3D-printed wearable monitors gastrointestinal activity, if you can stomach it

UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

If we are what we eat, as the old adage goes, then the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the organ system that brings us into being. Almost everything that passes into our mouth gets broken down in our stomach and absorbed in our bowels, before making its ignoble exit.

Our overall health and wellbeing is thus largely dependent on a properly functioning GI tract. From acid reflux and chronic fatigue to anxiety and depression, the GI tract is the nexus for a slew of health disorders. Patients suffering from GI problems sometimes need to spend long stays at a clinic, occasionally sedated, with a catheter inserted through their nose in order to monitor their internal goings-on.

But there may be another, less invasive option on the way thanks to engineers from the University of California, San Diego who have developed a stomach-based wearable that can monitor a patient’s GI activity from the comfort of their homes. The system records electrical activity in the stomach over a 24-hour period, using a 3D-printed portable box hooked up to ten electrodes.

“Diseases of the GI tract … are one of the most common complaints in modern medicine,” Armen Gharibans, a postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego who worked on the project, told Digital Trends. “Most of these cases are called ‘idiopathic,’ which means doctors don’t know what it is or what to do. The system we developed allows you to continuously monitor the activity of the stomach in free-living subjects, without them having to undergo invasive procedures in the clinic. We believe this technology can facilitate a better understanding of the cause of these disorders and lead to new and more targeted therapies.”

The device works by measuring the electrical activity that causes stomach muscles to contract, break down food, and move it down the digestive process. It’s a similar to how an electrocardiogram (ECG) measures electrical activity in the heart. However, since the stomach’s electrical activity is ten times weaker than the heart’s, it’s difficult to reliably make these measurements without picking up noise from the surrounding body. Gharibans and his team developed a data-processing method to hear the stomach’s signal through the noise.

In a trial, the team used the device on eleven children and one adult volunteer, and found that the data was comparable to the data collected through state-of-the-art, invasive clinical methods.

Gharibans said the device is still in its research phase, and that he and his team will continue to refine the sensor configuration to further improve data collection, while miniaturizing the technology. A date for commercialization has not yet been set.

A paper detailing their work was published last month in the journal Scientific Reports.

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Dubai’s smart license plates contact paramedics when the car crashes

Dubai, a place certainly not shy when it comes to taking new technology for a spin, is about to begin testing smart license plates.

Comprising a digital display and incorporating GPS and transmitters, the new plate will be able to automatically contact first responders when a crash occurs, and communicate information about traffic conditions to other cars and drivers, the BBC reported.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority says the new high-tech plate also has the ability to display and send an alert if the car or the plate itself is stolen.

Perhaps not so great for rogue drivers, the advanced license plate will also facilitate the automatic payment of traffic fines, while it’ll also take care of any parking charges and registration plate renewals.

Privacy advocates will have other concerns, however, as the incorporation of GPS means that the authorities will have the ability to track vehicles around the clock.

The trial, which begins in May, aims to pinpoint and fix any technical difficulties caused by Dubai’s hot desert climate.

Dubai has made a name for itself in recent years for fully embracing technology across a range of industries. Transportation has proved to be of particular interest when it comes to its high-tech ambitions.

Besides the incoming smart plates, the city is also taking a serious interest in the development of the ultra-fast Hyperloop transportation system and could be one of the first places in the world to host a fully operational Hyperloop.

In addition, Dubai’s rulers are working with several companies — Uber and EHang among them — in an bid to get flying taxis in the air in time for the city’s World Expo event in 2020, and the authorities are also using drones at camp sites and beaches to catch people littering.

There’s more. The government has signed a deal with OTSAW Digital to put self-driving cop cars on the streets. The diminutive vehicle only has a top speed of 9.3 mph, but its powerful on-board cameras allow it to scan locations for wanted persons, stolen cars, or suspicious items, with the ability to automatically alert a cop (whether human or robotic) if it spots something.

To top it all off, the city’s cops and paramedics are heading to incidents in a range of very flashy cars, among them a Lamborghini Aventador, Bugatti Veyron, Lotus Evora, and Ford Mustang. Whatever will they think of next?

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FTC makes clear ‘warranty void if removed’ stickers are illegal

Those stickers on gadgets that say you’ll void your warranty if they’re removed? You’ve probably come to expect them whenever you purchase a new device. The FTC has just made clear, however, that those warranty notices are illegal when it fired off warning letters to six companies that market and sell automobiles, mobile devices and video game consoles in the US. It didn’t mention which automakers and tech corporations they are, but since the list includes companies that make video game consoles, Sony and Microsoft could be two of them.

Under the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which the commission cited in its letter, companies can’t put repair restrictions on their products unless they provide the parts or services for free or receive a waiver from the FTC. Thomas B. Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement:

“Provisions that tie warranty coverage to the use of particular products or services harm both consumers who pay more for them as well as the small businesses who offer competing products and services.”

