… Already, a new wave of wearables is gaining traction, albeit without relying on 5G. Smart earbuds, or “hearables,” provide information via audio including directions that can be heard only by the people wearing them. Meanwhile, nearly a dozen companies sell smart glasses, most of which are aimed at health care, exercise enthusiasts, music aficionados, and owners of smartphones with no headphone jacks.
Wearables go beyond ears, faces, and wrists, however. Clothes are now “wearables” too, and while they’re not 5G powered yet, they highlight what may be possible down the road. For example, this month, Adidas introduced a $40 pair of insoles that measure, for instance, the number of kicks and amount of running that real-life soccer players do and award them “virtual points” for that physical activity in EA’s FIFA soccer video game. Additionally, clothing startup Wearable X makes yoga pants that alert customers when they’re using poor technique for their downward dogs.
Seattle-based Wyze is expanding into wearable tech. Its first effort will be a fitness band with Alexa integration and a smart scale. Both are slated for release next Tuesday.
The outfit specializes in budget smart home devices. Amongst its portfolio are an intelligent lightbulb, lock and plug, along with a range of wireless cameras. Mind you, Wyze has not been around long having been established only in 2017. Its founder was frustrated that there were so few inexpensive smart cameras around that work well, so decided to make one of his one and sell it.
To render high-fidelity wearable biomarker data, understanding and engineering the information delivery pathway from epidermally retrieved biofluid to a readout unit are critical. By examining the biomarker information delivery pathway and recognizing near-zero strained regions within a microfluidic device, a strain-isolated pathway to preserve biomarker data fidelity is engineered. Accordingly, a generalizable and disposable freestanding electrochemical sensing system (FESS) is devised, which simultaneously facilitates sensing and out-of-plane signal interconnection with the aid of double-sided adhesion. The FESS serves as a foundation to realize a system-level design strategy, addressing the challenges of wearable biosensing, in the presence of motion, and integration with consumer electronics. To this end, a FESS-enabled smartwatch was developed, featuring sweat sampling, electrochemical sensing, and data display/transmission, all within a self-contained wearable platform. The FESS-enabled smartwatch was used to monitor the sweat metabolite profiles of individuals in sedentary and high-intensity exercise settings. [full text]
… The Centre for Disease and Control Protection (CDC) says you should do this for at least 20 seconds. You can always count 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi… Or make the job easy and download a free Apple Watch app. It’s called Hand Washing Timer.
Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., has chosen SiTime’s micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) timing solutions for several of Garmin’s automotive, aviation, marine, fitness and outdoor products.
“Garmin makes products that are engineered on the inside for life on the outside,” said Patrick Desbois, Garmin executive vice president of operations. “Our innovation focuses on developing technologies that enable our customers to enrich their experiences as they pursue their passions. SiTime’s MEMS timing solutions help extend battery life across several of our product lines.”
Movesense Academic Program supports scientific research projects with top of the line data collecting tools for measuring movement and physiology. The program selects new projects on quarterly basis and equips them with Movesense sensors and Kaasa Data Collector mobile app.
The program has been received with great enthusiasm in the academic world and the number of applications has been a positive surprise to us.
In the first wave in the end of 2019, we invited five projects to the program. In the quarter 1 2020 round, four new research teams will join. The new projects are introduced below.
Microsupercapacitors (MSCs) have garnered considerable attention as a promising power source for microelectronics and miniaturized portable/wearable devices. However, their practical application has been hindered by the manufacturing complexity and dimensional limits. Here, we develop a new class of ultrahigh areal number density solid-state MSCs (UHD SS–MSCs) on a chip via electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study to exploit EHD jet printing in the MSCs. The activated carbon-based electrode inks are EHD jet-printed, creating interdigitated electrodes with fine feature sizes. Subsequently, a drying-free, ultraviolet-cured solid-state gel electrolyte is introduced to ensure electrochemical isolation between the SS–MSCs, enabling dense SS–MSC integration with on-demand (in-series/in-parallel) cell connection on a chip. The resulting on-chip UHD SS–MSCs exhibit exceptional areal number density [36 unit cells integrated on a chip (area = 8.0 mm × 8.2 mm), 54.9 cells cm−2] and areal operating voltage (65.9 V cm−2).
Looking for an easy-to-pack, no-nonsense rain shell that works for high-output activities or just walks around the block? We tested Arc’teryx’s ‘superlight’ Gamma SL Hoody to find out if it fits the bill.
Using just a topographic map, I can competently navigate in areas like the High Sierra and Colorado Rockies, which generally have distinct landforms and open views. Even so, for added accuracy and unusual circumstances, I also carry a few additional tools, specifically a GPS watch, a magnetic compass, and a smartphone with a GPS app. In many situations, these instruments are optional, but in less favorable landscapes and conditions, like hiking cross-country on a rolling ridgeline during a whiteout, they become mandatory.
What navigational devices are available? What are their pros and cons? And what items do you need to create a system that’s appropriate for your trip, location, and skill set?
… a team at Stanford University has developed a way to genetically engineer neurons to build the materials into their own cell membranes. The approach could make it possible to target highly specific groups of cells, providing unprecedented control over the body’s response to electrical stimulation.
In a paper in Science, the team explained how they used re-engineered viruses to deliver DNA that hijacks cells’ biosynthesis machinery to create an enzyme that assembles electroactive polymers onto their membranes. This changes the electrical properties of the cells, which the team demonstrated could be used to control their behavior.
