experiments with the human form

Super You by Universal Everything, UK Super You by Universal Everything, UK
Super You by Universal Everything, UK Super You by Universal Everything, UK

UK – Universal Everything has launched an app that allows users to transform others into augmented reality (AR) characters.

Super You uses ARKit 3’s body-tracking technology to transform bodies in real time. Described as a ‘costume arts experiment’, the app features 11 costumes for users to try on virtually. Sampling a colour from the clothes an individual is wearing, it then tracks the person the camera is being pointed at to ‘place’ a costume on them.

‘This project combines our fascination for mixing timeless figurative representation with emerging technologies to create new forms of soulful digital expressions,’ Matt Pyke, founder of Universal Everything, explains. ‘By democratising the artwork through releasing this app to the public, we look forward to seeing the crazy, funny, inventive, unexpected results.’

As we explore in Programmable Realities, consumer touchpoints are becoming more as virtual and physical worlds collide.

Tuna Scope uses AI to assess seafood quality

Tokyo – Tuna Scope has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) app to help tuna merchants assess the quality of tuna cuts.

Using a deep learning algorithm, the app creates a unified grading standard for an industry that usually relies on local knowledge of fish quality. Tuna Scope is able to determine the fish standard by judging it on qualities like firmness, freshness and fat – all areas usually identified by human assessment.

The technology has been especially useful since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with international fish merchants having to forego their usual quality checks due to travel bans. Shingo Ishii, a merchant tuna buyer, said: ‘I think this will become a common tool over the next 10 to 20 years.’

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to know more about their food and where it comes from. In Educated Eating, we explore the ways in which brands can use technology to provide greater transparency.

Tuna Scope, Tokyo

Stat: Smaller cities are driving India’s retail revolution

Pooja Mor, Instagram Pooja Mor, Instagram

Covid-19 has accelerated the need for convenience and safety across the globe, driving a surge in e-commerce in emerging markets such as India.

A recent report by Bain & Co – in collaboration with Flipkart – outlines the rising e-commerce trends of India. At present, the country's £662.8bn ($850bn, €731.3bn) retail market is the fourth largest in the world. As connectivity continues to expand to smaller cities and villages, the report finds that consumers in tier 2 cities and smaller municipalities now make up nearly half of India's online shoppers, contributing to as many as three out of five orders for leading shopping platforms.

With one billion users forecast to be connected to the internet by 2030, the Indian e-commerce market has significant potential for further growth. For more on India's untapped potential, read our recent interview with digital anthropologist Payal Arora.

Previous News Articles
NRF 2025 Retail’s Big Show Europe: Unified commerce and inspirational entertainment

News

NRF 2025 Retail’s Big Show Europe: Unified commerce and inspirational entertainment

On the opening day of NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe, the spotlight turned to unified commerce and the evolving role of physical stores in omni...
Retail : NRF : Pop Up Store
The Future Laboratory presents The Synthocene Era macrotrend at Première Vision

News

The Future Laboratory presents The Synthocene Era macrotrend at Première Vision

The Future Laboratory’s co-founder and chief creative officer Christopher Sanderson presented The Synthocene Era macrotrend at the fashion industry...
Global Events : Technology : The Synthocene Era
Gen Z in China are using AI to transform themselves into collectable merchandise

News

Gen Z in China are using AI to transform themselves into collectable merchandise

Gen Z in China are using AI art tools and 3D printing to transform themselves into ‘guzi’ – personalised collectable merchandise.
China : Kidults : Kidult Craze
Stat: Gen Z stay indoors for days as screen time replaces nature

News

Stat: Gen Z stay indoors for days as screen time replaces nature

Two-thirds of Gen Z in Britain confess they can go days without stepping outside, according to new research by Super, Natural British Columbia.
Gen Z : Nature : Health And Wellness
Big W embraces the beautiful chaos of parenting in new campaign

News

Big W embraces the beautiful chaos of parenting in new campaign

Department store chain Big W is shaking up family advertising with a bold new campaign celebrating the chaos, meltdowns and small wins of everyday ...
Advertising & Branding : Parenting : Retail
George at Asda unveils new adult adaptive clothing range

News

George at Asda unveils new adult adaptive clothing range

George at Asda has launched a 28-piece adult adaptive clothing collection, designed in collaboration with the late breast cancer campaigner Nicky N...
Retail : Fashion : George At Asda
Stat: Girls’ sport participation could unlock leadership potential at work

News

Stat: Girls’ sport participation could unlock leadership potential at work

Girls who play extracurricular sport in the UK are 50% more likely to go on to achieve senior professional roles at work, according to Game Changin...
Sport : Women's Sports : Teenage Girls
Vattenfall and Samuel L Jackson’s seaweed snack is grown on wind farms

News

Vattenfall and Samuel L Jackson’s seaweed snack is grown on wind farms

Swedish energy company, Vattenfall has teamed up with actor Samuel L Jackson to launch Wind Farmed Seaweed Snacks, a limited-edition delicacy grown...
Visual : Sweden : Energy
Happy Head debuts DNA-based system for personalised hair growth

News

Happy Head debuts DNA-based system for personalised hair growth

Happy Head has launched StrandIQ, the world’s first dermatologist-developed hair growth system powered by genetic analysis, giving patients tailore...
Health : Wellness : Happy Head StrandIQ
Stat: Luxury consumers’ optimism is improving amid global slowdown

News

Stat: Luxury consumers’ optimism is improving amid global slowdown

Saks’ latest Luxury Pulse survey shows rising confidence among luxury shoppers, with more than half planning to maintain or increase their spending...
Stat : Statistics : Statistic
You have 1 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN