Kawasaki Heavy Industries has developed the world’s first all stainless steel robot with seven degrees of freedom.
It will be used in the drug discovery and pharmaceutical fields to automate experiments which use dangerous chemicals.
Due to its stainless steel body, it can be sterilized using Hydrogen Peroxide gas, for work in sterile environments.
Kawasaki plan to launch this robot in January next year.
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In only a few months, the founders of IDerma, a medical technology start-up based out of Zagreb, Croatia, have developed and launched what they’re marketing as medical sensor technology for children. But unlike the sleek Scanadu Scout, this one takes the form of a teddy bear.
The product is called Teddy the Guardian, a plushie installed with sensors that measure heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and temperature, and then relay that data via Bluetooth to a parent’s phone. The sensors are scattered around the bear’s body; pressing a finger to the bear’s paw, for instance, takes heart rate and oxygen levels.
The idea behind disguising medical tech as a lovable toy is to provide parents and pediatricians more accurate, consistent data points. When a child is stressed out about going to the doctor, his or her vital signs will be skewed. Taking data points when the child is in a neutral emotional state can give doctors a wealth of good information to compare against when something is wrong.
Of course, the bear is just as much a tool for keeping parents attuned to their child’s general well-being as it is a medical device. IDerma co-founder Josipa Majić said that for busy parents who don’t have as much time to connect with their kids, the data can show when their child’s day has been particularly stressful or problematic.
Later versions of Teddy will be equipped with sensors specific to different medical conditions, Majić said. Blood sugar level measurements for diabetic children, for instance.
While the United States and Europe comprise Teddy the Guardian’s primary markets, China and India are also of interest. The increase in disposable income in rapidly developing countries has resulted in more money spent on a family’s first-born child, Majić said.
“We see the mommy community in the developing world as the quite the disrupters. They spend at least some time, up to 8 hours a day, on their cell phones and smartphones. 90 and even 91% [of their time] in China. In India, they believe tech makes them a better mom.”
Teddy the Guardian has already cleared its biggest hurdle: getting FDA approval on the medical technology. Although IDerma has its own sensors, Majić said they opted to outsource sensor development to another healthcare company, the name of which she declined to give.
The reason is simply because going through FDA and CE approval processes are expensive — too much so for a start-up. To get the green light, a company needs a very competent legal team, Majić said, which most cannot afford.
“These regulations are really start-up unfriendly. I would even say hostile,” she said.
It is difficult for U.S.-based start-ups to get approved by the FDA, she said, not to mention those from Central or Eastern Europe. In Europe, each country has its own legal specifications, which requires an even bigger legal team.
The company is currently bootstrapped, funded by IDerma’s past projects. Majić said they were considering either launching a crowdfunding campaign or applying to accelerators in London and Silicon Valley. They have, however, begun taking pre-orders and are talking with several multinational companies.
Outside of health trackers like Jawbone Up, Scanadu is the main competition in the world of medical tricorders for consumers, though Teddy the Guardian occupies a distinct space in its focus on pediatrics. Having FDA approval on the sensors is a leg up, meaning Teddy may be able to get out on the market before competing medical devices proliferate too much.
Richard insists Pacific Room is just a movie with a light plot (rather than a dumb action flick), while Ben explains his general distaste for pre-feature trailers. Mix those discussion with the HD news highlights from the last week and you’ve got episode 358 of the Engadget HD Podcast. Stream it below.
Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)
Producer: Joe Pollicino (@akaTRENT)
Hear the podcast
LG has fired off an announcement this evening confirming what we already knew: that the Optimus G’s successor will be known simply as the LG G2, dropping the “Optimus” name. In addition, says the company, this handset will mark the first in what will be a series of “premium” smartphones branded under the “G” label. We’ve got a brief word from LG’s CEO after the jump.
Along with the announcement, LG’s President and CEO Dr. Jong-seok Park said: “Our vision is to make LG’s newest G devices synonymous with excellence, raising the bar even further for the ultimate in user experience. The new G2 will build upon the excellent reputation established by previous G Series products.” In addition to the “G” premium series, LG will also be branding its 4:3 display handsets as “Vu:”.
We’ve seen a variety of leaks concerning the LG G2, including one earlier this week claiming that the handset will feature a 2540mAh battery. In addition, photographs said to be of the handset have surfaced, as well as a video showing the device in action. A whole slew of specifications have already leaked, leaving little to the imagination at this point.
LG will be unveiling the device at an event on August 7, so there’s precious few days left before we get the official goods on the handset (name aside). Until then, however, what we’ve heard points at the handset offering a 5.2-inch display, as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz processor with 2GB of RAM. The software is said to be Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2, and the camera is a rumored 13-megapixel offering.
Stay tuned, and we’ll update you as more details on the handset surfaces leading up to LG’s August 7 event. Until then, check out the timeline below for some other information that has surfaced on the handset.
SOURCE: Newswire
LG G2 confirmed as Optimus G successor, is first in new “G” brand is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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CNET has learned that Google may be implementing measures to keep the government (or anyone else) out of your Google Drive-stored data. Should this be true, folks concerned about their privacy — everyone, we would hope — might rest easier in a post-PRISM world. According to one of CNET‘s anonymous sources, this isn’t some flight of fancy, either: A small percentage of Drive files are already protected. Of course, even such digital protection is not guaranteed to keep your files private, but it would force those who would like a peek to obtain your login credentials first. Not that Uncle Sam would ever do such a thing without legal permission, right?
Source: CNET
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