Users simply upload 10 to 20 photos of their faces, and the app’s AI-powered image generating tool does the rest. It may seem like harmless fun, but some artists say the AI is stealing their work. Even worse, the app is generating sexualized images of minors, and users are unwittingly signing away the rights to their own images.

Fantasy Portraits Ignite Ethical Concerns

Artificial intelligence often learns by scraping the internet for content. The Lensa app’s Magic Avatar function draws from sites where real artists upload their work, like DeviantArt, Behance, and ArtStation. Lensa runs on Stable Diffusion, a text-to-image app trained to learn patterns through an online database of images called LAION-5B.

Some artists are recognizing their distinctive styles and even the remnants of their signatures in the AI portraits, like Kim Leutwyler, a Sydney-based artist who told The Guardian she saw almost every portrait she’s ever shared on the internet in the Lensa results.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Spanish illustrator Amy Stelladia says she learned her art was being used by AI apps after discovering a website called haveibeentrained.com, which allows artists to search the LAION dataset for their work. The tool also provides an easy way for artists to request that their art be removed from the AI-training network.

For artists, the problem is twofold. First, the AI is flooding the market with cheap art that exploits and devalues human creativity. “They are meant to compete with our own work, using pieces and conscious decisions made by artists but purged from all that context and meaning,” Stelladia says. “It just feels wrong to use people’s life work without consent, to build something that can take work opportunities away.”

Second, AI photo apps like Lensa are making bank while the human artists they draw from barely scrape by. By some estimates, Lensa is drawing in $1 million USD per day, and the artists seeing their work in its results aren’t even getting credited, let alone compensated.

Portrait Results are More Than a Little Problematic

Some users have found that even when they submit source images that are fully clothed and show no skin at all, the results are often semi-nude and sexually suggestive. At MIT Technology Review, Melissa Heikkilä writes that out of 100 avatars she generated, 16 were topless and another 14 were barely clad. Heikkilä notes that she and another colleague of Asian descent seemed to get more images like these than their white colleagues who tried the app.

Lensa’s Magic Avatar has also generated nude art based on photographs of children, lightened black skin, and made users significantly thinner than they appear in the source images they uploaded.

AI training data like LAION is full of racist stereotypes, pornography, and even explicit images of rape. Of course, AI training data reflects the biases and prejudices of human artists and other content producers, but there doesn’t appear to be any attempt on the app creators’ part to moderate that data. While Stable Diffusion offers a filter on its dataset to limit graphic results, Lensa doesn’t appear to use it.

Lensa also doesn’t seem to enforce its policies prohibiting nudity and minors, and it doesn’t prevent users from uploading source images of people other than themselves. That makes it easy for anyone to exploit Magic Avatar and produce sexualized images of anyone they want, including children.

Signing Away the Rights to Your Own Image

When users upload their own images to Magic Avatar and similar apps, they’re essentially selling their personal information for a very low price. Lensa’s privacy policy allows them to “collect and store your Face Data for online processing function.”

Though the images are supposedly automatically deleted within 24 hours after being processed by Lensa, they’re used to train the AI to produce more portraits. Users aren’t compensated when the company uses their images for that purpose. The app thus becomes just another way to give corporations more control over our identities — and that doesn’t seem worth the four bucks.

The post That Popular AI Photo App is Stealing from Human Artists — and Worse first appeared on Dornob.

Enter the newest offering from Yamaha Design Laboratory. “Stepping Out of the Slate” is comprised of four interactive music devices that aim to make playing music on your phone feel like a more tactile and immersive experience — an orchestra in your pocket that goes way beyond a simple push of a button.

Yamaha recently introduced prototypes for the devices, each with a snazzy name befitting its symbiotic function with your smartphone: the “TurnT,” “Winder,” “MusicLight,” and “RhythmBot.” The group aims to expand on the already burgeoning market for digital accessories and experiences that bring music to users’ pockets. But rather than solely relying on an app to replicate more traditional music experiences, these gadgets provide music lovers with a more interactive (and fun) way to play their favorite tunes.

