PLUGHITZ Live Presents (Video‪)‬ PLUGHITZ Live

DescriptionThe technology that has been invented for and adapted into modern cameras is nothing short of amazing. The history of the camera is long and fascinating and has gone from camera obscura to early fixed images to dry plates to 35mm then instant and digital with a lot more actually in between those stages. And who would have thought that we would ever have mobile phone cameras that basically turned into full-blown photo studios right in our pockets? You might even think that we have come to a point where there aren't a lot more improvements that can be made. Well, think again. There is so much more that is happening in this industry and Luxonis is right at the forefront of some very exciting additions. Their mission is to offer performant products with spatial AI built in.
What is Luxonis?Luxonis is determined to improve the engineering efficiency of embedding performant, spatial AI + CV (computer vision) into products. Per their website, they do this by both building and maintaining the open-source DepthAI ecosystem and RobotHub management platform. So basically, they build the core technology that allows human-like perception in real products - allowing 0-to-1 applications in nearly every industry. It provides for problem-solving that requires human-like perception but does so within specific parameters.
We were fascinated to find out in what industries we could find this technology at work. Basically, they are targeting multiple sectors like agriculture, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing to name a few. For examples of their efficiencies in these areas, their website and blog posts have a lot of different use cases available. One use that he described to us involved healthcare. These cameras are able to view and gauge things like patient stress levels to determine which hospital rooms/patients are requiring more attention from the nursing staff, even in the maternity and nurseries.
The lineupLuxonis came to CES 2023 to show off their new cameras, especially the Oak-D-SR, Oak-D-LR, and the Oak-D-Pro. We spoke with Tony Rassavong, Chief Revenue Officer, who started us off with the Oak-D-Pro which has two stereo depth cameras and one RGB 4K camera. He explains that most cameras out there are 2D because that is how we see things with our eyes. But the Pro has spatial AI incorporated which is able to see things in 3D. These cameras are also able to augment robotics.
Tony's favorite thing about their cameras is the onboard AI and CV that are built-in. They are not just stereo dev cameras as the AI and CV are built-in and it's processed through the cameras. Pricing on their new items starts at $199 and their highest-end camera that is coming out will be $799. So they can really cater to all budgets. If you are looking to purchase one for your own project, we found the Luxonis Oak-D-Pro Auto-Focus Robotics Camera - Stereo Depth with Onboard Object Detection & Tracking on Amazon for $439, and the Luxonis Oak-D S2 Auto-Focus Robotics Camera - Stereo Depth with Onboard Object Detection & Tracking for $319.
Learn moreWe invite you to watch the entire interview to find out about their cameras and uses and then for more information, please go over and check out their website by clicking here.
Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.
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ParticipantsMichele MendezEpisode AuthorAlthough Michele has worked in the banking industry full time for many years, she originally went to school with a concentration in communications, advertising and marketing. She began her career in sales and retail management, selling electronics and computers. Her love of all things tech eventually brought her back into the electronics arena three years ago

DescriptionAthletes are known for their strength, their stamina, and how precisely they train. Day after day, they go the distance and push through any number of obstacles to achieve their goals. It is with hard work and determination that they are constantly striving to meet that next benchmark to ensure they are able to compete at top form and against the best of the best. Some say they eat, drink, and sleep their sport and the training within. And now, ErgoSportive is making certain that sleep is actually an integral part of that training.
What is ErgoSportive?ErgoSportive is a sleep tech company that has developed a bed designed specifically for athletes. It's true! With the new technology that they have incorporated within their beds, athletes are able to not only sleep better but also recover more quickly while continuing to read and adapt to a multitude of biometrics. These beds combine a premium smart and adjustable base with non-contact biometric sensors to deliver an integrated sleep system.
Now, if you are like us, you are most likely asking yourself how a bed can be this beneficial. I mean, once you choose between springs and foam, soft or firm, regular or pillow top, what more is there? Well, you'd be surprised how far the technology in this area has gone. ErgoSportive prides itself on being a complete sleep system that is comprised of an adjustable smart bed with built-in health sensors and an integrated app that provides insight to your health, fitness, and recovery. It is actually designed with your active lifestyle in mind.
It does this, in part, by connecting to Garmin to pull in your daytime activities which get your stress levels and things like active calories into the app. It also has biometric sensors that are going to take your heart rate and respiratory rate. It will detect your various sleep stages and also your sleep movement. It can even detect snoring and automatically adjust the head of the bed for a better quality of sleep. Also, connecting to Garmin gives the benefit of added recommendations on how to improve your sleep and your performance.
Real-world ErgoSportive experienceWe had the pleasure of speaking with Kyle Burns, Manager of Business Development, about this new technology. Being an ultra-marathoner and triathlete himself, Kyle was able to discover firsthand the many benefits of this connectible, smart, and adjustable bed. So he was more excited than the average employee to try it out for himself.
He found that one of the things he really liked about the trial was learning the benefits of the Zero-G position that was developed by NASA for astronauts. It raises your feet above your heart which helps circulation, improves recovery, and also takes all the pressure off your lower back which had been bothering him at the time. He also found that he was more likely to ice because he would get in the bed in Zero-G position and ice his knees or whatever needed that attention at the time.
Learn moreThis smart sleep system is an Innovation Award Honoree this year at CES in Fitness and Sport. They began selling in Europe a few months ago and have recently started selling in the US, as well. To get more detailed information about the company and the sleep systems, please visit their website.
Interview by Christopher Hernandez of PLUGHITZ Live Presents.
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ParticipantsMichele MendezEpisode AuthorAlthough Michele has worked in the banking industry full time for many years, she originally went to school with a concentration in communications, advertising and marketing. She began her career in sales and retail management, selling electronics and computers. Her love of all things tech eventually brought her back into the el

DescriptionPhysical therapy is difficult. It's made even more complex in that by the time we live. The demands on our time are greater than ever. We're also human, meaning we lose the paper they give us with the exercises on it. We also have to attempt to decipher the ancient hieroglyphic structure of the photocopied page, unsure if we're even doing the movements properly. Plus, we forget to take our medication. Allimb offers an AI-enhanced solution to these problems. Plus, it runs on your phone, not someone else's hardware, and will absolutely change the way you recover.
I watched my father battle all 3 of these issues over the past year. He had both knees totally replaced within the span of 7 months. Most pro athletes wouldn't even undertake such a challenge. But my dad did, at 77 years old. The physical pain wasn't what bothered him, he just wanted, as all of us do after any traumatic injury or medical procedure, to get better. He faced massive trials with the proprietary exercise bike they assigned him, which was running a build of Android from the mid-2010s. You couldn't even re-launch the application when it would freeze, you'd have to call and wait on hold for about 20 minutes to get someone to remotely reset your bike. A truly miserable experience, especially when there are enough barriers between you and your recovery.
What is Allimb?Allimb has 3 separate products on offer. Each one is tailored to a different market, in both the business and end-user spaces. Allimb's technology, which they call MotionCare, combines sensor data and AI to help users recover properly by creating both trackable accountability and using AI vision to track your form and help correct any irregularities.
Allimb also has a medication tracking element, Allimb Health, which allows physicians to know if a patient is taking their medication by analyzing the data from the physical therapy alongside other tracking methods. Allimb Care is developed for insurance companies. Allimb offers their software and some exercise programs bundled together to those companies for assignment to their customers.
Allimb MedPro is made for healthcare professionals and offers a full suite of the aforementioned physical therapy tracking as well as data analytics and AI integrations for a variety of useful tools. Currently, Allimb's product is considered a Class II Medical Device. Class II medical devices are those devices that have a moderate to high risk to the patient and/or user. 43% of medical devices fall under this category. Most medical devices are considered Class II devices. Some examples of Class II devices include powered wheelchairs and some pregnancy test kits and interestingly enough contact lenses. They are currently seeking full FDA approval.
Want to learn more?Currently only available overseas, I hope they can find a market here in the United States. I feel their product would really help a lot of people with their recovery, my father included. If you'd like to learn more about Allimb, its founders, or medical product offerings you are welcome to visit their website.
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.
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ParticipantsAdam ErtzEpisode AuthorAdam joined PLUGHITZ Corporation since shortly after its inception and stayed for many years. His work on the DDRLover and CounterQuest teams has been mostly providing valuable insight into the gaming community's thoughts and direction. Adam is most known for his time on the Professional Counter-Strike Scene with teams like, Echo 7, Pandemic, Team x3, and PerdoX. He was also a well known World Of Warcraft PvP Icon and Raider, and a founding member of the well known guild All That Remains.
