Qualcomm tries to find a place for VR in medical training

It’s the “Wild West” age for virtual reality. The medium has gained traction as a canvas for storytelling and gaming, but hasn’t yet been applied in many other fields. As the industry explores ways to use VR effectively, Qualcomm wants to make sure its Snapdragon VR platform helps shape that conversation. The company recently unveiled a VR medical training demo that it created with Dallas-based content publisher Forward XP and an advising physician to teach users how to tell when someone is suffering a stroke, using the popular F.A.S.T method.

F.A.S.T. is a mnemonic to remember the common observable signs of a stroke: facial drooping, arm weakness and slurred speech. T stands for “time to get medical help,” which seems a little redundant, but helps tie the first three letters to a memorable word. In Qualcomm’s demo, using the company’s Snapdragon 835 VR dev kit headset, I found myself in a spaceship-like medical bay with a flying robot that explained each step of the simulation. All of this was rendered in computer graphics, by the way, and not a live portrayal of someone having a stroke. After a short introduction, a man appeared on the chair in front of me, shoulders heaving as he struggled to breathe.

The robot, along with helpful onscreen instructions, told me to look at the man’s face and use my hands to point out where it was drooping. The dev kit’s 6-DoF (degrees of freedom) head and hand tracking was so quick to recognize my hands that I had barely stretched them out in front of me before it registered that I was hovering over the man’s face. Suddenly, the robot was telling me to look for the second sign (arm weakness) by asking the man to raise his arms.

I repeated the phrase I was directed to ask, and the gentleman obliged. But he couldn’t keep his left arm up for longer than a second, which the simulation pointed out is another sign he might be having a stroke. Finally, the robot told me to ask the man his name so we could determine if his speech was slurred. To test the accuracy of the speech input, I tried asking what he did for a living or how old he was. The system rejected these questions, and the man did not respond. Only when I repeated the supplied question word for word did he react, and he ended up uttering gibberish. With all three symptoms confirmed, the simulation concluded it was time to get the man some medical attention, and my demo ended.

Although this example was straightforward and relatively obvious, I found it an effective teaching tool. It’s easy to memorize what FAST stands for and try to imagine what someone having a stroke would look like. But being able to practice on a somewhat realistic subject displaying the symptoms turns it into a sort of muscle memory, and makes it easier to remember what to look out for in future.

My demo was also just one simulation for a single condition. The program could be improved by adding more patients with different symptoms, as well as a control. That would help teach not just what to look out for, but also encourage trainees to be careful about misdiagnosing someone. Then, the whole course could be redesigned for other conditions, like heart attacks, pneumonia or a variety of ailments with obvious symptoms.

Ultimately, this has the potential to be a useful and effective application of VR in medical training. Instead of trying to teach surgical techniques, which would require an extremely precise level of realism, VR simulations seem more appropriate for training observation-based skills. Of course, as it is with creating most educational content, the designers of such material have to be very careful that they’re imparting accurate and updated information.

According to the program manager of Qualcomm’s XR (AR and VR) arm Leilani De Leon, “there is definitely a need for medical training that is consistent, standard and accessible.” She told Engadget that training doctors globally can be a very large undertaking for companies, and providing standard training on a VR headset that can be distributed around the world at the same time can make the process faster and more convenient.

De Leon said VR can also be useful in phobia treatment. Someone with, say, a fear of snakes, can be taught to overcome it in a simulation where the reptiles are introduced first in the periphery, and then increased in number and proximity. I have yet to test out such a session myself, and can’t say that I want to, so I can’t speak to its effectiveness.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm hasn’t announced how it plans to work with medical providers to bring such training simulations to the rest of the world. But this demo has convinced me that there is room for VR in not just medical training, but in education as well. Classrooms across various disciplines could benefit from adding courses in VR to help students better remember and apply concepts, as long as they are executed thoughtfully.

Twitter closes in on its first-ever profitable quarter

Twitter has updated the world on its financial position for the third quarter of this year, and the outlook is better than it has been for a while. The company has seen monthly active user figures increase, arresting the slide that it had to report across the summer. In addition, net losses have been trimmed down to just $21 million, and if Twitter can improve on its targets in the next three months, it may even turn a profit.