The TurnT is just what it sounds like: a turntable, or record player, for your phone. Using your screen as the record, the TurnT’s stylus is positional and can be used to switch songs and albums, while also signaling the record to start playing. As the company recently said, “The step of carefully placing the stylus over the record [brings] back the nostalgia” of choosing your vinyl of choice and the anticipation of waiting for it to play.

If the TurnT is nostalgic, then the Winder plays even more on those retro analog feels. A key functioning as a music box, the user need only wind it to begin playing music on their smartphone. Here, the sound works directly in tandem with the movement of the spring, producing a distinctive flutter that is full of depth and texture for a more intimate interaction.

MusicLight is a candle that interacts with your smartphone. When lit, the music begins to play, as the sound itself changes gently with the flickering of the flame. The music even fades when the candle goes out. This accessory is all about creating a mood that works with the music, “Like listening to a song around a bonfire, the flame flickers in unison with the sound, creating a rich atmosphere,” says Yamaha.

Finally, the RhythmBot is a futuristic metronome that’s meant to accompany performers while they’re playing. But unlike its predecessor, the RhythmBot consists of four small bots that each play their own distinct percussive instrument. Able to sync with your phone, the bots are highly intuitive and can tune themselves to the players’ tempo. They can even accompany you as you play; the Garfunkel to your Simon, if you will.

Which new Yamaha toy are you most excited to try first?

The post Yamaha’s New Music Devices Make Smartphone Apps More Hands-On first appeared on Dornob.

Originally coming on the scene with a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2019, the SwitchBot Curtain Rod is a small device that can open and close almost any type of curtain. Attaching to the curtain rod between folds of fabric, it can be controlled via the SwitchBot phone app for individual movements or on preset schedules. From the app, users can program the curtains to open as a wake-up call in the morning, to close when they leave the house for work, or even just to open up for more backlight while on a virtual call. A built-in light sensor even allows the curtains to open and close automatically at sunrise and sunset based on the amount of light outside.

The tiny gadget packs a mighty punch, pushing up to 17 pounds worth of curtains across a rod. Tab, grommet, and ring top curtains are all no problem, and the SwitchBot wheels are designed to easily glide over the bump of telescopic rods. The smart mover can also be modified to fit into curtains attached to tracks.

This little device obviously fulfilled a latent public need, as it raised nearly $1.5 million during its first fundraising campaign. The product was shipped out to customers in early 2020 and quickly garnered praise from users, earning the Good Design Award and going on to become a finalist at the IDEA 2020 awards. In 2022, it also received the Red Dot Design Award as a simple yet extremely efficient gadget.

The SwitchBot Curtain Rod got a more recent update this year. Instead of removable clips that had to be separately attached with the first iteration, the SwitchBot 2 is self-contained with spring-loaded clips. The wheels also got an upgrade, being enlarged by 1.6 times — and taking inspiration from off-road vehicles — for smoother travel along the rod.

New add-on devices are also available to increase the SwitchBot’s productivity. A SwitchBot Hub Mini (available for $39) allows the bot to bridge to a home Wi-Fi network, allowing users to control the curtains outside the house, too. By itself, the SwitchBot connects via Bluetooth. Using the Hub Mini, users can also pair the bot with devices like Alexa and Google Assistant for easy voice control.

A hanging solar panel (available for $19) is also newly available as a compatible device. While the bot itself has a 3350 mAh battery big enough to control curtains for up to eight months, attaching the solar panel provides virtually unlimited power, eliminating the need to bother with changing batteries.

While some reviews complain about the bulky shape of the SwitchBot and its inability to blend in with most curtain fabrics, the overall product gets plenty of thumbs up from customers for its smart functionality and ease of use. The SwitchBot Curtain Rod 2 is currently on sale for $99 on the company website.

