Month: January 2023

At a preview event at CES in Las Vegas today, baby-sleep experts Halo showed off a wearable for babies, which can track four measurements in real-time: heart rate, rollover, skin temperature, and movement. The hope is that, with easier access to this info, parents can rest at ease while their babies rest, at ease.

The company claims it is the first smart monitor that lets parents customize alerts to deliver the information they find most helpful through their baby’s developmental stages. These alerts, combined with the historical sleep data SleepSure records, provide valuable insights so parents or caregivers can adjust their baby’s environment for more optimal sleep.

“Our deep expertise in the sleep category has allowed us to really understand parents’ everyday struggles when it comes to helping their baby sleep.” says Halo CEO Doug Gillespie. “For example, when we surveyed our parent testers, a big concern for everyone was their baby getting warm or cold during sleep. SleepSure’s skin temperature measurement is designed to directly address this universal pain point and make it easier for parents to understand how to help their baby.”

SleepSure is designed for babies 0 to 18 months, and costs around $250. It includes a wearable monitor with three differently-sized fabric bands so a growing baby can keep wearing it. There’s also a base station and a Halo app which – refreshingly enough – doesn’t require an additional subscription. The company expects to start shipping to customers ordering from its website by the end of the month, and available more widely in the next couple of months.

Halo’s SleepSure is a baby wearable to keep an eye on the little one by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

BMW revealed a prototype for the i Vision Dee concept car during the automaker’s keynote at CES on Wednesday evening. The four-door sedan came out on stage in a crisp white, but later morphed into a variety of colors and patterns to show off Dee’s E-Ink technology, which will allow car owners to configure the car’s exterior with 32 different colors.

Dee, while a concept car, is emblematic of BMW’s next generation platform, Neue Klasse, which the company said will launch in 2025 starting with a dynamic sedan and a sporty activity vehicle.

The reveal featured a cutesy video involving Arnold Schwarzenegger reminiscing about the relationship people had with their cars in the 1980s while the voice of Dee (which by the way stands for Digital Emotional Experience) tried to convince the actor/politician that the cars of the future are really the ultimate companions.

Throughout the keynote, Dee’s voice served to personalize and humanize the car. At one point, BMW said that Dee has a “digital soul, a personality not only with a voice but with facial expressions, too.” This point was really driven home by the following quote from the film “The Terminator”: “The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it for the first time with a sense of hope, because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.”

So what is BMW trying to tell us here? Well, Oliver Zipse, BMW’s CEO, went so far as to call Dee “the next level of human-machine interaction, a concept that cannot be simply dismissed as science fiction because it will inspire our Neue Klasse.”

Ever since the “software-defined vehicle” began to take hold, automakers have been angling for new ways to use that software to create a more personalized experience for drivers and passengers. CES always provides a smorgasbord of examples. Last year it was all about Amazon Fire streaming coming to vehicles and Google Home integrations, this year it seems to be about in-car gaming. But BMW is taking it up a notch by positing not just an emotional connection between human and car, but also a car that has emotions of its own.

One way BMW hopes to turn that vision into reality is by combining software and hardware development for a seamless digital experience, according to Zipse. This idea manifests in Dee’s head-up display, featuring four levels of interaction, which BMW calls its “mixed reality slider.”

Level one brings all the drive and navigation data a driver would need. Level two helps with communication by showing text messages and calls. Level three brings the features of Levels one and two and augments the navigation data to your windshield, including collision warnings and possible obstacles highlighted. It also visualizes social media.

Level four goes “way beyond reality.” What does that actually mean? We’re not fully sure, but the talking Dee said that you could bring all your friends into your car virtually.

“Your friends, your family, even your pets without one single animal hair on the seat, which I absolutely love, in an endless virtual world,” she (?) said. “You can meet play, talk, love, hate. You can even go sightseeing together, right inside your car. You wouldn’t believe what fits in your car in the future. It’s like being in your own personal drive in cinema. But the movie is your life.”

Of course, this would likely be in a world where the windows could be blacked-out and the car drives autonomously.

The point, though, is that BMW, like other automakers, is trying to add so much impressive, seamless tech to its vehicles that people really do start seeing their cars as their ultimate companions — friend, living room, personal assistant and fashion aid all in one. Freaky, isn’t it?

BMW unveils Dee prototype, “the next level of human-machine interaction” by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Who doesn’t like a good CES success story? For Aeolus Robotics, it was the 2018 show where things really clicked in. Exhibiting at the event garnered interest from folks looking for a solution to help out around hospitals, nursing homes and school. The company was more than happy to help.

Japan in particular was taken with the product — elder care robots, after all, have been a booming industry in the country for some time, due to its aging population.