Back in July, the company was forced to admit that its user figures had stalled, with more than a million users quitting the site in just three months. Now, the company claims that it has 330 million monthly active users, 69 million of which are based in the US, up from 68 million in the last quarter. CEO Jack Dorsey believes that, with projects to improve the platform, like doubling character counts, Twitter is helping “bring people back to Twitter on a daily basis.”

The company did have to concede that it had miscounted its user figures in the second quarter, which masked a drop in its overall total. As a consequence, the revised total for Q2 is now 326 million, but that has meant that it can claim to have added four million users in the last three months. It’s a big deal for a company that has struggled to demonstrate meaningful growth, especially when compared to Facebook.

On the financial side, Twitter saw its overall quarterly revenue fall to $590 million, with advertisers reducing their spending on the platform. The company could, at least, be pleased that its data licensing division saw revenue increase to $87 million, an year-on-year increase of 22 percent. Expenses have also fallen, with Twitter claiming to have pushed down running costs by 16 percent year-on-year.

Looking toward the future, Twitter believes that its fourth-quarter will, if it outperforms its internal targets, turn a profit. That will see the burgeoning company report a positive income for the first time ever, and may prove to investors and the wider world that Jack Dorsey’s plan to revive Twitter is worth persisting with.

If we reach the high end of our adjusted EBITDA range for Q4, we will likely be GAAP profitable. #TWTR

— TwitterIR (@TwitterIR) October 26, 2017

Of course, the perpetual thorn in Twitter’s side is the experience of actually using its service, and the way it handles its acceptable use policy. The company has had to fight a tidal wave of negative coverage, usually generated by its own poor handling of crises on its own network. Dorsey believes that moves to remedy this issue will be put in place by November 3rd, at which point hate groups and violent imagery are expected to be purged.

Source: Twitter (.PDF)

‘Bury Me, My Love’ brings a Syrian refugee’s tale to your phone

After creating a big buzz within the indie gaming community, interactive dialogue-driven game Bury Me, My Love launches today on iOS and Android. Based on real life stories, the game tells the tale of Nour and her husband Majid, both caught up in the violent and dangerous Syrian conflict. Nour has decided to flee their war-torn country while Majid stays behind to care for elderly relatives. With only a smartphone to communicate with her husband, she begins her perilous journey, telling Majid a Syrian farewell saying: “Bury me, my love” (which means, in essence, “don’t die before me”).

Now, taking the role of Majid, it’s your responsibility to help guide and support Nour during her journey. She’ll ask you for advice on the many (often upsetting) decisions she’ll have to make along the way, and responds in pseudo-real time, which means you’ll often be left wondering if Nour is alright, and if not, if your suggestions are to blame. In this game, as in life faced by real refugees, every decision has consequences.

The game was a highlight of this year’s IndieCade, IDFA and A AMAZE independent game festivals, with developers hoping that the gamification of the humanitarian disaster will bring more awareness to the still ongoing issue. Producer Florent Maurin, from the game’s studio The Pixel Hunt, said, “Games do not have to be fun and trivial. Like every medium, games can tackle any topic. Making this game changed the way I think about migrants. I hope it might have a similar effect on players.” It’s available from the App Store and Google Play now for $3/£3.

Source: Bury me, my Love

Apple Offers Free Redeem Codes for Plotagraph+ Photo Animator App

Apple is offering users of its official Apple Store app free redeem codes to download Plotagraph+ Photo Animator from the App Store. Usually $4.99, the iOS app allows users to animate any still photo into a seamlessly looping video or animated PNG.

Users create a Plotagraph by selecting or taking a photo, creating an animation track to indicate the direction of movement, and masking areas of the image they don’t want to animate. It’s then possible to adjust the animation speed and save the final result to the Camera Roll or share it as a video, GIF, or animated PNG using custom presets.

The editing interface features a range of tools for manipulating images, including an animation tool, selection tool, instant playback, mask, eraser, crop presets, anchor points, pinch zoom, Apple Pencil pressure sensitivity, real-time animation speed control, and multiple export options.

To get the app from the App Store, first download the free Apple Store app [Direct Link]. Then simply open the app, and the Plotagraph+ offer can be found further down in the Discover section on the main store screen. The offer looks like it’s working for users in the U.S. and U.K. at the time of writing. Apple has extended its redeem codes to other countries in the past, so it’s still worth checking for the offer if you’re based elsewhere – let us know in the comments below if you have any success. Offer ends January 15, 2018.
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Facebook Teams Up With Auto Car Dealers to Introduce New Vehicle Marketplace

Facebook has teamed up with auto car dealers to introduce a new Marketplace section for vehicles on its flagship social media app (via TechCrunch).

