Hello New Lab, Upcoming Projects, & Past News

Urban Matter Inc. has moved to a new hardware facility called New Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. New Lab is a multidisciplinary space that supports entrepreneurs like us, who are working in the field of emerging technology.

We are excited to be finally launching UMI Lab, a research and product side of Urban Matter Inc where we research and brainstorm product ideas, and turn some of them into objects or services that people can actually use.

One of our recent inquiries in this realm includes ‘Nurbly’ an ambient data device based off of the MTA bustime API.  It’s a passive ambient device that let’s you know when to start getting ready to leave to catch that bus, and when to head out. The display includes pleasant changing lights colors which change and blink relay information. We are ardent bus commuters, especially since our studio has been in far flung areas of Brooklyn, untraversable by train. This has proved to be a great tool for us to facilitate timely bus runs.

We’ve also been working on a project called ‘Essential Pantry’, a grocery shopping hub in the kitchen, which is connected with your pantry. It lets you know when you are out of things and orders them for you. More on this soon.

A lot of excitement on the Urban Matter Inc. side as well. We are working on a creative placemaking project with City of Denver, to make Brighton Boulevard, which also connects Downtown Denver to the airport, into a more personal human experience. Denver, as most American cities, is a car focused city and we are hoping to encourage more people to walk and bike through this project. You can see a concept video of one of our interventions below.

 

Our project ‘Family Style’ was installed at the e4Vegas16 conference organized by MGM Resorts in Las Vegas at the Mirage. The conference brought together a number of event companies who shared their experiences around creating thoughtful and informative events. Everyone shared their excitement on social media which was then reflected on ‘Family Style’ that was installed on a giant LED screen.

 

 

Rick was a part of a selection committee put together by the Arts in Public Places in Austin in order to select an artist team for an interactive public art piece for the new Green Water development in the Seaholm District in Downtown Austin. This warranted an extra trip to Austin and also a check up on favorite project ‘Golden Afternoon’.

Our project for Third Party Films, the pop up confessional culminated successfully in May and we were able to have Thom Communications create an amazing documentation for all the work that went into creating the this travelling confessional booth. Read the case study and watch the video for the project here.

We post quite frequently on our various social media channels. If you’d like to keep a track of what we are up to, follow us on instagram (this also entails having to bear up with what Shagun ate, saw and who she met with) twitter and facebook.