Set up a classic car museum in which the cars are
owned by private individuals. Owners would
exhibit their cars in return for free storage
and basic upkeep and cleaning. They would agree
with the museum how many weeks in the year they
would be able to remove their car from the museum
and drive it
Design a vending machine that contains items such
as hot drinks, blankets and food and which uses
tokens instead of money. The tokens would be
available from the majority of stores and people
could give the tokens to the homeless safe in the
knowledge that their gift wouldn't be spent on
drugs or alcohol.
Create a preference system for eBay where users can
set up in advance to bid on other items they have
failed to win at an earlier auction, removing
the need to perenantly monitor and bid for items.
Design a Christmas tree ornament that doubles as a
smoke alarm. Instead of an annoying beeping sound,
the ornament would play an intrusive yet joyous
tune alerting the tree owner of the danger.
Create a mini GPS system in shopping malls so that
shoppers can locate a product without having to
ask for directions.
Create a location in busy fast food restaurants -
perhaps called a 'D Point' - for diabetics whose
blood sugar is low and who are in danger of
fainting or fitting. Should the diabetic's blood
sugar reach a dangerous level, they would go to
the D Point, show a photocard identifying them as
diabetic and be served straight away.
Allow bank statements to be used as proof of
purchase, thereby removing the need for receipts.
When debit or credit card transactions are
performed, 'virtual receipt' data could be sent to
the bank providing evidence and further details of
the purchase.
Produce an adapter plug that acts as a centralized
standby button for all electronic equipment
plugged into it. The adapter would come with a
remote control allowing the user to turn
everything on and off at the press of a button.
Add a functionality to all in-car navigation
systems to send a signal that a vehicle (anonymous)
is at a particular location. If enough individuals
did this, and given that sat-nav is only going to
grow, a realtime map could be developed showing
the concentration of cars on the road network at
any given time, giving drivers a bird's eye view
of the traffic currently building up in their area.
Design electronic devices such as televisions and
PCs which switch themselves off completely once
they have been in standby mode for longer than
30 minutes.
Invite current, former and retired business people
to high schools to present a 'What my world has
taught me' class. Back the presentation up with an
experiential activity to gain insight into the
life skills acquired and developed by each presenter.
Set up a hotel called 'The Prison' for people who
haven't committed a crime but who would like a
taste of what it would be like to locked up
behind bars.
Build pyramid structures in cities which would have
trees on every terrace. People would live in
apartments on the terraces but inside the building
there would be an inner pyramid with a huge mall,
bathed in natural light reflected through a system
of mirrors.
Design a popcorn bucket that can clip onto the
drink holder on the arm rest in a movie theater.
The clip would let two people to share popcorn
whilst still allowing the drink holder to carry
out its primary funtion.
Create a Police register of hitch hikers where each
hitcher is given an ID number. Drivers can text the
ID free of charge to the register and would be sent
photo ID of the person wanting the lift along with
information on whether they have a criminal record
or not.
Manufacture a cat food dish that moves on small
roller balls. When the dish hits an upright like a
door or kitchen unit, it will deflect and move in
the opposite direction. Cats will enjoy the thrill
of the chase involved in catching their food. Once
empty, the bowl will cease moving.
Create a cell phone which can play a different
pre-recorded Voicemail message depending on the
incoming call numbers. The phone will also be
able to switch to Voicemail automatically should a
call come from someone that the owner does not wish
to speak to.
Install wireless headphones in music stores so that
customers can listen to CDs while browsing for
other music.
Deploy 'eBay Loans' where an eBay customer who
desperately wants an item but doesn't have enough
money can borrow the money from other members. The
lender can set their won payback terms and
percentage rate and all repayments would be made
through Paypal. If the repayments aren't met,
negative feedback could be applied to the borrowers account.
Equip cell phones to allow personalized vibration
sequences so that the user can identify who is
calling when the phone is in a pocket.
