LG unveils child-tracking Kizon device

By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

LG plans to introduce Kizon to South Korea, North America and Europe

LG has announced a wrist-worn device designed to let parents keep track of where their child is and listen to what they are up to.

The Kizon uses GPS and wi-fi signals to identify the wearer's location and sends the information to an Android app.

LG is targeting the device at families with pre-school and primary school children.

However, others have raised concerns about the idea.

"A parent should never solely rely on a device alone. This will only give a false sense of security," said Peter Bradley, director of services at the charity Kidscape.

"Children still need to be taught about dangers - particularly 'stranger danger'."

"There are ethical points to consider too - should a child be able to be traced as part of going about their daily lives? How can a child develop their own coping strategies knowing a parent is watching over them?"

The Kizon is water- and stain-resistant and only features one button on its front

 

Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch has also called for more details to be made available.
"Parents must be aware that any technology with location tracking and mobile phone services come with added security concerns, which are only heightened when the user is a child," said acting director Emma Carr.

"The companies developing the products must be explicitly clear what they are doing to enhance the security around the data collected to ensure that it is only the parents who will ever have access to the child's location and contact details."

A spokeswoman from LG was unable to discuss the issues raised.

The South Korean firm is not the first to market such a device - start-ups including KMS Solutions, Tinitell and Filip have announced similar products - however, LG's launch marks the entry of a major tech company into the sector.

Even so, one industry watcher suggested the design of the Kizon could limit its appeal.

"If the wristband looks like a bulky Star Trek machine, it will be a deterrent against adoption - that's true of all wearable devices - the aesthetics are very important," said Saverio Romeo from the Beecham Research consultancy.

"In this specific case you would want something that's not too obtrusive."
Connected children
 
LG says the Kizon can run for up to 36 hours between charges, is water resistant and works with 2G and 3G cellular networks.

Filip Technologies offers a rival smart locating watch

The wearer can call a pre-configured phone number by pressing a button on its front.
The button also allows the child to accept calls from approved numbers, and if they fail to press it within 10 seconds the device will automatically let the caller listen in to the machine's built-in microphone.

"New technology has a way of throwing up parenting conundrums that get right to the heart of the line between being responsible for your children and invading their privacy," the Mumsnet blogging network's founder, Justine Roberts, told the BBC.

"Some parents may want to know the precise location of their children, but most will probably remain happy to yell across the playground or send a text.

"The key thing is to establish good lines of communication with your children, and let them feel that they can talk to you about any tricky situations they find themselves in."

LG said it planned to launch the device in South Korea this week, and introduce it to Europe and North America before the end of September.


Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC News ~

Anatomy students work on life-size virtual cadaver at University of Edinburgh

The virtual cadaver has been created from CT scans

Anatomy students are to work on a life-size virtual cadaver at the University of Edinburgh.

The new 3D device - one of the first of its kind in the UK - will allow students to investigate the human body by virtually dissecting it.

It has been created from CT scans allowing the body to be seen from front to back, side to side and upside down.

Teachers say the digital Anatomage Table offers different opportunities to working on a real corpse.
Unlike a real dissection, in which body parts can only be removed, students can add or remove organs, veins, arteries, nerves or tissue.

 

 

 

 

The new device joins another novel teaching tool at the university - a life-size 3D anatomical hologram which is the largest of its kind in the world.

Prof Gordon Findlater said: "The beauty of the Anatomage Table is that you can rotate and view the body in all three planes in a unique 3D experience.

"Although it will never, I believe, replace the experience of dissecting and handling a real cadaver, it will allow students to handle a virtual cadaver without all the legislation that accompanies the use of a real one.

"So far we have received a lot of good feedback from the students and surgeons who have tested it out."


Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC News ~

4D printing: buildings that can change over time

What if buildings could adapt their shape and form – without any other input from us? Architect Skylar Tibbits says 4D printing could make materials that build themselves. 

The way we build our structures has become more and more sophisticated. But the materials we build them from are static, waiting for us to fit them to the required shape.

What if they could assemble themselves – and even change form if they needed to? The emerging technology of 4D printing – where 3D-printed material changes shape over time – means we may be able to build things that can adapt to our use or the environment around them, says MIT’s Skylar Tibbits.

Tibbits believes this technology could lead to more resilient, lighter structures – ones which can respond to the world around them.

Source : BBC Future ~

Google Glass hack allows brainwave control

Dave Lee tested the software hack at This Place's London office

Another awesome innovation~

Google Glass has been hacked so that it can be controlled by brainwaves.