The post The Latest in Smart Home Technology: Smart Curtains first appeared on Dornob.

Whether it’s a metaverse meeting or virtual workplace, an immersive and intense gaming experience, or new ways to build, create, and imagine in design and architecture, VR is undeniably inserting itself more and more into the fabric of the real world. Even the art world is getting on the bandwagon through a new app that lets people view stolen artworks from around the world via a Meta Quest headset.

The app, dubbed “The Stolen Gallery,” was developed by Brazilian tech firm Compass UOL and is available for iOS and Android smartphones. The headset immerses users into a stark, black-walled gallery lined with famous works that were stolen from museums around the world — more specifically, five famous pieces by Van Gogh, Cézanne, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and Manet.

The chance to view these works in a VR simulation presents a new way to appreciate lost treasures that have literally been stolen from the cultural consciousness. We’ve been able to see them in 2D on our computer screens for awhile, but now, with this VR gallery tour, it’s possible to approach the paintings as if they were up in actual gallery.

Don’t expect a lot of bells and whistles, though. The app is simplicity incarnate — a deliberate choice by its creators, who wanted the art to be the star of the show. As Compass UOL CEO and co-founder Alexis Rockenbach recently explained, “We ended up choosing…a minimalist approach, where you [are] in this dark space [and] the only thing you are really paying attention to is the art piece.”

The app’s purpose is not to replace brick and mortar art museums, or even supplant the virtual tours that have risen in popularity throughout the pandemic and remained as a way for people everywhere to enjoy world-famous galleries from the comfort of their own homes. Rather, it was intended as a way to explore the ways that VR and metaverse technology can be applied to our everyday lives, a means of “expand[ing] the notion about what is the metaverse,” Rockenbach says.

“The Stolen Gallery” app is free to iOS and Android users, but for the full VR experience, a Meta Quest headset is necessary.

The post This New App Brings Stolen Art Back to (Virtual) Life first appeared on Dornob.

Announced at its annual Google I/O Event in May, the “immersive view” feature uses 3D mapping and machine learning to create an augmented reality version of some of the most popular cities in the world. With a combination of aerial and street level images, viewers can “explore a place like never before.”

“With our new immersive view, you’ll be able to experience what a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant, or popular venue is like — and even feel like you’re right there before you ever set foot inside,” says Miriam Daniel, a VP of Google Maps.

It has been a goal for many years to be able to give users this kind of virtual world tour.

“We’re able to fuse those [images] together,” says Liz Reid, a VP of engineering at Google, “so that we can actually understand, okay, these are the heights of the buildings. How do we combine that with Street View? How do we combine it with aerial view to make something that feels much more like you were there? It’s a thing where we had demos years ago, …but it didn’t really work. Now the technology has come a long way into making it feel pretty natural.”

Viewers can fly around a city at bird’s eye level and then zoom in at street level on a particular block. With its time slider, Google Maps will provide glimpses of pedestrian and auto traffic at different times of day as well as a visual weather forecasts for the area.

What’s more, people can even check out the insides of local restaurants, with static images being neural rendered to create an AR style tour.

When this feature rolls out later this year, it will include just a few neighborhoods in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, but more cities are in the works.

Google has also been implementing a Live View feature that gives users directions with digital arrows, pointing the way in AR views of their actual surroundings. Its available to help with outdoor sidewalks and roads as well as confusing indoor spaces like airports, malls, and train stations.

The technology that powers this real-time view and tracking is called ARCore Geospatioal API and the company is now making it available to developers for free to implement in their own apps. For example, an electric vehicle company is piloting the API in places like London, Paris, and Tel Aviv to help riders find appropriate parking spots for their e-bikes and e-scooters. And companies in Australia are using it to help guests find their seats, restrooms, and concession stands at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

And in another way to “interact with both the digital and physical worlds at once,” companies DOCOMO and Curiosity are creating a game that lets players fight virtual dragons in front of Google Maps AR backdrops of iconic Tokyo landmarks.

As Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in his Google I/O speech this year, “It’s exciting to build these products; it’s even more exciting to see what people do with them.”

The post Google Maps Uses AI to Give Users an Augmented Reality View of the World first appeared on Dornob.

The “friendly flying camera” acts as companion to the Snapchat app. Unlike most drones, there’s very little learning curve to overcome in order to master the device. Instead of a controller, the app has a single button and four pre-programmed flight patterns accessed through a dial on top of the drone. That means nobody has to fuss with their phone or a separate video screen to navigate it (which would defeat the purpose of taking selfies and videos altogether).

https://youtu.be/cqIsDo-f670

In Hover mode, the Pixy floats in front of the user. Reveal mode pans the drone backwards at an upward angle to capture the scene, perfect for when you’re trying to show off a trip to a beautiful locale. In Follow mode, the Pixy will trail you as you walk, run, bike, or drive. Finally, in Orbit mode, the drone flies high up into the air and spins in a 360-degree circle around the user.

The propellers are firmly ensconced within the body of the device, reducing the potential for getting tangled. When the user wants to call the drone back, all they have to do is hold out their hand, and it’ll automatically land on their outstretched palm. It’s also compact and lightweight enough to tuck into a pocket or purse, and charging is easy with a standard USB cable. Just pair the Pixy to your phone, and you’re ready to go.

Pixy can float, orbit, and follow wherever you lead, with videos wirelessly transferred and saved into Snapchat Memories. “From there, use Snapchat’s editing tools, Lenses, and Sounds to customize what you capture,” the company explains. “With a few taps, you can automatically crop into portrait and apply quick Smart Edits, like Hyperspeed, Bounce, Orbit 3D, and Jump Cut. Then, share to Chat, Stories, Spotlight, or any other platform.”

Combining the functionality of a drone with the user-centric focus of a selfie stick is a smart move. The design of the Pixy is accessible and attractive, making it a great entry-level choice for the drone-curious. While many higher-powered drones capable of flying much higher in the air require licenses to operate, the Pixy does not. It’s also much quieter, which could make it more of a pleasure to use.

All of these factors could make the Pixy enticing to Snapchat’s 293 million active daily users around the world. The company says it’ll only be available as long as supplies last, and it’s only available in the U.S. and France. If you want one, you’d better order through the Pixy website ASAP.

The post Snapchat’s $230 Pixy Drone Goes Where Selfie Sticks Can’t first appeared on Dornob.

Parking lots are already full of concrete or rubber parking blocks that keep cars from pulling up too far and bumping into each other. The Watt (Wireless Advanced Transportation Charging Tile) concept simply switches them out with a T-shaped wireless charging pad that extends under the front of the vehicle, adding a second function.

What’s even more brilliant about this idea is the fact that it addresses another common complaint of EV drivers: the way electric cars discharge their batteries while they’re parked in colder areas, just like the lithium-ion batteries in our smartphones tend to do. With Watt, the car receives a steady stream of power throughout the time it’s parked, keeping it fully topped off.

Designers Cheolhee Lee, Na Gyeong Lee, Junsik Oh, and Kyoung-Seo Park have also created an accompanying app that lets you turn off the charging if you want, check on its progress, pay, view your charging history, or find Watt stations in the first place. The app also initiates the charging cycle as soon as you park the car, so no worries about remembering to tap anything before you get out.

Currently, electric car drivers have to hunt down charging stations and manually plug in their cars. If the stations are all full, they might have to hover nearby and wait for someone to leave. Soon, that problem will be exacerbated as more people choose EVs over standard gas-powered cars. To make matters worse, existing charging stations are bulky, expensive, and easily vandalized. Clearly, new solutions will be needed to quickly expand the availability of chargers while also making them more affordable, and Watt is a great entry into that collection of innovations.

The fact that it saves space is a big plus, and it’s easy to implement, though obviously each one will have to be connected to a main hub that supplies the electricity. That part of the equation is left for future consideration.