Todd CochraneNetwork HostTodd is the

DescriptionOne of the biggest problems with installing a television in your home or office is the cabling. You can hang the TV on the wall and make it a beautiful feature of your room. However, to make it work, you've got to have power cables and video cables running from a variety of devices to the television. While there are fairly simple solutions to this problem, Displace thinks it has an even simpler solution.
What is Displace?Displace claims to be the world's first wireless television. This isn't exactly true, as we saw a totally wireless television at the Wireless Power Consortium booth in 2012. The claim notwithstanding, the concept is certainly interesting. If the technology works, you would be able to install the television in minutes and run absolutely zero cables to it.
The television itself is powered by rechargeable batteries that are inserted into the side of the television. The batteries are charged externally and inserted as needed. The television can hold up to four batteries at a time but will run with only a single one inserted.
Video is provided to the television over a Wi-Fi 6E connection from a central hub box that can be put anywhere within the range of the Wi-Fi connection. We're not sure if this is a Wi-Fi Direct connection or if it runs over an existing network, so the range was not immediately known. All of your devices then plug into the hub - like your cable box, gaming systems, Roku box, and more.
Some immediate red flagsThe Displace TV is also supposed to have a unique installation method - a vacuum seal. The claim is that you can simply place the TV against the wall and the suction system will attach it to the wall. In our demo, the television was never able to actually attach, despite the company's best efforts. The booth was specifically designed to allow the company to demo the technology under their ideal conditions, and it still didn't work as expected. However, we understand that others had a positive experience with a demo.
Another concern from the demo is that the televisions didn't appear to actually be using the wireless system. The demo did not include the base station, which is the only thing that actually sets the television apart. As it is, the TV appears to be a standard LG OLED panel with batteries and base station. So, not getting to see the actual base station in action is concerning.
Another concern comes from the control system. Rather than using a remote control, the system will be based on voice and gesture controls. We have seen big companies try this for years without any success - everyone always turns back to the traditional remote. It's possible that the company, without any connection to the previous attempts, could pull it off, but we won't know until the product launches to the public.
When looking at startups and their ideas, one thing we always try to do is look at the pitch and compare it to the product. One of the big pitches is that you can take 4 or 16 of these screens and put them together to create a single giant display. This is a cool concept for businesses and even trade shows. However, there's a design flaw in implementing this concept (beyond having to charge tons of batteries). How do you change the batteries on any of the displays whose slots are covered by another display?
If you're in a 4x4 matrix, you'll have at least 4 displays that are completely inaccessible, and that assumes that the company puts battery slots on all sides, which they will not. The likelihood is that you'll have 12 of the 16 screens whose battery compartments will be covered by another screen. So, do we have to completely dismantle the matrix every time the batteries die? It's a design flaw that indicates a company that might be out over its own skis.
The biggest fear, though? What happens when the batteries die? The company says that with 4 batteries at full power, you can get 7.5 days of continuous use. However, if the batteries drain completely, the mounting system is li

DescriptionIn the last few months, the topic of artificial intelligence, better known as AI, has been at the top of people's minds. This is because of the new usage model brought about because of generative AI, or AI that can write as if it's a person. But, AI has a lot of potential uses, including improving online search results, creating almost real looking images, and automatic replies in email. However, HITS AI is looking to use artificial intelligence to improve medication research.
What is HITS AI?HITS AI is a medication research group that uses artificial intelligence to help work out compounds. While this might sound like science fiction, it is already in action today. The general idea is that researchers know how certain compounds and chemicals interact with the human body.
Using this existing information, an AI model has been trained to be able to create new combinations of these compounds and predict with a high degree of certainty how the body will react. Using this information, researchers can then apply the results to known diseases and conditions to see if they will be affected, positively or negatively, by the newly created compound.
Depending on the level of confidence, researchers can eliminate certain compounds from consideration for treating particular issues. The elimination could be because the treatment is not effective, is more harmful than helpful, or something else. This process of using AI to eliminate potential treatments for known and potential issues can help researchers and medical companies skip the long and costly drug research process. It can even prevent possible harm to people by identifying harmful side effects before they appear in patients.
