Tag Archives: Smart Technology

The viral Xiaomi robotic dog posed to be an affordable challenge to Boston Dynamic’s Spot just released new images + sketches!

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Quadruped robots hit the scene in 1976 and since then, they’ve been used for everything from unsafe forensic and governmental tasks such as bomb-sniffing and mine surveying to clinical tasks like connecting with patients to provide remote medical attention.

Quadruped technology is the talk of the robotics world. Four-legged robots are relied on by industries across the world for tasks that require a stable walking gait and agile mobility. Xiaomi, a Chinese tech company, recently unveiled more 3D renders of their own Quadruped robotic creation, CyberDog.

Currently, the bio-inspired, four-legged robot has been engineered as a robotic companion whose future technical capabilities are still in development. In a recent press release from Xiaomi, it’s said that CyberDog comes complete with “AI interactive cameras [and sensors], binocular ultra-wide-angle fisheye cameras, and Intel ® RealSense™ D450 Depth module, and can be trained with its computer vision algorithm.”

CyberDog’s external interface features an array of camera sensors. CyberDog’s involved vision sensor system allows the robot to carve out its own navigational map and analyze its surrounding environment in real-time, allowing it to look toward a destination and avoid physical barriers on the way. Currently, CyberDog’s integrated software allows the quadruped robotic companion to operate like a real dog.

Inspired by the pet-like nature of canines, CyberDog also features built-in smart technology that allows posture and facial recognition, which means CyberDog can even follow its owner around like a real dog. Xiaomi filled CyberDog with 11 high-precision sensors that allow the robot to register, analyze, and interact with its surrounding environment. With a maximum torque output and rotation speed up to 32N·m/220Rpm, CyberDog can move at speeds up to 3.2 m/s.

Syberdog also comes with 3 type-C ports and 1 HDMI port so users can attach hardware add-ons, Xiaomi describes, “be it a search light, panoramic camera, motion camera, LiDAR, or more.” In addition to its integrated biometric technology, CyberDog responds to voice commands like assigning tasks or operation control. Alternatively, users can manage CyberDog’s movement and direction via accompanying remote control or smartphone applications.

Expanding on CyberDog’s technical and managerial potential, a “rich external interface” includes 3 type-C ports and 1 HDMI port, allowing users to attach hardware add-ons or software systems to make acute improvements to CyberDog’s existing technology. On CyberDog’s ability to register commands, Xiaomi notes, “CyberDog can be called on for the most unique tasks, and the ways in which it can be interacted with holds unforetold possibilities.”

Designer: Xiaomi

Rubber bottomed feet allow CyberDog to move around rugged terrain and indoor settings alike.

Hinged limbs allow CyberDog to move just like a canine animal.

CyberDog can even do push-ups. Only half-kidding. It can do push-ups, thanks to its 220 rpm32N-m maximum torque.

Soft rubber bottoms allow for soft and nimble treading.

11 high-precision sensors fill out CyberDog’s internal wiring that give CyberDog the power to understand, analyze, and interact with its environment.

CyberDog comes equipped with voice command technology and facial recognition software so it can follow humans around and respond to tasks like a real canine might.

CyberDog can conduct high-speed movements up to 3.2 m/s.

MIT scientist weaves smart fabric with electrical signal to monitor health and store digital memory!

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MIT scientist Yoel Fink has worked on developing smart fabrics for longer than a decade. In 2010, Fink and some of his colleagues produced fibers that could detect audio. A first for smart fabric developments, the fiber could be woven into a fabric, which transformed it into a needle-thin, working microphone. Today, the team of scientists continues work on spinning fibers into the smart fabric but moves past analog capabilities towards a digital future, weaving fibers that carry continuous electrical signals into a piece of wearable smart fabric.

Published in a Nature Communications academic journal, Fink’s research suggests that the fibers carrying electrical signals could be woven into the wearable smart fabric for “applications in physiological monitoring, human-computer interfaces, and on-body machine-learning.” Incorporating those capabilities into smart fabric required first embedding hundreds of silicon digital chips into casting pre-forms before spinning that into a piece of wearable fabric.

Each string of flexible fiber reaches tens of meters in length, containing hundreds of intertwined, digital sensors that monitor temperature changes and store memory. Each digital fiber, for instance, can collect and store information on changing body temperatures, garnering real-time inference for the wearer’s activity throughout the day. In addition to tracking and collecting data on physiological measures, the smart fabric retains the information gathered and “harbors the neural pathways” necessary to understand that data and infer the future activity of the wearer.

Thin enough to slide through the eye of a needle, the smart fabric is woven with hundreds of laced digital chips that still remain undetectable to the wearer. Forming a continuous electrical connection, the textile fiber also weaves a neural network made up of 1,650 AI connections into the smart fabric, pushing the new development even further. Capable of collecting 270 minutes worth of changing body temperatures and storing a 767-kilobit full-color short film as well as a 0.48-megabyte music file, the smart fabric can retain all of this and store it for two months at a time without power.

Designer: Yoel Fink

Each string of fabric is intertwined with fibers that contain hundreds of digital chips to monitor body temperature and track memory devices.

When woven together, the fibers form a string of fabric thin enough to pass through the eye of a needle.

The fabric is thin enough that Gabriel Loke,  a Ph.D. student at MIT says, “When you put it into a shirt, you can’t feel it at all. You wouldn’t know it was there.”

This smart heat press takes on an ergonomic and intuitive design to help beginners feel more focused!

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Everyone picked up a hobby during the pandemic. While some of us took up gardening and others learned how to create jewelry, a good chunk of us began designing our own clothes. Finding the right equipment, like gardening or metalworking tools, for new hobbies can be a tough ask since we’re only starting out. Noticing the rise in popularity over designing hand-pressed clothes, Suosi Design created Viso Press, a smart heat press for heat pressing patterns onto clothing that makes the beginner process feel a lot more seamless.

Minimal by design, Viso Press ditches the chunky, hefty structure of the heat press table and takes on a slimmer body formed into the shape of a conventional steam iron. Heat-pressing requires a lot of focus and precision, so the designers at Suosi Design embedded Viso Press with smart features that help make heat-pressing feel a lot less intimidating, allowing beginners to focus solely on pressing their patterns onto clothing items. Viso Press features a round screen in its center that works as the device’s main display screen. There, users can adjust the heat and time settings on Viso Press. Altogether, users can operate Viso Press with just one hand since all of the control options can be found on the round display screen, just above the handle. By consolidating all of the controls into one screen, beginners need only look there for the next step.

Large heat-pressing tables can feel intimidating. If I didn’t know better, looking at one for the first time, I might think it was some clunky blacksmithing tool. To make the process of heat pressing feel a little more welcoming and interactive, Viso Press lets users guide their own progress with a tool that feels ergonomic and looks a little more familiar.

Designer: Suosi Design

Viso Press takes on the shape of a traditional iron to enhance its usability and ergonomic design.

Ditching the heft of a heat press table for a sleek, minimal design, Viso Press feels a lot less intimidating.

Viso Press consolidates its entire control panel into one round screen that features control options like temperature and time settings.

Minimal by design, Viso Press can be stored anywhere.

Small enough to fit in casual places, Viso Press only has to be plugged in for use.

To activate Viso Press, users only have to dislodge it from its base and begin pressing patterns onto their clothing.

This intelligent knee brace uses AI to give you the right support you need, avoiding knee pain!

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Knee braces are worn by the likes of everyone from the professional athlete to the casual power walker. Built with materials ranging from metal to foam, they’re specifically designed to brace your knee upon impact. While most of us have worn a knee brace once or twice, we all wear them for different reasons. The professional basketball player might be nursing an injury, while the occasional jogger wears a knee brace to avoid any possible injury. Recognizing all the different needs we have for wearing a knee brace, C-Exoskeleton created a knee brace called E-Knee that adapts to each individual knee through the integration of smart technology.

Conceived by a self-proclaimed “group of sporty geeks who are dedicated to exoskeleton technology and addicted to robots and Cyberpunk,” E-Knee was created by C-Exoskeleton upon realizing that most knee braces in circulation today do not incorporate auto-adjustments or auto-binding, instead, the elastic knee braces wrap knees either too loosely or too tightly. Designed in the image of Cyberpunk, E-Knee’s support elements, such as gyroscope and airbags, remained exposed and exaggerated with colorful displays. Offering real-time support, each component of E-Knee works to register when and where support is needed and decipher how best to deliver that support.

The knee brace’s gyroscope, a device used to measure and maintain orientation and angular velocity, detects measurable motion, indicating to the built-in ARM chip to tell the micro compressors to pressurize E-Knee’s airbags, tightening its wrap around the knee for support. Based on the different sports you play while wearing E-Knee, the different pressure needed to remain comfortable during physical activity is recorded and saved to the knee brace for future adjustments. Depending on the activity and the amount of physical exertion required, E-Knee will tighten or loosen its grip around the knee, adapting to the level of intensity and the user’s needs.