New forms of EV chargers are definitely on the way, including wireless innovations. Those include wireless charging pads developed by Volvo, which are being tested in Sweden, wireless parking places designed by WiTricity, magnetic induction chargers by Qualcomm, and BMW’s own inductive charging systems consisting of a “Groundpad” and a “Carpad” that work together. If you’re looking for something that’s available today for use at home, check out the Plugless Model S, which uses two aligned magnetic coils to send power to your EV over an air gap between your vehicle and its wireless charging station.

The post Watt Wireless Charger Doubles as a Parking Stopper first appeared on Dornob.

Working with retailers like West Elm, Walmart, and Crate & Barrel, Pinterest will offer a new feature on its app’s “Lens camera” that lets you see a virtual product against the backdrop of your space.

This isn’t Pinterest’s first time using AR technology. The image sharing service introduced its “Try On” feature in 2020 for beauty products, allowing users to test makeup shades through the camera, purchase the products directly, or save the image for later reference. Last year, Pinterest also launched “Idea Pins,” an interactive way for creators to share videos of their recipes or projects layered with shoppable content. The new “Try On Home Decor” app feature is the biggest attempt to monetize Pins the company has come up with yet, offering over 80,000 pieces of furniture to test.

Here’s how it works. When browsing Pinterest, look for Pins that have a cube icon displayed on the upper left corner. When you click it, you’ll see an option to “try in your space.” This opens your outward-facing camera, which you’ll be prompted to move around the room until you find the spot where you want to test the object. Once it’s in the right spot, click the check button to save the photo. From there, you can choose to click a link to the retailer’s website to purchase.

IKEA’s version of this service dropped way back in 2013, so it’s not exactly a new idea. But Pinterest offers a different experience. Users aren’t limited to the offerings of a single store. “Retailers are happy to work with us because they know people don’t typically buy their entire bedroom set from one company,” says Jeremy King, senior Vice President of Engineering at Pinterest. “They want a chance to mix and match.”

Obviously, viewing these items through the tiny screen of your phone isn’t the same as seeing them in real life. Once augmented reality technology is more widely available, perhaps headsets or glasses will offer a way of viewing the scene that feels more natural. Virtual objects that respond to the ambient light and shadow in the room would help, too. Many brands consider AR to be the next big thing in shopping, and they’re investing a lot of resources into making it work, so improvements like these could be on the way soon.

A 2021 Bizrate survey found that about half of adults in the United States are at least somewhat interested in augmented reality shopping, and young people are already leading the way by using copious AR filters on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Pinterest says the number of Pinners engaging with shopping features on Pinterest has continued to increase over the last year, and “Try On for Beauty” usage by Gen Z and Millennials increased by 28 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

“Since the pandemic began, we’re seeing more digitally savvy shoppers than ever before, as millions of people now expect virtual and mobile options to try before they buy, see personalized recommendations, and gather information as part of their decision making process,” says King. “These behaviors are happening across Pinterest every day, which is why we’re continuing to advance technologies like AR Try On and make Pinterest a full-funnel shopping destination that takes people from inspiration to purchase anywhere in the app.”

The post Pinterest’s New AR Feature Lets You “Try On” Home Decor first appeared on Dornob.

Today’s social and economic climate make this device especially attractive. According to a study from the American Psychological Association, Americans are more stressed out than ever, with 47 percent of adults reporting feelings of anxiety, 44 percent feeling sad, and 39 percent feeling extreme anger. No wonder a mind-trainer that pledges inner tranquility and relief from brain fog is in high demand.

And lots of people are apparently excited and ready to supercharge their brains, as the project met its crowdfunding goal within three hours of its campaign posting on Indiegogo. With 24 days left to go at the time of writing, backers have already raised over $655,000, 2,184 percent of the original $30,000 goal.

