A New Jersey hospital just added a superbug-zapping robot to its staff

Why it matters to you

LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot is now keeping hundreds of hospitals around the world safe from superbugs.

Last month was July, which for anyone involved in medicine (either as practitioner or patient) means a whole lot of disruption as a massive influx of new med school graduates arrive in hospitals to begin their residencies. Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Jersey has received a different sort of new arrival, however: An R2-D2-style robot that is designed to zap bugs with ultraviolet (UV) light to keep it germ-free.

“Would you want your loved one admitted to a room where the previous patient had a ‘superbug’ infection? Of course not,” Dr. Mark Stibich, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Xenex, the company behind the LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot, told Digital Trends. “Our LightStrike robot enhances patient and employee safety by quickly disinfecting the surfaces in hospital rooms using intense ultraviolet light to kill the superbugs that cause infections.”

The $67,000 robot is brought into a room by a hospital environmental services (EVS) team member, after the room has been cleaned using traditional cleaning methods, such as wiping down surfaces. Studies show that less than half the surfaces in a room are correctly disinfected in between patients. One reason for this is the lack of time — even for a diligent cleaning person — to get into all the crevices in a room where pathogens may be lurking. Unfortunately, nasty bacteria like C.diff has the ability to surface for up to five months, while a number of the microorganisms which cause infections are becoming resistant to cleaning chemicals.

Once the robot is in a room, it scans it to make sure no one is present, then begins pulsing germicidal ultraviolet C light, which directly damages the DNA and structures of bacteria and viruses, leaving them unable to replicate and cause infections.

“The robot works quickly, killing the pathogens in a five-minute cycle so hospitals can disinfect dozens of rooms per day with a single robot,” Stibich said. “What makes the LightStrike robot unique is its use of pulsed xenon — a noble gas — to create full spectrum UV light. Older UV technologies use mercury bulbs to create UV light. The UV light created by mercury bulbs is narrow spectrum, and can take much longer than pulsed xenon to disinfect a single room. Hospitals like pulsed xenon UV because it doesn’t require warm-up or cool-down time, doesn’t damage other equipment that may be in the room, and most importantly because it’s been proven to help hospitals bring down infection rates.”

Stibich says that currently more than 400 hospitals, surgery centers, long-term acute care and skilled nursing facilities around the world are using pulsed xenon UV LightStrike robots to disinfect their facilities. We don’t know about you, but suddenly our Roombas seem a bit inadequate by comparison.

Cognitive hearing aid uses AI to pick out single voices in crowded rooms

Why it matters to you

A smart cognitive hearing aid could make life significantly easier for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Whether it’s Apple’s smart cochlear implant collaboration or tools designed to make sign language communication easier, there is no shortage of cutting-edge gadgetry available to make life easier for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. A new piece of technology coming out of Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science could make things even better, however — courtesy of a hearing aid that is designed to read brain activity to determine which voice a hearing aid user is most interested in listening to and then focusing in on it. The resulting “cognitive hearing aid” could be transformative in settings like crowded rooms in which multiple people are speaking at the same time.

“My research has been focused on understanding how speech is processed in the brain, and to create models of it that can be used in automatic speech-recognition technologies,” Nima Mesgarani, an associate professor of electrical engineering, told Digital Trends. “Working at the intersection of brain science and engineering, I saw a unique opportunity to combine the latest advances from both fields, to create a solution for decoding the attention of a listener to a specific speaker in a crowded scene which can be used to amplify that speaker relative to others.”

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Mesgarani says that, up until now, no hearing aid on the market has addressed this specific problem. While the latest hearing aids feature technology designed to suppress background noise, these hearing aids have no way of knowing which voices a wearer wants to listen to, and which are the distractors.

The device Mesgarani and team came up with constantly monitors the brain activity of the wearer to solve this issue. To do this, it uses a deep neural network which automatically separates each of the speakers from the background hubbub and compares each speaker with the neural data from the user’s brain. The speaker who best matches the neural data is then amplified to assist the user.

It’s a great concept — although it may still be a bit longer before the finished product is available to wearers. Next, the team hopes to develop better algorithms for performing the task in all possible conditions, as well as finding a way to make the neural recording process less intrusive.

“Many researchers have been developing techniques for measuring the brain signal from inside the ear,” Mesgarani continued. “Imagine an earbud with electrodes placed around it. [Another solution might include] C-shape grids placed around the ear, similar to a [regular] hearing aid.”

A paper describing this work was recently published in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

Best OnePlus Phone

• Best Overall
• Best for less
• Best budget

Best overall

OnePlus 5

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The latest flagship from OnePlus follows nicely along the company’s steady evolution of providing top-end specs at an affordable price. The OnePlus 5 features a familiar-yet-fresh design for an Android flagship that’s slim and sleek and anchored by a revamped dual-camera setup.

You can see the steady progress OnePlus has over the last year by looking at the specs of its last three devices, with the OnePlus 5 obviously standing atop the heap with the latest Snapdragon 835 SoC and an option for a whooping 8GB of RAM — meaning your phone will be able to handle things more efficiently than most other flagships for years to come.

The best part, and the reason why the OnePlus bandwagon continues to grow is the low pricepoint — starting at just $479 for the Slate Grey model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, you won’t find better value for an Android flagship in 2017. But you’ll probably want to splurge for the stunning Midnight Black model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage for $539. No matter which model you choose, you’ll be getting one of the best phones of 2017, and a device that will likely still be relevant and useful years from now.

Bottom line: OnePlus has once again created a compelling flagship for anyone looking for great value for their next phone.

One more thing: Don’t forget to stock up on accessories as OnePlus offers good discounts on bundles that include cases, headphones and extra charging accessories.

Why the OnePlus 5 is the best

Refined design without compromise.

The hype that OnePlus created for the OnePlus 5 had the world on the edge of their seats, and it delivered with a phone that has a lot of people talking. It’s clear with the OnePlus 5 that the company is really refining its design. Following up on the solidly built OnePlus 3T, the OnePlus 5 is slimmer and sleeker, made from aluminum. Featuring the latest Snapdragon 835 SoC, options of 6 or 8GB of ram, and a beautiful 5.5-inch 1080p display protected by Gorilla Glass 5, the OnePlus 5 has outstanding specs that will keep it a solid phone for years to come.

And then there’s the dual-camera setup on the back. While it might blow past the competition, it’s still a solid combo that pairs a 16MP sensor with a secondary 20MP sensor which OnePlus considers to be a telephoto lens. Dual cameras are the latest trend for smartphone manufacturers, and OnePlus is always looking to deliver the latest and greatest to its fans.

On top of all that, there’s a capable 3300mAh battery which offers fantastic battery life during an average day of usage. When it’s time to top up, use the included Dash Charge wall plug to get your phone back up to 60% in just 30 minutes.

Here’s what Android Central’s Andrew Martonik had to say on it in his official review:

There are several solid improvements in the OnePlus 5 worth mentioning, but the most standout aspect of the phone is its value. Just like the models preceding it, the OnePlus 5 gives you a near-flagship experience for $150-250 less than the competition. It does so by walking the line between putting money into the aspects that matter while keeping costs low in other areas without making the phone feel cheap or substantially lacking.

Best for less

OnePlus 3T

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OnePlus caught us by surprise with the release of the OnePlus 3T, an update to an already great OnePlus 3. Arriving just six months after the initial flagship’s release, the 3T included a faster Snapdragon 821 processor, a better 16MP front camera, increased battery capacity of 3,400 mAh, and a 128GB storage option.

OnePlus took everything that was great about the OnePlus 3 and made it just that much better. Featuring all the hardware specs and features you’d expect from a top-tier smartphone — a great screen, solid camera, speedy software, and long battery life — it was absolutely one of the best Android phones of 2016, and still work considering in 2017.

