Bose goes full-on fit with SoundSport Pulse heart rate earphones, and more

Bose has announced a new line of earphones that are focused on getting its high-quality sound into your ears, even when you’re working out. The SoundSport and SoundSport Pulse are here to get you fit.

While the Bose SoundSport Pulse offers an optical heart rate monitor built into the earphones, the SoundSport model does not.

Both earphones are designed primarily for fitness with a wing-tip style earbud that should hold them in place no matter the exercise. These look similar to the Jabra Pulse fittings which are some of the best we’ve ever tried. The earphones are sweat and rain resistant and feature an in-line mic and controls for track skipping, call answering and more.

The built-in heart rate monitor can be used with a paired smartphone, which should be easily done thanks to NFC. Using apps like Runkeeper, Endomondo, the Bose Connect app and more will allow data including heart rate to be recorded while training.

The Bose SoundSport Pulse can last up to 5 hours on a charge while the SoundSport lasts 6 hours, says Bose.

The Bose SoundSport and SoundSport Pulse earphones will come in Black and Aqua now, with Citron due in September. Pre-order of the SoundSport is available now for £140 while the SoundSport Pulse will be available in September for £170.

Bose has also released new QuietComfort 35 and QuietControl 30 headphones. The latter offers a control over how much noise in cancelled, allowing for subtle control of environmental sound. These are priced at £290 and £230 and will be available from today and September respectively.

READ: Samsung Gear Fit2 GPS band and Gear IconX earbuds let you train phone-free

Seawolf mini-submarines are the GoPro drones of the sea

These impressive looking underwater drones caught our eye at this year’s Computex. They look like something out of the James Bond movies, but are actual devices that could help divers capture their best moments.

Should you want to grab some awesome underwater footage in either salt of fresh water, the Seawolf range has got you covered.

There are four different models designed to be operated using a GoPro. The Ocean Master is priced at £1,375 and comes with a radio control monitor system with a 7-inch screen. You simply place your camera in the front section and launch. It’s quite heavy, at 9.3kg, but comes with a wheeled suitcase so you can get it around more easily.

Under the water it can travel at a speed of 2-knots (2.3mph) and can go down to depths of up to 60-metres. There’s removable ballast for rapid buoyancy adjustment as well.

The VR360 boasts a 360-degree camera for all your virtual reality needs. It can only go down to 25-metres, but that’s still impressive. The camera is a Luna 360, Full HD 1920 x 960 model.  It has 32GB storage and is, of course, waterproof. There is no price currently available as it is still in development.

READ: Best drone photos ever: Stunning images taken from up high

The Deeepsea Challenger costs £1,240 and is designed for divers with a single-handed waterproof controller. It can dive down to 60 metres.

The Seawolf Chrome comes in at £1,100 and is operated from an iPhone or iPad using an app for wireless control. The control distance is approximately 50-metres and the drone can only be used in fresh water.  It can go down to 25-metres though, so you could use it to look for Nessie.

The developer offered to take us out on its next sea trip so keep tuned here to see more on the VR360 as it finalises the specs.

Surprisingly efficient snail brains could help make robots smarter

How snails think about eating could inform future robot decision-making designs. University of Sussex researchers have discovered that the creatures use just two brain cells for complex decisions: one cell told the snail if it was hungry, while another told it if food was near. Scientists attached electrodes to the snails’ brains to measure activity — which hopefully looked adorable. The takeaway is that it could help design efficient robot brains using the least possible number of components yet still capable of performing complex tasks. Lead researcher Professor George Kemenes added that it: “also shows how this system helps to manage how much energy they use once they have made a decision.”
Searching for (and consuming food) is a surprisingly complex goal-directed behavior, essential for survival. It appears snails are particularly efficient at processing these decisions. According to Kemenes, the study was also able to show “how this system helps to manage how much energy they use once they have made a decision.” Then again, snails have never had to decide whether to get Animal Style fries or not.

Via: Science Daily

Source: University of Sussex

Beacons help pregnant women get seats on Korean trains

It’s a perennial problem; do you give up the seat to the fifty-something year-old that just walked on the train, or will they be offended at the suggestion? Is that person pregnant and in need of respite, or just overweight? Chances are if you’re having those internal discussions you could just quietly vacate your spot without a word, but a project in South Korea uses Bluetooth to make it more obvious when someone in need requires a seat.

The pilot, called “Pink Light,” focuses on pregnant women, and is a collaboration between Busan City and Daehong, a Korean PR company. It consists of two parts: a small beacon that women carry around, and light-up signs installed on trains. Women can pick up beacons at certain locations around the city, and they last six months before their batteries need replacing.

Once a woman has a beacon, she only needs to carry it around, and the tech will do the rest. When she’s standing near to a seat, the pink light illuminates, letting people know that someone who needs a seat more than them is on board. Once the system detects the woman is seated, the light switches off. As well as clearing up any confusion as to whether a person is pregnant, the system is also helpful at peak hours, where those seated might not even be able to see someone that’s just entered a train.

