Want to buy a Fitbit tracker or smartwatch but lack technical expertise? All you have to do is pair it with your Apple, Android, or Windows device to have access to its benefits. We compiled a walkthrough for how to sync a Fitbit.
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There are a ton of different Wear OS watches out there, but which one's right for you? No matter what you're looking for from a smartwatch, here are the best Wear OS watches out there.
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Researchers from Midwestern University in Arizona recently helped improve the life of an injured alligator -- by using 3D printing technology to create a new tail prosthesis for him.
The post This tale ends happily, with a new 3D-printed tail for a 7-foot-long alligator appeared first on Digital Trends.
The Huawei Watch 3 may be a ways off from release, but that doesn't mean Huawei isn't working on what it could look like. A new patent from Huawei hints at a smartwatch with space to store a pair of true wireless earbuds.
The post The next Huawei Watch could store a pair of wireless earbuds appeared first on Digital Trends.
From its Pixel smartphones to Google Home, the Google brand is quickly becoming synonymous with high-quality consumer hardware. This year it looks like Google may branch out a little further by creating its first smartwatch.
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Using a respiration sensor placed under the nose and bone conduction headphones near the ears, the device allows a wearer to hear her own breathing through slightly altered auditory feedback. In a pair of pilot studies, this feedback caused wearers to feel more stressed and more sexually aroused.
The post MIT’s bizarre mask can control your mood, make you feel horny or anxious appeared first on Digital Trends.
Check out our roundup of the best new crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!
The post Awesome Tech You Can’t Buy Yet: Hologram generators, growing shoes, and more appeared first on Digital Trends.
If you've had your eye on the Apple Watch, then you might want to consider a few handy extras -- and there are plenty to choose from. We've rounded up the best Apple Watch accessories we've seen so far.
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Whether you've been looking to pick up your first smartwatch, or just upgrade from your old one, the Best Buy Black Friday in July sale makes it the perfect time. You can save $50 on the Apple Watch series 3 from now until Saturday, July 28.
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LifeSignals, a company that provides solutions for businesses improving health and wellbeing, announced that it received FDA clearance for its wireless LP1100 Life Signal Patch for enabling the next generation of wearable, healthcare monitoring devices.
The patch is built on two solid technology foundations to provide unrivalled characteristics achieved by any other ECG patch product to date. It deploys the company’s recently launched LC100 Life Signal Processor (LSP) Platform and a patented, integrated multi-electrode architecture.
The FDA clearance now allows OEMS to use Life Signal Processor
to develop ECG and other vital sign monitoring wearables with wireless connection to the cloud. It also provides a needed biosensor patch for companies looking to deliver certain health applications in the low acuity patient monitoring space, consumer wellness, senior care and animal health.
“This FDA approval is not only a great milestone for our company but also an indicator of what’s to come: a new era focused on the Internet of me, my body data, my life, wellness and health captured and faithfully delivered by products enabled by LifeSignals technology,” said Surendar Magar, co-founder and CEO of LifeSignals. “Using our LSP technology, data can be captured inexpensively with clinical grade accuracy, and faithfully transmitted wirelessly to existing medical monitoring systems in current hospitals or via new cloud-based systems for analysis,” he explained.
About the LP1100 Patch
Currently available wireless ECG biosensor patches are too expensive in terms of both cost and power consumption, they aren’t fully disposable and not reliable enough for the mission-critical applications healthcare demands. The LSP technology and LP1100 patch family has changed all that.
LP1100 LS Patch is a clinical-grade, two-lead (extendable to three leads) ECG and heart rate monitoring patch. Using 2 zinc-air batteries, it can provide up to three days of monitoring with continuous wireless data transmission.
The LS Patch has characteristics previously unachieved by any other similar product. They’re fully disposable, a small form factor, comfortable to wear under clothing, continuously transmits data on a Wi-Fi network, and has an affordable price tag.
LS Patch is in high volume production at LifeSignals contract manufacturing partner – Dreamtech of Korea.
About LifeSignals, Inc.
LifeSignals is the Silicon Valley-based creator of the patented Life Signal Processor, a semiconductor platform designed to faithfully capture and communicate vital life signals from humans and animals to the cloud.
Snap40, a Scottish startup with the mission to protect the health of every human being, announced it has raised $8 million in seed funding. The round is led by ADV, with participation from MMC Ventures, and brings total funding to $10 million.
snap40 developed an AI-enabled wearable device to help health professionals monitor patients either on the hospital ward or at home.
Originally launched as a clinical pilot in August 2016, snap40 offers a complete, automated picture of human health. Using a wearable device, the company monitors people during and after hospital admissions, as well as for chronic health conditions and in clinical trials.
The device claims to have the same accuracy as ICU monitoring. It captures oxygen saturation, respiration rate, pulse rate, temperature, movement and posture.
The Snap40 platform can be integrated with other devices such as a BP cuff, weighing scales, a glucose monitor. It then sends this real-time data to the cloud where it is analyzed by the company’s proprietary algorithms to identify if a patient’s health is at risk and alert a physician proactively.
snap40’s HIPAA-compliant and secure mobile technology is designed to ease the stress and risks doctors and nurses face when administering care, eliminating the manual approaches that hinder them. For patients, the device monitors vital signs and other data to determine which patients will become ill and how, enabling earlier medical intervention and fewer hospital readmissions. Today, this costs U.S. hospitals more than $40 billion, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates.
“With our society growing older and larger, in the coming years we will see AI fundamentally reshape how healthcare is delivered,” said David Kelnar, partner and head of research at MMC Ventures. “snap40 is an excellent example of how AI is moving ‘beyond the hype’ – the company’s robust application of AI is solving an important real-world problem, augmenting the efforts of healthcare staff and helping save lives. We’re excited to support Chris, Stewart and the rest of the team as the business expands and brings their technology to new markets.”
Edinburgh, Scotland-based snap40 has an office in New York as well. The company plans to more than double its headcount by the end of 2018, hiring in all areas with a focus on candidates who believe in using technology to save lives and improve healthcare.
Read more BioSensics Launches Digital Platform for Clinical Trials
Christopher McCann, snap40 CEO and co-founder, said, “As a medical student, I witnessed patients live with long-term disability or die as a result of late recognition of their deteriorating health. This is where technology can make a difference. It’s a moral imperative to use all of our knowledge in science and technology to improve healthcare – that’s why Stewart and I founded snap40. Using AI to recognize illness earlier and enable earlier treatment can save lives, and it can prepare our healthcare system for the future.”
U.S. retail giant Walmart announced that it has been awarded patent for a system that will store customers’ vital health information on a healthcare blockchain that can be accessed through a wearable device. Walmart patent shows large corporations are seeing the value of medical technology and investing in health IT infrastructure technology.
In the system described in the patent for “Obtaining a Medical Record Stored on a Blockchain from a Wearable Device,” a device such as a bracelet will hold the private key; first responders would be able to access it using the wearer’s fingerprint, iris, or facial biometrics. In addition to information for the blockchain database, the wearable device includes the biometric scanner and an RFID scanner to match the private key on the device to the public key. Very recently, Anna Jarman, Associate at Walmart, was speaking at our WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco.
The patent further explains the principles of the system’s operation:
“… receiving, by a processor of a computing system, an encrypted private key and a public key associated with the patient stored on a wearable device of the patient, in response to a scanning of the wearable device of the patient at a scene of an emergency, wherein the encrypted private key is decrypted by a biometric signature of the patient; obtaining, by the processor, the biometric signature of the patient by scanning a bodily feature of the patient; decrypting, by the processor, the encrypted private key using the biometric signature of the patient to determine a private key associated with the patient; and accessing, by the processor, the medical records of the patient, using a combination of the public key and the private key associated with the patient, to access a local storage medium of the wearable device.”
Additionally, the obtained medical information may be shared with hospitals and other healthcare entities, allowing the medical care personnel to be fully briefed on a patient’s vital medical records as well as medical information before the patient arrives at a particular facility. This will not only save time, but also potentially save lives. Walmart initially filed the patent application on December 14, 2016, and it was awarded last week on June 14, 2018.
Read more HTC Reportedly Working on a Blockchain-Powered Android Smartphone
“If medical records were stored on the blockchain, the private key of the patient would be needed to view/modify the records. In the case where a user is unconscious or incapacitated in an emergency, a first responder could not access the user’s medical records stored on the blockchain,” Walmart said in a statement. “Thus, there is a need for a method and system for obtaining a medical record stored on the blockchain when the owner of the private key cannot readily provide the private key.”
In an attempt to make wearable devices lighter and more efficient for all users, a team of scientists have engineered a new solar-powered supercapacitor which can make this possible.
The scientists from the University of Glasgow’s Bendable Electronics and Sensing Technologies (BEST) group described how they came up with a new graphene supercapacitor which could be used in the next generation of wearable health sensors, in a paper published in the journal Nano Energy.
Read more Yarn Battery Could Power Smart Clothes and Wearables
The wearable devices currently in the market, use inflexible and heavy batteries, making them uncomfortable for long-term users.
The BEST team, led by Professor Ravinder Dahiya, has been working to modify their previous designs by creating a supercapacitor which could power health sensors capable of conforming to wearer’s bodies by establishing a better contact with the skin.
The supercapacitor uses layers of flexible, 3D porous foam formed from graphene and silver to create a device capable of storing and releasing around 3 times more power than any similar flexible supercapacitor, enabling it to collect more precise data, reports New Electronics.
The durability of the supercapacitor was demonstrated by the team; it showed that it provided power consistently across 25,000 charging and discharging cycles, making it very user-friendly.
Professor Dahiya and his creation – solar powered robotic hand (Image: University of Glasgow)
The team also came up with a flexible solar-powered skin which creates an entirely self- charging system. The researchers attached a pH sensor which uses the wearer’s sweat to monitor their health.
“We are very pleased by the progress this new form of solar-powered supercapacitor represents. A flexible, wearable health monitoring system which only requires exposure to sunlight to charge has a lot of obvious commercial appeal, but the underlying technology has a great deal of additional potential,” said Professor Dahiya.
This is a breakthrough development for technologies that depend mainly on solar energy to reach remote parts of the world.
Read more Micro Batteries and Micro Molding Solutions for Your Business
The team now is thinking of expanding this idea so that flexible synthetic skin could be engineered to be used for prosthetics.
“This research could take the wearable systems for health monitoring to remote parts of the world where solar power is often the most reliable source of energy, and it could also increase the efficiency of hybrid electric vehicles. We’re already looking at further integrating the technology into flexible synthetic skin which we’re developing for use in advanced prosthetics,” concluded Professor Dahiya.
Insurers have long been interested in knowing more about the potential applications of wearable tech for many years, but wearable devices have not been fully implemented in life insurance products to date. However, advances in these devices can revolutionize the industry. Julianne Callaway in her article in Digital Insurance looks at how wearable technology can influence life insurance.
The wearable technology market is growing rapidly. According to International Data Corporation, around 125.5 million wearable devices would be shipped worldwide in 2017 and the market is projected to double by 2021. Currently, one in six people in the U.S. own a wearable fitness device, and nearly half of all wearable device users are between the ages of 18 and 34. “Wearable technology holds great promise in relating life insurance products to millennial consumers who expect digital engagement and value experiences.”
Fitness trackers collect data such as periods of inactivity, resting heart rate and sleep. These metrics all have the potential to support a life insurance discount because activity, heart health and sleep all contribute to mortality expectations.
Read more Wearable Tech is Here to Stay with a Robust Presence in the Future Healthcare Industry
Increased use of wearable devices could benefit life insurance policy development. This may include the ability to help consumers manage stress as well as other mental health applications. Development of sweat-sensing wearables could help identify conditions such as diabetes, as well as smoking and alcohol use. These capabilities can boost the quality of life for users through improved well-being. A wearable device detecting a person’s smoking habits may be very useful, because it may be used to promote a smoking cessation benefit to participating insurance customers.
