Longtime Springwise readers may remember Sugru, the silicone clay aimed at product “hacking” that we covered back in 2010. While originally conceived as a means for improving existing products with “rough edges” to be smoothed – both figuratively and literally speaking – recently we learned of what apparently is the first product designed with Sugru in mind: a customizable fencing handle from London-based fencing institution Leon Paul.

Now available for preorder with shipping beginning later this month, the Leon Paul Evolution Pistol Gripfencing handle “turns athletes into product designers and allows them to tailor their handle not only to improve comfort but also to suit their style of fencing,” in the company’s own words. Essentially, the premise is a foil handle that’s purposely designed to be incomplete, allowing the athlete to add a specially developed form of Sugru to build up the perfect customized grip, even with varying degrees of hardness possible.

(via Incomplete fencing handle relies on silicone clay for a customized grip | Springwise)

Festival organisers have already utilized RFID-enabled wristbands to make it easier for music lovers to update their online profiles on-the-go. Bringing this concept into everyday life, Italian jeans brand Replay has created its Social Denim range, which incorporates a device to enable wearers to instantly share their emotions or location.

The jeans contain a fifth pocket made of vinyl, designed to hold a small Bluetooth transmitter, which can be coupled with the customer’s smartphone. They can then use the handy device to click one of eight mood buttons, ranging from positive to negative, or where they are at that moment. The device also sends notifications to the phone when it detects a nearby Replay Moment, where the customer can receive discounts or get a chance to connect with the brand.

(via Jeans connect to social networks | Springwise)

Instead of generating pre-written text, the app uses complicated algorithms a group of people sourced on Amazon Mechanical Turk who “looks at every photo and writes an individual response.” The end result is described as the “perfect mash-up of Instagram and your favorite meme.”” (via rb.trends» Blog Archive » “Frank Said What” app adds captions to your photo using Mechanical Turk [#photography])

The banking and financial services firm has introduced the Barclaycard Ring, a crowdsourced, community-powered credit card that lets cardholders influence decisions about how the card is managed and developed. Ideas are exchanged and new features are suggested for Barclaycard Ring via a cardmember forum, creating credit services from bottom-up ideation and decision-making, such as which changes should be made to the card’s terms. (via Barclay’s Community Credit Card Lets Users Influence The Card’s Terms [Future Of Retail] - PSFK)

MindSumo has already provided a platform to link existing businesses with creative young people who could offer solutions to their challenges. Aiming to set those young entrepreneurs on their own path, Bizinate helps innovative youths to start their own businesses online. According to its founders, users can start their business immediately after completing the three-minute account setup, which asks for the main details of the startup and guides them through the creation of a Bizinate page. Entrepreneurs then choose the jobs they can do from a list of presets or create their own, and let others know via email or Facebook. By filling out bank details, users can be paid directly through the site. Parents of younger entrepreneurs can set up a Bizinate page for their children, as well as tweak parental controls to ensure they can start their business securely and safely. (via Platform provides tools for young people to set up a business | Springwise)

[adding weight / incentive to crowd input]

Last year we saw Die Liebeskuemmerer encourage the heart-broken to get away from it all in the form of relaxing breaks, and now Election Protection 2012, a similarly therapeutic campaign from airline JetBlue, promises to fly voters out of the US if their candidate of choice does not win the presidency on 6 November. Those logging onto the minisite before the actual votes are taken next month can select the candidate they will be ticking on their ballot paper, as well as choosing one of 13 locations – including the Bahamas, Mexico and Barbados – situated close to the US. Once the results of the real election are announced, JetBlue will give 1,006 voters the opportunity to get out of the country, either on a return trip or for good. As well as serving as a promotional tool for the airline, the data collected by the campaign may serve as an indication of how the vote could go, and the site currently details how each candidate is doing by state. (via Airline offers trip abroad for voters who disagree with the presidential election outcome | Springwise)

As well as being powered electronically, the bike has an onboard Arduino controlled through the user’s smartphone, which is placed in a secure holder at the handlebars and connects to the bike via Bluetooth. The computer allows for automatic gear shifting – which in fitness mode can simulate inclines and descents on flat roads – as well as enabling riders to see how far they will be able to travel on the available battery. The app also recommends safe cycling routes, detects if the rider is heading too fast towards an object in front and lets users share their ride data with others through social networks. (via Open-source e-bike uses smartphone as on-board computer | Springwise)

new-aesthetic:

Nimbus MkIII – a ‘pareidolic robot’ that identifies forms and faces in clouds. (via Pareidolic Robot – di12)

As wealth disparities in the United States have reached Dickensian proportions, housing disparities have followed. Condo developers are creating increasingly lavish apartments for the super-rich, while those with modest budgets find themselves priced out of city centers. (via Cities Court Creatives with Micro-Units - News - Architectural Record)

A small robot holding a smartphone, called Shimi, won the hearts and minds of the technology press in June, in part on the strength of the below video. Watch it. You will see a robot that dances, learns how to dance from you, and points its ears (which are actually speakers) at you as you move about the room.

(via Shimi, the Music Robot, Needs Your Help | Evolver.fm)