Showing posts with label smartphone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smartphone. Show all posts

2012-07-05

LifeWatch V: Android-based Healthcare Smartphone

LifeWatch V: Android-based Healthcare Smartphone Packed with Medical Sensors


LifeWatch AG (Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland) has presented the LifeWatch V, a feature-packed healthcare smartphone for patients and health conscious consumers. At its core, the LifeWatch V is a pretty standard Android-based phone. However, what sets it apart is the presence of a plethora of medical sensors powering seven health tests, combined with wellness-related applications and cloud-based services. The health tests are operated by placing a finger on one of the sensors, allowing users to measure, track and analyze their medical measurements, take corrective action, plan meals, activities and more.


Tests Overview | LifeWatchV

The LifeWatch V not only tests ECG, body temperature, blood glucose, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body fat percentage and stress levels (heart rate variability). It contains health tests and apps, test result delivery, historical data analysis and even physician connectivity.


LifeWatch V News, Videos, Reviews and Gossip - Gizmodo

You'll still want to keep up regular doctor visits if you are dealing with a medical condition since devices like these are usually far less accurate when compared to dedicated hospital equipment. But with full data connectivity it means you can keep your medical practitioner abreast of your condition between checkups. And more importantly, it minimizes the number of medical-related smartphone accessories you have to tote around.


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2012-06-30

Shimi a Dancing Musical Robot and Smartphone Dock

Smartphone Powered Robot DJ "Shimi" Premieres at Google's I/O Conference - International Science Times


Researchers at Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology have injected a little fun into robotics with their newest creation. Their one-foot-tall 'Shimi' robot is a smart-phone enabled DJ that gets into the music with you.

True to its name, Shimi dances to the beat. Docking your iPhone or Android into the robot allows it access to your music library, where it can pick the music to pump up your party. Shimi can read body language, so all you have to do to let it know you don't like a song is shake your head in front of it.

Georgia Tech Researchers Create Musical Robot Companion





Shimi creator Professor Gil Weinberg, director of Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology, has founded a start-up company, named Tovbot. Plans are for the robot to be available to consumers by the 2013 holiday season.

Do the robot: Android wedding DJ picks songs, dances to the beat and reacts to the crowd to keep the mood | Mail Online

If a user taps of claps a beat,v Shimi analyzes it, scans the phone's musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion. Once the music starts, Shimi dances to the rhythm.

The robot's 'eyes' can also follow people round a room and ensure that speakers are aimed at them.

Shimi, a musical companion developed by Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology, recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on listener feedback.
[...]
Shimi is essentially a docking station with a ‘brain’ powered by an Android phone. Once docked, the robot gains the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user's mobile device. In other words, if there's an ‘app for that,’ Shimi is ready.

For instance, by using the phone's camera and face-detecting software, the bot can follow a listener around the room and position its ‘ears,’ or speakers, for optimal sound.

Shimi: The incredible dancing DJ robot - The Week

[...] It's about time engineers built a robot "with the intention to party," says Lee Rannals at RedOrbit. "A dancing robot that follows you around is pretty cool," says Elise Moreau at Slashgear, "but it looks like Shimi still has a bit of growing up to do." Call me when they've built apps that let you shake your head or wave your hand to get the bot to skip lousy songs. Well, "I'm not a huge fan of desktop toys that flap around," says Technabob. But there's something endearing about watching a little robotic DJ "get its groove on to your music." See for yourself:




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2012-02-28

SpareOne Cell Phone Runs On a Single AA Battery

SpareOne cellphone claims 15-year battery life, we go hands-on -- Engadget

Xpal Power (owners partners of Energizer and PowerSkin) has leveraged its battery-tech know-how into the SpareOne, a cellphone that can maintain its charge for up to 15 years on just a single AA battery. It's designed to be used for sponsorship, hotel use and (most importantly) emergencies, to throw into your trunk and forget about until you need to contact roadside assistance.




We’re all for the latest and greatest smartphones and the amazing technology that comes with them, but if you’re in some kind of emergency and all you have is your battery-eating 4G Android phone, it’s not going to last you very long. We’ve heard of lives being saved thanks to iPhone apps and the like, but having an emergency phone around that has a little bit better battery life seems like a good idea to us. That’s where Spare One ($50) comes in.

[...] the battery is only half of the magic. Users will also need to provide their own SIM card. Sprint and Verizon operating on CDMA networks aren’t compatible with SpareOne, which means that some users will want to keep a GSM SIM card from T-Mobile or AT&T handy. In the case there isn’t a spare SIM card lying around, users can still make an emergency call to 911.

Using the phone is relatively simple. After inserting the battery and SIM card, users turn on the phone and start making calls. Users can program up to the numbers on the speed dial. In case you ever get caught in the dark, SpareOne also has an integrated flashlight. The phone is set to go on sale some time in Q1 2012 for the very affordable price of $49.99. While it’s not a smart or even feature phone, 10 hours of talk time is an attractive option, especially in an emergency situation.


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2010-06-07

Openways Smartphone Room Keys

Unlocking your hotel room with your smartphone? OpenWays is an app for that.

Holiday Inn locations in two cities are experimenting with a system that lets guests unlock their rooms using a smartphone. When you check in online, the system (called OpenWays) sends you an encrypted audio code that unlocks your door, and then texts you your room number.

That means no more checking in at the desk, and no more worries about losing a key or a keycard.



