Wearables

A group of researchers at Waseda University has developed processes and materials for ultrathin stick-on electronic devices using elastomeric "nanosheet" film, achieving ease of production while also preserving high elasticity and flexibility fifty times better than previously reported polymer nanosheets. This research is published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C online edition.

u-blox has announced the launch of its UBX M8230 CT Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver chip, offering a balance of performance and low power use. The new Super-Efficient (Super-E) mode cuts the power consumption by two-thirds to 20mW at one position update every second with hardly any loss in accuracy.

Long-distance couples can share a walk, watch movies together, and even give each other a massage, using new technologies being developed in Carman Neustaedter's Simon Fraser University lab. It's all about feeling connected, says Neustaedter, an associate professor in SFU's School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT). Student researchers in his Surrey campus-based Connections Lab are working on myriad solutions.

  One of the most effective ways to reach a huge audience of business leads, customers and people who are interested in a particular topic, niche or industry is content market, and this has really taken off in recent years.

What is stopping you from becoming at one with nature? Why do we persist in putting on shoes on a daily basis? Cuts, slashes and broken glass are all factors, however, what if there was a product that allows you to feel as if nothing were on your feet but in actual fact you would be protected against everything?

Scientists have developed sensor technology for a robotic prosthetic arm that detects signals from nerves in the spinal cord. To control the prosthetic, the patient has to think like they are controlling a phantom arm and imagine some simple manoeuvres, such as pinching two fingers together. The sensor technology interprets the electrical signals sent from spinal motor neurons and uses them as commands.

Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) and Neovia have expressed clear confidence in the growing 'pet telematics' sector through recent equity investments in Pitpatpet (PitPat). Pet telematics, part of the burgeoning IoT revolution, is the latest application of low-cost, lightweight sensing and measurement technology that generates big data to improve business decision making.

The handwritten signature is still the most widely accepted biometric used to verify a person's identity. Banks, corporations, and government bodies rely on the human eye and digital devices such as tablets or smart pens to capture, analyse, and verify people's autographs. New software developed by researchers at Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev now enables smartwatches, currently worn by one in six people around th...

The days of wearing bifocals or constantly swapping out reading glasses might soon come to an end. A team led by University of Utah electrical and computer engineering professor Carlos Mastrangelo and doctoral student Nazmul Hasan has created "smart glasses" with liquid-based lenses that can automatically adjust the focus on what a person is seeing, whether it is far away or close up.

  Smartwatches aren’t the easiest things to control, with their small screens and owners’ bulky fingers. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have invented new ways to interact that provide a little more control. Among their enhancements using LG and Sony watches: