Posts Tagged: helps
AI-enabled brain implant helps patient regain feeling and movement
Keith Thomas from New York was involved in a driving accident back in 2020 that injured his spine's C4 and C5 vertebrae, leading to a total loss in feeling and movement from the chest down. Recently, though, Thomas had been able to move his arm at will and feel his sister hold his hand, thanks to the AI brain implant technology developed by the Northwell Health's Feinstein Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine.
The research team first spent months mapping his brain with MRIs to pinpoint the exact parts of his brain responsible for arm movements and the sense of touch in his hands. Then, four months ago, surgeons performed a 15-hour procedure to implant microchips into his brain — Thomas was even awake for some parts so he could tell them what sensations he was feeling in his hand as they probed parts of the organ.
While the microchips are inside his body, the team also installed external ports on top of his head. Those ports connect to a computer with the artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that the team developed to interpret his thoughts and turn them into action. The researchers call this approach "thought-driven therapy," because it all starts with the patient's intentions. If he thinks of wanting to move his hand, for instance, his brain implant sends signals to the computer, which then sends signals to the electrode patches on his spine and hand muscles in order to stimulate movement. They attached sensors to his fingertips and palms, as well, to stimulate sensation.
Thanks to this system, he was able to move his arm at will and feel his sister holding his hand in the lab. While he needed to be attached to the computer for those milestones, the researchers say Thomas has shown signs of recovery even when the system is off. His arm strength has apparently "more than doubled" since the study began, and his forearm and wrist could now feel some new sensations. If all goes well, the team's thought-driven therapy could help him regain more of his sense of touch and mobility.
While the approach has a ways to go, the team behind it is hopeful that it could change the lives of people living with paralysis. Chad Bouton, the technology's developer and the principal investigator of the clinical trial, said:
"This is the first time the brain, body and spinal cord have been linked together electronically in a paralyzed human to restore lasting movement and sensation. When the study participant thinks about moving his arm or hand, we ‘supercharge’ his spinal cord and stimulate his brain and muscles to help rebuild connections, provide sensory feedback, and promote recovery. This type of thought-driven therapy is a game-changer. Our goal is to use this technology one day to give people living with paralysis the ability to live fuller, more independent lives."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai-enabled-brain-implant-helps-patient-regain-feeling-and-movement-073711090.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Vizio’s redesigned TV interface helps you quickly find shows
If Vizio's TV interface has felt stale as of late, don't worry — it's getting a makeover. The company is rolling out a redesigned home screen that it hopes will make it easier to find content. The revamp is meant to be more intuitive, with new navigation features, menus and settings. There's also a reworked on-screen keyboard to help you search faster.
Discovery is likewise a major focus. The updated home screen incudes recommendations as well as parental guidance and Rotten Tomatoes scores. Genre pages help you dig into a given category faster. There's more customization, too, with a personalized "app row" that lets you flag favorites with one remote click. You'll get recommendations on a per-app basis, and a My Watchlist section pools together movies and shows from multiple apps.
Vizio hasn't detailed just which TV models are receiving the new home screen, or when the rollout will be complete. We've asked the company for more details. There's no guarantee older sets will get the upgrade, then, but you won't necessarily need to buy new hardware.
Interface updates aren't new to TVs, but there is a tendency in the industry to limit major revamps to new or very recent TV sets. LG didn't bring 2018's webOS 4 to webOS 3 TVs released just a year earlier, for example. If Vizio delivers the new home screen to more than its latest sets, it's providing better aftermarket support than some of its larger competitors.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/vizios-redesigned-tv-interface-helps-you-quickly-find-shows-170037252.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
This bracelet helps you fall asleep faster and sleep longer
If you’re having trouble sleeping, then this wearable might be the solution you’re looking for, and you can even get it cheaper through Digital Trends
Digital Trends
Tile’s latest accessory helps track your cat
Tile, best known for its AirTag-like trackers that help you locate lost objects, can now find something that can get lost on purpose — your cat. The $ 40 Tile for Cats tracker from Life360 is a modified version of the Tile Sticker with a silicon collar attachment and 250 foot Bluetooth range. The idea is to give you peace of mind that your cat is somewhere in the house, and then help you figure out exactly where that sneaky floof is hiding.