Wearable devices can serve as:
Data collected from wearable devices may not replace existing evidence collected as part of a fully underwritten policy, but it could provide supplemental evidence to enhance the decision-making in a simplified issue policy.
Read more Financial Incentives, Wearable Tracker Increase Physical Activity in Heart Patients
In life insurance, improved health is at the heart of all applications of wearable technology. Wearable devices can collect data on a person’s health behavior and thus prevent and identify serious health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. An insurance customer can be benefited by this data, which may help them change their lifestyle and improve health. With the prevalence of obesity-related health conditions, wearable devices can benefit the life insurance industry with products that encourage activity.
Wearable devices have greatly affected the lives of average consumers. From health and fitness tracking to contactless payments, a ton of cool feature exists on these wearable devices.
With the rise of IoT and connected machinery, these devices also have potential uses in manufacturing. Manufacturing.net’s Kayla Matthews discusses some potential uses within this sector.
This concept could be approached in many ways. For starters, you can use simple wearables like wristbands, connected clothing or headwear to present safety and environmental information to the wearers. Another aspect is work injuries. Standing for long periods can be bad for the back and limbs. Using “Chairless Chair” by BMW, employees can enhance their comfort on the floor. It’s essentially a harness-type wearable you can convert into a chair at the push of a button.
Read more How to Utilize Wearable Tech For A Successful Workplace Wellness Program
With the help of wearable technology, workers can augment or improve existing processes and functions within industrial and commercial settings. On the production line, staff members could utilize the technology to stay focused on what they’re doing, obtain additional info or deliver remote orders or commands. In a warehouse setting, order fulfillment employees can find goods and ordered products faster by using the situational and contextual data.
In manufacturing, training tends to be very hands-off by nature. Workers can use wearable tech to make this process more modern and efficient. General Motors, for example, leveraged Google Glass to provide a unique, improved training process for their employees.
Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLens and similar technologies merge the gap between digital and physical realities through something called augmented reality. A fitting example of this technology is Epson’s Moverio BT-350 Smart Glasses. Embedded camera allows the glasses to overlay digital information related to whatever the wearer is looking at. While building something, can see the next and even future steps in the process as if they already completed them.
Read more Samsung and ALICE Debut Gear S3-Based Hotel Communications Service
IoT and connected sensors, especially in a manufacturing plant, allow managers to see how everything is operating at a glance, remotely. When an entire workforce adopts wearable technology, the same can happen for personnel. Managers and decision makers can see where everyone is, what they’re doing, how productive they are or even potential bottlenecks or problems.
In the United States there are roughly 8.4 million people who are either blind have some other visual impairment. Here is some of the amazing game-changing technology designed to help them.
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A little over 3 years ago Microsoft launched HoloLens, its ambitious incursion into the world of augmented reality glasses. HoloLens gained popularity for being one of the first computers running the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system.
Read more Secrets of Hololens 2: What We’ve Learned So Far
However, the experts soon realized that while HoloLens had potentials, it was being stifled by its small field of view. But, this will reportedly change with the glasses’ second gen hardware, which is rumored to be released soon.
Although, Microsoft has remained tightlipped about its new Mixed Reality headset, thanks to various industry leakers, we already have some idea about HoloLens 2. The headset will have an enhanced field of view, and it will be lighter and more comfortable to wear, reports The Verge.
Thurrot has a more interesting information, indicating that the project for HoloLens 2 is codenamed ‘Sydney’, and that the final design will be powered by an ARM-based processor. That means it’ll offer a more powerful experience than the original HoloLens, while battery life should also get a big boost.
That performance will be helped by Qualcomm’s recently-announced XR1 chip, according to Engadget. Qualcomm has built the processor specifically for creating powerful VR and AR experiences, with its technology able to help deliver directional audio, 3D overlays and 4K video at 60 frames per second.
A modified version of Windows 10 is also expected to be running. However, what we don’t know, really, is how the actual device will look like.
Despite all the next generation features, the price of HoloLens has always been very high. The developer edition still is $3,000, while the version with full Commercial Suite is priced at $5,000. That’s a long way from the price tags seen on consumer-focused devices reportedly being planned by Microsoft’s competitors. But Microsoft’s target with HoloLens has pretty much always rested mainly within business.
According to various reports, Microsoft will slash the price significantly to make it viable for the businesses to adopt.
Read more Microsoft’s Alex Kipman Discusses Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens Features
Now, as for the release date, it is a crucial part of the HoloLens 2 story, since there’s a number of rivals lurking behind.
Previously, multiple reports have suggested that Microsoft will share the details before the end of the year, with a full launch expected in the early part of 2019.
Netherlands-based Haga Teaching Hospital is teaming up with physIQ, and VitalConnect to conduct a study on how wearable biosensors and artificial intelligence (AI) can add to the care for cancer patients undergoing treatment. The study, funded by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is looking to see how wearable technology can provide early clinical indication of adverse events sometimes linked with anti-cancer treatment.
In the investigator-initiated study, patients being treated with either erythrocyte transfusion or chemotherapy, either with or without immunotherapy, are provided VitalPatch® biosensors that collect and stream physiological data via physIQ’s pinpointIQ platform.
“Immunotherapy and other anti-cancer treatments offer great hope for patients managing hematological diseases,” said Dr. Martin Schipperus, Chair of Hematology at Haga Teaching Hospital. “However, these same powerful agents can also result in side effects that may impact patients’ ability to tolerate treatment. By monitoring patients this way, we hope to identify a novel approach to proactively identifying and managing adverse events that may otherwise negatively impact patient outcomes.”