The 3T is slightly more expensive, but with pricing starting at $439, it still costs significantly less than the major competitors’ flagship.

Bottom line: Last year’s OnePlus 3T is still a great value in 2017.

One more thing: The OnePlus 3T’s Dash Charge fast charging solution isn’t compatible with any other quick charging standards, so you’ll need to invest in new chargers if you want to top up quickly.

Best budget

OnePlus 3

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The OnePlus 3 was the latest and greatest phone to come from OnePlus, and the first flagship they’ve released that felt wholly complete. Featuring all the hardware specs and features you’d expect from a top-tier smartphone — a great screen, solid camera, speedy software, and long battery life — we considered it one of the best phones of the year until OnePlus went and outdid themselves with the OnePlus 3T

But priced as low as $389, it’s still a great value if the upgraded specs of the OnePlus 3T aren’t worth the extra money to you. While there are more affordable OnePlus phones available, none of them come close to matching the high-quality experience you get from the OnePlus 3.

Bottom line: After years of fine-tuning, OnePlus finally introduced a phone that’s worthy of competing in the competitive high-end smartphone market. That phone is the OnePlus 3.

One more thing: The OnePlus 3 comes in a single 64GB version, which is plenty of storage space for even the most avid of media collectors. And it’s dual-SIM too!

Best overall

OnePlus 3T

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See at Amazon

OnePlus caught us by surprise with the release of the OnePlus 3T, an update to an already great OnePlus 3. Arriving just six months after the initial flagship’s release, the 3T included the newer Snapdragon 821 processor, a new 128GB storage option, a better 16MP front camera, and increased battery capacity of 3,400 mAh.

OnePlus took everything that was great about the OnePlus 3 and made it just that much better. Featuring all the hardware specs and features you’d expect from a top-tier smartphone — a great screen, solid camera, speedy software, and long battery life — it’s one of the best Android phones of 2016.

The newer model comes with a slightly higher price, but with pricing starting at $439, it still costs significantly less than the major competitors’ flagship. While there are more affordable OnePlus phones available, none of them come close to matching the high-quality experience you get from the OnePlus 3.

Bottom line: OnePlus took an already great phone and made it greater with the OnePlus 3T.

One more thing: The OnePlus 3T’s Dash Charge fast charging solution isn’t compatible with any other quick charging standards, so you’ll need to invest in new chargers if you want to top up quickly.

Update, August 2017: Added the OnePlus 5 as best overall, and bumped the OnePlus 3T down to Best for Less — still a great value, but not the best available option. The OnePlus 3, still available on Amazon drops down to the budget pick to replace the OnePlus X.

What to use for Social VR now that AltSpace is gone

You left too soon, AltSpace.

In the massive spectrum of apps you can experience in VR, social VR is often the most interesting. So many games played on consoles and phones are deeply social now, with multiplayer as the default and exciting ways to share games together in person, but doing all of that in VR is a little more complicated. Not every headset lets you get up and walk around, but every VR experience in a virtual room with someone else is a unique opportunity to explore a new world with new friends.

The best social VR app by far was AltSpace, but now that it is shutting down there’s a need to find some compelling alternatives. Here’s what we’d recommend!

Read more at VRHeads!

Cord cutters, watch live TV for free with the $15 Mohu Leaf Metro antenna

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with another way to help you cut that cord!

The Mohu Leaf Metro TV antenna is down to $15 right now on Amazon. Over the last year it has predominantly sold at $20, with a few drops here and there. The drop to $15 is one of its lowest prices ever and its first drop under $20 since May.

The Metro antenna is an non-amplified, indoor, HDTV antenna with a 25-mile range. It works best in an urban environment and can access plenty of over-the-air channels like ABC, PBS, NBC and others. It is small enough and light enough that you could actually travel with it if you wanted to.

Tom’s Guide gave the Metro TV antenna 8 out of 10 and an Editor’s Choice. They said, “the Metro did well in our urban test environment, pulling in 12 channels that we considered watchable. There were soap operas on CBS, NBC and Telemundo; The Avengers on an NBC subchannel; programs for kids on PBS; and cooking shows.”

Unsure why you might want one of these antennas? Well, if you’re looking to go fully wireless and stop paying so much for cable TV, an OTA antenna like this is essential to your setup for a number of reasons.

If you think you might get more success from an ampilified antenna, try the Mohu Curve. Amplified antennas can help if you’re too far from the broadcasting stations, although for most people they shouldn’t be necessary.

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More from Thrifter

• Skip the expensive pet store options and make your own at home
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For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

LG V30 uncovered in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s latest HITRECORD project

Get a clear look at LG’s V30.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s HITRECORD organization is once again partnering with LG, and the latest Find Your Frame project has a couple of interesting entries.

Droid-Life was able to suck some stills out of the 1,900 plus video submissions that are almost surely showing off the LG V30. This isn’t too surprising as everyone is sure the phone will launch at IFA on August 31, and HITRECORD has played a major role in the launch of previous LG phones. But still, these are some pretty clear shots of a phone most of us haven’t been able to see just yet.

These match up almost perfectly with the leaked renders we saw on August 3: they are the right size, the right shape, and the right color.

There are also several clips supposedly shot on the V30, including one that switches between normal and wide angle in real time. We expect big things from the V30 when it comes to the camera, as LG has touted the V series as a creator’s tool since the launch of the original V10.

Screen capture of a clip using the LV30’s wide-angle lens.

If you’re excited about the V30, it might be worth poring through the HITRECORD entries to see what else pops up!

CBS, Showtime and The CW are coming to DirecTV Now

This is a little convoluted, so bear with us: CBS will soon be available on DirecTV Now, the pay-TV provider’s streaming service. CBS offers its own streaming service, CBS All Access, the exclusive home for Star Trek: Discovery. If you subscribe to DirecTV Now, you won’t be able to watch that unless you pony up $6 a month for a subscription on top of what you’re paying for DirecTV Now. You will, however, be able to watch NCIS (above) and its various spin-offs.

If that isn’t an issue, then you’ll probably enjoy the live, local and national broadcasts starting in 25 major markets including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York. DirecTV says it’s planning to add “at least” 30 more broadcast affiliates from ABC, Fox and NBC over the next few weeks.

Slowly but surely, DirecTV now is becoming a full replacement for its traditional satellite offerings. CBS Sports Network, Showtime, The CW and Pop will be added to the service as well.

Source: PR Newswire

The next version of Firefox will include support for VR

Mozilla has been working on VR for a while now, with support for Oculus Rift in the Firefox nightly builds as far back as 2015. Currently announced at the end of July and set to start rolling out live on August 8th, the latest version of Firefox (55) is set to include WebVR, the technology that puts virtual reality into a web browser. This addition will bring Firefox up to par with both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, which added web-based VR support in February and April of this year, respectively.

The other feature launching with Firefox 55 will be Screenshots, which enables taking, saving and sharing screenshots without leaving the web browser. “With Firefox Screenshots,” writes Mozilla on their roadmap wiki, “you can easily capture an element on screen, an arbitrary region, the visible page, or the complete page including parts scrolled off screen.” Screenshots will roll out gradually with only some people seeing the feature on release day.

Source: Mozilla

Michelin’s 3D-printed tire is as stunning as it is futuristic

Looking at Michelin’s new concept tire (dubbed the “Vision”) is like staring at a mesmerizing painting of future wheels. The blue webbed structure looks nothing like a typical black tire, but feels just as sturdy. It also boasts a unique set of advanced, environmentally friendly features. Many of these principles are already being used in existing tires, while others are still fairly abstract ideas. The Vision is a proof of concept combining ideas old and new, and it gives us a glimpse at Michelin’s plans for what it calls “sustainable mobility.”