Regardless of your weight or build, E-Knee delivers the correct fit for your knee through the breathable fabric used to make a knee brace. The knee brace itself is crafted from highly elastic, breathable fabric that molds to your individual knee, with support bars and a gel pad for extra cushioning. The main control box, with a built-in ARM chip, flexible airbags, and air tubes all work together to tighten or deflate E-Knee’s wrap around the knee to deliver the best support in real-time.

Designer: C-Exoskeleton

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $253 (49% off). Raised over $176,006. Only 72 hours to go!

E-Knee: Your Customized Intelligent Knee Support Solution

We all have different knees and needs, so why is it that all kneepads are the same? E-Knee is a new way to get just the right amount of pressure with the help of Artificial Intelligence, micro-airbags, and customizable compression. Designed with breathable fabric, E-Knee easily slides up any knee and turns on with the push of a button.

3 features that set E-Knee Apart

Real-Time Support – When the gyroscope detects powerful motion, the built-in ARM chip will tell the micro compressors to pressurize airbags based on different levels of pressure and motion, all in real-time. E-Knee gives dynamic support where and when you need it.

Auto-Adjustments – E-Knee detects different levels of air pressure based on initial tightness and saves the data for the next time. Three preloaded profiles offer the right support in any situation: rest (sitting down), low-intensity (jogging for example), and high-intensity (basketball for example).

Custom Size – E-Knee offers the right fit regardless of your build. The breathable fabric stretches around your leg without restricting your motion while staying firmly in place.

To charge E-Knee, users only need to plug the control box with a built-in ARM chip into it’s charging cable.

E-Knee can be worn to play a wide array of physically demanding sports, from running to CrossFit.

E-Knee is the ideal companion even for the casual hike as it adjusts to changing physical demands.

Following multiple ideations, C-Exoskeleton found E-Knee’s winning design in one that merges Cyberpunk aesthetics with traditional knee brace familiarity.

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $253 (49% off). Raised over $176,006. Only 72 hours to go!

This ring lets you control your personal data, to prevent tech companies from spying on you!

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The digital era is probably at its peak right now. From social media to virtual reality, we all have digital identities, and ever since the pandemic we have been living in our devices. This comes with its own set of pros and cons but one of the most popular complaints people have is about their data being misused. So how do we stop or regulate data mining and make people feel safe again? Argodesign attempts to answer that question with their wearable tech concept, the Me.Ring which basically helps you be in incognito mode in real life.

Me.Ring is essentially a connected switch that you wear on your finger and flipping it controls how you want to share your data. When you are okay with your data being collected (from your face, your location, or just about anything else), you switch it on. When you want to stay private, you switch it off. This conceptual ring lets you be a digital ninja by giving you control of your data so you can opt out of your actions being recorded/analyzed forever. “The ring almost acts as the keys to engage (or not) with society, to whatever degree you’re comfortable,” says Jenny Clark, associate creative director at Argodesign, who created the hardware mockup. A design like Me.Ring will require a robust software infrastructure and buy-in from the government + private companies to be able to fulfill its purpose. There is a lot of potential for making it an inclusive design that can serve sections of our demographic that require more monitoring.

In many ways, it is similar to the personal smart devices and gadgets we own with added controls and an integrated app that will let you choose your sharing settings. Me.Ring will use Bluetooth and other low-power wireless protocols that could communicate, not just with your phone, but with beacons in your environment such as smart turnstiles, sidewalks, cameras, and digital signs. The ring will be able to send signals to these points of access and sensors in your environment. It would clarify whether your data was collectible, which parts of your data were collectible, and for what purpose. “For private-sector entities interested in using or collecting your data will be allowed to send you offers,” says Jared Ficklin, chief technologist and partner at Argodesign. For example, if you are getting coffee at Starbucks and notice a beacon, maybe a restaurant analyst company could ask to record the next 10 places you went out to eat for a small payment or coupon.

There are a lot of benefits to sharing your data as well and can shape societies into smarter cities with infrastructure that has been designed to serve diverse communities. It would be a very convenient personal database and storage making it easy to share your contact details when you are networking professionally or your medical data when you sick or are traveling in a pandemic. The ring’s switch would activate a collection of those preferences and customize it to you. Me.Ring is your liaison and data broker to an invisible world of data trackers. It gives us a glimpse into what the future could look like for data management, privacy and existing between the duality of our online and offline worlds.

