What started as a prank for April Fools day, Swedish sex toy maker Lelo is in the process of producing a totally sustanable vibrator named GÄSM. Lelo sells high luxry price tag "pleasure objects" such as the Vibrator "The Inez" that retails for A$15,000 as part of a range which includes a 25kt gold plated but plug named "The Earl" for A$2,900.

GÄSM was created as a prank for April Fools day which was made of recycled car tyres and wood pulp. It was battery powered and rechargable by twirling a manual hand crank, Allen key. It was sold in a set of separate pieces to reduce packaging, and had to be assembled by the customer, just like an Ikea couch and came in Forest green color. 

Looking at the reaction to their little prank, they have decided to make the GÄSM an actual product. Recycled wood pulp and recycled car tyres is not the best method of production. They are looking to utlise silicone but using 100% recycled materials, a hand-cranked power system and a disassembled, low-packaging delivery. Lelo plan to launch their eco-friendly GÄSM vibrator next year.

Another example of taking an existing product and re vitalising it with a green slant and re-packing it, although in this instance by accident.

Taking an overseas city break is a great experience, but somehow it always seems like the locals are having all the fun. If you’ve visited Berlin, Germany, and wished you knew where to find the best entertainment or the “in” places to eat, you can relax. Plus One Berlin has launched the city break with a difference – you not only stay in a modern studio apartment in Berlin’s trendy Kreuzkölln district, you get the company of a local resident who can show you where it’s all happening.

Plus One Berlin visitors have a choice of accommodation and a selection of local hand-picked guides who are chosen for their knowledge and passion of the city. When a guest makes their reservation, guests are given a login to enable them to browse and select their guide. Once they pick a local guide, they indicate if they wish to experience the local area by going to a restaurant or be taken to popular local hangouts.

Plus One Berlin is a great example of exceeding expectation by thinking outside the box. Hospitality entrepreneurs from around the world, here is a value add service idea to add to your offering!

Travellers having to drag a heavy suitcase around as they navigate through airports will soon be a thing of the past.  Madrid based designer, Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez has come up with an ingenious idea to resolve this problem.  Meet the smart suitcase named “The Hop” which will follow its owner around. The Hop has three receivers, which communicate with the traveller’s smartphone app via Bluetooth.

The Hop will follow the user at a set distance and can also be set to have multiple Hops follow each other and trail behind the user. If lose of signal, then the user will receive an alert on their smartphone and the Hop locks itself in position to prevent tampering.

In an age of increasingly security conscious airports, there are some obvious issues to an automatic hands-off carry-on luggage roaming around an airport. This will be an issue Rodrigo will need to overcome. The Hop is currently in development with no date of launch.

The Hop suitcase is a simple extension of technology that has already found applications in other devices like lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners. Surely it won’t be long before you see these suitcases at an airport near you.

We all know of the importance of yearly breast screenings to prevent breast cancer, however, not all women get them, even though they know the importance of doing so. Fortunately, there is good news for women in the form of the First Warning System, a smart bra which will detect breast cancer before it is even detectable by a normal mammogram. A Nevada company is developing a BSE (Breast Self Exam) bra with sensors integrated into the cups of the bra.

The bra works through its sensors embedded into it which measures the temperature of the breast cells and then analyzes that data with specialized software. While this method cannot fully replace mammograms 100% of the time it can detect tumors in women more than 90% of the time and thus lead to earlier treatment and better results. This should make it easy for a woman to get regular screenings without the need to visit the doctor’s office by simply wearing the bra a few times a week.

The smart bra is still in the early clinical trial stage but more trials will follow and, if the bra continues to show success, it could reach the commercial market in Europe by 2013 and in America by 2014 for a cost of around US$1,000. 

Technology is really making an impact in the self diagnosis sector of the Health industry. Definite growth area for 2013, especially in the smartphone app space. 

The polished aluminium travel trailers that we use to see in Hollywood in the by gone era is making a comeback. When Wally Bryan launched the first Airstream travel trailer in 1931, he made the rounded light aluminium construction to enable for easy towing. What he didn't know was that the unique trailers would become a design icon.

Airstream are hitting the niche luxury mobile traveller market with its ultra high quality trailers. Just recently, Airstream brand launched in Sydney with two modified models, the 624 and 762 which comply with the Australian standards. With a $115,000 starting price tag for the 624, 6.2m long model the classic trailer is specifically targeting the high end outdoor traveller market segment.