“We believe that through Sens.ai, anyone can finally have access to world-class neuro-optimization technology in the comfort of their own home and at an approachable cost,” says Paola Telfer, CEO and founder of Sens.ai. “One of the many benefits of Sens.ai is the ability to reduce stress and increase happiness. Many people struggle to reduce stress levels quickly and long term. This is where Sens.ai comes into play, utilizing personalized HRV and neurofeedback training technology, it empowers people to quickly summon calm when they feel stress and more importantly, train calm as a long-term, substance-free habit.”

The headset features sensors that can take in data from the brain and body and use it to provide audiovisual feedback. Its Gamma-grade sensors can read the fastest brainwaves, while the Pulse Oximeter sensor monitors heart signals thousands of times per second, measuring heart rate variability and allowing the Sens.ai to tailor a training program to increase heart coherence, an indicator of a balanced nervous system.

Sens.ai also incorporates photobiomodulation, a type of infrared light therapy used to stimulate the gray matter. LEDs strategically placed in the headset send out light energy that is absorbed by photoreceptors in the brain, initiating metabolic processes that improve circulation and oxygen utilization. The company says the result is an “energy lift” and an “accelerated ability to learn.”

Pairing with a phone app, users will be able to access 20 different brain-enhancing courses, each lasting eight to 12 weeks. Some are aimed at cognitive speed, others include mindful meditations, and others still endeavor to increase things like memory retention and concentration. Users can also access programs to help with better sleep, resilience, creativity, or clarity.

During the training programs, the user’s brainwaves are converted into lights and sounds on the phone app. The lights get higher and the sounds get louder and more frequent when the user is doing well and in “the training zone.” The headset sensors will also sense when the wearer needs a neuro boost and activate the LED lights for an immediately felt state change. The results can be tracked on the app afterwards and monitored for progress.

The Sens.ai team of cognitive experts says it built the device on decades of neurotechnology research. With several patents pending, they claim that their headset is the most comprehensive brain training solution offered at home. It can produce results with just 20 minutes of use, three times a week.

“The most exciting technology revolution is not outer space, it’s the exploration of inner space,” the company says on its Indiegogo campaign page.

The base-model Sens.ai is currently on offer for $999 on Indiegogo, with the brain-training devices expected to ship out in the second quarter of 2022.

The post The Sens.ai Headset Promises a Sharper, Faster, Better Brain first appeared on Dornob.

Released on an Indiegogo campaign earlier this year, the “Dusk” shades are different from the decades-old Transitions lenses that change tint based on the surrounding light conditions. The new product from Ampere uses electrochromic technology (the same tech available in luxury cars to control windshield tint) to electrically manipulate the lens darkness specifically to the user’s preferences. And it works fast, with the lenses taking just 0.1 seconds to adapt to the preferred hue.

The tint level can be customized between 3 and 35 percent, and preferred settings can be saved on the company app. When users are far from their phones, the glasses have manual touch controls on the left-hand side that can adjust between three tint levels. Another option includes setting the controls to have the lenses alter automatically with changes in ambient light readings.

Being smart glasses, Dusk also includes an open-ear audio system that lets users receive phone calls or listen to music on the go. The speakers are discreetly hidden in the frame earpieces and allow for a crystal-clear audio experience even while keeping the noise inaudible to those around you.

Compatible with iPhones running iOS 14 and Android 12 models, the embedded microphone and button on the right side of the Dusk frame makes it possible to quiz Siri or Google Assistant with voice commands and gives users the hands-free ability to answer calls or skip songs on their playlist.

Even better, these glasses have the bonus of actually looking good. Designed after the classic Ray-Ban wayfarer style, the matte black frames are sleek and unisex. Dusk is also lightweight (measuring just under one ounce), making each pair comfortable enough for all-day use.

For eye safety, the sunglasses are polarized and block 100 percent of harmful UVA and UVB rays. Additionally, with all the included smart tech, Ampere took care to make their product waterproof (IP65 waterproof rating) to be wearable around the pool or on the lake.

