The development of big data and biotechnology is heralding a new era of consumer electronics that will take civilization into a connected ‘Internet of Things’.
As technology moves from desktops and laptops to our bags and bodies, building databases and deep learning will help society adapt from micro to macro.
Intelligent sound analysis
Smartphones and wearables can soon be equipped with software that can diagnose a wide range of mental and physical health conditions ranging from depression to heart disease by listening to an audio biomarker.
Researchers develop a new method for using machine learning to analyze thousands of sound characteristics, such as pitch, tone, rhythm, rate, and pitch, to detect patterns associated with medical problems compared to sound samples from healthy people. Have been. good
Founded in 2012 and supported with $ 10 million in funding over the past four years, “Beyond Verbal” is a leader in Israel-based Beyond Verbal Analytics technology startups. Voices that can track illness and emotional states
The company claims that the patented mood detector is based on 18 years of research on the mechanics of the human voice of more than 70,000 participants in 30 languages.
Beyond Variable is developing APIs for connecting and analyzing data from smart homes, automobiles, digital assistants like Alexa and Siri, or voice-activated systems from other IoT devices.
As part of the expansion, the company is conducting research with the Mayo Clinic and has shown interest in working with organizations such as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Likewise, Boston-based “Sonday Health” MA aims to have AI analyzed sound installed on the device and seek to provide samples via smartphone apps to people.
The company’s platform can detect changes in the volume of sound and is tested by hospitals and insurance companies in real-time to monitor and diagnose mental and physical health.
In the long term, companies are considering how patient history can be incorporated into the era of AI and big data.
In addition to privacy concerns, patients’ ability to fake sounds remains an obstacle that researchers are trying to overcome.
Smart contact lens
Researchers, including Google, Samsung, and Sony, are developing sensors and integrated circuits that are compact and biocompatible enough to be used in smart contact lenses.
It is believed that the device can be used for a variety of mainstream applications such as photography and video, augmented reality, image stabilization and night vision enhancement or even a. Diagnose and treat disease
For comfort, the lens needs to be compact in diameter and thickness, presenting several design challenges, especially in the context of power transmission.
Batteries that use standard chemicals are too large and weak for contact applications, so researchers look for short-term near-field inductive coupling, while a longer-term solution may be involved. With capturing solar energy, converting tears into electricity, or using a piezoelectric device that generates energy at the speed of the eye
It is also possible to use eye movements such as eyelid blinking to interact with the lens, and Sony has patents explaining the technology that can differentiate between voluntary and involuntary blinking.
Although I have just started but products in this category are already visible, including compact heads-up displays (HUDs) developed by Innovaga.
Called ‘eMacula’ (formerly ‘ioptic’), DARPA purchased a prototype and a combined contact lens in a set of glasses that were used as a projection screen.
Contact lenses have a special filter that allows the eye to focus on the projected image for the glasses while being able to see the surrounding environment. In addition to military use, if approved by the FDA, Iannowega said the kit could be useful for gaming or 3D movies.
Elsewhere, the FDA has approved contact by Sensimed, which can measure eye pressure in cataract patients. Google has filed a patent to track those contacts, such as sugar levels, and researchers at UNIST Looking similar to University of Wisconsin. – Madison is developing autofocus lenses that can replace bifocal or stereoscopic lenses.
Technologies of this scope are largely dependent on the availability of compact and inexpensive biosensors.
In addition to external lenses, the Canadian company Ocumetrics is conducting clinical trials of injectable and upgradable autofocus bionic lenses, which claim to improve 20/20 vision three times.
Future enhancements may include augmented reality with slow drug delivery systems, wireless access to device screens, and intraocular projection systems with human vision that can be focused at the cellular level.