Perfect example of how one company is revitalising a past classic icon to a new updated design with a niche luxury twist. Can you think of any other product or service which has the potential of been redesigned and revamped for todays market?

It’s a sad-but-true fact – every year, thousands of brides-to-be change or cancel wedding plans, many ending up out of pocket because they can’t recover money spent on advance bookings for the big day. “Not any more,” says Bridal Brokerage, an online start-up, featured in The New York Times, that finds buyers for unwanted wedding ceremonies, receptions and wedding parties.

Couples who need to tie the knot in a hurry, or those for whom cost is a big factor, are the target market. Bridal Brokerage identifies cancelled ceremonies that match the required date, location and number of guests, and acts as a go-between, negotiating a price acceptable to both parties.

Bridal Brokerage claims that anything from wedding photographers to catering services can be reassigned. Once the deal is done, it utilises an in-house graphic designer to produce invitations and orders of service for the new couple – all in double-quick time.

The new service helps disappointed couples to minimise the financial impact of changing their plans, while allowing lucky brides and bridegrooms to enjoy wedding days that might otherwise have been unaffordable.

If you’re involved with events or bookings, is this an idea that you could apply in your niche segment of the market?

If that’s you, breathe again – with SlipperFits, a free app for PCs, tablets and smartphones, you now can use Facebook to find out anonymously if the object of your desire feels the same about you.

The idea is simple – using SlipperFits, you create a private HOTLIST of Facebook friends you’d like to get up-close and personal with. Each of them receives an email, telling them they have a secret admirer and encouraging them to create their own HOTLIST on SlipperFits.

If someone on your HOTLIST puts you on theirs, you have a match, and SlipperFits emails you both to let you know. So far, it’s all completely anonymous, and if you want to find out which of your friends fancies you, you pay a small fee for the privilege – it’s totally up to you.

Maybe you just prefer knowing that someone else has the hots for you … what would you do?

Designed by Exterior Architecture, the SkyCycle will have bike lanes that allows cyclists to travel between train stations for a small fee of approximately one pound. Sam Martin has designed the SkyCycle to be an open-air cycling Superhighway in the sky which takes you from one neighborhood to the other side of the city.

A city committed to cyclist but with constraints of narrow and limited roads in London, SkyCycle appears to be a logical step to resolving its road and traffic problems and at the same time improving its green environmental footprint. Local governments with congestion and traffic dilemmas, one to take note.

The traditional method of identifying that your milk has gone past its life has been the trusty nose. Well does your nose really know? Last month, crowdsourcing incubator Quirky teamed up with GE Garages and called out to the Quirky community to nominate an everyday item or process that can be improved.

The winning nomination came from San Diego entrepreneur Stephanie Burns, who wanted a milk jug that can indicate milk gone off without using the faithful nose sniff method or expiry date on the carton.

As a result, the Quirky Lab team have produced The Milkmaid which monitors your milk. It's a glass jug that has a PH sensor that monitors the PH level outside of the safe range. It also has a scale, wireless transceiver and a rechargable battery. If the milk PH level falls below the safe range, it triggers the green LEDs to turn yellow. The Milkmaid has a supporting iphone application to notifiy you if the ph or supply level drops below the mark to prompt you to buy more milk when required.

Is this too much technology for a simple problem? 

Quirky are currently crowdsouricng votes for the correct price point for the Milkmaid. Another great example of a day to day issue been resloved with a  smarter solution.

Over the years we have seen various online businesses and startups moving to a subscription based service model as a differentiator in an existing and saturated market. From cotton tampons by Trinket, Coffee curated and delivered to your door by Kopi,  through to Panty By Post and Me Undies for underwear subscriptions just to name a few. This week we spotted a new entrant joining the subscription service model, Australia's condom brand Big Richard.

Based on a recent NSW Health report, they discovered that only 40.51% of people between the age of 20 to 29 always use condoms for safe sex. The 2 main reasons for non use appeared to be related to lack of immediate availability and the embarrassment factor when purchasing over the counter.

This has prompted Llyod Perry founder of Big Richard to launch a monthly condom subscription service. Starting from $10 a month, Big Richard will send you a selection of condoms and a sex toy to bring up the heat in the bedroom. The subscription has three options, a 'Shag' pack, 'Couples' pack and a 'Superman' pack.

Perfect example of taking a existing product and moulding it into a new business model to cater for a niche market channel. One to partner with or emulate in your corner of the globe.