… A good rule of thumb is that staying near home in a time of crisis is best. Dr. Carter offers the informed prediction that the impact of the pandemic will require months of social distancing – though she prefers to call it “physical distancing” because people still need contact with friends and family for peace of mind – not merely weeks as some optimists still continue to insist. She adds that she and her colleagues expect that COVID-19 will peak in different regions in the country at different times. “This is not a time to push yourself to extremes, or to try something new,” she continues. “It is not a time when you can really afford an injury. This is a time when hospitals and doctors are going to face a lot of questions about resource allocation.”
… Bishop, California hosts some of the finest bouldering in the world, along with a friendly community dependent on visiting climbers. With COVID-19 sweeping into every nook of our nation, however, the town is struggling to limit visiting climbers; so far, unsuccessfully, putting the local population at risk for infection, a bleak prospect for a tiny community hours from the nearest metropolis.
“The current scene feels like people are on winter or spring break,” said Tammy Wilson, a local climber, skier, restaurant worker, and Volunteer Coordinator for the Flash Foxy Women’s Climbing Festival. “Lots of cars in the parking lots, more people at the boulders than Thanksgiving week. Massive crowds of people camping and in coffee shops and grocery stores.”
… A shuffle is as slow as you need to go to make a run purely easy. Multiple minutes per mile slower than marathon pace is a solid ballpark, but it will vary by the person. Usually, it will be slower relative to race pace for athletes who train higher volumes (like Desisa or Kipyego). For perspective, I have seen athletes who race marathons at close to 5-minutes-per-mile pace do some easy runs at 8-to-10-minute pace, but I probably wouldn’t suggest an athlete who races a marathon at 8-to-10-minute pace do easy runs at 16-to-20-minute pace, when form may start to break down.
We all want to ride a little bit more, and one of the best ways to do that is to use your bike for transportation. Pedaling is good for you, the environment, and your pocketbook—though it’s important to do so responsibly and still practice social distancing during the COVID-19 restrictions. And hauling everything you need for those activities is easy with the right bag. Whether you’re looking for a small bag to carry your lunch, a pack that includes a padded pocket for your laptop, or something capable of carrying a bunch of groceries, one of these top performers from our test will serve you well.
… Recreational cycling is still an option in the UK providing you adhere to the government’s guidelines on social distancing.
Indoor exercises are encouraged, but walking or outdoor exercise is still permitted once per day providing you stay more than 2 metres from others.
As of today (27 March), the goverment has also updated its guidance to say people should “stay local and use open spaces near to your home where possible – do not travel unnecessarily.”
Local cyclist Bryan Agnello was hit by a car in early January, and now the driver of that car is suing him for damaging the vehicle. As reported by CITY Newspaper, the driver, Jovonte Cook, struck Agnello from behind and propelled him onto the car’s hood. Agnello was taken to the hospital, but did not have serious injuries. Now, Cook is suing Agnello and seeking $700 in damages. He says Agnello was riding his bike on 490 at around 60 miles per hour. According to CITY reporter Jeremy Moule, the top speed recorded at the 2019 Tour de France was 63 miles per hour during a descent in the Alps. [audio, 51:28]
Another nice graph, this one from yours truly. Well, not really, it’s all from the CDC, I just made a version that’s easier to look at, because I think it’s an interesting way to reflect on the devastation of the 1918 flu amid an otherwise rapid decline of death from infectious disease. (Y-axis is deaths per 100,000 Americans.)
Many of us have heard of “the fog of war,” a term coined by the 19th-century Prussian military writer Carl von Clausewitz. It refers to the idea that war is often conducted in a haze of uncertainty: Militaries do not fully understand either their enemy’s threat or their own capacity to combat it.
What we’re experiencing now is the fog of pandemic. The officials tracking COVID-19 are swimming in statistics: infection rates, case-fatality ratios, economic data. But in these early stages of the fight against the coronavirus, these figures each have their own particular limitations. We are already seeing how, in the haze of confusing data, political leaders are trying to marshal that uncertainty to override the advice of public-health experts. Indeed, President Donald Trump seems eager to seize on anything that can justify his push to reopen public life in mid-April, perhaps while daily cases are still increasing.
… The Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, part of the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, is a state-owned 119-mile railroad corridor between Lake Placid and Remsen. Other notable villages and hamlets along the corridor include Ray Brook, Saranac Lake, Lake Clear, Tupper Lake, Beaver River, Big Moose and Old Forge.
This 2020 amendments to the plan would establish rail-and-trail and trail-only segments within the corridor. The rail track will be retained within the corridor from Remsen to Tupper Lake and the rail track will be removed from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid.
Associated Press, Pat Graham and Michael Casey from
… Those remote places? Not so remote right now. Many seasoned hikers are getting annoyed that their prized spots are getting overrun.
Then again, everyone has the same thought — get a breath of fresh air.
“It’s to get that sunlight, some vitamin D. I know it will make me feel better. I feel rested,”said Ryan Smith, the 37-year-old owner of a media company from Peabody, Massachusetts, on why he is still taking day hikes with his wife, Jennifer, along trails on the North Shore of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.
… What [Bjorn] Olson saw on his trip horrified and angered him. Back home, in the town of Homer, he is a climate activist and filmmaker, and he manages a website called Alaskans Know Climate Change, full of links to science backgrounders and suggestions for reducing carbon emissions. On Facebook, he posts news articles—about sea ice disappearing, glaciers retreating, salmon gasping in warm rivers and dying before they spawn. There are lots of good stories about how global warming is affecting Alaska. But they rarely seem to have much impact.
It drives Olson crazy. Journalists, he says, can’t seem to break through the daze created by their own steady gloom-and-doom coverage. “Learned hopelessness,” he called it in a newspaper column.
For the first time, a soft and stretchable organic thermoelectric module has been created that can harvest energy from body heat. The breakthrough was enabled by a new composite material that may have widespread use in smart clothing, wearable electronics and electronic skin.
