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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.
Google adds allergy forecast info to mobile search results
One antihistamine or two? Google is making sure hay fever sufferers can answer that question in double quick time, thanks to the new addition of pollen measurements in search results. Plug an allergy- or pollen-related query into your Android smartphone and search results will now include a simple breakdown of current and predicted pollen levels. The new type of rich card result is populated by data from The Weather Channel, and as always, you can get more detailed info by tapping on the card itself.
Pollen-sniffing robots put on duty in Japan
In yet another example of robots getting the short end of stick, a Japanese weather forecasting company is set to deploy a swarm of some 200 pollen-sniffing robots throughout the country, which will warn us humans of any impeding pollen-related dangers (and no doubt scare a few unsuspecting animals in the process). As you can see, the robots are of the spherical variety, and measure a scant one foot across and weigh in at about 2.2 pounds. Sticking true to creepy robot conventions, they also boast glowing eyes, which light up in one of five different colors to indicate the level of pollen in the air. Somewhat curiously, that information takes a rather roundabout way back to the company's headquarters, with 200 allergy suffers volunteering to keep watch on the robots and rely their status back to the company.
Europe's Ford Mondeo sports 'allergy tested interior'
While Ford struggles to do anything right here in the States, the firm's European-bound Mondeo should appeal to those who just so happen to suffer from allergies across the pond. The whip, which is being gratuitously dubbed the "most technologically advanced car ever launched by Ford in Europe," does indeed tout the German TÜV Rhineland group's "Allergy Tested Interior" seal of approval, and suffered through an "extensive series of scientifically verifiable tests" in order to receive it. Ford engineers reportedly strayed from using materials such as "latex, chrome, and nickel that can provoke allergic reactions in some people," and a high-performance pollen filter was also thrown in for good measure. The new Mondeo, allergy friendly interior and all, should be cruising onto European lots any day now.[Via CNET]