The Vision made its US debut last week, but it’s not a prototype of a wheel that will hit production lines anytime soon. Instead, this is a demonstration of the features that will eventually trickle down into mass-market tires of the future.

Importantly, the Vision is both a wheel and airless tire in one. That means there is no need for inflation or rims; the entire mechanical structure is sturdy enough to support the vehicle but still flexible enough to absorb impact and pressure. Vision attaches to the vehicle via a hub connection.

Without air, the tire is no longer susceptible to nuisances (or even safety hazards) like low pressure, deflation or blowouts. Some of Michelin’s existing tires, such as those designed for low-speed offroad vehicles like golf carts and construction equipment, already use similar airless structures, Gettys said.

The tire itself is made of rubber compounds derived from organic, recyclable materials. The resin, for instance, is made from orange zest instead of petroleum. Michelin’s executive vice president of global R&D Terry Gettys also cited molasses as another natural material that can be used to create synthetic elastomers. Other examples of alternative ingredients include hay, paper and metal. These concepts are possibly a decade away from becoming mainstream and in the meantime, they can’t completely replace traditional materials in tire manufacturing. Instead, the components will be progressively introduced, Gettys said.

In addition to being made from biodegradable materials, the Vision is easily retreadable and can collect diagnostic information for the driver via onboard sensors. It’s also stunning in a futuristic sort of way.

“The look of our concept Vision is intended to be attractive,” Gettys said. “We consider it as beautiful as the nature from which it’s been inspired.”

I didn’t see the tire in action, but according to Gettys, the Vision also has a reloadable tread band that can also be 3D printed. In Michelin’s concept for the future, you can go to a gas or weigh station to pick a new tread pattern and material and get it printed directly onto your tires. If you need a different style because you’re going to a new driving environment (snow or sand, for instance), you could even get recommendations for patterns and components based on your destination.

Future tires can also carry sensors like they do today to collect data like air pressure and distance traveled and send it to drivers or fleet managers for easier diagnostics.

Although we won’t actually see the Vision tire hit the roads in the near future, it’s a promising demonstration of Michelin’s plans. Gettys said these features should start trickling out over the next five to ten years, and some may take even longer, but from what we’ve seen so far, the benefits could be worth the wait.

Obama’s science advisors are reportedly still hard at work

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), a group meant to provide the president and White House officials with scientific and technological analyses and advice, has largely emptied out since Donald Trump took office. But as STAT News reports, a fair amount of Obama-era OSTP staffers have kept up their work. “It is certainly true that MANY of the former OSTP staffers are working, in a variety of ways, to fill the void,” John Holdren, the OSTP director under Obama, told STAT.

These former OSTP members have counseled Democratic lawmakers, held strategy sessions, consulted with scientific societies and have helped conduct analyses of how Trump administration budget proposals and policies could affect research, innovation and the economy. The group, which reportedly numbers in the dozens, keeps in contact through email chains and conference calls and congressional staffers told STAT that they’ve remained in contact with the Obama-era OSTP officials. “A lot of people feel a sense of personal responsibility to use what we learned for the greater good at a time when the federal government is averse to things we think are really important,” said a former OSTP staff member.

One congressional aide told STAT that it isn’t all about differences in science policy but that a lack of administration engagement on scientific issues has led members of congress to reach out to former OSTP members. “I get calls from congressional staff, wanting my insights on a bill that I was working on while I was there. And I think that’s natural,” said Kei Koizumi, previously the assistant director for research and development at the OSTP. “I expect that’s going to taper down once there are people at OSTP who will pick up work on some of these bills and efforts.” But OSTP staff replacement has been slow going and a planned expansion will still only bring numbers up to less than half of what was employed by the Obama administration.

However, whether the OSTP is at full force or effectively tapped, it may not make much of a difference in an administration with such a clear disregard for scientific data.

Source: STAT News