Idea 46: Translation through Comparision

Problem:

Let it be Chinese, Japanese, English, German, Russian or Spanish – translating can be a time-consuming activity, especially when the alphabets are different and one does not have a dictionary at hand.

Solution:

When considering that any word, any sentence or any phrase can be defined as a “symbol,” one might be able to create a system that translates through comparing “symbols” with a given database. For example: the sentence “I like to play tennis” is not “4 english words including a “subject” and “predicate” etc but a symbol/picture  consisting of lines and dots. It would work like “face recognition” but with words and allow instant translation using a smart phone.

Idea 28: Fragrance Comp Tool 1.0

Problem:

Going into a fragrance store can be a daunting experience, due to the sheer varieties of different perfumes and colognes that are basically divided into mass-marketable and luxury products. So, as the game of finding the right fragrance turns into a balance act between what “smells” exist, what one likes, and what one can afford, the brain keeps firing messages of total frustration and pain into one´s nervous system, until one has to figure out how many different fragrances one can try before getting a headache. However, this is only step one! Step two takes place, when one actually has to buy a fragrance for someone else.

Solution:

Inventing a comparison tool that recommends a fragrance based on the fragrances one has already at home or that one knows another person has, might be a solution. The tool could be based on algorithms that “use” the actual smell (the words marketing uses to describe it) or the different ingredients of a fragrance (assuming that possibly fragrances with the same ingredients will smell more, or less, the same when using a certain scale to compare them). Later a price category could be added that would allow the user only to choose the fragrances that one can afford. On the other hand, if one would like to change one´s style, one could ask the tool to only recommend perfumes/colognes that are completely different to what one has at home. Recommendations by the tool could later be adjusted and improved by implementing users´feedback through maybe an open platform. Once the tool hits critical mass, fragrance producers might push to be actually part of it as in case their fragrance is not in the list, it will not be recommended.