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Bruynzeel office unit offers more than just storage
The high cost of office accommodation has created a need for space-efficient filing systems
stylish enough to suit modern working environments. Examples include Bisley’s InnerSpace;
Rackline’s Powertrak and low-level Filestation systems; and the Compactus series from
Bruynzeel Storage Systems.
At Orgatec 2012, Bruynzeel took the relationship between steel storage and office design to
a new level with the launch of the Bruynzeel Office Unit. Presented with the Architektur+Office
Innovation award by architect journals AIT and Xia Intelligente Architektur, this multi-functional
unit integrates all kinds of storage space – lockers, wardrobes, cabinets, book shelves – with key
services, such as a kitchenette, coffee machine, counter and video display.
Like other mobile storage systems, the Bruynzeel Office Unit has just one access aisle, which
allows it to provide 50% more storage space. Units are custom-made and can be specified in a
range of sizes, colours and finishes, including glass, steel, wood and acoustic panels.
www.bruynzeel-storage.com
innovations
Smart technology for business people in the office,
at home or on the move
In the future, computers might look and
feel a lot like the sheets of paper they were
meant to displace, if studies by the Human
Media Lab at Queen’s University Ontario,
Canada are anything to go by.
Intel, Plastic Logic and Queen’s University are
currently collaborating on the development of
a flexible, paper-like touchscreen computer that
would replace the need for a computer monitor
and transform the way we carry out everyday
computer-based activities.
Instead of interacting with apps via multiple
windows on a single display, researchers
are toying with the idea of having separate
interactive displays, or ‘PaperTabs’, for each app
in use.
Roel Vertegaal, Director of the Human
Media Lab at Queen’s University, said: “Using
several PaperTabs makes it much easier to work
with multiple documents.Within five to ten
years, most computers, from ultra-notebooks
to tablets, will look and feel just like sheets of
printed colour paper.”
This paper-like experience doesn’t mean
a return to time-consuming and convoluted
processes. Instead, the combination of a tactile
screen and intuitive interface will speed up and
simplify routine tasks.
n
To attach a photo to an email, for
example, a user would simply tap one
PaperTab showing a draft email with
another showing the photo. The email
could then be sent either by placing the
PaperTab in an out tray or by bending the
top corner of the display.
n
To create a larger display or drawing area
you would simply place two or more
PaperTabs side by side, just as you would
with two sheets of paper.
n
To navigate through large multi-page
documents, just like flicking through a
magazine, or to fast forward through a
video you would bend one side of the
display.
Unlike traditional tablets, PaperTabs keep
track of their location relative to each other
and the user, using an electro-magnetic tracker
in the work surface.When a PaperTab is placed
out of reach it reverts to a thumbnail overview
of apps: when picked up or touched, it switches
back to a full screen page view, just like opening
a window on a computer.
Indro Mukerjee, CEO of Plastic Logic,
said: “Plastic Logic’s flexible plastic displays
are completely transformational in terms of
product interaction. They allow a natural human
interaction with electronic paper, being lighter,
thinner and more robust compared with today’s
standard glass-based displays.”
www.plasticlogic.com
www.humanmedialab.org
The future is paper-like
19
Crowd-sourcing to
transform e-learning for
small businesses
Described as the UK’s first crowd-sourced
hub for e-learning, mylearningworx is on
a mission to ‘democratise UK learning’.
The start-up offers courses created by the
crowd, for the crowd i.e. any Internet user.
Managing director, Martin Belton said:
“We’re taking the wisdom of the crowd,
validating it and sharing it with everyone in one
easy-to-use place”.
Mylearningworx has been set up as an
alternative to existing online learning systems
that, according to Belton, are rooted in the
corporate world and inappropriate for smaller
businesses and individuals.
The site provides a mix of paid-for and free
online courses covering everything from playing
the guitar and oil painting to health and safety
courses, accountancy modules, management
training and IT skills. Ratings and feedback will
help users find the best courses.
Both learners and content providers are being
encouraged to create courses themselves and
charge what they feel is a fair price for them.
Belton said: “This is a unique opportunity
for people across the UK to profit from their
existing knowledge by developing the skills of
others. People can create courses in their own
time to suit their own schedule, fitting in an
activity that can generate an income around
existing family and work commitments.”
www.mylearningworx.com