Through the physIQ pinpointIQ solution, clinical-grade vital signs stream continuously, 24/7, from the VitalPatch biosensor to the cloud. Patients start wearing the biosensor several days before the treatment starts, allowing the physIQ AI-based analytics to develop a pre-treatment personalized baseline. Afterwards, patients continue to wear the VitalPatch, both during and after treatment in the clinic. Healthcare professionals can continuously monitor the patients’ physiological response throughout treatment and afterwards by comparing each patient to their own personalized baseline.
“Artificial intelligence-based analytics and wearable biosensors hold great promise for monitoring at-risk patient populations at home, at work, in the clinic, and all places in between,” said Dr. Stephen Ondra, Chief Medical Officer of physIQ. “The oncology space is one that has enormous unmet need with respect to how we deliver care and support patients as they undergo and manage these potentially life-saving therapies. Too often, patients must discontinue therapy because of adverse events that could be avoided or minimized through early detection. We are excited by the prospect of evolving the standard of care to use personalized proactive information to improve outcomes.”
Read more New Smart Socks Help Prevent Patient Falls
The pinpointIQ solution and the VitalPatch biosensor are being deployed in various clinical environments to help clinicians care for at-risk patients. The solution is also being provided to pharmaceutical and medical device companies that are integrating real-world data sets into clinical trials.
“Every year we see better treatments available in oncology which is very encouraging,” added Schipperus, “but beyond drugs alone there is need to improve the patient experience and we are excited about the innovations now available to potentially improve how these patients are cared for.”
Rather than designing apparel that will track your heart rate, control your music, or offer navigational assistance like other products, Tommy Hilfiger's clothes will reward you for ... buying Tommy Hilfiger clothes.
The post Tommy Hilfiger’s Xplore line of smart clothing is … not so smart after all appeared first on Digital Trends.
The Jabra Elite Active 65t are the company’s newest truly wireless earbuds. Released in late May 2018, the new earbuds are a great addition to workouts, delivering high quality sound and sweat resistance.
Read more Ittiam Plans to Boost Pacewear Smart Wearables with High Quality Sound
What makes the Jabra Elite Active 65t stand out from others is refined design, slightly more battery life, Bluetooth 5.0 technology, and support for Amazon Alexa, which will be available soon. It has better buttons and the dust and water resistant rating is slightly lower. They have an integrated motion sensor that adds more tracking features. Essentially, the Jabra Elite Active 65t are more sports-focused versions of their predecessors.
CNET ratings earned it an 8.2/10 and a statement saying they’re better than Apple’s AirPods in some ways.
SPECIFICATIONS
A non-slip membrane coating keeps the Jabra Elite Active 65t in ears at all times. The built-in accelerometer transmits data to the new Jabra Sound+ companion app to track steps and cadence.
The earbuds fit more snugly to seal off the outside noise, delivering sound that is richer than the Elite Sport.
The seal removes ambient noise and enhances the experience over others like the open Apple Airpods. The tones are balanced, with full bass and clear vocals.
Read more Bose Launches Noise-Masking Sleepbuds to Help You Sleep Better
The earbuds pause music when one of them is pulled out of an ear, and play when it’s put back in – a very welcome and convenient addition.
Built for active lifestyles, Jabra Elite Active 65t features an IP56 rating, with 2-year warranty against sweat and dust. Wherever your day takes you, and whatever your activity, it won’t get in the way of enjoying sports, music and calls.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion
Jabra Elite Active 65t are the best all-around wireless earbuds out there.
They’re priced at $190 USD, and come in Titanium Black, Copper Red, and Copper Blue.
Emporio Armani has announced the Emporio Armani Connected 2018, a new touchscreen smartwatch with stunning looks. The Connected Wear watch is up for pre-order and will go on sale in September with big upgrades like NFC payments and built-in GPS and heart rate tracking.
Read more Hugo Boss Discontinues its First Smartwatch The Boss Touch After Less Than A Year
It’s the brand’s latest smartwatch that seems like a perfect blend between tech and fashion. Powered by Qualcomm’s aging 2100 SoC, the smartwatch runs on Google’s WearOS platform.
The Emporio Armani Connected 2018 offers:
The Emporio Armani Connected 2018 will track your indoor and outdoor workout or directly navigate to your favorite restaurant from your wrist. Even if you do not intend to head out for a run or to the gym, the Connected 2018 will monitor your heart rate all day.
The smartwatch features a 1.19″ touchscreen AMOLED display. The sleek stainless steel case measures 43 x 49mm and is available in a range of colors including silver, black and rose gold.
It lets you choose from a variety of straps to complete your look, including single link bracelets, leather, and mesh/Milanese loop.
Google’s Wear OS has Google Assistant built-in, allowing you to shout questions directly on your wrist if you want.
Waterproofing up to 3 ATM makes it a swimmer friendly smartwatch. The on-wrist payments are handled by Google Pay worldwide and Alipay in China; it’s the Mobvoi app store and Mobvoi Assistant for voice in China.
Read more Qualcomm’s Upcoming Smartwatch Chip May Boost Google’s Wear OS
Features like customizable watch faces (with new additions), smartphone alerts and music controls have stayed put from last year’s Connected.
The smartwatch retails at $295 with styles at $345 and $395 to consider. It’s available to pre-order now and it goes on sale in September from Armani stores, Armani online and ‘selected retailers’.
If you aren’t sleeping well at night, you’re not alone. Around 50 to 70 million US adults have a sleep disorder. Among them 48 percent report snoring; 25 million U.S. adults have obstructive sleep apnea and drowsy driving causes 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries annually in the United States.
Read more Re-Timer: Light-Therapy Glasses to Help You Get Some Sleep
With that in mind, Pegasi has created Smart Sleep Glasses which improves sleep quality by physical light therapy. This specific wavelength green light stimulates your nervous system, which gives a signal to regulate the level of melatonin secretion and improves sleep quality scientifically.
By using light therapy treatment techniques, the Pegasi Smart Sleep Glasses help regulate your sleep and offer an alternative to sleeping pills, caffeine and other common aids we use to keep our bodies in check.