The new section features search filters to find a vehicle of a specific type, maker, transmission, color, and more, offered by members of the public as well as car dealerships including Edmunds, Auction123, Cars.com, CDK Global, and SocialDealer.

The automobile Marketplace includes a price checking function that uses the industry standard Kelly’s Blue Book, and integrates with Messenger bots to allow users to communicate with dealers in real-time.

Today’s announcement comes following an apparent upsurge in car listings, with the social media platform already featuring a dedicated vehicles category that lets users search by make, year, milage, and price.

Facebook doesn’t receive a fee for any Marketplace transactions, but it has recently started testing ads within Marketplace to promote certain products. The company said the new car inventory will populate and new features will start rolling out over the next few weeks.

Tag: Facebook
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LG Builds New Factory to Expand Production of iPhone Cameras

LG Innotek recently finished constructing a manufacturing plant in Vietnam, where it will produce single-lens and dual-lens camera modules for several iPhone models, according to South Korea’s ETNews.

LG Innotek reportedly built the factory to expand its production capacity due to Apple’s increasing demand for iPhone camera modules. Production costs are also lower in Vietnam, as workers are often paid less than in South Korea.

LG Innotek is said to be planning a production capacity of 100,000 modules per day by the end of this year, and it should start supplying them to Apple on a full-scale basis in 2018. Orders are expected to continue through at least 2019.

“It is heard that LG Innotek’s plant in Vietnam is built in order to match increased orders from Apple,” an industry representative told ETNews. “It is likely that there is already an outlook for 2018 from Apple.”

LG Innotek already has production lines exclusively for Apple, its largest customer, at its factory in Gumi, South Korea. It extends these lines whenever there is a large increase in the number of orders, according to the report.

Tag: LG
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Facebook Officially Launches ‘Workplace Chat’ Mobile and Desktop Apps

Facebook brought its redesigned Workplace apps out of beta today, opening up the business-focused team chat service to anyone who wants to use it.

The new Slack-like apps for mobile and desktop are called Workplace Chat, which have the same functionality as Workplace’s existing messaging features, but come as standalone apps for PC, Mac and iOS.

After installing the apps, Workplace users can access messaging features like screen and file sharing, video calling, and private and group messages. Facebook said it also plans to add group video calling to the platform in the coming months.

In addition, Both mobile and desktop apps have redesigned interfaces to make them functionally similar to Facebook’s flagship social networking app.

Workplace Premium costs $3 per user for the first 1,000 active users, with $2 and $1 price plans for increasing numbers of users. Workplace can also be used for free and includes the communication and productivity features, but loses the enterprise features and admin support.

Tag: Facebook
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Uber is going after millennials with its new credit card

Why it matters to you

If you’re a regular Uber rider and still have space for another credit card, then how about this one?

If you’re cool with credit cards filling up your wallet, whether digital or stitched, then here’s another one for you.

Uber said this week its own Visa card will be available — if approved — from November 2, offering folks a slew of benefits.

The fee-free card is clearly aimed to build its bond with its largely youthful user base, offering four percent back on restaurant visits (and UberEats), three percent on hotels and airfares, two percent on online purchases (including Uber), and one percent on everything else. But take note, any online purchases made with the card via third-party payment methods such as PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay, will see the reward cut from two percent to one.

The ride-sharing giant is also offering a $100 bonus if you spend more than $500 in the first 90 days, which works out at less than $6 a day.

You can redeem the aforementioned rewards for Uber credits usable for both rides and UberEats, as well as cash back and a range of gift cards, the company said.

Additional benefits, again with millennials in mind, include an annual $50 subscription credit that can be used for services such as Spotify, Netflix, or an Amazon Prime membership, though to qualify you’ll need to spend at least $5,000 on your card per year.

The ride-sharing giant is also promising coverage for mobile phone theft and damage if you use the card to pay your phone bill, and says cardholders will receive invitations to “exclusive events like secret shows and dining experiences,” though most of those are likely to take place in  New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

With Uber having been less than frank about aspects of its business in the past, you might be wondering what kind of information it may be about to glean from Uber cardholders. The company confirmed to Engadget that only Barclays, the bank issuing the card, will know precisely what you’re using it for, while Uber will only know the total amount spent on each card and the number of credits earned.