Design: Argodesign

This NFC enabled sleep aid device keeps you away from late-night scrolling and improves sleep!

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Sleep is personal. Each night, we curate the best conditions for optimal sleep. You might have a preferred meditation app, a favorite essential oil for your trusted aromatherapy diffuser, or the only sleep apnea breathing mask that won’t make you feel like you’re going into combat come morning. Whatever your ideal sleeping conditions call for, we all know how important it is to set the tone for a good night’s rest. Mark Stanisic recently debuted his design, Oblak in order to provide a sleeping bedside device that helps manage nightly routines and promote effective rest.

Oblak is essentially a smart speaker that walks users through their nightly sleep routines. Through the use of smart technology, Oblak introduces each individual user’s optimal bedtime environment ideal for effective rest. Many factors can contribute to sleep deprivation, but in today’s world, the overconsumption of media on our smartphones is perhaps the leading cause. In order to step away from smart technology doing the work for us, Stanisic takes a holistic approach instead, encouraging users through Oblak to make conscious decisions that benefit their sleep patterns. For instance, Oblak uses NFC technology to register when its user is ready for bed.

In order for Oblak to operate, the user simply places their smartphone on the induction charging zone, then through connectivity pairing, an accompanying app will ask if they’re ready for bed. Once ‘Yes’ is selected, NFC technology communicates with the bedroom’s additional smart technology such as lightbulbs and thermostats to transform the bedroom into the ideal environment for good sleep. Stanisic found that optimal sleeping conditions require a room’s average temperature to be set between 18-28℃, that the lighting should emanate warm, red wavelengths, and that ambient sound should provide a low-decibel and stable range of sound to cut through distracting outside noises.

All of these conditions work to provide the ideal environment for effective sleep and once a user tells Oblak that they’re ready for bed, the sleeping bedside device maintains the conditions throughout the night so users can sleep soundly. Lights fade from cool blue to warmer red hues, the thermostat adjusts to find the most suitable temperature, and ambient soundwaves permeate the user’s room, creating a sort of sound bath to get some rest.

Designer: Mark Stanisic

Once Oblak’s user is ready for bed, smart technology adjusts the bedroom’s lighting to provide the ideal environment for a good night’s sleep.

Today’s younger generation spends a lot of time looking at their laptop’s or smartphone’s digital screen, which negatively affects our relationship with sleep.

Oblak’s simple interface and textured surface invite users to power on the sleep aid device and securely place their belongings when ready for bed.

Oblak’s friendly appearance prioritizes the user’s peace of mind by utilizing inviting fabric and layers of translucent surfaces that echo the fogginess that follows a good night’s rest.

Bugatti’s modern electric tea kettle is designed to maintain the exact ideal temperature for your tea!

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When it comes to coffee and tea, a lot goes into making the perfect cup. Water temperature, steeping time, and water flow all play a part and, if you drink coffee or tea as much I do, you can taste the difference. Selecting the right tea kettle for brewing pour-overs or steeping loose leaf tea can become overwhelming when there are so many options available. With integrated smart technology, the Jacqueline tea kettle, ‘The Jackie’ for short, from Italian lifestyle brand Bugatti, offers both style and efficiency when in need of that cup of tea that’s just right.

Shaped like a stainless steel handbag, Jacqueline is an electric tea kettle that comes with Bluetooth connectivity, allowing users to monitor and set the perfect heating conditions for boiling water. Unlike typical electric tea kettles that require just a measly flip of a switch, Jacqueline is laden with smart technology to assure users that a flavorful, hot cup of tea is always just a few moments away. Ditching the light switch, for a smart handle, Jacqueline comes with an interactive, digital display screen that indicates each brew’s water temperature and level as well as a signal that shows whether or not the kettle’s been turned on. In addition to this display screen, Bugatti boasts that Jacqueline can pair with your smartphone or tablet through Bluetooth, allowing users to operate Jacqueline from a distance through Bugatti’s accompanying app, Bugatti B Chef. Whether you’re reading for hours on end in bed or heading home from a day spent in the cold, with Jacqueline a hot cup of tea can always be waiting for you.

