Tag Archives: wellbeing

Amazon Halo Rise is a sleep tracking bedside lamp for ones who don’t like wearables

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Amazon has revealed quite a chunk of new as well as improved products at the fall Echo and Alexa hardware event, and I’m quite intrigued by one of them. This is the all-new Halo Rise sleep tracker and bedside lamp that comes just at a time when wearable sleep trackers are gaining traction in the wellness market.

The USP here is the fact that the Halo Rise tracks your slumber without the need to wear a smartwatch or fitness band. This will pique the interest of insomniacs who don’t like wearing any gadget overnight.

Designer: Amazon

All the data gaging is done by radar sensors and low-power radio signals, sans any microphone or camera which makes the wellness and lifestyle gadget different. As you toss and turn during the night every micro movement is detected, along with the patterns in breathing to ascertain the sleep score.

According to Amazon, the product has been extensively tested for its efficacy in daily life situations and the algorithm has been validated, “against the clinical gold standard for sleep analysis.” Instances where two people are sleeping on the same bed or your dog cuddles alongside. Things like age, body type, the ambient temperature of room, humidity, and other factors are also considered.

Halo Rise sits on your bedside table and employs machine learning technology to learn better about your sleep patterns. Things like REM and deep sleep, to access the quality of sleep for better suggestions via the accompanying app. The important thing to note here is that the Halo Rise will track the person closest to the device. There are loads of ambient light settings depending on mood or one can choose presets for things like simulated sunrise or wake-up based on the stage of the sleep cycle.

Amazon has put much emphasis on the encryption of the data sent back to the servers and said that they’ll never use it for any advertising or marketing purpose. According to Melissa Cha, Vice President of Amazon Smart Home and Health; quality sleep is very important for overall well-being, and Halo rise is designed to work seamlessly in the background for, “a new and effortless way to manage your sleep and achieve sleep-life harmony.”

The gadget supports Alexa and with a compatible Echo device, one can add soundscapes for morning alarms to sync with the lamp’s timing. Alexa can also be prompted to talk about the sleep summary for a quick morning update. The app can be used to personalize sleep routines and get a more in-depth summary of the sleep in long term.

Amazon will begin shipping Halo Rise in the US later this year with a price tag set at $139.99. This will include six months of free Halo membership which will cost $3.99/month after that period. When the gadget will be released in other parts of the world is still shrouded in mystery though.

 

 

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District Vision and New Balance team up to teach mindfulness, enhance running performance

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To be mindful means to be more aware of your thoughts. It’s about being aware of your feelings and thoughts in response to the environment where you are at the moment. Life is about making the right choices, and they ought to be the best.

We’re not just talking about choices in fashion, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. Choices in life must be correct as they affect your happiness and wellbeing. But of course, the easiest way to show such characteristics is in the things that we use every day like clothes and footwear. So it’s not really just being stylish or fashionable but choosing items that are mindful of the person and his surroundings.

Designers: District Vision and New Balance

Sustainable fashion is already a known movement. From being eco-friendly, we now move to being mentally healthy which is a state that isn’t exactly easy to maintain. District Vision and New Balance have teamed up to push a unique partnership that will bring awareness and build a more mindful environment in the area of sports. Another goal is to educate people about mindfulness and explore the importance of movement and meditation.

The two brands’ first collaboration brings two brand-new DV + NB sneakers. Officially called District Vision X New Balance FuelCell RC Elite v2, this silhouette is available in two colors: White and Black. District Vision is a relatively new company that is more of a running brand and wellness collective. It has released a line of eyewear that became popular. It’s now trying its luck in the footwear and apparel game, and the DV + NB FuelCell RC Elite v2 is one of the first releases.

District Vision has already teamed up with other sports brands, but this partnership with New Balance brings to light both brands’ commitment to sports, health, and fitness. The FuelCell RC Elite v2 is one of New Balance’s most popular silhouettes. The pair can inspire people to run, move, and finally get moving. With mindfulness being added to the equation, we see a collaboration that genuinely cares for people.

