invention – Zack Chia

Continuing my journey into UX

Posted on August 19, 2018August 19, 2018 by Zack Chia

It’s been a while I have updated my blog. I am currently working on multiple projects and what is worth noting is the interest in UX these days. here is a recent idea that I thought of and really wanted to share. It is a case study I worked on over a duration of 3 days. It focuses on the problems people face when it comes to food. Have a good read. It is also now featured on UX Collective. Its a great blog, please go check out other UX writers’ work too!

My UX solution for a better food experience in Singapore

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Chips dont lie

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Zack Chia

Who doesn’t love booze with great company after work? We all do. And for the most part of it, beer always taste better with good food. Never mind the traditional pair up of beer with pastas or burgers, chips are still the best choice. Probably still the most popular choice for an after work soccer match with your homies! Now, Doritos have once again created something interesting. The Frito-Lay continues to amaze me with their Tostitos’s “Party Safe” bag. Wait a minute, did I just said party safe? Yes i did. That means you now party without the constant fear of driving home drunk.

The pack of chips is actually going to heighten your awareness of alcohol level as well as do the favour of getting you a decent ride home. Pretty nifty trick i did say.

A concept by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the bag comes equipped with a device that is connected with a microcontroller. It is somewhat calibrated to detect alcohol from the person’s breath. Should the sensors detect alcohol presence, it immediately signals red and what you see is an image of a steering wheel! On top of that, an Uber code is created, indicating a message: “Don’t drink and drive”.

With near-field communication (NFC) technology, you can even tap the bag with your smartphone to activate the ride. With all the campaigns going on against drunk driving and Uber’s ongoing promotions, Tostitos are throwing n the $10 off deals during the period as well as after the Feb 5 Super bowl game. Well played.

Re-directing the driverless technology

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Zack Chia

Driverless technology have always been a topic widely discussed amongst tech enthusiasts. Google has helmed the title of being pioneer in this technology and we have seen quite a lot of examples of projects and experiments done by them. The parent company, Alphabet, is now embarking on an alternative direction for this project. As much as we hope to see this coming alive, Google is facing a lot of potential challenges in the practical implementation of this technology. Setting up a new company, Waymo, it plans to lead this innovation through collaborative approaches. The concept would revolve around Waymo working collaboratively with auto manufacturers to bring their innovation to goo use. This would definitely include making new vehicles from ideas to reality. Regardless, the data and information accumulated throughout the research remains pivotal to the evolution of automobile. This can be therefore be leveraged by close working relationships with auto manufacturers. The new initiative now remain a effective solutions for businesses worldwide.

Fly!

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Zack Chia

While working on a previous brief for a client of mine, the idea of VR struck us in the midst of our brainstorming session. Some cringe while others embrace it passionately. Consumer VR experience in today’s context revolves greatly in a ‘controlled’ interactive environment. Why is that so? It becomes extremely challenging to bridge that level of experience into consumer retail, exhibition or even online. Brands are riding on the technology wave but are always skeptical about its outcome and especially for those who are cautious of the perceptions from their target audience. So, we have always had a conservative approach to emerging technologies. Have a look at Parrot’s new Drone plane. The drone offers real time flight experience by allowing the user to navigate the flight from a first person view. The “Disco” drone is no mediocre technology. It ramps up to 80km/hr and its glide trajectory is almost impeccable. Running at 45mins per flight, it allows consumers now to own a piece of technology that brings drone flights to a whole new experience. VR is no longer just a novelty experience used to boost brand’s ego but a usable technology that consumers can indulge in.

Run with me

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Zack Chia

Love running? I bet you will love having a partner that will not only run with you, but also become a partner to pace you and in this case, out run you! Don’t just beat the clock, beat this robot. The PUMA BeatBot is programmed to run focusing on a lane while it act as a push for all runners aiming to beat their own time. Well, since humans get tired and you don’t always have the luxury to find a sprinting partner, this robot might just be the solution for you! I love this idea simply because it not only taps on technology to better our lives, its actually one step towards health technology. Check out the video as Usain Bolt trains together with it and gives his thoughts on the experience. Nice work by MIT & JWT.

In your direction

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Zack Chia

Innovations are happening every SINGLE day. This one interesting creation is no exception. It marks the inauguration of the glass speaker technology. Huh, glass? Yes, Turtle Beach has officially made a technological breakthrough by using glass as a form of speaker to project sound. Using what they term as HyperSound Glass, they are able to project what they label as ‘beams of ultrasound’. I thought this was really cool. Check out the video and see how kickass these tech are. I mean the volume isn’t controlled in the video but it fluctuates according to the direction where it projects to. Still in its infant stage, this prototype is already a very impressive concept. These look like they can sit on my small snazzy TV console and still make a statement. That’s a want.

Wheels of innovation

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Zack Chia

Wow, if you ask me what good design is, I would certainly vote for solid aesthetics combined with unrivalled functionality. Our landscape is changing, the building structures in modern environments are less forgiving compared to the spacious environments we were once so used to. Of course, adaptation means solutions that allows us to commute with efficiency. Check out this new mobile cycle. The Cargob Urban Eco-Bicycle is a very awesome delivery bike. I love how it places the cargo in front, making it so easy to access parcels. On top of that, there is a motorised mechanism at the back which basically accumulates energy from the riding and braking. This useful energy can be used as electronic energy to power devices like your mobile phones as well as the LED lights! And what’s forward moving if we don’t incorporate anything or everything with mobile right? There is the app which allows the user to navigate his route upon scanning the details of the parcel box. In addition, it also has a messaging system and parcel acknowledgement feature. Very neat and innovative product.

Read for me, please.

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Zack Chia

Undeniably technology has slowly changed the way we live. Today, it can be said that humans are starting to rely on them to the extent where we are almost living on a lackadaisical routine. As cringing as it might be, technology does have its advantages especially if it could help to benefit physically impaired patients. Amazon’s new update for its Alexa digital gadget now incorporates a new smart speaker technology. The ‘Echo’ now narrates Kindle books and it can be activated simply by instructing the gadget with words like, “Alexa, read ‘book title'”.

This function immediately triggers Alexa to start the reading program. But do not expect real human reading with emotions but rather, a more robotic approach. Atop of the reading functions, it helps to track the books you were reading and also included smart voice commands like pause, go froward or resume. The complexity of the program is still in its infancy, so don’t expect it to be able to perform operations like jumping in between chapters within your Kindle book. Still, this can be a great help for people who wishes to listen rather than read. But truly, are we over relying on technology or are we really leveraging them to our greater convenience?

Think and act

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Zack Chia

I often joked with my girlfriend that it would be extraordinary if we could text and drive at the same time without difficulty. “Unless we can type with our brain, this is not gonna happen, baby.” I replied with a smirk, assuring her that this day will come and sure enough, it has happened. At Stanford’s Neural Prosthetics Translational Lab, the researchers have created something transformational – a brain computer interface (BCI). Patients equipped with the BCI is able to type up to an average of six words per minute. Now, bear in mind that the project is in it’s infancy stage. As much as this might sound like a conservative figure, I believe it is the first step towards Neural automation. With the help of a brain controlled cursor, the patients used this platform as means to type the words they want. More of this groundbreaking news can be read from DigitalTrends here.

But the fact that technology is moving towards turning thought into action is definitely a feat worth mentioning. Not forgetting, how much we can do when we fuse this technology with human creativity.