Most of the IoT technology found on Jacqueline is located on the tea kettle’s handle, which is constructed from PCT Tritan. There, users can find Jacqueline’s temperature regulator, which can be adjusted for either Celsius or Fareignheight temperature scales, as well as the kettle’s ‘Keep Warm,’ function which maintains a consistent simmer for as long as three hours. In addition to the kettle’s ‘Keep Warm’ feature, Jacqueline includes a ‘Baby Food/Water,’ setting that cools boiling water down to a temperature suitable for babies. With a body sculpted from 18/10 stainless steel, Jacqueline is as elegant as stainless steel kitchen appliances come, making it appropriate for any modern kitchen. Drawing inspiration from the classic ceramic teapot, Jacqueline strikes the ideal balance between refined contemporary luxury and tried-and-true teamaking tradition.

Designer: Bugatti

This Nike-inspired integrated smart fitness system gives at-home gym workouts the boost it needs!

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There have been some pretty innovative design solutions for home gyms in the age of COVID-19, ranging from adaptive gym modules that utilize smart technology for instruction to more discreet gym equipment that disguises as home furniture. While most of us are staying at home for these workouts, ensuring we all have the equipment needed can still get messy and some of us have neighbors living below and next to us, so we have to compromise when it comes to how loud we get. Swift Creatives, a Scandinavian design studio located in Aarhus, Denmark, recently debuted Smart Fitness, an integrated smart workout system that equips your home workout with all the gym-related accessories you might need.

The team at Swift Creatives got inspired by Nike and designed Smart Fitness for athletes at every level of any given sport to have a single system supplied with five smart workout accessories: a foam roller that doubles as a speaker, weighted jump rope, headphones, and water bottle. Foam rollers are a Godsend and essential for use following a heavy workout. Designed to help relieve muscle tension, increase your joint range of motion, and promote blood flow – foam rolling is an athlete’s bread and butter. Since foam rollers are supposed to be firm for purpose and by design, Swift Creatives took the opportunity to enclose a speaker inside the heavy-duty foam so that music can play while rolling.

The included jump rope is balanced and customizable for different workout weights and athlete heights. The jump rope’s cables can be switched out to either lighten the lift or load it on. Additionally, a built-in counter and timer keep track of every rope session so you won’t ever lose count. With integrated music connectivity, Smart Fitness can link up each workout accessory, like the breathable smart headphones, to your smartphone or smartwatch so that you can easily play music from your preferred streaming platform. Bringing its own unique edge to the workout, Smart Fitness’s magnetic water bottle also comes equipped with smart control switches that activate a UV-C LED light cleaning cycle so you can keep your focus on the workout.

Designer: Swift Creatives Studio

These animal shaped IoT home appliances bring some light to our Corona-blues!

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In relation to technology, the concept of “untact marketing” refers to smart products and services that require no human contact. Untact marketing schemes and technological services have risen in numbers since the start of the 2020 pandemic because no longer is AI intelligence and smart technology considered an exciting exception, but it has become the norm. As a means of following this paradigm shift, S2VICTOR designed a collection of untact IoT home appliances, called Animal Land, to resemble different animals, bringing in some lighthearted fun into this seemingly endless pandemic.

In order to convey an ecosystem’s natural and simple life cycles, the Animal Land collection consists of a giraffe-shaped router, a whale-shaped diffuser, and a home speaker shaped to resemble a turtle. All three of the home appliances are connected with one another through smart home technology and can be separately managed with an accompanying app. S2VICTOR chose the shape of a giraffe to form their router as the giraffe’s long neck resembles a long antenna. Equipped with motion sensors and voice recognition capabilities, the giraffe-shaped router caters to the needs of everyone in each given home. The whale-shaped diffuser is first and foremost an aromatic refresher but incorporates special smart technology in order to enhance its untact nature. In addition to its main purpose of diffusing different aromas, Animal Land’s whale-shaped diffuser also measures humidity, air quality, and the atmosphere in any given home, transmitting useful information for each resident inside without requiring them to open a weather app. Finally, Animal Land includes a home speaker device shaped like a turtle, which comes equipped with smart technology in order to provide fast response time and voice recognition features. The home speaker’s playful disguise might indicate a slower speed, but an engraving underneath the home speaker’s shell reads, “I’m not slow,” revealing the speaker’s high-speed response time and connectivity.

In order for many modern products and services to be able to compete with today’s market, the inclusion of untact technology is a prerequisite. Overall, it seems that Animal Land’s true inspiration is found in the collection’s playful facade. Animal Land from S2VICTOR recognizes the urgency behind the untact movement and meets it with both a playful design and sense of humor to make light of these grim global circumstances.

Designer: S2VICTOR