It’s a tale as old as time, or at least: science fiction films — an autonomous grocery store on wheels (staffed by a holographic assistant) that can deliver late-night snacks as well as everyday essentials.

The Wheelys “Moby Mart” looks the part as well, sporting a trapezoidal shape, illuminated display in front, vintage neon sign on top, and mysteriously uniform boxes on the shelves inside.

But that retrofuturistic look is just part of the package: fueled by solar panels on the roof, this driverless shopping center operates staff-free 24/7.

When it runs low on stock it returns itself to a warehouse automatically for reloading — eventually, its makers hope to task a fleet of rooftop drones to do those pickups (maybe they could be extended to make deliveries, too).

Like other new grocery store prototypes, there will be no need to check out — items taken are automatically tallied and added to a shopper’s bill. If you need any help, the aptly named Hol (a holographic store assistant) is on hand to assist.

To top it all off, the Moby Mart has the potential to be carbon-negative, at least in terms of its urban travels — soaking up the sun for fuel, it also captures and cleans smog on its grocery runs.

A project of Himalayafy, Hefei University and Wheelys the first prototype is currently being tested out in Shanghai, a sweet spot for cyberpunk fans but a bit far for some of us to travel. But don’t worry: if all goes well your city may get one soon, too.

At the convergence of the localvore and vertical farming movements, Target’s new in-store micro-farms are positioned to offer the freshest possible produce to consumers. On offer: leafy greens and herbs initially but eventually also potatoes, beets, zucchini, tomatoes peppers and more.

In collaboration with the MIT Media Lab and IDEO, the company’s Food + Future CoLab will be testing their indoor production technology in stores around the country starting next spring. Target aims to leverage its scale to optimize their approach over time while also using their strategy to attract conscientious consumers.

Among other advantages, local and in-store aquaponic setups require less water and no pesticides as compared to outdoor alternatives. Also, since stores are already temperature-controlled for food storage and customer consideration, heating and cooling are effectively taken care of without additional energy expenditures.

Neither vertical farming nor close-to-source produce are new. Huge vertical farms have enjoyed success from Japan to New Jersey and rooftop farms often provide food for local communities or restaurants and hotels below. Still, like a similar project in Germany, this takes the idea to the next level, offering fresh organic crops alongside conventional ones right in a retail grocery shopping outlet. As populations continue to urbanize, demand for city-grown food (without the transportation costs and with appeal to local-oriented eaters) will only continue to grow.

Shopping carts are anything but sleek and modern, often dysfunctional and generally associated with a boring chore, at least until this (re)creator came along.

Etiënne Reijnders is a Dutch designer who decided to test the stylistic limits of grocery carts, cutting, sawing, folding, forging and welding them into stunning new shapes.

The resulting seats utilize almost all of the material from the original carts, carefully planned to minimize waste while also creating beautiful and functional seating.

Reijnders is not the first designer to think of recycling everyday materials into furniture (the example above comes from another designer), but the results in his case somehow manage to bridge the gap between looking both like the recycled object but also something dynamic and new.

Sexism or security – why not both? Pretty pink women-only parking spaces show once again that best intentions can bring about unintentional consequences.

A curious fact about designated women-only parking is that many of the most obvious examples can be found in developing nations – societies not exactly known for egalitarianism and women’s rights. Travelers from First World countries who notice these “pink paradises” are often bemused by both the concept and the location, as is the case with Canadian blogger Maiya of Hungry Woman Eats who snapped the Ladies Parking section at the Gandaria City Mall in Djakarta, Indonesia.

Shanghai Surprise

Women-only parking has come under fire, however, from (among others) women’s rights groups who are offended by the pink paint, cutesy signage and (in some cases) the extra width allotted to each space. Some men are peeved as well, including a netizen who posted on xinmin.cn “Isn’t it a kind of discrimination against men drivers? Some men may be less skilled at parking than women.” Hurt feelings aside, who’s taking the fall for the glossy floors of these women-only parking spaces at the Wandu Center in Shanghai, China? You try navigating that slick expanse on a rainy day, loaded down with shopping bags, and wearing stilletto heels.

One Tire Over The Line

Without the benefit of a distance-shot, we’ll just have to assume this rather stark and (mainly) sexism-free Ladies’ Parking sign at a Brescia, Italy rest area denotes at least two parking spaces reserved for the fairer sex. We’ll refrain from commenting on the above driver’s parking technique, however, and make no allusions to their gender. Kudos to photographer Stefano Bolognini, who visited the location – that may even be HIS poorly parked car – in 2007.

Turkish Delight

Why did ladies’ parking get the works? That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’… and business must be very good indeed at the MarkAntalya Mall in Antalya, Turkey. Not content with working up a couple of pink parking spots just for show, the mall has designated a whopping 450 parking spots for women, most of them selected for their convenient location to mall entrances. It’s “positive discrimination” in action – their words, not ours.

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Park Like A Girl Women Frustrated With Pink Ladies Parking Places

A new virtual reality application from IKEA lets users try out various kitchen configurations in three dimensions. Using an HTC Vive headset, the app lets people see different setups but also change key details in each, such as the colors and materials of drawers and cabinets.

Created in partnership with the French company Allegorithmic and employing the Unreal Engine 4 (from Epic Games), the app lets would-be buyers select from various furnishings and fixtures.

“Virtual reality is developing quickly and in five to ten years it will be an integrated part of people’s lives,” says optimist and futurist Jesper Brodin, managing director of IKEA of Sweden. “We see that virtual reality will play a major role in the future of our customers. For instance, someday, it could be used to enable customers to try out a variety of home furnishing solutions before buying them.”

For now, the system is a test case, available to those with access to a virtual reality headset. Users are encouraged to try it out and let the company know what they think about the current setup and how it can be improved. The company hopes to enable participants not only to shop smarter but also to become a part of the creative process in developing new design ideas and interior options.