Since warranty stickers are a common sight on popular consumer electronics, like say, the PS4 and various phones, it was pretty unclear whether the law covers products much cheaper than cars. As Motherboard noted, though, the letters made it crystal that it also covers electronic devices, so long as they cost more than $15.

The FTC asked the six companies to review their warranty notices and make sure that they don’t “state or imply that warranty coverage is conditioned on the use of specific parts of services.” It will then review the companies’ websites after 30 days, warning the letters’ recipients that “failure to correct any potential violations may result in law enforcement action.”

Via: Motherboard

Source: FTC

Reddit names 944 banned Russian propaganda-linked accounts

Reddit chief Steve Huffman admitted last month that the company discovered hundreds of accounts directly linked to the spread of Russian propaganda on the website. As part of its annual transparency report, the social network has named all 944 users — all of whom are already banned — it believes were created by infamous Russian troll farm Internet Research Agency. Most of the accounts in the list have no karma points, and in Reddit that means they made no significant impact to the community. There are 13 accounts in there, however, with over 10,000 karma points: the user with almost 100,000 points was a frequent poster at pro-Trump community “The Donald” and “Hillary for Prison.”

Based on Reddit’s report, though, it doesn’t sound like the website’s Russian troll situation was as bad as Facebook’s. The company said half of the users in the list with karma, including six of the 13 with over 10,000, were already banned before the 2016 Presidential Elections took place. Further, Huffman said none of the accounts placed an ad on its network, and that his team’s investigation didn’t “detect any effective use of [the] accounts to engage in vote manipulation.” If you want to peek at what those users posted on the website anyway and see if you had upvoted any of them, check out Reddit’s list right here.

Via: CNET

Source: Reddit

Google Home is a work in progress in India —but there’s plenty to like

Google Home isn’t customized for the Indian market, but it still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

The Google Home was unveiled back at I/O 2016, and the device is now available in India, alongside the newer Google Home Mini. Google has a limited presence in India on the hardware front, and the launch of the Home and Home Mini comes at a key moment as the company tries to takes on Amazon in this category. Amazon launched the Echo family in India last November, with the retailer customizing Alexa to a great extent for the Indian market.

With the Google Home set to retail for ₹9,999 ($155) and the Home Mini available for ₹4,499 ($70), Google is targeting the exact same price point as the Echo and Echo Dot.

Google Home isn’t tailored for India

Right off the front, there’s a key difference between the Echo family and Google Home in India — whereas the former is heavily customized and integrates with a host of local services, the latter has little to no customization.

I’ve been using a Google Home for over a year and a half now, and I was excited when I heard that the company was officially launching the product in the country — looking forward to integrating Uber, Ola, Zomato and others with my Google Home.

However, that isn’t the case: the Google Home doesn’t hook into your Uber or Ola account, and as far as I can make out, there’s no integration with local services aside from Gaana and Saavn. What’s even more frustrating is that Google Home doesn’t come with the ability to converse in Hindi out of the box. Google rolled out Hindi compatibility for Google Assistant earlier this year, but you won’t be able to talk to the virtual assistant in Hindi on your Google Home or Home Mini.

Google Home is yet to integrate with local services like Ola, Uber, and Zomato.

Hindi Assistant compatibility would’ve given the Google Home an automatic advantage over the Echo family, as Alexa is yet to pick up the feature. Not doing so is a failure on Google’s part, and makes the Google Home much less enticing.

Given the lack of customization, I don’t understand why Google waited so long to launch the Google Home in India. Amazon invested a significant amount of resources to integrate Alexa with local services — and it works seamlessly with the likes of Zomato and Ola — so it stands to reason that Google would do the same.

But what you get with the Google Home is a product that offers little customization for the Indian market. Worse still, it doesn’t come with features that Google Home has in the U.S. — there’s no hands-free calling, and routines aren’t live at launch. Basically, there’s no difference in the user experience at all; my Google Home has the exact same functionality as before.

And for some reason, Spotify integration was disabled a few weeks ago, so there’s no way to ask Assistant to play a particular playlist on Spotify anymore — now I have to cast tunes to a Google Home device to play them.

But it’s great if you use Google services

Right now, the main reason to get the Google Home over Amazon’s Echo devices is for its integration with Google services. On this front, it does a much better job than Alexa.

Google Assistant hooks into your calendar to give you a rundown of upcoming events, suggests the fastest route to take to work, and seamlessly pulls in weather information.

If you’re tied to the Google ecosystem, you’ll want to pick one up.

There’s much more in the same vein — you’ll be able to cast content from Netflix to your Chromecast or Android TV (but no Hotstar), play fun games, stream songs from Play Music, Gaana, and Saavn, and control smart lighting.

Talking about music, the Google Home is fantastic for playing songs — I prefer it over my Echo Plus. There are other small touches: you’ll be able to ask Assistant to locate your phone, and you can set up profiles for various members in your family and it will offer customized results for each.

I was excited for the Google Home to make its debut in India, but it’s clear that a lot of work is needed on the customization front. That said, the Google Home is still fantastic if you use a lot of Google services, and Google Assistant is a lot of fun to interact with.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Google Home matures over time in the country, but it isn’t hard to imagine that Google missed out on a huge opportunity by not offering Hindi compatibility out of the box.

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Vizio adds Dolby Atmos to its latest home theater speakers

Vizio didn’t just unveil bright HDR TVs as part of its spring announcements. The electronics giant has launched a trio of home theater systems that bring Dolby Atmos audio to the lineup. The 36-inch 5.1.2, 46-inch 3.1.2 and 46-inch 5.1.4 systems all pack the requisite upward-firing speakers to add a vertical dimension to your movies. Of course, Chromecast support and Bluetooth remain built-in. Vizio hasn’t outlined pricing yet, but expects all three Atmos systems to arrive in the summer.

If you don’t care for Atmos, there’s another system in the mix. A new 36-inch 2.1 soundbar packs dual subwoofers, theoretically offering the kind of punch that would normally require a dedicated bass box. There’s no mention of smart connectivity beyond Bluetooth, but you probably won’t complain when you see the price: Vizio is listing the soundbar at $120 ahead of its late spring launch date.

Source: Vizio (1), (2)

Vimeo’s Mac app simplifies uploads from Final Cut Pro

Vimeo hopes its desktop Mac app will further win over pro users. Specifically, those who rely on Final Cut Pro for their editing, thanks to deeper integration with the filmmaking suite. You can export in the ProRes format and upload multiple files directly to Vimeo simultaneously, as well as 4K Ultra HD with HDR, for starters. The desktop app also makes managing your videos, their metadata and doing things like grabbing embed codes easier as well.

The video platform has been staking a claim for the creator community, tabling a Netflix-style service in favor of livestreaming and sharing features. This desktop app is another move toward providing professionals with tools that take the friction (and potential distractions) out of uploading their work to the web.

Via: 9to5 Mac

Source: Vimeo, iTunes

The 2019 iPhone reportedly could boast three camera lenses

It looks like Apple could up the ante when it comes to the camera in the 2019 iPhone. According to recent reports, Apple is considering including three camera lenses in the flagship 2019 iPhone, which could help introduce a whole new set of features.

The report first came from Taiwanese publication Economic News Daily and notes that each of the three lenses in the device could sit in at 12-megapixels. Current iPhone models come with either two or one camera lenses, and those lenses work together for things like increased zoom and to discern depth for features like Portrait Mode.

It’s important to note that this rumor doesn’t relate to the next iPhone — which will launch in the fall of this year — but rather the 2019 iPhone model, which we expect to launch in the fall of 2019.

The device wouldn’t be the first to feature a lens with three cameras. Perhaps the most notable tri-lens camera is the new Huawei P20 Pro, which boasts a 40-megapixel sensor, a 20-megapixel sensor, and an 8-megapixel sensor. Those lenses are all used for different purposes. The 8-megapixel sensor, for example, is a telephoto lens, while the 20-megapixel sensor is a monochrome lens used to sharpen images and create more detailed photos.

Of course, not all companies opt to use more lenses to bring more feature to a camera. Google, for example, created a camera that uses things like machine learning and a dual-pixel sensor to create a portrait mode similar to what can be found on Apple’s iPhone.

It’s not yet known exactly what new features a tri-lens camera would enable on the 2019 iPhone. It’s possible that the new sensor could be a monochrome sensor, which could be used with the camera for things like enhanced detail for photos. The added lens could come in response to increased competition from smartphone manufacturers when it comes to smartphone cameras — while five years ago Apple was the undisputed king of mobile cameras, these days devices like the Google Pixel 2 and Samsung Galaxy S9 boast excellent cameras that are at least on par with the cameras offered by the iPhone.

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Major web browsers will support web-based fingerprint, facial authentication

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the entity that maintains the standards used across the internet, said on Monday, April 9, that Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla signed on to support web-based technology for biometric authentication. In other words, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox will soon support signing into online accounts using fingerprint scanners, voice authentication, facial recognition, and so on without additional software. 

The support for biometric logins stems from the Web Authentication (WebAuthn) standard submitted by the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance, another consortium focused on security solutions. It defines how browsers can utilize a component built into web pages that can access biometric-based hardware without any additional software or browser plugins installed on the user’s machine. 

Moreover, WebAuthn supports FIDO’s Client to Authenticator Protocol (CTAP). This specification enables an external device, such as a security key or smartphone, to authenticate an account or service through USB, Bluetooth, or NFC connectivity. Thus, if your desktop or laptop doesn’t include a fingerprint scanner or infrared camera, an external device could work as a substitute. 

“After years of increasingly severe data breaches and password credential theft, now is the time for service providers to end their dependency on vulnerable passwords and one-time passcodes and adopt phishing-resistant FIDO Authentication for all websites and applications,” Brett McDowell, executive director of the FIDO Alliance, said in a statement. 

Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla (and possibly Opera) are currently adding support for WebAuthn and CTAP in their browsers for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chrome OS, and Android. Meanwhile, both specifications are now available for developers and service designers to support web-based biometric authentication. The move will help reduce or possibly prevent phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks, and credential theft. 

WebAuthn and CTAP are part of the FIDO2 Project. WebAuthn is actually a collaboration between FIDO and the W3C based on the latter’s Web API specification. WebAuthn is specifically designed to use FIDO Authentication and is backed by more than 260 FIDO members including ARM, Google, Intel, Lenovo, MasterCard, Microsoft, PayPal, Qualcomm, Samsung, Visa, and many more. 

The new specifications are backward-compatible with FIDO’s current authentication platforms: The password-free FIDO UAF and the second-factor FIDO U2F services. Both rely on biometric authentication, but the FIDO UAF version resides within an app or program and relies on a device that is registered with a website or service. The second version relies on a USB stick or NFC connection to serve as part two of a two-step authentication process. 

“FIDO will soon launch interoperability testing and will issue certifications for servers, clients, and authenticators adhering to FIDO2 specifications,” W3C adds. “Additionally, FIDO will introduce a new Universal Server certification for servers that interoperate with all FIDO authenticator types.” 

The move to use biometric authentication seeks to eliminate the need for login credentials when purchasing goods online, signing onto streaming services, and so on. Currently, many Windows 10 devices let you sign in using a finger or face via Windows Hello. Other examples include fingerprint scanners built into Apple and Samsung’s smartphones used for unlocking the devices and authorizing logins and payments. 

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Major web browsers will support web-based fingerprint, facial authentication

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the entity that maintains the standards used across the internet, said on Monday, April 9, that Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla signed on to support web-based technology for biometric authentication. In other words, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox will soon support signing into online accounts using fingerprint scanners, voice authentication, facial recognition, and so on without additional software. 

The support for biometric logins stems from the Web Authentication (WebAuthn) standard submitted by the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance, another consortium focused on security solutions. It defines how browsers can utilize a component built into web pages that can access biometric-based hardware without any additional software or browser plugins installed on the user’s machine. 

Moreover, WebAuthn supports FIDO’s Client to Authenticator Protocol (CTAP). This specification enables an external device, such as a security key or smartphone, to authenticate an account or service through USB, Bluetooth, or NFC connectivity. Thus, if your desktop or laptop doesn’t include a fingerprint scanner or infrared camera, an external device could work as a substitute. 

“After years of increasingly severe data breaches and password credential theft, now is the time for service providers to end their dependency on vulnerable passwords and one-time passcodes and adopt phishing-resistant FIDO Authentication for all websites and applications,” Brett McDowell, executive director of the FIDO Alliance, said in a statement. 

Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla (and possibly Opera) are currently adding support for WebAuthn and CTAP in their browsers for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chrome OS, and Android. Meanwhile, both specifications are now available for developers and service designers to support web-based biometric authentication. The move will help reduce or possibly prevent phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks, and credential theft. 

WebAuthn and CTAP are part of the FIDO2 Project. WebAuthn is actually a collaboration between FIDO and the W3C based on the latter’s Web API specification. WebAuthn is specifically designed to use FIDO Authentication and is backed by more than 260 FIDO members including ARM, Google, Intel, Lenovo, MasterCard, Microsoft, PayPal, Qualcomm, Samsung, Visa, and many more. 

The new specifications are backward-compatible with FIDO’s current authentication platforms: The password-free FIDO UAF and the second-factor FIDO U2F services. Both rely on biometric authentication, but the FIDO UAF version resides within an app or program and relies on a device that is registered with a website or service. The second version relies on a USB stick or NFC connection to serve as part two of a two-step authentication process. 

“FIDO will soon launch interoperability testing and will issue certifications for servers, clients, and authenticators adhering to FIDO2 specifications,” W3C adds. “Additionally, FIDO will introduce a new Universal Server certification for servers that interoperate with all FIDO authenticator types.” 

The move to use biometric authentication seeks to eliminate the need for login credentials when purchasing goods online, signing onto streaming services, and so on. Currently, many Windows 10 devices let you sign in using a finger or face via Windows Hello. Other examples include fingerprint scanners built into Apple and Samsung’s smartphones used for unlocking the devices and authorizing logins and payments. 

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