Aeo has autonomous navigation, using a slew of cameras and IR sensors on its base. It can move around a space, use its maneuverable right arm to open doors and ride elevators, while disinfecting surfaces using the UV light on its left ( a big hit during the pandemic). It can be used for patrolling, security and delivering food. The robot can also be operated remotely when necessary, though the firm says few instances call for that level of control.

Aeolus says the robot is largely made of proprietary components, including the arm. While common wisdom says that building your own robot arm is a bit of a fool’s errand in this day and age, there were certain tasks that required starting from scratch.

The robot is currently available through a RaaS (robotics as a service) subscription model. Presently, Japan is the only market where the robot is in real use, though the firm is actively seeking more customers in more markets. Perhaps CES 2022 will do the trick.

The Aeo robot is designed to patrol and disinfect hospitals by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Profet AI, a Taiwanese startup that makes auto machine learning software for manufacturers, announced today it has raised $5.6 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Darwin Ventures. Returning investors Hive Ventures, AUO and SVTI also participated, along with Harbinger VC and Jensen Capital Management.

Founded in 2018, Profet AI’s customers include Foxconn, Advantech and ASE Group, and it says it doubled its revenue in 2022. The funding will be used on Profet AI’s expansion in Japan, Southeast Asia and China, with plans to sign joint ventures with overseas partners.

Profet AI’s software lets users build prediction models and industrial AI apps for production and digitalization, even if they only have basic knowledge of machine learning.

The company’s flagship products are its AutoML Virtual Data Scientist Platform and Ready To Go Applications. They are intended for use by clients in the semiconductor, electronics, chemicals and textile manufacturing industries.

The AutoML Virtual Data Scientist Platform is a no-code development program that lets users design enterprise AI applications, while Ready To Go Applications are industry-specific AI apps that are ready to be used in public cloud or on-premise environments.

In a statement, Darwin Venture Management partner Kay Lin said, “The AutoML Virtual Data Scientist Platform of Profet AI is based on empowering, which quickly enables digital transformation and intelligent evolution in the manufacturing industry. Darwin is very optimistic about Profet AI’s strengths and will leverage our solid background in the semiconductor and electronics industry to actively assist Profet AI’s market development.”

Profet AI helps manufacturers build prediction models and industrial AI software by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch

At CES, BMW today unveiled its new i Vision Dee concept car, an E Ink-clad four-door sedan that can shift colors on demand. Why ‘Dee,’ you surely ask? It stands for Digital Emotional Experience. We’ll leave it at that, but what matters here is that it’s BMW’s platform for showing off its new head-up display, which is all about giving drivers a choice of how much augmented reality they want to see as they drive.

Using a five-step selection, drivers can choose if they only want to see driving-related information or if they want to add data from their communications systems, an augmented reality project or a completely virtual experience with blacked-out windows (while driving autonomously).

Obviously, this is a concept and I don’t think we’ll see people lounge and play VR racing games in their car while their autonomous chauffeur handles the mundane task of driving them to their next meeting. But BMW also says that some of this technology will make it into production in its ‘Neue Klasse’ — its next generation platform — launching in 2025. This will include a head-up display that will use the entire width of the windscreen.

Continental recently showed off its Scenic View HUD, which also spans the entire windscreen (though only as a small strip at the bottom of the window), while automotive technology company Harman also today announced its new head-up display hardware, which isn’t quite as futuristic, but also focuses on larger fields of view and includes integrations with driver-assistance systems and real-time 3D object detection.

And while BMW previously talked about using E Ink as the outer skin of its vehicles, the i Vision Dee now brings this to life with an exterior that’s covered by 240 E Ink segments that can display 32 colors. The car maker actually worked with E Ink to develop the technology that allows it to adapt these display films for curved surfaces. There’s no word yet on when this technology will come to a production model. Earlier this week, VW showed off its light-up paint, so it’s probably only a matter of time before we see cars with these chameleon-like capabilities on the street.

“A BMW lives by its unparalleled digital performance. BMW i Vision Dee is about perfect integration of virtual and physical experiences” said Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Development. “Whoever excels at integrating the customer’s everyday digital worlds into the vehicle at all levels will succeed in mastering the future of car-building.”

BMW reimagines the head-up display by Frederic Lardinois originally published on TechCrunch

Ember’s a bit of a weird one. The Southern California firm has two distinct – though not wholly unrelated arms. There’s the smart mug side of the business that launched the startup and the more recent cold chain shipping wing, which leverages its temperature control technology to move things like medical supplies.

While it seemed as though the mug business might have been a kind of stepping stone to health care (where the real money is), that side of things is still going strong. Today at CES, for instance, Ember is announcing the Travel Mug 2+. The new addition to the line adds Apple’s Find My to the equation.

While not exactly the most obvious addition on the face of it, travel mugs are certainly the sort of thing that gets left behind quite easily. Add a couple hundred dollar price tag, and it become immediately clear why you’d really rather not accidentally leave the thing behind on a bus.