The battery on the Tile for Cats lasts a generous three years, and you can easily replace the sticker. It even offers AI assistant integration with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, so you can locate Sir Fluffybutt with a voice command.
For the $ 40 price tag, you get a Tile sticker and attachment that’s compatible with most cat collars, including breakaway collars. The attachment can stretch up to 1.7 times without breaking and is water resistant, so it’ll continue to function even if hit with a few drops.
Tile for Cats is Life360’s first pet tracker, though the company was already marketing its regular Tile Trackers for the same purpose. It’s designed for indoor use only, though, due to the limited range. If you’re worried about your pet getting lost outside, you’d be better off with a dedicated pet tracker, typically costing around $ 100 plus a subscription fee.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiles-latest-accessory-helps-track-your-cat-095531840.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
This little bracelet helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer
If you’re having trouble sleeping, then this wearable might be the solution you’re looking for, and you can even get it cheaper through Digital Trends
Digital Trends
What are the benefits of 5G? How it helps you today (and tomorrow)
New 5G technology promises to revolutionize the way we communicate, but what are the tangible benefits it offers today, and what will it do in the future?
Mobile | Digital Trends
Google’s ‘Switch to Android’ app helps iOS users do just that
Google has finally countered Apple's "Move to iOS" app by releasing "Switch to Android" for iOS on the App Store, confirming earlier rumors. As the name indicates, it's designed to help iPhone and iPad users import contacts, photos, calendars and video to an Android device. It also shows users how to turn off iMessage in favor of Android messaging and transfer photos/videos by connecting to iCloud.
Google dropped the new app without a lot of fanfare, as TechCrunch notes. On its Switch to Android website, the app is still not mentioned and can only be found on the App Store with a direct link — search results still turn up nothing.
The app is a big improvement over the current system, which requires you to back up photos, video, calendar and contacts using the Google Drive iOS app. It was first spotted last summer by 9to5Google in code tucked into Google's Data Transfer Tool, and seen in a more recent release with the ability to import iCloud video and photos into Google Photos.
Apple's equivalent app arrived way back in September 2015, so Google certainly took its time responding. "Move to iOS" works in much the same way, helping users import photos, video, messages, contacts and more over to an iOS device. One Android device maker, Samsung, has its own device migration app as well called Smart Switch, helping you switch from an iPhone or other Android device to a Galaxy smartphone. However, it's only available on Google Play or its own Galaxy store and doesn't run on iOS.
The Morning After: Tech that helps with those New Year’s resolutions
Welcome to the new year. How are those resolutions coming along? (Don't worry, we can help.)
Contrary to my expectations, CES 2022 is still happening. However, the organizers have announced that the tech show will be cut short by a day, as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. It’s also kind of started early, with some big announcements from Samsung already, including putting NFTs into its TVs, and an upgraded eco TV remote that sips on your WiFi waves for energy.
Expect a week of hardware announcements, even if chances to play with and assess these new devices are a little limited without attendance in person.
-Mat Smith
Alienware's Concept Nyx is like a Plex server for your PC games
But will it appeal to anyone beyond PC gaming fanatics?
Alienware’s newest concept can be boiled down to a gaming server that runs on your home network. You could conceivably run two games at once on your television, as Engadget saw during a recent demo in NYC. Since all of the rendering and network processing is happening in your home, Nyx would also be a lower latency experience than traditional cloud gaming.
This is a shiatsu hand massager for gamers
A hand warmer setting may help you get good.
To help soothe their weary mitts, Japanese company Bauhutte has created a hand massager for gamers. The device works on either hand and has a 15-layer airbag for each finger and a shiatsu plate for the palm. There are two main options: a Shiatsu mode for the entire hand, and one that focuses on stretching fingers.
