Scanadu Scout tricorder tops $1 million in funding, now comes in black

Posted on 19/06/2013 by Jon Fingas

Scanadu clearly knows to tap into our collective Star Trek dreams, as the company just reached $1 million in funding for its Scout tricorder. The backing so far comes from people in 91 countries, including luminaries like Eugene Roddenberry (who else?) and Steve Wozniak. That figure is more than symbolic, we'd add -- backers who've paid for a Scout can now get theirs in black rather than a clinical-looking white. Should the new color option prove tempting, it's not necessarily too late; as of this writing, there's still a few days left to make a pledge.

Filed under: Household, Science

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Source: Indiegogo

Scanadu finalizes Scout tricorder design, wants user feedback to help it get FDA approval

Posted on 22/05/2013 by Michael Gorman

We first saw a prototype of Scout, the tricorder and companion app built by Scanadu for the Tricorder X-prize competition late last year. Today, the company is unveiling Scout's final version and launching an Indiegogo campaign to let folks order Scout and sign up to participate in a usability study -- which will provide Scanadu the user feedback needed to help its tricorder get certified by the FDA. In the six months since Scout was first revealed, the design has changed somewhat, and we checked in with company CEO Walter De Brouwer to get the lowdown on the new version.

Like the prototype, the new model tracks your temperature, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure and stress level. Scout now pulls your vitals in ten seconds using just optical sensors, which enables it to read the vital signs of others -- as opposed to the prototype which utilized an EEG sensor and could only record the info of the person holding it. Plus, thanks to some newly developed algorithms, it can now take both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings with 95 percent accuracy. Running the algorithms to translate the optical sensor info takes a good bit of computing power, however. So, Scout got upgraded from an 8-bit processor to a 32-bit unit based on Micrium, the operation system being used by NASA's Curiosity Rover for sample analysis on Mars. If you're into supporting real world space technology being used to make science fiction a reality, the crowdfunding project of your dreams has arrived.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: Indiegogo

Scanadu’s Walter De Brouwer talks tricorders and time travel backstage at Expand (video)

Posted on 17/03/2013 by Christopher Trout

Walter De Brouwer wants to make the tricorder a reality. The Scanadu founder and CEO took some time away from his Trekkie toiling at NASA's Ames Research Park to join our panel on the future of technology and made his way backstage shortly after to discuss his vision of things to come with Sharif Sakr. For the full interview, covering everything from implantable health sensors to semiotics and the possibility (or not) of time travel, check out our video after the break.

Follow all of Engadget's Expand coverage live from San Francisco right here!

Filed under: Wearables, Wireless, Science, Alt

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Scanadu’s Scout tricorder and companion app detect what ails you, arrive in 2013 for $150

Posted on 29/11/2012 by Michael Gorman

The quest to create a tricorder began many years ago, when such a device was but a figment of Gene Roddenberry's vivid imagination. However, his vision has crept ever closer to reality in recent years, with many researchers crafting devices capable of gathering human health data and the creation of an X Prize competition to spur further tricorder development.

Scanadu is a company that's answered the X Prize bell and is aiming to bring just such a device to market by late next year for a mere $150. Called Scout, the tricorder is roughly two inches square and a half an inch thick and packs a rechargeable battery, IR , EEG and EKG scanners, plus an accelerometer, Bluetooth radio and a micro-USB port. That hardware, when combined with Scout's companion smartphone app can track a person's heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature, pulse transit (essentially systolic blood pressure) and blood oxygenation.

To gather that data, users first must download the free Scout app and pair the tricorder hardware with their Android, iOS or BB7 handset via Bluetooth. Then it's simply a matter of pinching the device between their thumb and finger and holding it against their temple for ten seconds while the app takes the necessary readings. From there, the app can track your data over the long haul and provide an accurate picture of your health. We had a chance to see functional and production Scout prototypes and to speak with Scanadu CEO Walter De Brouwer and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alan Greene about Scout's development, so join us after the break for more.

Gallery: Scanadu Scout tricorder prototype hands-on