Only a single train line was covered by the pilot, but Busan now wants to expand Pink Light to cover all of its metro and bus systems. While this campaign is just for pregnant women, the underlying technology would obviously be applied to any group — it’s easy to see this working well with the elderly or otherwise frail, on an opt-in basis.

Via: BBC

Source: Pink Light (KR), Busan City

India May Exempt Apple From Sourcing Requirement For ‘Two to Three Years’

The Indian government is prepared to allow Apple to open its first three planned retail outlets in the country without any sourcing requirement for their first few years of business, reports Times of India.

As a rule, 30 percent of goods sold by foreign companies must be manufactured or produced in the country, a requirement Apple does not meet as its products are largely made in China.

That obstacle initially appeared to have been removed for Apple last year, when India exempted retailers selling state-of-the-art goods from the rule, prompting the company to file a new application with the Indian government.

However, a recommendation from the country’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to allow Apple to move ahead with single-brand retail outlets was shot down by the ministry of finance, which decided Apple’s products do not fall into the cutting-edge technology category.

Now, the DIPP and the finance ministry appear to be open to the idea of allowing Apple to set up shop in the country without immediately complying with the 30 percent rule. This would allow the company to look at the option of manufacturing in India and begin sourcing components locally as volume increases.

Apple has reportedly already informed the government that it has started buying chargers from the country, which are also being exported.

“It is only fair to insist on some local production and two-three years is a reasonable period. Five years may be too long,” said the Times of India source, who did not wish to be identified.

The developments follow Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent weeklong visit to India, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other local business leaders, actors, politicians, and developers.

During the visit, Apple announced the launch of a Maps development center in Hyderabad and an iOS app and design accelerator in Bangalore. Last quarter, Apple saw its revenue from India grow 56 percent, surpassing $1 billion.

Tag: India
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Living circuits can handle complex computing

Gene-based circuits are about to get decidedly more sophisticated. MIT scientists have developed a method for integrating both analog and digital computing into those circuits, turning living cells into complex computers. The centerpiece is a threshold sensor whose gene expression flips DNA, converting analog chemical data into binary output — basically, complex data can trigger simple responses that match the language of regular computers.

The practical applications are huge. Along with general-purpose computing, you could have advanced sensors that trigger different kinds of chemical production depending on levels for other chemicals. You could produce insulin when there’s too much glucose, for instance, or deliver different kinds of cancer therapy. And this isn’t just talk. Clinical trials for a simple gene circuit (which will treat gut diseases) are starting within a year, so you could see these organic machines in action before too long.

Via: UPI

Source: MIT News, Nature

Airbus drone is made almost entirely from 3D-printed parts

Airbus isn’t content with 3D printing motorcycles — it’s crafting aircraft, too. The aviation giant used the recent Berlin Air Show to introduce Thor, a drone built almost exclusively from 3D-printed parts. Everything that isn’t electrical is built from polyamide, whether it’s the propellers or the landing gear. The result is a robotic aircraft that’s both quick to make (there are no tools involved) and extremely light — the entire 13-foot-long vehicle weighs a modest 46 pounds.

It exists largely thanks to ever-larger 3D printers. Airbus can craft pieces up to 15 inches long, and that greatly simplifies the construction of a given part. It tells the AFP that a 270-part engine injection assembly only requires three parts with the newer manufacturing technique.

Thor is a technology demonstrator rather than a practical product, but it’s a good sign of where Airbus plans to go in the future. A move to 3D printing for entire aircraft could help the environment by reducing fuel costs and eliminating the waste that often comes with conventional manufacturing. It should lower overall manufacturing costs, too, and not just for aircraft. Airbus is already expected to dramatically lower the cost of the 2020-era Ariane 6 rocket through a heavy reliance on 3D-printed components, and that’s only likely to get better when the company can craft complete, full-size vehicles using its cutting-edge method.

Via: AFP (Phys.org)

Source: Airbus

Artificial ‘leaf’ could beat real plants at converting sunlight

Natural photosynthesis is considered a good target for solar energy conversion, but it’s already considered old hat. Harvard scientists have developed a leaf-like system that should be more effective at converting solar energy than plants themselves. The technology boils down to a jar of bacteria (Ralstonia eutropha), a cobalt water-splitting system and a pair of electrodes. When you send electricity through this partly biological system, the electrodes turn the water into hydrogen gas that you can use for fuel and carbon-based materials. It’s only 10 percent efficient, but that’s better than the widely established 8 percent baseline for real-world performance.

The big obstacle? It’s not certain how well this bionic technology would work once put into practice. Researchers note that they still have to find a way to connect the system to solar cells. Also, there’s the not-so-small matter of how it works in differing climates. This technique would thrive in a temperate environment, but it wouldn’t last in extreme temperatures. If it does pan out, however, it could give developing regions a cheap, eco-friendly way to not only produce energy, but store it at times when the Sun won’t cooperate.

Via: Christian Science Monitor

Source: Science