Those court-ordered breathalyzers that prevent a car from starting until you blow an acceptable blood alcohol level are effective, but they’re not exactly quick. And they have to be installed as an after-market component. But a new system, being developed by the North American division of a research company called QinetiQ and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, could already be built-in to vehicles as they roll off the assembly line, invisible to the driver.
Instead of having to blow into a tube, the vehicle’s steering wheel or door handles would be equipped with new touch-based sensor technology that can read a driver’s blood alcohol level through their skin. And the results would be calculated almost instantaneously, taking less than a second. So far functioning prototypes have been demonstrated so the technology is definitely enroute, however the head of the NHTSA, David Strickland, says that it won’t be employed until it’s “seamless, unobtrusive and unfailingly accurate…” Yeah, probably a good idea.
When you go into cardiac arrest, you’ve got about ten minutes to live if you don’t receive medical attention, and the average emergency response time is seven minutes after you dial 911. In an effort to get folks help more quickly and leverage the iPhone’s life saving abilities, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District in California has created the FireDepartment app to enlist the help of the citizenry in fighting the (unfortunate) results of a lifetime of eating tacos. The iPhone app — Android and BlackBerry versions are currently in the works — allows emergency dispatchers to notify users via text of a nearby crisis. For those feeling heroic, the app displays a map with the victim’s location and any nearby automatic electronic defibrillators, and provides “resuscitation reminders” in case you’re the CPR teddy-toting type. For now, the service only works in San Ramon but there are plans to port it for use elsewhere. That means we can look forward to a nation of amateur EMTs, which makes us thankful that mouth-to-mouth is no longer a part of CPR. Check the video after the break to see the app in action.
I’m not going to pretend that sitting in a typical office chair all day long does wonders for the average spine. But at the same time I’m not ready to declare these ‘active balance’ solutions as an ideal alternative either. Like those giant rubber balls that I’m sure will one day be proven as terrible for mankind as asbestos, DDT or smoking, the Wigli stool features an unsteady platform on which to sit, forcing you to fight to keep your balance all day long.
Now at the least I’m sure it provides a good workout throughout the day. And the wood-finish, three-legged design looks about 100X more professional than sitting on a giant rubber ball, so it’s got that going for it…. which is nice. The lack of any kind of curve or indentation on the soft covered pad means you get the same, um, ’sitting experience’ no matter how you plunk down on it, and that black flexible joint connecting it to its legs is apparently made from indestructible rubber. For ~$400(€299), it better be!
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the hottest of them all?” Brothers Grimm style questions will soon be answerable by NEC Avio’s Thermo Mirror SX-01, which bundles a contact-free digital thermometer inside a mirror so as to make checking for flu symptoms more straightforward for businesses and public venues.
The SX-01 doesn’t rely on new technology – NEC Avio have been offering infrared thermography devices for a long time now, supplying kit for airports and seaports during SARS and flu epidemics – but it does promise to make it more affordable. A regular NEC Avio contact-free thermometer costs upward of $6,000; however the Thermo Mirror is expected to come in at around ($1,186) for the entry-level SX-01A.
To achieve that it only measures temperature at a single point – usually the forehead – and uses basic lights to show health: green for the all-clear, red (and an alarm) if you’re burning up. A more advanced version, the SX-01B, will be able to trigger external devices and combine its own measurements with those of external sensors.
While most bright light treatments for seasonal affective disorder are designed for the eyes, the VALKEE is actually designed to be worn like a pair of earbuds, blasting the light towards your brain via your ear canals. According to their website it targets the brain’s photosensitive areas which can cause depression and mood swings when not receiving enough light, and is apparently more affective than blasting the eyes with light since the ear canal is the thinnest part of your skull. Now I hate to be skeptical about this approach, since it does seem to have a logical advantage. But ~$240(€185) is a hefty chunk of change for what are essentially in-ear LED flashlights.
The easiest way to prevent wrist strain while working at a computer is to keep your hands moving, and varying their position throughout the day. But as a blogger I can attest to the fact that the hours can easily slip away without you realizing you haven’t moved an inch. And before you know it you’re left with sore wrists, that only gets worse over time. And this is what the Engage Keyboard from Smartfish Technologies is designed to address.
The keyboard is split down the middle, and both the right and left sides are able to subtly shift up and down and left to right thanks to a set of whisper-quiet electric motors working inside. The movement is barely noticeable while you’re working away, but it’s apparently enough of a difference in position to prevent your wrists from feeling sore after working all day. By default the keyboard automagically makes its adjustments every hour, but it will also monitor your typing patterns and adjust it more frequently if you’re furiously typing away. Available now for $149.95.
Withings seems obsessed with shaming us into sharing our weight with whoever might be interested; their WiFi scales tweeted out our chubby readings last year, and now you can bypass the latest sports game and put your weight on the big screen instead. If you’ve a Panasonic VIERA Connect HDTV, you can now access the Withings health dashboard as a widget.
That means you can check body weight, lean & fat mass and calculated body mass index (BMI), all from the comfort of your couch. Of course, if you want to do something about those numbers, you’ll have to get up and stop watching television.
Press Release:
Withings and Panasonic Connect Your Body Scale with Your Television
Now, users of the Withings Scale can access their Health Dashboard directly on their Panasonic VIERA Connect™- enabled VIERA® HDTVs
Las Vegas, Nevada – January 6, 2011- CES / North Hall / Booth #3619- Today, what seems like an unlikely pair, your body scale and your television, comes together seamlessly with the partnership between Withings and Panasonic – a leader in high definition and connected TV entertainment — as users of both innovative devices can now access their Withings health dashboard right on their VIERA ConnectTM-enabled VIERA HDTV screen with the touch of a button.
The WiFi Body Scale is a revolutionary product that transforms an ordinary bathroom scale into an automatic weight tracking device for up to 8 people. It wirelessly records a user’s body weight, lean & fat mass, and calculated body mass index (BMI) onto his/her own secure webpage and/or free Withings iPhone application, WiScale. Now, this data dashboard can be easily accessed directly from the VIERA CAST™ menu page.
“Withings is working towards a new era in connected health devices and this partnership is yet another move in that direction, said Co-Founder of Withings Cedric Hutchings. “Making your health data as easily accessible as possible is a key feature of the WiFi Body Scale. Now, you can access all your information via your MAC, PC, mobile device or television.”
Panasonic’s VIERA Connect IPTV feature allows owners of VIERA ConnectTM-enabled 2011 VIERA HDTVs to enjoy internet content directly on their television with the push of a button and without the need for a PC. VIERA Connect offers a robust collection of applications including expanded video streaming, and two-way interactive features from gaming to social networking, and fitness programs.
“We are very excited to have Withings as part of our VIERA Connect IPTV offerings in 2011,” said Panasonic Corporation of North America Vice President Merwan Mereby. “VIERA Connect is taking connected TV to a whole new level of interactivity for consumers to deliver an unprecedented, more robust, two-way interactive set of features such as Withings’ WiFi Body Scale for consumers to interact with directly through their Panasonic VIERA® HDTVs.”
For more information, contact PR representatives below or visit www.withings.com/press.
You might recognize the Withings name as the company that introduced that cool scale back in late 2009 that works with an iPhone app to track your weight and can tweet your weight if you want. Withings is back with another new health related gadget for the iPhone called the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor.
This gadget is just what it sounds like, a blood pressure system that works with the iPhone. You connect the cuff device to the iPhone charge and sync port and then an app on the iPhone gives you the BP readouts and your pulse. The app can also store the readings to compare over time and share with a doctor for managing your blood pressure.
The app also interfaces with the Withings API that allows it to upload those BP readings to the Microsoft HealthVault or Google Health. The gadget will also work with the iPad or the iPod touch and will sell for $129 with availability set for this month.
Heart rate monitors have always been a helpful tool for working out. In a plan to move heart rate monitors forward, Oregon Scientific has developed a new pair of monitors that offer new intuitive touch controls and pack everything into the slimmest design monitor on the market.
The Gaiam Strap-Free Touch Trainer is actually 2mm thinner than any other heart rate monitor on the market and with the soft silicon strap it makes for a comfortable and stylish workout.
The device utilizes ECG technology to liberate you from wearing anything other than the monitor itself, which means that you will no longer have to wear a chest-belt.
To find out your current heart rate, simply place one or two fingers on the lens sensor and your rate will appear onscreen. In addition to reading and reporting your heart rate, the Gaiam also can calculate calories burned, and has clock, calendar, and alarm functions.
You can pick up your own Gaiam Strap-Free Touch Trainer for $99.99.
Trust us — no one on the Engadget staff wants to know what their blood pressure is right about now. For those trapped in the hurricane that is CES, there’s probably no better product to have laying around than this… but only if you’re looking to confirm your suspicions about being in a high-stress career. Withings, the company best known for its connected scales, has just revealed the planet’s first iPhone-connected blood pressure monitor, with an aim to make measuring vitals as easy as pie for iOS users. The idea is fairly simple: just plug the arm band into your iPad, iPod touch or iPhone, dial up the gratis app and start the process. All of the data is logged on the user’s secure online space, and there’s even a secure sharing feature that’ll beam your abnormally high rates right to your frightened physician. It’ll go on sale tomorrow around the globe, with the asking price set at $129 / €129.