The next AirPods Pro might support lossless audio
You might have an easier time finding your case, too.
Now that the third-generation AirPods offer some of the same features as the AirPods Pro, how will Apple’s higher-end wireless earbuds stand out? Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple is launching its second-generation Pro earbuds in the fall with support for Apple Lossless (ALAC) audio. Kuo expects the updated headphones will offer a "new form factor design" and that the new buds will supposedly include a charging case that can make sounds, much like AirTags, to help find it behind your couch cushions.
Samsung’s latest remote turns router radio waves into energy
The 2022 Eco Remote has a white option to match Samsung's lifestyle TVs.
Samsung has revamped the solar-charging remote it debuted at last year’s CES. Along with using light to top up the battery, Samsung says the latest Eco Remote can convert routers' radio waves into energy to stay fully charged. There's still a solar panel on the rear of the remote, which is also made with recycled materials.
Twitter bans Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal account
Due to repeatedly spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
Twitter has banned Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal account after a fifth "strike" for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. A fifth strike means it’s a permanent ban.
In the past year, she claimed in July that COVID-19 wasn't dangerous unless you were over 65 or obese, and in August said vaccines were "failing" against the new coronavirus' Delta variant. Both statements were untrue. The posts respectively led to 12-hour and one-week suspensions. Her official account is still active as of this writing because it hasn't run afoul of Twitter's rules. Beyond that, she may have to wait around for TRUTH Social to finally launch.
The biggest news stories you might have missed
The tech industry's accessibility report card for 2021
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Tech that can help you stick to your New Year's resolutions
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Samsung is putting NFTs in its smart TVs
Raspberry Pi’s Build HAT helps students build LEGO robots
Raspberry Pi has launched a new product that would make it easier to build robots out of LEGO components. The Build HAT (or Hardware Attached on Top), as it is called, is an add-on device that plugs into the Pi's 40-pin GPIO header. It was specifically designed to make it easy to use Pi hardware to control up to four LEGO Technic motors and sensors from the the toy company's Education Spike kits. Those sets are meant as a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) learning tool for young students. The HAT also works with motors and sensors from the Mindstorms Robot Inventor kit.
In addition to the Build HAT itself, the company has created a Python library that can help students build prototypes using a Raspberry Pi and LEGO components. Plus, Raspberry Pi designed a $ 15 power supply for the HAT that can also power the motors and sensors attached to it. The Build HAT will set buyers back $ 25 each, and it works with all 40-pin GPIO Raspberry Pi boards, including the Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi Zero.
Those who want to make sure that their LEGO components will work with the HAT can also check out Raspberry Pi's handy list of compatible components. Finally, those who need a bit of help to get started can try follow one of Pi's project guides, which include a DIY game controller, a robot buggy that can be controlled via Bluetooth and a robotic face.