District Vision and New Balance are all about the empowerment of the people. Health is not just about physical movement but also mental well-being. When you want to run, you can be mindful by thinking that such activity isn’t just a temporary escape and can be part of your life.

As for the other products part of the collaboration, the collection includes lightweight activewear and apparel with designs hand-drawn by Filip Pagowski. The shoes are also available in contrasting colors, giving the two different looks and feel. The design is sleek and appears to be lightweight, perfect for road runners. Thanks to the full-length carbon fiber plate, the pair is also comfortable, which can increase energy return. The outsole rubber is also lightweight together with a mid-foot cut out, resulting in reduced weight.

Running does good for your mental health and wellness. This pair can probably inspire you to get running and then eventually learn to be more mindful. You may not be able to offer all-out performance initially, but the two brands’ collaborative effort will empower you.

The District Vision New Balance FuelCell RC Elite V2 running sneaker is now available. In addition, the collaboration includes other items like Anti-Fog Glass, Balaclava, Singlet, Men’s Long Sleeve, Sherpa Pullover, Sherpa Pants, Pack Jacket, and Split Shorts. The clothing offers are now listed for pre-order and will soon be out in key markets.

District Vision and New Balance also offer micro-courses that will help educate and increase mental health through running. You can learn mindfulness when you hear from the providers and teachers. You will discover inner peace, mindfulness, and the benefits of motion through sports as promised by District Vision.

District Vision does research and development for mindful athletes. As a result, the brand comes up with products that can enhance performance and are functional. DV believes athleticism and mental wellbeing are connected, so the approach is holistic. It has proven successful when it comes to sports eyewear for runners and is now extending the same effort to footwear and apparel. For footwear, it has teamed up with New Balance to deliver a pair that helps enhance running performance.

District Vision and New Balance aim to celebrate mindfulness in motion. The partnership goes beyond the products as there’s mental health involved. We’ll get to know about DV Tapes courses and the mindful athlete uniforms the combined forces are working on in the near future.

The post District Vision and New Balance team up to teach mindfulness, enhance running performance first appeared on Yanko Design.

A smart speaker concept you might actually want to keep track of your face at home

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There are ongoing privacy concerns about smart speakers and smart displays that always listen in on you, but this concept actually has a valid reason to.

Speakers and screens that act as hubs for our smart home are becoming more common these days. From Amazon to Google to even Apple, there is no shortage of companies that have products always ready to listen to your voice or even see your face. Those scenarios can sound a bit uncomfortable and almost frightening for some people, but a brand design agency is trying to reframe these technologies in a more positive light by giving smart assistants a more friendly face, almost literally, too.

Designer: Recipe Design

The Soove doesn’t look like your typical smart speaker aside from its conical shape and the customary use of fabric that wraps around the product. It has an odd collar-like ring near the top, actually a sound cone that makes it more sensitive to almost every audio nuance around it. The most eye-catching part of the design, however, is the black glass ball on top and the two eyes that seem to be looking back at you and express some emotions by changing the eyes’ shape.




This gives Soove a more friendly face compared to the more utilitarian smart speaker and smart display designs. It is both disarming and comforting, looking like a friend that’s ready to lend you an ear on your stressful day. That’s exactly the kind of emotions that its designers want to evoke because the smart speaker is more concerned about your well-being than turning the lights on or off.

In addition to listening for audible cues, Soove uses facial tracking to recognize a person’s emotions through their facial expression as well as physical states. It can also take into account data coming from other smart devices like wearables or smart appliances. Soove will then adjust the house’s lighting, temperature, or music to create a more pleasant atmosphere or recommend that the owner take a nap or get some fresh air.

Rather than making a blanket condemnation of face-tracking technologies, Recipe Design wants to demonstrate how they can be put to good use as well. The designer says that “SOOVE aims to change the meaning of existing face-tracking technology by reframing it as a positive enabler beyond surveillance and security. By reframing existing domestic and commercial surveillance technology there is potential to disrupt home monitoring and create an innovative new category designed to influence and drive sensory cues around the smart home to improve our sleep behaviors.”

