Firefighter mask offers hands-free thermal imaging

When firefighters tackle a dangerous blaze, thermal imaging can be their greatest ally. It’s usually integrated in a small handheld camera, helping team members to quickly locate civilians, peak through walls and identify safe passageways. Tyco’s Scott Safety has now developed a face mask which includes an integrated thermal camera and display, called “Scott Sight.” A small image is shown inside the mask — similar to how Google Glass ‘ would appear in your peripheral vision — at nine frames per second, for up to four hours. The user can also switch between four different interfaces, as well as ambient and max temperature settings. The combination should allow firefighters to keep their hands free. Whether they’re guiding people to safety, or using specialized equipment, Scott Sight should help firefighters to be more effective and tackle blazes faster. The only downside is that each crew member will need their own mask to see the world through thermal vision — a handheld camera, in comparison, can be easily viewed and shared between multiple people. Nevertheless, Scott Sight feels like a logical step forward. It sets the foundation for a more advanced overlay, similar to Microsoft’s HoloLens , which firefighters could enable on the fly. Such a system would remove the need to constantly peer at a tiny screen, keeping the wearer’s gaze front and center — a behavior that’s paramount in a fire-fuelled situation, where potential dangers could present themselves at any moment. Via: Gizmodo Source: Tyco , Scott Safety

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Firefighter mask offers hands-free thermal imaging

Self-lacing Nikes are real, will go on sale later this year

While we’re still waiting for the Back to the Future-styled Nike Mag , the company has unveiled its first “self-lacing” shoe in another silhouette. The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 senses the presence of the wearer’s heel, and tightens its laces accordingly. Senior Innovator Tiffany Beers led the project, and says once the shoe is on, the wearer can adjust the fit with two buttons on the side to get things perfect. Of course, Nike isn’t stopping there, as famed shoe designer Tinker Hatfield is already looking forward to versions that adjust fit on the fly, as the athlete needs more or less tension. The HyperAdapt 1.0 is set to arrive this holiday season in three colors (including that Nike Mag-like lighting), and will go on sale only to Nike+ members for an unspecified price. Speaking of Nike+ . that app is getting a redesign in June that the company says will make it almost as personal as the fit on those adaptive-laced shoes. One login will tie users to the SNKRS , Run Club and Training Club apps, and provide product recommendations that are individually tailored. Nike is going all out to push purchases with a personal touch, including a “Services” tab that will provide concierge-like access to “Nike+ Experts” to answer all your burning sportswear queries. or book a reservation at a Nike store. This is all a part of Nike Innovation 2016, and sneakerheads can check out the site for other new products on the way. That includes the Air Vapor Max that ditches its foam midsole entirely, relying only on the company’s vaunted airbag technology for cushioning, the new “engineered down to the pixel” KD9 and other products that are part of what Nike is calling an “era of innovation.” The only problem? None of those innovations can make me shoot like Steph Curry (yet), and he’s signed to Under Armour . Source: Nike

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Self-lacing Nikes are real, will go on sale later this year

easyJet’s new cabin crew uniforms are covered in LEDs

Whether it’s recon drones , VR training or 3D-printed plane parts , easyJet is quick to embrace new technologies. The company’s latest experiment is a little more garish — to mark its 20th birthday, cabin crew and engineers are getting brand-new uniforms littered with colourful LEDs. With the cabin crew, you’ll notice tiny lights on their jacket lapels that illuminate to reveal flight numbers, destinations and other useful tidbits. Extra LEDs have been sewn onto the shoulders which, along with some illuminated hems, are designed to help staff and travellers in the event of an emergency. Finally, there are built-in microphones so the crew can communicate with one another and the passengers.

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easyJet’s new cabin crew uniforms are covered in LEDs

The First Self-Charging Smart Bracelet Is Obscenely Expensive

As smartwatches get more and more capable, many have wondered how luxury watch makers will compete. Will Rolex eventually introduce a timepiece with smartphone notifications? One company that might have the answer is Britain’s Christophe & Co. who’s developed a smart bracelet called the Armill that blends luxury and technology into a wearable accessory for the extremely wealthy. Read more…

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The First Self-Charging Smart Bracelet Is Obscenely Expensive

Jawbone UP3: A Fitness Tracker With Some Fashion Sense

Everybody’s vying for fitness tracker dominance. Microsoft released its Band last week , and new models of the Fitbit and Basis smartwatches are on the way. Now, Jawbone wants create a fashionable fitness tracker that you wouldn’t mind wearing all day. Read more…

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Jawbone UP3: A Fitness Tracker With Some Fashion Sense

Researchers Make a Circuit So Flexible, It Can Wrap Around a Vein

If we really want to get the dream of implantable electronics off the ground, we’ll need to figure out how to make circuit boards flexible enough to morph and move with our bodies. Thankfully, a team at The University of Texas at Dallas seems to have solved that , with thin film transistors that are flexible enough to wrap around a nerve or blood vessel. Read more…

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Researchers Make a Circuit So Flexible, It Can Wrap Around a Vein

A Watch That Puts an Entire Planetarium on Your Wrist

If you’re planning on sticking around for longer—a lot longer—than a standard human lifespan, you’ll need a watch that keeps time on the galactic level. Van Cleef & Arpels’ new Complication Poétique Midnight Planétarium will certainly fit the bill. Instead of hands denoting the hours and minutes, it incorporates six of our solar system’s planets rotating a tiny version of the sun in real time. Read more…        

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A Watch That Puts an Entire Planetarium on Your Wrist

World’s Thinnest Mechanical Watch Is as Thick as Two Stacked Quarters

You don’t think it’s only laptop, tablet, and smartphone designers that go the extra mile to make their devices thinner and thinner do you? Watch makers are constantly battling each other for the same notoriety, and now Piaget has reclaimed the title of ‘world’s thinnest mechanical watch’ with its new Altiplano 38mm 900P that measures in at 3.65mm—making it thinner than many digital alternatives. Read more…        

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World’s Thinnest Mechanical Watch Is as Thick as Two Stacked Quarters

MIT ear-powered wireless sensor sustains its charge through sound

You wouldn’t immediately think of the ear’s cochlea as an energy source, but MIT knows that every mammal effectively has a pair of very small power plants because of the ionized environment. School researchers are trying to harness that energy through a new sensor that exploits the whole ear canal system. As eardrum vibrations naturally create a usable voltage from brain signals, the prototype can build enough charge in a capacitor to drive a very low-power wireless transmitter that relays the electrochemical properties of the ear and potentially diagnoses balance or hearing problems. The beauty of the system is its true self-sustainability: once the transmitter has been been jumpstarted with radio waves, it powers itself through the resulting transmissions. Energy use is also sufficiently miserly that the sensor doesn’t interrupt hearing. Work is still early enough that there’s a long way to go before such implants are part of any treatments, but there’s hope that future chip iterations could help fix inner ear maladies, not just report on them. Something tells us, however, that the doctor won’t ask us to take two dubstep tracks and call back in the morning. Filed under: Wearables , Science , Alt MIT ear-powered wireless sensor sustains its charge through sound originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink   CrazyEngineers  |  MIT  |  Email this  |  Comments

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MIT ear-powered wireless sensor sustains its charge through sound