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For this recurring column, Bajibot scours the web for innovations in technology and comments on them. We pick three that make us think and ask: “What’s next?” Plus, they’re just plain cool.

Google Glass rival Telepathy One

Cool gadgets and toys always catch our attention. Telepathy One's wearable communication device is no exception. The Japanese company just raised $5 million to create its sleek silver headsets that wrap around the user's head, unlike competitor Google Glass that adorns the user's face. Mashable reports that both companies plan to release their products for consumers in 2014.  

"I think Google will have the edge on the mass market, since it knows everything from your Google searches and emails--it can personalize experiences for users," says Bajibot's strategist Chris Ee. "However, Telepathy may stand a good chance if it focuses on developing specific utility-based apps, such as one to aid surgeons in difficult operations. Tons of developers may want to work on Telepathy if it takes an open source policy."

NASA’s 3D-printed Rocket Engine  

It's no secret that we're fascinated by 3D printing. So we were excited to hear that NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne successfully tested their 3D-printed rocket engine injector. Produced with laser beams that melt and fuse metal powders into 3D structures, the injector has only two parts. This cuts production costs by 70% and the production time (usually more than a year through traditional processes), would take less than four months.

"Seems like a win-win no matter how you look at it," says Bajibot's 3D technologist Dmitry Prushak. "The fact that it's cheaper and quicker should be already enough to astonish most people. The ability to manufacture the whole piece in one spot, whether it's on Earth or aboard a space station is an added bonus. A moon sized bonus."

HotLogic Mini = Lunchbox + Microwave 

Here at Bajibot, we take food seriously. When we're not tempted by food trucks (Korilla BBQ, we’re looking at you), we eat our homemade lunches and the microwave is our main cooking tool. So we loved the concept of HotLogic Mini, a deceptively simple-looking food container that heats up meals like a microwave.

"It's a great idea for people with no access to a microwave," says Bajibot's digital designer Jenn Nguyen. "But considering that most offices have microwaves, it's a cool-to-have but not a must-have."

Think of your favorite website. Content aside, what do you like about it? Your reasons will probably be simple ones: Clean and organized. Easy to navigate. No hunting necessary for the Search bar. 

That's all dictated by Information Architecture, a nebulous term and discipline often confused with UI and UX. Vincent Mei, Bajibot's creative director, shares his thoughts on IA:

"IA is the blueprint for digital platforms, adding layers of usability to the content. An IA specialist has a good understanding of human interaction and behavior--in an almost omniscient, sometimes manipulative, way." 

Simply put, IA is the art and science of organizing website content based on usability. To Bajibot, a good IA specialist does the following:

Ensures the content is succinct and sensibly laid out, acknowledging that each user will interact with the site in a different manner. 

Carefully selects every component of the website, including links, anchor texts, and wording, to increase SEO (search engine optimization) footprint.

Balances the needs of the business and the users.

Besides analytics skills and intuitive thinking, IA expert Donna Spencer points out that teamwork is just as essential: 

"Information architecture is never an isolated, stand-alone activity. It has to be done with everyone on the design team involved. The excellent information architects work well on a team, communicate effectively with stakeholders and content authors, and do a great job of explaining to everybody how things work."

If you want to know more, reach out to Bajibot at [email protected]'s talk.

Repeat after us: UI is not UX. 

It’s easy to confuse UI (User Interface) with UX (User Experience), so here’s Bajibot's simple breakdown:

First, UI encompasses all of the visual and technical elements of a system. In the digital world, these include anything that directly interacts with users. The touch screen of your smartphone. The layout of your favorite website. The dashboards on your social media accounts. A UI designer answers: “What components does this system need, and how can I make them appealing, efficient, and adaptable to changing times?”

Think of UI as a big component of UX. While UI designers build the points of interaction, UX designers focus on the interaction itself. Taking into consideration the user's emotional response and perception, a UX designer asks: “How are users moving through the system, and do they find it pleasing and easy to use?”

How about a real world example? On User Experience Stack Exchange, one commenter compared the relationship of UI and UX to that of a construction foreman and an architect: 

"The foreman can build a building herself--she's built buildings before, she knows generally what goes where, and she knows how to actually put screws and nails and wood and plaster together to form a structure.

However, the foreman has not studied how buildings ought to be created. An experienced foreman will rely on things like municipal building codes ("design patterns") to guide construction, but the end result may end up hard to use or unattractive. You often see this in discount repair jobs--for example, a bathroom where the door collides with the sink, or a cheaply subdivided house where there are rooms that feel awkward and hard to use. These were solutions that were easy to build, and they may be built very well, but somehow they don't hang together. 

Conversely, the architect is trained in understanding spaces, how people will use the building, how they will move through it, how lighting and ceiling height and door placement and room organization all work together to make a pleasant place to live. They may not have the ability to plaster a wall or drive a nail, however, and as a result their more adventurous designs may be challenging to bring to the real world."

For an even simpler way to remember the distinction, check out designer Ed Lea’s playful interpretation of UI and UX with cereal.

Bajibot’s DIY Tri-Copter Takes to the Skies!

Believe it or not – We at Bajibot have been experimenting with drones. Yup. even before Domino’s “DomiCopter” took to the skies in 2013.

  No $200 kit here. We built this baby from scratch with a little bit of engineering know-how and elbow grease. Some people look to fill in some down time by doing productive activities such as taking cooking classes, or dabble in photography. Some of our folks build drones.

Bajibot Labs: B-Hive – An Automated Goodie Dispensing System

Utilizing the Arduino prototyping platform & software, the Bajibot tech team got to working on a contraption that would have guests attending our 2013 Winter Party walking away with a fun and interactive experience – and some #BajiSwag to boot.

After playing around with a couple of analog color sensors, servo motors, and some elbow grease - Behold our end product: the B-Hive!

Why is it called the B-Hive? Because when our guests insert a colored card into a slot on our awesome device, it dispenses a little colored “b” which corresponds with the card!

We are thrilled to announce that Bajibot has officially gone bicoastal!  On October 1st we opened our new office, located in sunny Santa Monica, CA.  With this new location, we'll be able to collaborate even more effectively with all of our West Coast creative partners, as well as build new relationships with some of the amazing companies along the Pacific.  And, of course, our partners on the East Coast will continue to receive the same level of attention and quality of work they've come to expect from us.  Bajibot has grown a lot this past year and we are tremendously excited for what the future holds.  Stay tuned for more updates and, as always, feel free to reach out! ---> [email protected]