“For people who have serious sleeping problems, they would usually take a pill before they sleep,” says Pegasi’s Minming Gu. “And these contain melatonin because it’s the key agent which controls your sleep. Pegasi really acts in a very similar, simple way, but we see it as a friendlier alternative.
“By using a green light to stimulate the nervous system and regulate the level of melatonin the body produces during the day, it vastly improves how much is produced during the night, and this therefore is able to help how quickly people fall asleep and their overall sleeping pattern.”
The smartglasses use the same technology that is used by NASA to improve astronaut’s sleep quality in space. According to the company, it only takes 7 days to see noticeable changes; just put them on between 7 am to 9 am and the smartglasses will keep you wide awake and ready to face the challenges of the day. In the evening, your body will release melatonin drastically to help you fall asleep smoothly.
You also have the option to link up and track your sleep via the companion app, though this wearable doesn’t rely on a smartphone tether in order to function, since its sole function is to emit light and help balance hormones. As long as the Smartglasses are charged you’re good to go; the company says the standby battery life sits at roughly 3 months.
Gu insists that although light therapy is nothing new when it comes to addressing serious sleep problems, it is an effective solution when compared to others.
Read more This app measures how well you sleep using your phone’s speakers as a SONAR system
“This isn’t a new science or a new technology, but trying to tackle serious sleep conditions, such as insomnia, can be effective using light therapy. People should always go to the doctor first if they suspect they do have something, but Pegasi has already shown it can help people with all sorts of different sleep issues,” she said.
Warm weather is here, and a good action cam is the perfect way to record your adventures. You don't need to shell out the big bucks for a GoPro: Check out these great GoPro alternatives, including some 4K cameras, that won’t leave you broke.
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Lidar technology is most commonly associated with self-driving cars. This Lidar-powered wearable is a bit different, though, using the tech lets you experience life the way a dolphin would.
The post This DIY wearable lets you see the world like a dolphin does appeared first on Digital Trends.
Ready for an all new Apple Watch for 2018? It looks like Apple may be planning a complete redesign with improved health features. Here are all the details about the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4.
The post Apple Watch Series 4: Everything you need to know appeared first on Digital Trends.
With a vape pen-like look, Lumen, a small wearable device helps you lose weight by analyzing your breath. Lumen is your very own nutritionist who tells you in real time how you are doing and adjust accordingly. When you blow into the device, it measures the CO2 of your exhale to see if you’re burning carbs or body fat.
Lumen was founded by Dror Cedar. A team of scientists, engineers and designers created this device with an aim to find a sustainable solution that will boost the way you eat and manage your body to live a healthier life.
Read more New Technology From 3M Monitors Breathing And Helps You Improve Respiratory Health
If you’re still wondering how accurately this device measure your metabolism through breath, then just breathe into the device. It will measure and analyse the various gases in your breath (especially Co2) through different sensors in it. The concentration of various gases in your breath informs Lumen whether your cells are burning carbs or fats for energy.
The promotional video tells us that you can get a personalized meal plan for the day just by breathing into the device in the morning. It allows you to adjust that meal plan with breath check-ins throughout the day. You can also check your breath before a workout to see if you need to eat more carb for additional energy.
The results, according to the site, are sustainable weight loss and optimized workouts.
The company launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund its eponymous device. It has already gone past its $50,000 goal, raising $213,816 with a full month still remaining to go. Early birds can pick up a Lumen for $199, after that the price jumps to $219. The company estimates the devices will be shipped in February 2019.
With technology becoming more powerful, small wearable devices are flooding the market to help us better understand our food intake and calories burned.
Read more Top 7 Affordable Fitbit Alternatives to Help You Stay Fit and Save Money
Personalization is hot topic among wearables. Companies like FoodPairing are developing tools for hyper-personalized recipes, and another company, Intellectual Ventures has a patent for a personalized food manufacturing system. They’re also eyeing a future where 3D printed foods will deliver the exact food we would need for dietary and nutritional needs.
If Lumen delivers what it promises, you won’t need to hold your breath to get personalized meal recommendations and losing weight.
Fitbit, the leading wearable tech company, announced its partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to launch the Fitbit Versa collection with NY-based fashion label PH5.
This new line of accessories is already a favorite with more than a million devices shipped in its first six weeks of launch. It offers consumers the chance to bring even more style to their wrist in a new way.
Featuring six bands in a variation of bold styles and colors, the PH5 for Fitbit Versa combines an uncommon approach to knitwear with distinctive and playful styles.
“I developed the accessories for Fitbit Versa to be fun and sporty, yet still be luxurious and convey an exclusive fashion statement,” said Wei Lin, founder of PH5, in a release. “As a seven-time Ironman triathlete, my own passion for fitness played a vital role in developing the accessories, giving me the opportunity to create a new fashion experience rooted in health and wellness. Fitbit Versa was an ideal device for us to design around, given the versatility of its shape and features, all of which inspire and empower a lifestyle that I truly believe in.”
With a shared desire to seamlessly integrate fashion and technology Fitbit and the CFDA partnership aims to create an initiative utilizing the power of today’s most up-and-coming creative minds. The collaboration invited 5 top emerging brands to submit accessory designs to be considered for Versa, each demonstrating a unique, innovative approach to presenting the future of wearable fashion to market.
New York-based fashion brand PH5 was selected to create an exclusive assortment of accessory bands for the smartwatch. It created accessories that offer breathability and flexibility while emphasizing style.
The PH5 for Fitbit Versa Collection styles include:
Read more With Fitbit Ace For Kids, Fitbit Now Has Fitness Tracker For Every Member of the Family
“As the first wearable brand to partner with a leading designer in 2014 with Tory Burch to create a collection of fashionable accessories for a fitness tracker, we’ve seen great success with this strategy that brings innovative, trend-right designs to challenge the way consumers think about wearables and offer stylish options,” said Tim Rosa, chief marketing officer at Fitbit.
Fitbit is offering the PH5 for Fitbit Versa accessory band collection through its website. Select styles can be found at Target stores with a suggested retail price of $39.95.
Researchers from the Purdue University have developed an electronic chip that may provide improved support for people affected by brain and central nervous system disorders. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by neurological disorders according to World Health Organization (WHO).
Read more Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Collaboration with Verily Aims to Deepen Understanding of Parkinson’s
The researchers created an electronic chip that can gather electric signals from a number of nerve endings at the same time and then wirelessly transmit them. The device doesn’t need any on-board battery to operate because an on-chip antenna provides energy.
Lead researcher Saeed Mohammadi, an associate professor in Purdue’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said this invention will help conduct even bigger research into understanding the brain and central nervous system, various neural diseases and neuro-prosthetics. “Our breakthrough is that this chip is very small, about the size of a piece of dust, and can be made flexible for future brain implant applications,” he said.
The tiny electronic chip, which the researchers say is about the size of a piece of dust, integrates with neural sensors where it wirelessly transmits the brain signals to a computer using a remotely powered electronic system. The system can help people with neural deficiencies and those with severed nerves.
“The main challenges are to operate such a wireless neural interface system with a small and flexible chip at very low power and yet high data rate,” Mohammadi said. “We need a high data rate to be able to read signals from thousands of neurons using a single implant chip. At the same time, we need to operate the system at very low power for safety and size reasons.”
The researchers created the innovative low-power circuit design using a regular electronic chip they received from a semiconductor manufacturing company which they then processed to carve out the microelectrodes for the neural interface system.
“We can perhaps provide a technology that is more bio-compatible with brain tissues and can be implanted in the human brain or at nerve endings with much better success rate,” Mohammadi said.
The research team worked along with the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization on the innovation. The researchers are seeking investors and industrial partners for the technology.
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About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization
The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. The office helps to support the economic development initiatives and academic activities of Purdue University. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
Want to bring your Pebble smartwatch back from the dead, after the June 30 official service shutdown? Of course you do, and Rebble is here to help. It will help reinstate many of the best features you love about the Pebble watch, even after official support ended.
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Augmented reality is really cool technology, but it takes the right app to highlight its ability. Curiscope's clever Virtuali-Tee is already a great example, but thanks to a new app update, it has added something very real to the internal view it already provided. You have to see this.
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Spectra7 Microsystems Inc., a leading analog semiconductor manufacturer offering wireless infrastructure products for broadband connectivity markets, announced that its DreamWeVR active cable technology is ready to support the new VirtualLink standard for use in next-generation VR cables.
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“We are extremely pleased that our products already meet the requirements of the new interface standard,” said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. “We believe our technology will continue to be the preferred solution for VR products utilizing the new interface standard and we look forward to working with market-leading manufacturers seeking to incorporate our chips into cables supporting the new standard.”
Spectra7’s DreamWeVR chips are already being embedded in USB Type-C cables allowing the copper conductors to be shrunk, resulting in a cable as small as a standard ear-bud cable, while still delivering ultra-high-speed video and data.
These innovative DreamWeVR chips are purpose-built for AV, VR, and MR cable applications and deliver high quality performance, low power and the tiny footprint necessary to be embedded in wearable cables. The products and their performance:
VR8300 – DisplayPort HBR3 Embedded Cable Processor: Delivers DisplayPort bandwidth of up to 32.4Gbps at 5K resolution for 15-million-pixel cinema-grade video.
VR8200 – DisplayPort HBR2 Embedded Cable Processor: Delivers DisplayPort bandwidth of up to 21.6Gbps at 4K resolution.
VR8051 – USB 3.2 Gen 2 Embedded Cable Processor: Delivers up to 10Gbps of sensor/camera data for positional tracking and gesture recognition.
VR8050 – USB 3.2 Gen 1 Embedded Cable Processor: Delivers up to 5Gbps of sensor/camera data for positional tracking, and gesture recognition.
Backed by Microsoft, AMD, NVIDIA, Oculus, and Valve, the new VirtualLink standard is a USB Type-C alternate mode that can supply all of the necessary power, video information, and data over a single USB Type-C cable and connector.
About VirtualLink
VirtualLink is an open industry standard developed to meet the connectivity requirements of current and next-generation virtual reality (VR) headsets. VirtualLink is an Alternate Mode of USB Type-C designed to deliver the power, display, and data required to power VR headsets through a single USB Type-C connector.
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About Spectra7 Microsystems Inc.
Spectra7 Microsystems is a high-performance analog semiconductor manufacturer offering wireless infrastructure products. The company delivers unprecedented bandwidth, speed and resolution to enable disruptive industrial design for leading electronics manufacturers in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), data centers and other connectivity markets. Spectra7 is headquartered in San Jose, California with design centers in Markham, Ontario, Cork, Ireland, and Little Rock, Arkansas.
If you're ready to kick-start your fitness regimen (or just take your current one to the next level), we've created a quick rundown of the best, most current Fitbit deals to help you decide which one is best for you.
The post Start your fitness journey with the best Fitbit deals for July 2018 appeared first on Digital Trends.
The Apple Watch has surged to prominence in recent years. If you're in the market for an iOS wearable, we've sniffed out the best Apple Watch deals available right now for all three models of this great smartwatch.
The post The time is right to take advantage of these Apple Watch deals for July 2018 appeared first on Digital Trends.
Samsung may introduce a sequel to the Gear S3 smartwatch in 2018, but this time it may have a different name or even multiple versions. Rumors are spreading about a Galaxy Watch coming alongside the Galaxy Note 9.
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Huawei finally revealed the details of its latest wearable, the TalkBand 5, after images of the device leaked online.
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According to blogger and phone leaker Evan Blass, this is actually a blast from the past, meaning the TalkBand 5 will be the successor to Huawei’s TalkBand B3 which was released two years ago.
The original TalkBand wasn’t very advanced. It was a hybrid that combined a Bluetooth headset that didn’t work with an inaccurate fitness tracker. We saw some improvements with the B2 and B3, but the popout headset made us feel a little ridiculous. Now, you might ask what about the TalkBand B4? Well, in China, the number ‘4’ is considered unlucky so the company skipped it.
The TalkBand 5 boasts a 1.13-inch AMOLED touchscreen that’s almost two-and-a-half times bigger than its predecessor. The screen with 300 x 160 resolution comes covered with 2.5D curved glass.
We don’t know anything about the technical specs, but its predecessor TalkBand B3 had a hefty 128KB of RAM and 16MB of external storage. The 91mAh battery provided a maximum of 6 hours of talk time and lasted 3 to 4 days while not in use.
We hope TalkBand B5 will give us more power and room, but we don’t know for sure. And, two years later, the TalkBand B3 still costs around $197.
The sleep tracking appears pretty in-depth. It can analyze different stages of your sleep using cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC). It’ll also give you recommendations on improving your rest time.
The TalkBand B5 needs two key improvements to be able to deliver on its hybrid promise: a reliable Bluetooth headset and more enhanced fitness tracking and sleep tracking.
While it works with both iOS and Android phones, only Huawei and Honor smartphone users will be able to enjoy certain features like call ID and call muting.
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The fitness tracker’s heart rate sensor using Huawei’s TruRelax Technology, will track your heart rate 24 hours-a-day, analyzing heart rate variability and tell you when you’re too stressed.
The new band comes with an 18mm strap with a choice of silicone, leather and stainless steel. Things look good so far, but we’ll have to wait until we get one in our hands. The TalkBand B5 will go one sale 20 July.
It's not hard to find a fitness tracking wearable for the wrist, but options run thin when you want a device that's a little more subtle. Motiv's solution is a ring that puts your active minutes front and center.
The post Motiv smart ring tracks ‘active minutes,’ because step counters are so 2015 appeared first on Digital Trends.
A team of researchers from Stanford University has developed a wearable patch that can measure a person’s cortisol levels from their sweat. Cortisol is a hormone that increases in response to stress. This important biomarker can measure everything from stress to immune function.
Read more This Wearable Device Wants You to Sweat So that It Can Monitor Your Health
However, current methods for measuring cortisol levels typically takes several days to test. The new patch developed by scientists can assess how much cortisol an individual is producing by wicking up sweat.
The findings of the research, which was led by Alberto Salleo, was published in the journal Science Advances.
“We are particularly interested in sweat sensing, because it offers noninvasive and continuous monitoring of various biomarkers for a range of physiological conditions,” said lead author Onur Parlak, a post-doctoral scholar in the Salleo lab. “This offers a novel approach for the early detection of various diseases and evaluation of sports performance.”
The stretchy patch called MS-OECT, has sensors that can specifically attach to cortisol while allowing other properties to pass through its membrane.
“We introduce the integration of an electrochemical transistor and a tailor-made synthetic and biomimetic polymeric membrane, which acts as a molecular memory layer facilitating the stable and selective molecular recognition of the human stress hormone cortisol,” the authors wrote. “The sensor and a laser-patterned microcapillary channel array are integrated in a wearable sweat diagnostics platform, providing accurate sweat acquisition and precise sample delivery to the sensor interface.”
Biosensors detect a molecule’s positive or negative charge, but cortisol has no charge. To overcome this obstacle, Parlak built his sensor around a membrane that specifically binds only to cortisol. The patch sucks in sweat passively through holes at the bottom. The sweat is then collected in a reservoir which is covered by the cortisol-sensitive membrane. Charged ions such as potassium and sodium passes through the membrane unless they’re barred by the cortisol. The sensor detects these backed up charged ions, and not the cortisol itself. The patch has a waterproof layer on top that protects it from contamination.
Read more Sweat-Based Wearable Sensor May Soon Replace Blood Tests
“I always get excited about a device, but the sweat collection system that Onur devised is really clever,” Salleo said. “Without any active microfluidics, he’s able to collect enough sweat to do the measurements.”
To measure cortisol level, all you have to do is sweat, apply the patch and connect it to a device for analysis. It will give you results in seconds. The researchers hope that in the future the sensor would become part of a fully integrated system.
SOLOS, a unit of Kopin Corporation, has been named the official Smart Glasses partner of IRONMAN North America and the IRONMAN World Championship. SOLOS’ new smart glasses will be showcased at the IRONMAN® World Championship and several other events in the U.S. and Canada throughout this year, starting with IRONMAN Lake Placid on July 22.
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“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with IRONMAN,” said Scott Fliegelman, Director of Strategic Partnerships for SOLOS. “As a 5-time IRONMAN, I’m personally excited to share our amazing technology with today’s athletes, who are looking for improved performance, safety and fun.”
Using SOLOS smart glasses, athletes like runners, triathletes and cyclists can receive critical performance information through sight and sound, enabling them to focus on their performance and avoid unsafe distractions. SOLOS lightweight and fashionable smart glasses contain proprietary augmented reality (AR) display and noise cancellation technologies allowing athletes to view metrics right in front of their eyesight and to receive other information through audio messages.
“We know IRONMAN athletes are always looking for quality, ingenuity and as much valuable data as possible in the devices they wear,” said Stuart Selig, EVP of Global Partnerships at IRONMAN. “SOLOS smart glasses provide just that — an innovative product that will empower them to achieve optimal performance. We believe this partnership offers our athletes a unique training advantage across North America.”
SOLOS, the world’s lightest AR smart glasses for sports performance, is designed to inform and inspire while keeping athletes safe so that they can reach their full potential. Since its inception, SOLOS has dedicated itself to develop a seamless experience that brings together sport, technology, and fashion, and has relied on direct feedback from athletes, like 11-time IRONMAN 70.3® Champion, Sam Appleton.