The post A smart speaker concept you might actually want to keep track of your face at home first appeared on Yanko Design.

‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ may actually be good for you

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If you’re one of the many gamers who has plowed hundreds of hours into Animal Crossing: New Horizons this year, that could have made a positive impact on your well-being. Oxford University researchers used data from the Nintendo Switch smash hit and...

Layer x Panasonic’s line of futuristic products to improve everything, from cooking to skincare!

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With our hectic, fast-paced lives wherein we barely get a moment to breathe, paying attention to our well being has never been more critical. Benjamin Hubert’s Layer and Panasonic have decided to lend us a helping hand with this! Their recent collaboration led to the creation of ‘Balance of Being’, a collection of six near-future design concepts that were presented at IFA 2019. The collection has one and only one aim: to promote our wellbeing and help us feel better with products that can be used at home! It explores “how we can have meaningful engagements with products and how we take care of ourselves.” The products consist of a smart cooking appliance, a skin analyzing device combined with a smoothie maker, a smart head massager, an LED light treatment for hair and two more smart skincare devices (yes, skincare is high up on their list of concerns).

“Balance of Being aims to close this gap between technology and our lifestyles, focusing more on human interaction, comfort, enhancing our lifestyles, and providing truly meaningful experiences with technology allowing us to bond with one another instead of our devices,” added Rowan Williams, creative lead from Panasonic Design’s London team. And I must say, their products do seem to be a reflection of that.

The Grow device uses advanced LED light treatment to promote hair growth. Grow understand’s every individual’s hair condition and structure to identify the appropriate treatment for our hair and it’s follicles!

Lift is a smart cooking and food maturing appliance which uses advanced heat and pressure technology, along with a sensor positioned within the device to ‘lift’ the food to its optimal nutritional state or in other words to retain all the much-needed nutrients! The device was created with an intention to encourage all members of the family, including younger generations to participate in cooking and healthier eating.

The Shot is the device I find the most interesting! It’s a two in one skincare device and smoothie maker! The Shot uses a camera placed at the front of the device and AI to analyze our skin. After receiving the results, Shot creates a smoothie specially curated for our skin type and it’s unique needs using a concoction of frozen fruits and vegetables. The smoothie is jampacked with vitamins and minerals to enhance your health, giving you the perfect radiant skin you have always wanted by addressing your health concerns from the inside.

Tone is a skincare device that will sit comfortably on our necks while using LED and steam treatment to improve our complexion and health of our skin. It uses AI to examine our skin, and devices a personalized self-care regime, so our skin has the glow it truly deserves!

Need a stress-relieving head massage? Well, that’s exactly what Wave is here for. Wave is a smart massaging device that can be used to relieve stress anywhere at any time (yes, even at work)! The portable massager maps and evaluates the level of tension and then determines the length of time, method and intensity of the treatment.

Layer and Panasonic have added another handy skincare device, but one that works when we’re asleep! It understands the needs of skin even in our sleeping state, to provide us with a lighting and steam treatment that enhances our skin. Asleep or awake, it seems like the Balance of Being has got all our needs covered!

“We are curious about how we engage with products and the knowledge that they can build of us and our families,” said Panasonic Design’s creative director, Takehiro Ikeda. And it seems like their curiosity has lead to a series of products that provide assistance in almost every aspect of our personal health and well being. We don’t know when these products will be available to the public, but here’s hoping it’s sometime soon because we all need some self-pampering and as for me well I need it ASAP!

YouTube will stop displaying exact follower counts in September

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In an attempt to take the pressure off of creators, YouTube is changing the way it displays how many followers an account has. Throughout September, the platform is rolling out abbreviated public subscriber counts. For example, if a creator has 1,234...

Facebook increases pay for contractors and content moderators

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It's no secret that Facebook depends on contract laborers, who do everything from moderate content to help train AI. But the work those contractors do is often anxiety-inducing and under-paid. In response to an exposé by The Verge earlier this...