FROM NEW YORK TO SHANGHAI: URBAN-X AT URBAN MATTERS 2017
URBAN-X AT URBAN MATTERS, SHANGHAI.
URBAN-X has a major presence at Shanghai’s Urban Matters expo, which ran until 7 November – exhibiting alongside four other topics of MINI (Automotive, LIVING, FASHION and A/D/O).
The URBAN-X exhibition space at Urban Matters encourages us to “envision the future”. URBAN-X reflects its role as a start-up accelerator for pioneering companies seeking to reimagine urban living through technology and innovative design.
The URBAN-X space celebrates the startups that have gone through the accelerator program in New York. Showcased at the heart of the URBAN-X exhibition are the products of three companies: Farmshelf, Sencity and Brooklyness.
Farmshelf: Smart indoor farms that make growing food easy.
Founded in 2016, Farmshelf is passionate about developing a fresh new approach to global food distribution.
Noting that much of what we eat today has clocked-up many an air-mile before it reaches our tables, Farmshelf bring the farm direct to your kitchen. Their attractively designed, modular, automated, glass-walled hydroponic cabinets allow you to grow your own nutritious food at home. And about the size of a bookshelf, they’re ideal for urban apartments and restaurant kitchens. No surprise then that Farmshelf’s hydroponic growing solutions also featured within the MINI LIVING prototype low-footprint city dwelling, Urban Nest.
Sencity: The technology platform for human engagements in smarter cities.
Likewise, you’ll find Sencity’s interactive TetraBin not only within the dedicated URBAN-X space, but also dotted throughout the entire Urban Matters exhibition site.
Sencity is a technology company that aims to make our cities more joyful and livable by incorporating interactive digital interfaces into traditional street furniture. As such, its luminescent TetraBin is a playful experiment in the use of technology to engage with people and foster positive behaviours within urban environments.
Bringing to mind retro 8-bit-era video games, TetraBin transforms the otherwise mundane activity of putting litter into a bin into a fun gaming activity in which you can control blocks of light on its colourful and durable LED façade.
Brooklyness: The world’s most intelligent bike helmet.
Meanwhile, Brooklyness has long specialised in designing and building electric bicycles to meet the specific needs of urban cyclists. But moving on from bikes to accessories, Brooklyness’s latest product is the “Classon” cycling helmet. This stylish, state-of-the-art piece of essential safety kit employs smart technology to detect vehicles approaching in your blind spots. It also has intuitive, motion-activated brake and turn signal lights that allow you to clearly communicate your intentions to those around you without even thinking about it. All of which helps to bring an enhanced sense of safety and confidence to riding in busy urban traffic and will, hopefully, in turn, encourage more people to get on their bikes and help make their cities greener, healthier and more livable spaces.