Due out at some point in Q2 2020, the mug has both the required built-in tracking, as well as a chime that plays if you happen to lose it in close proximity (another must have to properly use Find My).

The product has all the same functionality as the regular Travel Mug 2, including temperature control and a display built-in. In spite of the additional functionality, the product will run the same as its predecessor — $199 – when it launches later this year. No word on whether the standard mug will stay on the market at a reduced price.

Ember brings Find My functionality to its self-heating travel mug by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Sony’s CES press conference is always a real smorgasbord of the electronics giant’s different media offerings. Tonight it kicked things off my bringing District 9 director, Neil Blomkamp, to offer some insight into the filming of his upcoming Gran Turismo adaptation.

Sony’s perfected a lot of unique camera tricks in order to capture the look and feel of the perennial favorite racing series. Remember, the studio was also behind this year’s incredibly well-shot Top Gun Sequel, Maverick.

Announced last May, the film costars David Harbour, Darren Barnet and Orlando Bloom. “It’s bad ass race car action, that you’re going to feel like you’re in the middle of,” says Harbour.

According to the film’s log line (via Deadline), “Based on a true story, the film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenageGran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver.”

2001 Mark Wahlberg vehicleRockstar, anyone?

The film due out in theaters August 11 from Sony Pictures. The company also announced that Gran Turismo is headed for its upcoming PSVR 2 device.

Sony offers a sneak peek at Neil Blomkamp’s ‘Gran Turismo’ film by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Sony has been embracing accessibility options in its games for a few years now, but one place it has lagged behind perennial rival Microsoft is in accessible hardware. They aim to change that with Project Leonardo, a new gaming controller aimed to be customizable to the needs of any person.

The device was described only generally on stage, but it appears to be a hub with swappable parts and plates that let users connect various other items, such as breath tubes, pedals, and switches of all kinds to activate different buttons.

Each UFO-shaped Project Leonardo device can handle an analog joystick plus 8 buttons, and they can be paired with each other or with a traditional controller to complement or offer alternatives to any function. Sony worked with accessibility groups AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up to make sure it was useful to a wide range of people.

“Our team tested over a dozen designs with accessibility experts, looking for approaches that would help address key challenges to effective controller use,” said Sony designer So Morimoto in a blog post. “We finally settled on a ‘split controller’ design that allows near free-form left/right thumbstick repositionability, can be used without needing to be held, and features very flexible button and stick cap swapping. The controller can also flexibly accept combinations of accessibility accessories to create a unique aesthetic.”

It’s similar to how Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller works — some stuff is built in, some you provide yourself. Everyone’s accessibility needs are a little different, and so it’s important to support the solutions people already have. Besides, that stuff is expensive!

Project Leonardo is currently being developed, so there’s no release date or price yet. We expect to hear more soon and will reach out to Sony to learn about their work in accessible hardware.

Sony aims to make PlayStation more accessible with Project Leonardo controller by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch

CES is about to begin in earnest, but even though the show floor opens tomorrow, we’ve already found lots of interesting tech at the show, ranging from practical to bizarre (yet compelling). Read on for our roundup of the coolest things we’ve seen so far.

Last night we spotted a suitcase-sized electric bike, the Icoma Tatamel. It makes a lot of compromises to get to that size (range, speed, wheel size, cost) but if you want an e-bike that fits in your trunk, it’s certainly worth looking into — it’ll be launching later this year.

If you’re the type of person who likes smart home lighting so you don’t ever have to reach for a light switch (what a pain, right?), Nanoleaf has you covered. Their new geometric smart lights supposedly learns how you use the lights and automates it without you having to set a routine. So when it sees you walk from the bedroom to the kitchen in the morning, it knows to bring on that soft, sun-like light. But when you walk in from the dining room at 6, bright cooking lights come on. Theoretically, anyway.

How will you peel yourself off the couch, though, when you are immersed in the scentscape produced by Aromajoin. Works with anything filmed in Smell-O-Scope, so nothing yet, but there are some demo experiences that let you, for instance, enjoy the crackling sound and flickering light of a fire while getting that crucial smoky smell shot right at your nose. Haje called the smells “remarkably recognizable.” Comes out “soon.”

From the creator of the strangely soothing Qoobo soft robotic cat thing comes Fufuly, a “breathing pillow.” Sounds insane, but it’s based on the idea that people naturally match their breathing rhythm to respirators, or even those near them. The pillow will act as your breathing partner. Instructions: “Switch it on and hug it. This is all you need.” You said it, Shunsuke. Expect a crowdfunding campaign later this year.