OpenWays iphone apps for guests





Collected from: OpenWays

Smartphone App Supplies Hotel Key

But how does it work? According to OpenWays, the app uses the speakers in your phone to emit a distinct sound (specific to your door) which is then picked up by the OpenWays technology in the lock. Because a sound can easily be recorded, the sound becomes obsolete the instant it is used. If recorded, and someone tries to use the recorded sound, the lock will reject the entry attempt. This is due to the latest in research in cryptography, where keycard data is wrapped in an "encrypted acoustic envelope," thus never compromising your safety. According to OpenWays, the sound is no louder than what you would normally hear over your phone, and the speaker is not necessary. And here's one added benefit: it doesn't waste any plastic on those pesky access cards, making this a greener technology.

Future capabilities of the app (possibly integrated with a hotel app) may include extending your nights at the hotel, ordering room service, and paying for it, too! As if we did already have enough ways to spend our money.


Sources
Unlocking your hotel room with your smartphone? OpenWays is an app for that.
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/27/unlocking-your-hotel-room-with-your-smartphone-openways-is-an-a/
YouTube - OpenWays iphone apps for guests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ZcaWcdgKE&feature=player_embedded
OpenWays
http://www.openways.com/pages/home.html
Smartphone App Supplies Hotel Key - PCWorld
http://www.pcworld.com/article/197586/smartphone_app_supplies_hotel_key.html

Related
OpenWays Mobile Phone Front Desk Bypass Solution Selected for Guestroom 20X at HITEC
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4046681.search?query=openways
OpenWays makes your smartphone a hotel room key, provides a different kind of 'unlock' -- Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/30/openways-makes-your-smartphone-a-hotel-room-key-provides-a-diff/
Holiday Inn to test smartphone as hotel-room key; some guests prefer to skip front desk - Hotel Check-in: A road warrior's guide to the lodging landscape - USATODAY.com
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/hotelcheckin/post/2010/05/holiday-inn-and-intercontinental-test-technology-use-smart-phone-to-open-hotel-door-open-ways/1
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2009-06-01

The Skyfire 1.0 Mobile Browser

clipped from www.vnunet.com

Skyfire mobile browser gets full release

Browser promises full web experience on Windows Mobile and Symbian smartphones

Skyfire has released the full version of its mobile browser that brings a PC-like web experience to smartphone users.

Available now as a freedownload, Skyfire displays web pages as they would appear on a PC, and allows users to zoom in to read text in a similar fashion to the Safari browser on Apple's iPhone.

clipped from www.techradar.com

Faster, better, cleverer internet in your pocket

The release promises improved navigation, instant zooming (thanks, iPhone!), better support for social networking sites, a generally better overall experience, a more intuitive user interface and – essentially – better search.

You can also use your mobile to check out Google Street View, thus cancelling yet another one of the other key 'show off' features that your iPhone-owning mates have over you.


blog it

clipped from www.skyfire.com

What is Skyfire?

Skyfire is a free, downloadable mobile browser that gives you a Web browsing experience exactly like PC browsing.

The best mobile browsing experience

For the first time ever, on your phone, you can watch any video, connect with friends, listen to music, shop, and browse the web using the full-featured PC versions of your favorite websites. With Skyfire, mobile browsing just works - speedy page loads, full video, images and audio.


clipped from www.skyfire.com

Skyfire 1.0 in Action


blog it

Sources:
  1. Skyfire mobile browser gets full release - vnunet.com
  2. Skyfire mobile browser 1.0 launches | News | TechRadar UK
  3. Skyfire: Product
  4. Skyfire: Product, Demo
  5. Skyfire mobile browser reaches 1.0 | The Download Blog - Download.com
Related:
  1. Skyfire: Free mobile browser. The PC web on your phone. Real fast.
  2. Skyfire 1.0 rolls out for WM and Symbian, rocks on the E71x | Smartphones and Cell Phones | ZDNet.com
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2009-04-22

Ultrasound Imaging with a Smartphone

Clipped from: Ultrasound imaging now possible with a smartphone


Ultrasound imaging now possible with a smartphone
Imaging device fits in the palm of a hand



William D. Richard (left) takes an ultrasound probe of colleague David Zar's carotid artery with a low-power imaging device he designed.
Computer engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are bringing the minimalist approach to medical care and computing by coupling USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone, enabling a compact, mobile computational platform and a medical imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand.



The image of Zar's carotid artery appears on this small, portable smartphone connected to the probe by a USB driver.
"You can carry around a probe and cell phone and image on the fly now," said Richard. "Imagine having these smartphones in ambulances and emergency rooms. On a larger scale, this kind of cell phone is a complete computer that runs Windows. It could become the essential computer of the Developing World, where trained medical personnel are scarce, but most of the population, as much as 90 percent, have access to a cell phone tower."



The electronics for the ultraprobe have shrunk over 25 years from cabinet-sized to a tiny circuit board one inch by three inches (left). WUSTL's William D. Richard and Dave Zar have wedded a small, portable ultra sound imaging device with a smartphone (right).


Clipped from: YouTube - CellPhoneUltrasound Demo

CellPhoneUltrasound Demo




Clipped from: Cell Phone SDK - Ultrasound

Cell Phone SDK

The World's First Ultrasound Machine Based on a Cell Phone

Working under a Microsoft Research grant, Cell Phone as a Platform for Healthcare, we modified commercially available USB ultrasound probes to work with a smart phone and developed the SDK presented, here.


Sources:
  1. Ultrasound imaging now possible with a smartphone
  2. YouTube - CellPhoneUltrasound Demo
  3. Cell Phone SDK - Ultrasound
Related:
  1. HealthNewsDigest.com
  2. Ultrasound Imaging Now Possible with a Smartphone-Cellular News
  3. Ultrasound Imaging Now Possible With Smartphone-Science-Daily
  4. Ultrasound imaging now possible with a smartphone-EurekAlert
  5. msr_ultrasound.pdf (application/pdf Object)
    6. William D. Richard, Ph.D.
  6. David M Zar - Department of Computer Science & Engineering - Washington University


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