Sensors>>data>>what next?

November 22, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/17L_2.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Three of our FBQs concern data–who’s looking at it, who’s taking action with it and how it’s integrated into records. MedCityNews examines two sensor-based monitors in considering how to extract meaning from the data. In the hospital, bed pressure sensor plate EarlySense already has a pressure sensor algorithm that reminds a nurse or aid to turn the patient, but their main emphasis is highlighting vital signs trending in heart and respiratory rate, which can be predictive of a deteriorating condition based on a set range. For the mid-range of the healthy fit who want to be fitter, MIO (left) is the first and at present, only device in a watch form which tracks heart rate monitoring at performance levels without a chest strap and downloads data to an iPhone–which doesn’t quite support the premise of the article, but then there’s that hint (MIO is sold in Apple Stores for $199) that the technology will wind up in smartwatches….but still, Magic 8 Ball says ‘concentrate and ask again’.

Apple purchasing 3D gesture control developer PrimeSense

November 19, 2013 | by

Breaking News

Based on the report you read, the deal is done or nearly done, but it is highly likely that Apple will be acquiring Tel Aviv-based PrimeSense for an amount in or around $345 million. PrimeSense developed the original 3D gesture control behind Microsoft Kinect (replaced by their in-house version); the company currently works with Asus and probably Apple. The purchase will enable Apple to add controls with body movements and hand gestures to its smartphone, tablet and TV products, as well as more closely defend its own patents in 3D gesture control lined out in Apple-ology blog 9to5Mac. Nothing in this or other reports about the Apple foray into smartwatches or wearables, but the capability fits. Watch 9to5Mac, TheNextWeb and TechCrunch for updates.

The 2014 smartwatch rush, deluge redux

September 5, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fworkswithnote-v1.jpg” thumb_width=”175″ /]In the breathless coverage (watch that pulse and respiration!) surrounding the Galaxy Gear, Samsung’s entry into the smartwatch/wearable computing race yesterday at Berlin IFA, this Editor sensed a certain air of…deflation. The consensus so far is that it is a solid first try for Samsung that does not fulfill the hype. The design limitations are obvious: function (scrolling screens likened to Windows Phone for time, notifications, voice memos, S Voice commands, photo gallery, music player, a pedometer and a few more), chunkiness (73.8 grams, 3″ diagonal), a tiny weirdly positioned camera.

In the 70 apps it will initially have is where it intersects with health. (more…)

Smartwatches as the 2014 tablet, redux

August 2, 2013 | by

Mobihealthnews does a very good roundup of smartwatchesboth familiar and not in this 10 page report. Most are in kickstarter mode, raising funds and some may never see daylight, but all a Pointer to the Near Future:  Pebble, AGENT, Kreyos Meteor (sounds like a sportscar), Sony Smartwatch, i’m Watch (from Italia), Motorola’s MotoActv, Androidly, Neptune Pine, the unfortunately named GEAK Watch, Toshiba, the Qualcomm Zola and the rumored Apple iWatch and Google Watch. If you want to watch smartwatches more, there is a website called The Smart Watch Review. 10 smartwatches that may take on fitness trackers

Previously in TTA: Smartwatches as the 2013-2014 tablet…and will they knock out fitness bands? at the end of the ‘Apple-ologist” article. A situation we spotted two weeks ago.

Pressure-sensitive electronic ‘skin’

July 26, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/skin-monitor-130513.jpg” thumb_width=”175″ /]A thin pressure sensor under development by a team at Stanford University has the potential to impact robotics, health tech devices, smartwatches and prosthetics. A transistor made of a flexible polymer semiconductor is actually more sensitive than skin, detecting temperature, pressure and humidity, and works even when curved. At a pulse point, it not only detected pulse but also “a second, weaker wave of blood being bounced back from the extremities, and a third wave that can provide a measurement of the stiffness of the artery. Stiff arteries can be a sign of damage from diabetes, or cholesterol buildup.” LiveScience. Published in Nature Communications in May and somehow winding up in the NY Post this week.

Related:

  • the TakkTile sensor developed at Harvard which is also centered on a digital barometer [TTA 23 April].
  • another pressure-sensitive thin skin from researchers Martin Kaltenbrunner and Takao Someya at the University of Tokyo, oddly attractive on its own. Engadget