I wrote up the Bird Buddy last year in 2021, and now the company is expanding from live identification of backyard songbirds to hummingbirds with its new feeder. It recognizes 350 species and of course sends pics right to your phone when you have a visitor. Interestingly the company has a data play simmering as well – it records the species, time, and location, building a database of bird movements. Perhaps there are patterns here worth packaging as a product…

Anyone who likes the idea of a smartwatch but doesn’t actually like the “watch” part should take note of the Nowatch, a device the company calls an “awareable.” It does the health-tracking stuff without a display, reminding me of the Misfit devices from long ago. No notifications, just steps, sweat sensing, and other metrics with a nice stone or gem as the face.

Roku has been one of the go-to brands for smart TVs for years, but now the company is graduating from powering Samsungs and TCLs to making its own. The new Roku-branded TV lineup will range from 24″ to 75″ and include the latest voice-powered remote. I have one and it’s super useful to just plug headphones into if you want to watch a show without fiddling with Bluetooth or apps or anything. The most expensive will still be under a grand, which is nice. Expect more details when they launch in the spring.

I remember talking to Formlabs back in the 3D printing gold rush, and the company has made good over the years. Now it is aiming to embrace high-volume additive manufacturing with an Automation Ecosystem that helps printers run 24/7 in an organized way. More plastic knick-knacks for everyone!

Doing urinalysis isn’t anyone’s favorite activity, but a lot of that is because it’s so primitive. Why doesn’t the lab just live in the toilet, where the pee is already going? Smart home company Withings is showing off a urinalysis device for home health monitoring – maybe not something for everybody, but for people with certain medical conditions or those working towards a particular goal, it could be invaluable. Europe gets this one first, naturally.

Amazon will soon make available a mouse-eared Echo-esque smart display and speaker that responds to “Hey Disney!” Wow, finally.

Toy company WowWee is still selling the Roboraptor, but now they have a brand new robot dog called MINTiDDog-E. Hopefully Dog-E for short, though that may attract unwanted lawsuits. If you want a robot dog but think Aibo is too basic, try this one. It communicates by wagging its tail, just like a regular dog, if regular dogs had persistence-of-vision LEDs embedded in their bodies.

Nuralogix claims to collect a thousand diagnostics from a 30-second selfie video, from blood pressure to stress, BMI, stroke risk, and blood sugar. Sounds like a lot of bunk to me, but I suppose the nice thing to do is let them put their thing out there and evaluate it on the merits.

Canon is going hard on 3D, AR, and metaverse style environments and interactions with some funky 3D video calling and virtual camera prototypes. It’s kind of cool, but also has the feeling of an unfiltered brainstorm session from just before the holidays. M. Night Shyamalan was there, but I think the twist is they paid him to appear.

We talked with the creators of Kokomo, the 3D VR calling thing, and they really think it’s something new in the rather stagnant virtual presence space. Anything but another gallery of grainy faces.

Delivery robots are still a novelty to be found only on a handful of college campuses and other contained locations, but the tech is getting better: Ottonomy’s Yeti robot looks like the little rolling containers you might have seen trundling down the street or being hit by trains, but it can securely deposit its payload into a special locker. That means you don’t have to be there to receive the package, though of course like Daleks the things still can’t climb steps.

Samsung put out a wireless charger that acts as a smart home hub. Was that not already a thing?

Luminar founder Austin Russell gave a talk about the company’s ambitions (especially following its acquisition of a mapping startup) to do more than just make effective lidar devices. Apparently it is accelerating its move “up the stack” by buying up smaller companies at huge discounts. Smart — I do the same thing at the grocery store with almost-expired veggies. The scale is different, admittedly, but the philosophy is the same.

Normally when you’re in direct competition with Apple, you just sit in a corner and cry. Not Chipolo – its little object tracker devices compete with AirTags in a way, but the company is fine with that. Theirs fill a different, simpler role (basically “you forgot something” and it beeps) and they’re happy to have Apple take over the “sophisticated worldwide network with UWB” thing. “We’re not building a company because we want to build a company, right? We’re building the company because we want to help people. And that’s what Apple is also doing. So actually, it’s good.” How refreshing.

Wearable chairs are getting pretty futuristic. What’s wrong with just lying down?

There’s a new washer in town from Samsung, with a couple innovations that could help reduce the microplastics that come off of your laundry. Of course that horse left the barn long ago and now fish and turtles are basically cyborgs. Let’s all just agree to wear natural fibers!

Sony is making a Gran Turismo movie with Orlando Bloom in it, directed by Neil Blomkamp. Ridge Racer was robbed! Sony, call me.

Sony also is making an accessible controller to rival Microsoft’s awesome Xbox Adaptive Controller. Called Project Leonardo (for now, obviously), it’s a UFO-shaped thing that lets users plug in devices like switches and paddles so people with physical disabilities can play just as well as anyone else. We’re hoping to learn more about that one soon.

Today at CES: Smellscapes, robot dogs, and ‘awareables’ by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch