Tag Archives: tricorder

iPhone biosensor cradle brings us one step closer to having tricorders (video)

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iPhone biosensor cradle brings us one step closer to having tricorders video

It seems like every day we're getting a little bit closer to having tricorders, and today's no exception. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have designed hardware and software that turns the iPhone into a powerful biosensor that's useful for toxin and pathogen testing as well as medical diagnosis. The package consists of a cradle that contains an assortment of lenses and filters which line up with the handset's camera, along with an app that guides the user through the testing process. At the core of the device is a photonic crystal slide which basically turns the iPhone into a high-resolution spectrometer. While the cradle only contains about $200 worth of parts, it's just as accurate as laboratory equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars, with the added bonus of being hand-held. The team just received an NSF grant to explore other applications for the device and is working on a cradle for Android phones. Hit the break for a demo video and a peek into the future.

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Source: University of Illinois

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

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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.

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Source: Indiegogo

Texas Instruments brings sci-fi tech to life with DLP (hands-on video)

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Texas Instruments brings scifi tech to life with DLP handson video

We've come across a number of DLP-based pico projectors over the years and while these products are getting smaller, brighter and higher resolution, it's the integration with other devices that's really captured our imagination. Samsung's Galaxy Beam, which we reviewed last year, merges a 15-lumen nHD (640x360) DLP-based pico projector with a Galaxy S Advance. More recently at CES 2013, Texas Instruments announced its new Tilt & Roll Pixel chip architecture and demoed a handful of other DLP-equipped products live on our stage, including 3M's Streaming Projector and Smart Devices' U7 tablet.

Gallery: Texas Instruments DLP tech hands-on

Gallery: SmartDevices U7 tablet hands-on

The company recently invited us to play with some of these devices and to show us other applications in areas such as 3D printing, 3D scanning, optical research, medical imaging and even automotive. Some of this DLP-equipped tech, like the Interactive Center Console, shows where we're headed in the near future -- other products, like Christie's VeinViewer Flex, exist today but remind us of something right out of science-fiction. Take a look at our galleries below, then join us after the break for our hands-on video and more info on these devices.

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Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize registration begins tomorrow

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Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize registration begins tomorrow

Who hasn't dreamed of having a Tricorder from the show Star Trek? Qualcomm announced the Tricorder X Prize last year, who's aim is to create a Star Trek-like device. Those who are interested in fame and fortune, as well as the $10 million prize, can finally register starting tomorrow and then they have to actually make it happen. There have already been over 250 teams pre-registered for the competition, and those interested can head to the official site for the full guidelines and actually register for the site.

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Source: Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize

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

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

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

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

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Glove Tricorder helps train doctors, may lead to DIY cancer screening

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Med Sensation's Glove Tricorder gives doctors feedback, may lead to home diagnosis

It may look like an early prototype of the Power Glove, but this wearable "tricorder" is not only less embarrassing than the doomed Nintendo peripheral -- it's also quite a bit more advanced technologically. This second prototype of the medical gadget is home to a veritable arsenal of sensors, including an accelerometer, pressure and temperature modules. Eventually, Med Sensation hopes to place ultrasound pads on the fingertips, allowing physicians to peer inside the body while they poke and prod in an attempt to diagnose you. At the moment, the system is better suited for providing feedback -- guiding trainees in the proper techniques for giving exams. Ultimately though, the hope is to put these in (or would that be on?) the hands of average Joes and Janes. Individuals could then check for lumps or enlarged organs at home, without having to spend half the day sitting in a waiting room. For a brief demonstration, check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Glove Tricorder helps train doctors, may lead to DIY cancer screening

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Glove Tricorder helps train doctors, may lead to DIY cancer screening originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 01:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Doctor Builds Own Tricorders, You Can Too

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Everyone who has ever watched an episode of Star Trek or one of the Trek films has probably thought it would be cool to have a tricorder. Even consumer electronics maker Qualcomm wants to bring tricorders to reality. A cognitive science researcher named Dr. Peter Jensen has now offered up the schematics to build two of his tricorder designs at no cost.

tricorder mark 2

The cooler of the two designs is the Mark 2 tricorder, and it is crammed with dual OLED touchscreens and uses a clamshell form factor. This particular tricorder runs Debian Linux and uses hardware that you can readily buy at specialty shops. Its CPU is an Atmel AT91RM9200 with an ARM920T 32-bit core. These tricorders don’t measure health stats, so won’t win that massive X Prize purse, but they will totally get you laid at Comic-Con.

The Mark 2 tricorder uses six AAA batteries for power. Inside the case are sensors for measuring temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, magnetic fields, color, ambient light levels, GPS location, and the distance to a surface. It won’t ferret out Klingons or help you figure out what killed that hapless redshirt, but I like it anyway.

Details on how to build both the Mark 1 and Mark 2 tricorders are available over on Dr. Jensen’s website.

[via ArsTechnica]


Tricorder designs go open source: can detect magnetic fields, reveal Trekkies (video)

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Open source tricorder design

We're still working on our own plans to grab that $10 million Tricorder X-Prize from Qualcomm and our progress has just been given a shot in the arm from Dr. Peter Jansen, who's released the designs for his tricorders. Making all the specifics open source, his Mark 2 model runs on Linux, while the hardware includes an ARM Atmel microcontroller squeezed into a clam-shell with two OLED touchscreens. Schematics, board layouts, and the firmware is all available at the source below and also includes the initial proof-of-concept device. The tricorders need six AAA to run and include sensors for temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, ambient light, distance and even magnetic fields. Dr. Jansen's hope is to make scientists out of everyone -- including your kids. That is, right after they ask you what Star Trek is.

Continue reading Tricorder designs go open source: can detect magnetic fields, reveal Trekkies (video)

Tricorder designs go open source: can detect magnetic fields, reveal Trekkies (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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