monitoring
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Amazon installs AI-powered cameras in UK delivery vans
Amazon has started installing AI-equipped cameras to surveil delivery drivers on its vans in the UK.
Rode's first headphones are the creator-focused NTH-100
Rode is a name synonymous with microphones. But today sees the company debut its first set of headphones, the NTH-100.
Abbott is working on ‘biowearables’ to measure glucose, lactate and ketones
The devices will be able to continuously monitor your body's composition and help you take action.
The US Postal Service is monitoring social media for 'inflammatory' postings
According to Yahoo News, the Postal Service's law enforcement arm — the United States Postal Inspection Service or USPIS — has been running a surveillance program called the Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP).
MIT researchers use radio signals to detect everyday household activities
The RF-Diary can track someone's activities while maintaining their privacy.
Google’s Nest devices will be the ‘cornerstone’ of ADT smart home security
Google has announced that it will invest $450 million in security firm ADT, forming a partnership that will allow ADT’s technicians to sell and install Google’s Nest family of products. At the same time, Google’s Nest devices and AI technology will eventually expand ADT’s home security product range and become the “cornerstone of ADT’s smart home offering,” Google wrote.
Samsung's Galaxy Watch Active 2 gets blood pressure monitoring
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 just got even more useful.
The FBI plans more social media surveillance
The FBI wants to gather more information from social media. Today, it issued a call for contracts for a new social media monitoring tool. According to a request-for-proposals (RFP), it's looking for an "early alerting tool" that would help it monitor terrorist groups, domestic threats, criminal activity and the like.
Withings' entry-level Move smartwatch arrives with custom colors
Back in January, smartwatch maker Withings announced the Move, a low-cost fitness tracker watch that could be customized by the user. Now, a month after the company initially promised shipments would begin, you can finally get hold of the first versions.
Withings adds sleep apnea detection to its tracking mat
There are countless products available that help you track your sleep, giving you insights into your sleep patterns and quality. But there's been nothing to help snoozers identify sleep apnea, a potentially-serious condition that could traditionally only be diagnosed by a sleep clinic. Now, health device maker Withings has released a new update to its sleep tracking mat that could help users recognize the symptoms of this disorder.
L'Oreal's wearable sensor tracks UV, pollen and pollution
L'Oreal isn't a brand you'd usually associate with medical technology, but over the past few years it's been making major inroads in skin protection innovation. There was My UV Patch, designed to inform wearers how their skin was being affected by the sun, and then UV Sense, a thumbnail-sized smart device that helped monitor sun exposure. Now, it's launching a battery-free wearable electronic that tracks your exposure to UV, pollution, pollen and humidity.
China will start using car surveillance system in July, says WSJ
China is not holding back on plans to monitor its citizens. Starting on July 1st, when residents register cars, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags will be attached to windshields to track the vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reports. While car owners won't be forced to add the tags immediately, all new cars will need to have them installed starting next year. Since 30 million vehicles are sold in China annually, the country will soon be able to monitor the locations of a vast swathe of cars under the project.
Putin wants to police social media ahead of Russian election
Russia's president Vladimir Putin wants to start monitoring companies on social media during the country's presidential election next year, to assess just how involved they are with domestic politics. Speaking with leaders in Russia's parliament, he said "it should be carefully analysed how they are operating and will be operating during the presidential election", but didn't specify which companies would go under the spotlight, nor whether he was focusing on foreign or local firms.
Self-powered patch monitors glucose levels during exercise
Diabetics could soon have an effective, non-invasive way to measure glucose levels during exercise, thanks to a patch designed by researchers at the State University of New York. The paper-based patch sticks directly onto the skin like a Band-Aid, and wicks sweat into a reservoir where it's converted into electrical energy, powering a biosensor that monitors glucose without the need for external power.
Canary improves livestream skills of its home security camera
Smart home security company Canary has unveiled a new range of features to make it easier to keep an eye on your home, including two-way audio, a web app and real-time monitoring. The updates join Canary's existing line of features which include intelligent security alerts, video playback, home health monitoring and incident support. First up is Canary Talk, which connects remote users to people (or pets, if that's your thing) inside the protected property through real-time conversation. This is usually called two-way audio, but Canary's offering allows multiple remote users to log in and chat simultaneously. This feature is available for Canary All-in-One devices today, and for Canary Flex come September.
Twitter can detect crime up to an hour faster than police
Twitter has repeatedly proven itself as an invaluable platform for information sharing during social crises. Now new research has shown its ability to detect serious incidents much faster than police reports -- up to an hour faster, in fact. By analysing data from the London riots in 2011, researchers at Cardiff University showed that computer systems could automatically scan through Twitter and identify potentially dangerous occurrences, such as windows being broken and cars being set on fire, long before they were reported to the Metropolitan Police Service.
Philips camera monitors baby vitals from afar
Sure, junior looks fine sleeping on the baby-cam, but do you know her or his oxygen level, heartbeat and breathing rate, you monster? Of course not (don't worry, you're a good parent), because there's no way of monitoring such things short of hooking the poor tyke up to a pulse oxymeter. At least, until now. Philips has revealed a camera that can detect all those things from afar, without touching the patient. The fruit of the companies contactless monitoring project, it can get a pulse rate, breathing rate and blood oxygen level by detecting changes in skin color that are invisible to the naked eye.
China launches a disaster prevention satellite
Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, is reporting that the nation has launched its "most sophisticated observation satellite," ever. Gaofen-4 is reportedly the country's first geosynchronous high-definition imaging satellite and has been designed to watch over us and keep a look out for natural disasters. The craft will also, as part of China's earth observation project, help out with weather prediction and forest monitoring. It's the fourth of seven planned craft, each one expected to zoom around the planet for upwards of eight years. The name may not ring a bell, but it was a Gaofen satellite that recorded footage of what was thought to be debris from MH370.[Image Credit: China Foto Press / Getty]
Facebook working with schools on a personalized learning app
In an unusual side project, Facebook has built an app that helps teachers create tailor-made student learning plans, and it may come a US school near you for free. The social network got involved in the project after it learned about an institution called Summit Public Schools, which is consistently ranked among California's best. The school gets those results by creating programs customized for each student, then tracking their progress with a software tool called the "Personalized Learning Plan." However, it told Facebook that the technology behind it wasn't up to snuff, so the Zuckerberg and Co. donated a small team to help revamp it.
Google Life Sciences is working on another diabetes-monitoring project
A few weeks ago, Google's Life Sciences division (which falls under Alphabet) announced plans to work with Dexcom on a miniature glucose tracker. The division that handles Mountain View's health-minded efforts is also teaming up with Sanofi, a pharmaceutical company that makes diabetes medication. The collaboration aims to find new ways to monitor and treat the medical condition that affects nearly 30 million people in the US alone. The partnership includes the development of a small device that continuously gathers stats and software that uses the collected info to find new courses of treatment. Life Sciences head Andrew Conrad says Sanofi's experience with insulin could help Google build a connected device that could provide dosage recommendation or automatically adjust medication levels based on a patient's blood sugar readings. "With Sanofi we can complete the picture of how diabetes unfolds and try to interrupt that development through a proactive and preventive approach," Conrad explained. This is the latest in the Life Sciences division's ongoing medical projects, and now that there's a renewed focus, we're likely to see more partnerships in the near future. [Image credit: Chris Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
