Elena Mikhaylova

Stories By Elena Mikhaylova

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  EVs and Transportation

  EVs and Transportation By Elena Mikhaylova

  CarTech - New Opportunities for an Old Industry

  Technology media are obsessed with the topic of autonomous vehicles. Major car makers spend billions of dollars on self-driving technologies. At the same time, 55 percent of respondents in an Insurance Information Institute Pulse survey conducted in May 2016 said that they would not ride in an autonomous vehicle. While technology is advancing at an impressive speed, it will take years (and probably, even tens of years) before the legal system and human psychology catch up. Until then, we will see changes in traditional cars such as adaptive cruise control, assisted parking, front collision warning and blind spot information, for example. Consumers are ready to pay premium for these features because they make them feel in control, but at the same time, add safety and convenience. While the level of awareness about Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is still low, the majority of drivers who have used them appreciate the value added by the technology. According to a recent McKinsey study, 89 percent of Americans who have ADAS installed in their cars are going to look for this feature when shopping for a new vehicle. Insurance Companies – Navigating Complex Landscape of Connected Technologies With expected decrease in car ownership in the US as well as the increasing complexity of vehicles' software, insurance companies are testing innovative solutions to integrate new technologies into their practices in order to attract and retain customers. Usage Based Insurance (UBI) is one of the options currently available on the market. The program gives drivers customized insurance rates based on their driving time and habits. Progressive and Allstate have already accumulated over 25 billion miles through their UBI programs. Telematics as a part of the UBI proposition gives drivers incentive to adopt safer practices. In addition, it can increase the speed and accuracy of accident reporting, thus, significantly improving the response time to help the victims. Eight out of the top ten industry players in the US offer telematics programs as a part of UBI to their customers. But the adoption rate is slower than expected. Consumers are not excited by simple reward offerings, especially considering that the savings are small and not guaranteed. They are looking for additional features, safety being the number one. CarVi – Improving Safety on the Road CarVi , a Silicon Valley based firm, represents the growing breed of car tech startups that responded to the market demand for "smarter" cars. The company designed an affordable mobile driving assistant system which includes a stylish dashboard camera connected to an app on your smartphone. The camera streams data in real time, and CarVi's software analyzes the information and alerts a driver in case of a danger. It also includes an intuitive coaching system to help the user improve their driving skills. The company is currently pre-selling the device through Indiegogo and is planning to have it in retail later in September of this year. So, for $299, you can add superior safety features to your car regardless of its age or model. CarVi's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) offers interesting opportunities for auto insurance companies. The system tracks careless driving, lane changing, jackrabbit driving and similar risky behaviors and calculates a driver's performance score. This information provides valuable insights into the driver's behavior and can significantly improve accuracy of risk assessment for insurers. Traditional insurance heavily relies on the driving history and demographic characteristics when calculating the premiums. It puts many groups (for example, young drivers) into unfavorable categories, sometimes making car ownership too expensive because of prohibitive insurance costs. In reality, driver's behavior is a much better indicator of potential future claims. Usage Based Insurance combined with CaVi's ADAS data and safety features will allow insurance firms to design customer-centric solutions, attract lower risk policyholders and save money through more precise premium estimates and a decreased number of accidents. The Future of the Car Industry: Marring Traditions With Innovations Cars are becoming an important segment of the Internet of Things industry, and those who are involved in the auto making, service, and insurance industries are getting more and more technology dependent. This is why every year, the Consumer Electonics Show in Las Vegas attracts major auto companies and the auto area of the Expo keeps expanding. Price Waterhouse forecasts that the value of entire connected car market will grow to 113 billion euros ($123 billion) by 2020, with driver safety and assistance products accounting for 70 percent of this expansion. Each new generation of vehicles is equipped with new, more advanced automated features. Ten years from now, our cars will be significantly smarter and safer. But even today, we can enjoy the fruits of technological progress and make our driving time less stressful by using new devices like CarVi.