NASA crowdsourcing helps build a better Moon digging robot
NASA’s Artemis program will eventually need robots to help live off the lunar soil, and it’s enlisting help from the public to make those robots viable. The space agency has picked winners from a design challenge that tasked people with improving the…
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FBI program helps companies fool hackers with ‘decoy data’
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Xbox One update helps you buy the games your friends are playing
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Bosch’s electric stroller tech helps carry your baby uphill
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MIT’s sensor-packed glove helps AI identify objects by touch
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Verily’s algorithm helps prevent eye disease in India
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Facebook Stories test helps you invite friends to events
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DFree helps the incontinent heed the call of nature
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Google finally admits that dark mode helps with battery life on OLED displays
It’s something that most Samsung users have been aware of since the Galaxy S2 launched; AMOLED (OLED) displays use much less power when showing dark or true black wallpapers. In its quest to implement its Material Design that brought blinding white brightness to its apps as well as encouraging app developers to follow suit, Google has […]
Come comment on this article: Google finally admits that dark mode helps with battery life on OLED displays
AI-enabled Guess store helps you create an ensemble
You can try Amazon's Echo Look if you want AI to offer fashion advice at home. But what if you're at the store, and would rather not hem and haw while you decide if that top goes with those jeans? Guess and Alibaba think they can help. They've wor…
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‘Hamilton’ app helps you get tickets, take embarrassing selfies
Hamilton: An American Musical is the most popular Broadway production in recent memory, and now it's coming to your phone — beyond the soundtrack (and mixtape) you've had on repeat the last two years. Hamilton: The Official App has just about everyt…
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Windows 10’s upgraded mapping helps you plan elaborate routes
You likely know that Microsoft packed a lot of improvements into the Windows 10 Creators Update, but there are still a few surprises left… particularly if you use Windows' built-in navigation app to get from A to B. Microsoft has detailed Creators'…
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Clockwork pacemaker powered by the beating of your heart helps keep it ticking
Researchers in Switzerland are working on a clockwork pacemaker with all the mechanical ingenuity of a high-end Swiss watch. Here’s how it works, and why it may be vastly superior to other options.
The post Clockwork pacemaker powered by the beating of your heart helps keep it ticking appeared first on Digital Trends.
Bloomlife pregnancy wearable helps expectant parents understand contractions
The Bloomlife pregnancy wearable monitors contractions and informs women so they can communicate more easily with their birth team. Accurate information about contractions patterns can help educate expectant parents.
The post Bloomlife pregnancy wearable helps expectant parents understand contractions appeared first on Digital Trends.
Wearable device helps steady hand of designer who has Parkinson’s disease
A graphic designer diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 29 has regained the ability to draw and write thanks to a wearable device designed by Haiyan Zhang, Microsoft Research Cambridge’s innovation director.
The post Wearable device helps steady hand of designer who has Parkinson’s disease appeared first on Digital Trends.
Google’s new Trusted Contacts app helps keep you safe, even if your phone is off
Google has just released an app called Trusted Contacts that allows you to share your location with your emergency contacts with a single touch. The company hopes it will help keep users safe.
The post Google’s new Trusted Contacts app helps keep you safe, even if your phone is off appeared first on Digital Trends.
Final Cut Pro X helps small company delight world’s biggest clients
When Trim Editing started creating music videos over a decade ago, just paying the rent was a huge accomplishment. Now, the small East London company is crafting award-winning visuals for big brands — like Audi, Nike, Adidas, and Guinness — propelled by the power of Final Cut Pro X. The video editing software’s comprehensive features allow Trim Editing to organize film and audio clips, pull together compelling projects, and make changes on the fly. “When I’m playing back an edit for a director, they’ll say, ‘Okay, let’s go and make those changes I talked about.’ I’ll say, ‘Oh, no, they’re already done,’ and we’ll jump back and watch it again. People can’t believe that I’ve magically done the change before we even finish playback,” says editor Thomas Grove Carter.
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Wistiki is a stylish tracker that helps you find your lost devices
Bluetooth trackers aren’t really new products — but they’re becoming more stylish, if that’s your thing. Wistiki just successfully funded their sleek trackers on Indiegogo, and they’re $ 50 a pop.
The post Wistiki is a stylish tracker that helps you find your lost devices appeared first on Digital Trends.
YouTube Kids app update helps parents tackle dodgy content
Google touts it as a “family friendly” app but since YouTube Kids’ launch in February a number of consumer groups have been complaining about inappropriate content on the service. Google says a new update aims to tackle ongoing concerns about the app.
The post YouTube Kids app update helps parents tackle dodgy content appeared first on Digital Trends.
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good: Marauder’s Map Chrome extension helps you stalk friends
A new Chrome extension uses Messenger to display a map of your Facebook friends’ recorded locations, based on their Messenger usage. It’s pretty much as scary and creepy as it sounds.
The post I solemnly swear that I am up to no good: Marauder’s Map Chrome extension helps you stalk friends appeared first on Digital Trends.