By combining the smart glasses with an electroencephalography (EEG) headset, the software makes it possible to take a picture without moving a muscle.

 London-based start-up This Place said the tech could be utilised in high-pressure hands-free situations - such as during surgery.

It has released the MindRDR software for free in the hope that developers will adapt it for other uses.
Google made it clear that it does not support the app.


"Google Glass cannot read your mind," a spokeswoman told the BBC.

"This particular application seems to work through a separate piece of kit which you attach to Glass.

The app needs to be paired with an EEG headset to be able to control Google Glass

"We have not reviewed, nor approved, the app so it won't be available in the Glass app store."

Google launched Glass in the UK last month.

The spokeswoman added: "Of course, we are always interested in hearing about new applications of Glass and we've already seen some great research from a variety of medical fields from surgery to Parkinson's."


Concentration camera
 
An EEG headset can be used to measure when certain parts of the brain show a greater level of activity.

In this case, the MindRDR software monitors when the wearer engages in high levels of concentration.

Within Google Glass's "screen" - a small window that appears in the corner of the wearer's right eye - a white horizontal line is shown.

As a user concentrates, the white line rises up the screen. Once it reaches the top, a picture is taken using Glass's inbuilt camera.

The software allows the wearer to take a photo and post it online just by thinking

Repeating this process will then post it to a pre-configured social media profile.

At present, Google Glass is controlled by either voice command - "OK Glass, take a picture" - or by tapping and swiping on the side of the device.

"We wanted to realise the true potential of Glass by allowing users to control it with their minds," said Dusan Hamlin, chief executive of This Place.

"Currently, users either have to touch it or use voice commands, which are restrictive for some social situations and for users with disabilities."

'Wider world'
 
The firm's creative director Chloe Kirton said: "While MindRDR's current capabilities are limited to taking and sharing an image, the possibilities of Google Glass 'telekinesis' are vast.

"In the future, MindRDR could give those with conditions like locked-in syndrome, severe multiple sclerosis or quadriplegia the opportunity to interact with the wider world through wearable technology."

EEG technology is a growing area.

In the past, the equipment was prohibitively expensive, but many headsets are now available for less than £100.
 

Google Glass users run the risk of attracting even more stares by wearing the extra kit

Mick Donegan is the founder of SpecialEffect, a charity which adapts games controllers so they can be used by people with limited mobility.

He told the BBC that there had been some issues with the reliability of EEG headsets in the past, but that he was excited by the possibilities of the Google Glass hack.

"It will mean someone who currently has no control at all, who can't even control the movement of their eyes - those people will be able to use that system. For me, that's the final frontier," he said,

He added that developers would have to make intuitive user interfaces.

 

"Instead of people controlling a cursor, if you have a carefully designed interface that goes through options on a screen to choose - that's taking the load of the user. That's what you're looking for."

Other applications have included video games that attempt to monitor your emotional state, and change the game experience accordingly.

However, the technology is in its infancy - early experimental games have suffered from a lack of precision, leading to frustration among players.


By Dave Lee  
Technology reporter, BBC News 

Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC News ~

The man who turns hubcaps into owls

Where do you look at?! :P

Ptolemy Elrington sees animals in everyday objects - usually unwanted objects that have been discarded and left as rubbish.

The self-styled hubcap artist first became fascinated with scrap when he found an abundance of plastic car waste near his home in Bradford.

Later a trip to India convinced him that a lot could be made with the material that society threw away.

Now a full time artist based in Brighton, he has developed his own method for sculpting plastic scrap - with a special interest in fish.

This is some of his awesome handicraft , so cool!

~Owl~

Silver Fish, not golden fish, kay

Just Fish, idk its name lol

EAGLE!

Some collection~

Other Collection

The man who turns hubcaps into owls

 Video Journalist: Dougal Shaw

Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC News ~

'Remote control' contraceptive chip available 'by 2018'

The chip would need replacing every 16 years (chip pictured is not the one described in the article)

A contraceptive computer chip that can be controlled by remote control has been developed in Massachusetts.

The chip is implanted under a woman's skin, releasing a small dose of levonorgestrel, a hormone.

This will happen every day for 16 years, but can be stopped at any time by using a wireless remote control.

The project has been backed by Bill Gates, and will be submitted for pre-clinical testing in the US next year - and possibly go on sale by 2018.

The device measures 20mm x 20mm x 7mm and will be "competitively priced", its creators said.

 Convenience factor

Tiny reservoirs of the hormone are stored on a 1.5cm-wide microchip within the device.

A small electric charge melts an ultra-thin seal around the levonorgestrel, releasing the 30 microgram dose into the body.

There are other types of contraceptive implant available, the researchers noted, but all require a trip to a clinic and an outpatient procedure in order to be deactivated.

"The ability to turn the device on and off provides a certain convenience factor for those who are planning their family," said Dr Robert Farra from MIT.

The next challenge for the team is to ensure the absolute security of the device to prevent activation or deactivation by another person without the woman's knowledge.

"Communication with the implant has to occur at skin contact level distance," said Dr Farra.

"Someone across the room cannot re-programme your implant.

"Then we have secure encryption. That prevents someone from trying to interpret or intervene between the communications."

Huge range

The same technology could be used to administer other drugs.

Simon Karger, head of the surgical and interventional business at Cambridge Consultants, said that implanted technology like this faces a range of challenges and risks.

But he added that overall "the value to the patient of these types of implant can be huge and we foresee a future in which a huge range of conditions are treated through smart implanted systems".

Implanted devices could help people who forget to take medication at the correct time

The innovation comes at a time when governments and organisations around the world have agreed to try to bring family planning to around 120 million more women by 2020.

This challenge opens the door to this kind of implant technology being used in areas where access to traditional contraceptives is limited - a bigger priority, argued Gavin Corley, a biomedical engineer.

"That's a humanitarian application as opposed to satisfying a first-world need," he told the BBC.

Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC News ~

Making digital butterflies from old phones

Digital butterflies from old phone

Is This Good? is a collective of digital creative artists, who devote their time to building weird and wonderful electronic contraptions.

They have an abundance of technical and coding skills between them and work with circuit boards, Raspberry Pi computers, capacitors and soldering kits. But they also like to use the digital litter that people leave behind, like smart phones, Bluetooth sets and SIM cards.

They first made birds from mobile phone scrap on a whim, which were later exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum. They were subsequently commissioned by O2 Recycle to make interactive butterflies, to raise awareness about mobile phone waste.

Their flock of digital birds is currently being expanded, ready for this summer's Digital Revolution exhibition at The Barbican in London.

Creative Director Chris Cairns introduced BBC News to their digital animals.

Video Journalist: Dougal Shaw

Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC News

Google Cardboard - The 'Oculus thrift' virtual reality headset

Google Cardboard

A piece of cardboard? This is your newest technology about? Are you kidding me??

NO , i'm not  . This one is a real new innovation~ :o

Google has produced a cheap DIY virtual reality headset made solely of cardboard, embedded with two lenses.

When a user places a smartphone in the front of the device, the viewer receives an immersive 3D experience comparable in many ways to more expensive hardware like the Oculus Rift.

The device began as a side project by a single engineer, and was developed over a period of just six months. Google now says it wants to spur development of the emerging field of VR by handing out the devices to software developers to create new experiences.

The BBC's North America technology correspondent Richard Taylor had a chance to experience the device and met the head of its research team, Christian Plagemann.

Google Cardboard - The 'Oculus thrift' virtual reality headset

Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC News

Video Drone that Flies Itself

Video Drone

Is it a CCTV Cam that fly because of the typhoon? LOL NO

This is one of some awesome innovation, "Video Drone that flies itself"? WOW
well it's still a prototype :o

Two Silicon Valley start-ups are hoping to change the way sports enthusiasts capture their best moments on camera. The Hexo+ and the Airdog drones autonomously follow the user from the skies, tracking their position from either a smartphone (Hexo+) or a wrist-worn device (Airdog) and also record our activity like when we snow boarding, bicycling, surfing and many other else (Recommended to stalk ur playboy's bf  =D  LOL) .

Wrist-worn device and Video Drone

Each has a camera-equipped stabilising rig, can fly for about 10-15 minutes on a single battery and can travel up to speeds of around 40mph. We also can set the distance between the user and the video drone using the device ( either a smartphone (Hexo+) or a wrist-worn device (Airdog) ).

It also has an ability to detect some dangerous thing and dodge it  (like trees or some high things) so it will not crashed. But please dont try throw a baseball's ball to check it's ability LOL =_= 
Ah, In the device there is a button to switch it off and stop it immiditially when danger / emergency.

Well it's still not suggest for crowded place ofc. And for different situation and sports there will be specific program mount that really increase safety.

Motorcross and Video Drone

The BBC's North America tech correspondent Richard Taylor took the Airdog for a whirl - and met its Latvian founder and chief executive Edgars Rozentals.

 

The works of Video Drone that flies itself

Thanks for reading :)  ~Regards, Lodi~ 

Source : BBC