Benefits of using HITS AIIn the US, we know that the FDA has long been a challenged organization. The administration is over burdened, under staffed, making it difficult to do the job effectively. Several high profile failures have happened, with drugs that had been safe in initial testing causing immense harm or embarrassment. Take, for example, Olestra, which was originally approved by the FDA as a fat-free cooking oil, but turned out to have some pretty bizarre side effects for some users.
As it turns out, it was unlikely that clinical trials would have revealed the side effects of this one. However, if HITS AI had been available when Olestra was originally being developed, the effect on the body could have been uncovered through computer models rather than waiting until it hit the market. This would have prevented embarrassment for the company that produced it, the FDA that approved it, and for users who had to wear dark pants. It also would have saved a lot of money in research and development, FDA testing, and product development.
SummaryThe HITS AI chemical compound computer models have already been used by researchers in their investigations. To learn more about the platform and how it can be used or to learn about how to implement it in your own research projects, head over to the company's website.
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.
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ParticipantsScott ErtzEpisode AuthorScott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He

DescriptionHaving a pool can make your summer a lot more fun, but the maintenance can be annoying. Leaves and dirt are going to get into the pool whether you like it or not and can be damaging. Plus, no one wants to swim in a dirty pool. Luckily, Aiper has a robotic solution to make pool maintenance easier.
What is Aiper?Aiper came to CES 2023 to show their line of Roomba-style pool cleaners, the Seagull line. "Cleaning is for the birds, so leave it to the Seagull" is the tagline that Brent Korner used to describe the purpose of this line of devices. There are a few models to choose from that we talked about at CES this year, but there also seems to be another model that has been released since we talked. We'll get to that one later. The Seagull SE, Seagull Plus, and Seagull Pro were among some of our favorite devices to talk about this year. Let's take a look at some of the details.
Each model has a one-touch button to start the cleaning process and comes packaged with a couple of scrub brush attachments, a charging adaptor, and a hook, to retrieve cleaner when it has parked itself and is ready to be charged. One of the best features of all is the wireless, hose-less, and one-touch capabilities that allow you to be in the pool while the device is working. It doesn't get much better than that.
Aiper Seagull SE (new)The Seagull SE starts with a smart repulsion system that propels it around the floors of your pool. As water is pulled in, the water flows through a filter, then the filtered water is pushed out of the back. It's got a sleek design that would kind of remind you of the body of a Stingray, and a gunmetal grey paint job with a carbon fiber handle that is used for pulling the device out of the pool when it's done.
This model has about 90 minutes of cleaning time for the battery and will auto park itself at one of the walls of your pool when the battery is low for easy retrieval. It also only takes a few hours to charge, so a once or twice a day routine for this device should be super simple. You can get one now for $299.
Aiper Seagull PlusThe Seagull Plus model's design change is very noticeable, looking more like the pool cleaners we are familiar with, but with no hose and that signature design language they are using. The suction power of this model has a significant boost, at up to 68GMP of suction power for improved cleaning. This model also adds a second suction intake, one before and one after the scrubbing brush to further improve cleaning capabilities.
Seagull Plus also charges faster than the previous model, only taking 2.5 hours to get to full charge and the battery life is improved as well, now being able to cover up to 1300 sq/ft per charge. Other shinning features are the improved filtration and motor systems compared to the SE. You can get yours now for $399.
Aiper Seagull ProThe Seagull Pro was their pride and joy at CES, calling this model "the Bentley of pool cleaners". Seagull Pro is packed with features that separates it from the other models and even its competitors. Aiper has trademarked a new technology that they like to call "WavePath". This navigation technology allows the Pro to take optimal paths for maximum cleaning along the floors and walls of your pool. Yes, you read that correctly, this model can climb, clean and scrub the walls of your pool in addition to the pool floor.
Due to this model's Quad motor system combined with the dual intake system, the device repulses filtered water at high pressure to allow it to adhere to the walls of your pool. Aiper prides themselves as being the only wireless pool cleaner on the market with a quad motor system like theirs. This model also filters the water through a removeable waste basket, so cleaning it out and putting it back to work is easy breezy.
The Pro model only takes about 1.5 hours to charge and can clean up to an impressive 3k sq/ft per charge, lasting about 3 hours on average. You can pre-order yours now for $899.
Seagull Elite ProLast t