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  News

  News By Elena Mikhaylova

  New Gadgets For Better Aging

  Aging in the 21 century Technology is only meaningful when it improves human life. While life expectancy in the developed world is continually increasing, the elderly members of our society are often burdened by age-related chronic conditions that hinder their quality of life. At the same time, modern day seniors don't want to be locked at home or in medical facilities. Retirement has become the age of new discoveries. Babyboomers are increasingly involved in social networks, use smartphones and look for new ways to make their lives more enjoyable. Home automation technologies, mobile apps and healthcare innovations are among the developments which seniors can benefit from the most. While the majority of high-tech companies is targeting millennials and middle-age adults, fortunately, more and more newcomers realize the potential of serving the older population. Here are 5 examples of new and upcoming products which will improve health conditions of the seniors. Memo Box Anyone who has aging parents or relatives, struggling with diabetes, Altzhimer, or other life threatening disease knows the feeling of being constantly worried about their health. Memo Box can help you keep tabs on your loved ones' medical regime. It is a smart pillbox with built-in GPS and Bluetooth, connected to your smartphone app. The container has several useful functions: a reminder to take your pills, accidental double-dose prevention, medication tracking and remote monitoring. For instance, you can set it up to receive alerts, in case your elderly parent forgot to take or left their pills at home. The Memo Box has different sizes of compartment cartridges and seven days exchange sets. The device has been tested for several months and will hit the market this month. Quell For many people, senior age is accompanied by a whole bouquet of health problems associated with chronic pain. A vicious cycle is often triggered, where pain leads to immobility, which results in further deterioration. What's more, people in pain often resort to long-term use of painkillers, which in turn lead to harmful side effects. Quell is a wearable medical device that uses powerful intensive nerve stimulation technology to tap into the user's body's natural pain relief response, blocking pain signals by inducing the production of endorphins in the brain. The result is a drug-free and long-lasting dampening of pain, better sleep and more active life. Quell's OptiTherapy™ customizes and automatically adjusts therapy dose for optimal pain relief. The device is discretely worn over the calf and connected through Bluetooth® technology to the smartphone app which allows you to control therapy and monitor the results. Quell is most beneficial for people with back, nerve, leg and foot pain, and arthritis. Gyenno spoon Gyroscopic Self-Stabilizing Spoon with Intelligent Control is created for people with neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease that result in uncontrollable tremor. This intelligent tableware detects and offsets 85 percent of the hand shaking. Moreover, it employs the latest motion sensors and intelligent learning technologies, which allow the Gyenno spoon to adapt to each patient's individual tremor pattern, making it beneficial for virtually anyone. Made of Tritan covering and medical grade anti-bacterial silicone top, the device features non-slip ergonomic design and can be used safely for a long time, enabling the users to become more self-reliant. iHEARHD Progressive hearing loss is another condition which is often associated with older age. Hundreds of millions people suffer from it, but only 1 out of 5 victims uses hearing aid devices. The main reason for that is their cost. California based startup has come up with an idea of an affordable, customizable product, iHEARHD. The kit includes a tool kit, USB cord and computer software. The tiny waterproof device features high-fidelity digital sound and advanced noise suppression, and is virtually invisible inside of the wearer's ear. Its modular design allows the patient to customize the fit in less than a minute using a seal tip that comes in four different sizes and calibrate the iHEARHD using the software. After that, the gizmo is controlled remotely, and the wearer can easily and discreetly adjust volume based on different sound environments. RAPAEL Smart Glove In the U.S., stroke has become the leading cause of disability, hitting someone every 40 seconds. An average rehab cost to the victim's family reaches $17,081. RAPAEL Smart Glove™ is a biofeedback system aiming to aid patients in regaining their hand mobility. It includes a glove-shaped sensor device which transmits the data via Bluetooth from the patient's hand to the computer software app. Artificial Intelligence technology creates a set of training virtual reality games simulating daily activities and adjusts the difficulty level according to the participant's performance. The device has been successfully employed by a number of hospitals since 2014. This year, Neofect (the company behind the innovation) will introduce a consumer version for use at home, which will be available for rent for $99 a month. A recent study has proven that, combined with traditional physical therapy, the program may result in significant improvements even after one month of use. It will be especially beneficial when combined with telehealth, because the stroke survivor will save time and money while enjoying flexible time for exercising, and the doctor can monitor the results remotely. Technology is changing the way we age, enabling older adults to be healthier, more secure, more connected, and more independent. Developments in health care open up a new era for caretakers and their aging loved ones. They allow more customized approach and faster recovery process for people who hadn't had an access to quality medicine before. These devices represent a small part of the industry, which will improve the quality of life for millions of people.

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