Appleton, who’s been using SOLOS smart glasses since the beginning of this year, said he finds them extremely helpful during training. “SOLOS smart glasses display in front of me the metrics I need in order to nail my key sessions and maintain situational awareness so I can enjoy the ride. It’s an exciting opportunity for the SOLOS team to partner with IRONMAN, as now athletes from around the globe will be able to check out SOLOS smart glasses, which have been a key factor in my success this season,” he said.
Read more Magic Leap One AR Glasses Powered by Nvidia’s Tegra X2 Will Arrive This Summer
About SOLOS
Leveraging decades of Kopin’s experience in heads-up displays and other technologies, SOLOS® smart glasses are the world’s most technologically advanced smart glasses. The smart glasses inform and athletes, helping them to reach their full athletic potential. Built for runners, triathletes and cyclists, SOLOS smart glasses seamlessly provide athletes with critical information through sight and sound.
A Hong Kong-based company is set to launch an Indiegogo campaign for its product “BabyLook,” which uses company’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform to ease frustration and worries of baby care. The company, viv Limited plans, develops, and manages projects to “visualize the minds of children” using AI technology.
Read more Health Tech Startup Neopenda Unveils Wearable Vital Signs Monitor For Newborns
The company said it has done market research between 2015-2016 through online and face-to-face questionnaires to over 2000 mothers of 20-30 years old in the U.S., and pinpointed 3 key functions that reflect the mother’s needs.
The BabyLook is made up of wearable for mothers and babies, as well as an app and the deep learning system.
When a baby starts to cry, it’s very difficult to understand the reason behind his crying. Is he hungry? Does he have a fever? Or Is he sleepy? In this case, BabyLook will display the baby’s feeling simply by launching BabyLook app on your smartphone and recording the baby’s face for a few seconds.
A baby’s health condition can change very quickly. BabyLook regulary collects data on “blood oxygen,” “heart rate,” “body temperature,” and “sleep quality” from the feedback it receives from the wearable device around the baby’s ankle.
Stress and fatigue from caring for the baby can affect the mother as well as the entire family. BabyLook’s wearable for mothers measures her stress and fatigue levels by monitoring the “heart rate” and “quality of sleep” and notifies the mother and the family members.
How does the technology work?
With cooperation of more than 500 nurseries and kindergartens mainly in Japan, this project has successfully collected infant related big data which are being analyzed by pediatricians, kindergarten teachers and other professionals.
Installed fixed cameras and video cameras gather data. The fixed camera gathers 20 frames of data per second by facial recognition and facial expression analysis functions.
The system collects basic information such as”7 types of emotions”, “location,” “who else is nearby,” and “time.” The specialists involved with the project label additional information such as what the child was actually feeling at that moment as well as environmental causes that might have influenced that feeling.
The AI team learns the correlations between this information enabling itself to guess children’s feeling based on given data.
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Future Outlook
Currently, the target market is parents in their 20s and early 30s, with children between 0-4 years old, with affinities for technologies in the US, Japan, and China. In the future, the company plans to make it available for everyone. The company said it ultimately plans to use blockchain technology to enable engineers and researchers from all over the world to develop child research and effective child-rearing support platform for children worldwide.
After the Indiegogo launch viv Limited plans to raise 1 million dollars in funding by December of 2018.
Deloitte Center for Health Solutions surveys of both U.S. health care consumers and physicians have found while consumers and physicians support virtual care, many physicians are unwilling to embrace the technologies, due to worries about reimbursement, privacy and other issues. Among other findings the results show how health systems can encourage physicians to overcome resistance and close the gap on virtual care.
Virtual care replaces traditional care therapy by using telemedicine and other communication technologies.
The results showed that 64 percent of consumers and 66 percent of physicians cite enhanced patient access as the main benefit of virtual care. Among the physicians surveyed, 52 percent agree that virtual care supports the goals of patient-centricity, including improved patient satisfaction and 45 percent agree it helps staying connected with patients and their caregivers.
However, when it comes to using virtual care in practice, physicians lose their enthusiasm. While majority of the consumers (57%) favor video-based visits, only 14% physicians have the capability and only 18% of the rest plan to add this capability.
The primary causes of physician reluctance were found to be lack of reimbursement, along with complex licensing requirements and high cost technologies. Yet changing reimbursement models may be a catalyst for virtual care adoption.
“Changes in health care reimbursement models, combined with growing consumer demand, are driving health systems to embrace virtual care, but they are struggling to get physicians on board,” said Dr. Ken Abrams, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “However, getting buy-in from physicians may not be as difficult as organizations might expect: most physicians who have tried the technologies associated with virtual care feel good about them. It’s important to help physicians understand how virtual care improves care quality and lessens patient or caregiver burden.”
Clinical staff at the Mercy Virtual Care Center, Chesterfield, Missouri, monitoring a remote patient. (Photo: Mercy Virtual Care Center)
The survey also found that 36% of health care professionals worry about medical errors and 33% worry about data security and privacy associated with virtual care.
Virtual care in today’s healthcare
According to the survey, email/patient portal consultations are the most prevalent virtual care technology used by responding physicians (38 percent), followed by physician-to-physician consultations (17 percent) and virtual/video visits (14 percent).
Read more Qardio Launches Remote Patient Monitoring While Increasing Revenue Opportunities
The need for virtual care
Many obstacles to virtual care adoption have been removed and the remaining barriers could soon disappear, according to the research. Virtual care could emerge as a competitive advantage, helping to grow the patient base, as physicians who deliver good patient-centered care will likely be in high demand. Insurers and employers may also favor health systems with virtual care capabilities.
“Virtual care capabilities can help physicians meet ever-increasing demands on their time and skill: caring for more patients, dealing with rising clinical complexity, and helping patients play a greater role in their own care,” added Steve Burrill, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP. “Organizations are unlikely to achieve this without developing virtual care capabilities. If they fail to act now, they risk losing significant market share as customers seek other solutions to meet their needs.”