Interested? You’ll find some FAQs and the all-important small print on Uber’s site. And Barclay’s site has an even longer list of FAQs.

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Deliveries by drone look a lot closer with new U.S. initiative

Why it matters to you

As drone technology advances and the authorities continue to warm to it, so we will see its wider use in the coming months and years.

Fully fledged drone delivery services took a step closer this week when the Trump administration launched a new program designed to make it easier for businesses to test their technology and to explore the possibility of relaxing restrictions on different kinds of flights.

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program, announced by the Department of Transportation (DoT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday, will help to “safely test and validate advanced operations for drones” with the aim of speeding up the integration of the technology into the national airspace “and to realize the benefits of unmanned technology in our economy,” the DoT said.

That will be music to the ears of the likes of Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet, two companies with big plans to use drones for delivering goods to people’s homes. It gives them the hope of launching drone delivery services sooner than expected and, depending on the forthcoming details of the program, may encourage them to set up drone testing bases on U.S. soil. Up to now, strict regulations have hindered the ability of many companies to test and develop their drone technology in the U.S., prompting Amazon and Alphabet to take jobs and expertise out of the country to research centers in the U.K. and Australia, among other places.

Drone delivery services would require the machines to fly beyond the line of sight of the operator, at night, and eventually over people in busier locations, but strict rules prohibiting such flights have up to now prevented businesses like Amazon from taking their plans to the next level. But the government’s program could potentially ease restrictions regarding such flights, the DoT said.

It added that industries that have the potential to immediately benefit from the program include commerce, photography, emergency management, precision agriculture, and infrastructure inspections and monitoring.

Increased cooperation

In the summer of 2016, the FAA released a new set of regulations governing commercial drone flights in the U.S., but separate rules put in place by local governments across the country sometimes clash with the FAA’s regulations, causing problems for those involved. Trump’s program is designed to encourage increased cooperation at all levels in a bid to pave the way for greater drone use by companies keen to exploit the relatively new technology.

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said the initiative supports a commitment “to foster technological innovation that will be a catalyst for ideas that have the potential to change our day-to-day lives,” noting how drones are already “proving to be especially valuable in emergency situations, including assessing damage from natural disasters such as the recent hurricanes and the wildfires in California.”

The program certainly appears to be a step in the right direction as far as U.S. drone use goes. Amazon even acknowledged this in a tweet of thanks following the announcement. But all eyes will now be on how it is implemented and the extent of the actual changes it brings to the industry in the coming months.

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Xiaomi is once again launching a ‘new series’ in India on November 2

Xiaomi will announce devices in an all-new series in India next week.

Xiaomi has been on a tear lately, and it doesn’t look like the company is looking to slow down anytime soon. After launching the Mi A1 and the Mi Mix 2 in recent weeks, the company is now getting ready to introduce another product in a “new series” in the country on November 2. If the wording sounds familiar, that’s the same statement Xiaomi used while introducing the Mi A1 in India back in September.

The teaser image for the launch shows off a fast charging icon, so whatever the company is introducing, it’ll have quick charging. One of the main drawbacks of Xiaomi phones this year was the lack of fast charging — the Redmi Note 4 and Mi A1 max out at 5V/2A — and it looks like Xiaomi is finally going to address that particular issue with its upcoming device.

Or it could just be the global launch of MIUI 9. The latest version of Xiaomi’s custom skin has a similar lightning icon — meant to symbolize under-the-hood optimizations — and while the global ROM has been in beta form for a few months, a stable build isn’t ready yet.

Xiaomi is doing incredibly well in India, with managing director Manu Kumar Jain stating that the company sold 4 million phones over the last 30 days:

Only brand to sell >4 Mn smartphones within a month 🙏 #1 brand on @Flipkart#1 brand on @amazonIN1+ Mn products sold on Mi. com (2/2) pic.twitter.com/IyMRo3DybQ

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) October 25, 2017

We’ll be on the ground in Delhi next week to bring you all the details from the upcoming launch, so stay tuned. What do you think Xiaomi is launching? Let us know in the comments below.