Dusk glasses also feature some helpful accessories. For an extra $50, users can purchase a protective case that also acts a charger when out and about. When fully charged, the shades will provide seven days of paired tint adjustment time and four hours of active listening time. The carrying case also incorporates a space for an Apple Air Tag to track the glasses via Bluetooth if and when they get misplaced.

The sunglasses went on presale at a discounted price of $189 and are currently scheduled to ship in October 2021. The company’s smart changing lenses concept was very popular on Indiegogo, raising over $430,000 from almost 1,600 backers. The campaign was so successful, in fact, that two other options were unlocked: a pair with mirrored lenses, and an indoor Dusk frame to block that pesky blue light from phones and other screens.

Delaware-based Ampere specializes in making “fun, one-of-a-kind award-winning gadgets” to improve life for their customers. Their other offerings include a foldable charging cube, a hydropower shower speaker, and a UV sanitizing wireless cell phone charger.

The post Dusk: Smart Sunglasses Let You Adjust the Tint with Your Phone first appeared on Dornob.

Belkin Boost Up Charge Wireless Charging Stand 10W

For a dad who’s ready to ditch all the cords, this wireless phone charging stand is a great solution. Compatible with both Apple iPhones and Android Qi-enabled smartphones, it provides some of the fastest charging speeds out there. The phone can be placed on the stand in either portrait or landscape mode, too, allowing for continued use while soaking up more battery life.

Apple Airtag or Tile Pro

If your dad is notorious for losing his keys, he might appreciate an Apple Airtag or a Tile Pro (if he’s an Android user). These tracking devices can be attached to a key ring or any other frequently-lost item and pinged from a phone. Accompanying smartphone apps will allow dad to navigate his way to his hidden car keys or even the remote control.

Arlo Video Doorbell

Your dad can get great home protection with this video doorbell. It’s wire-free, battery-powered, and easy to install. This model is especially impressive with its high-resolution HDR video and its ability to pair with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant for voice-control options.

Logitech G502 Lightspeed Gaming Mouse

For all those gamer dads out there, this mouse gets extra high ratings when it comes to low click latency and a wide CPI range (he’ll know what those terms mean). Fully compatible with both Windows and MacOS, the Logitech G502 Lightspeed has an outstanding, consistent sensor and lots of programmable buttons.

Google Nest Learning Thermostat

If you want dad to stop complaining about his electric bill, you might want to get him a smart thermostat to maximize his home’s energy usage. The Google Nest Learning Thermostat uses AI to automatically adjust to the user’s preferred temperature and schedule. Dad can change the heating and cooling settings from anywhere using his phone, and he can check the accompanying app to monitor how much energy is being used and why.

Apple Watch – Series 6

While it is one of the priciest smart watches on the market, the series 6 Apple Watch beats out the competition with a fast new processor, great third-party app selection, and fitness tracking capabilities. It can measure dad’s blood oxygen saturation on demand, track real-time elevation on long runs or hikes, and even keep tabs on his sleep. With a large selection of new colors and band options, there’s sure to be an Apple Watch prefect for your papa.

JBL Flip 5 Portable Speaker

For a dad who likes to spend his time outside, this powerful portable speaker lets him enjoy his tunes anywhere. Packing a strong audio punch, the JBL Flip 5 also has an IPX7 waterproof rating, making it perfect for music by the pool or while floating down the river.

Moment Tele 58mm Lens

If your dad is a photography junkie, he can up his smartphone picture game with the Moment Tele 58 mm lens. It can attach to the latest iPhones, Galaxies, and Pixel devices and provide 2x optical magnification with a single lens phone and up to 4x magnification with the iPhone telephoto lens. That will allow dad to get up close and personal to his subjects without having to digitally zoom and decrease the image quality.

Make your dad’s life easier with one of these smart gadgets and give him the gift of a very happy Father’s Day this year.

The post 8 Cool Tech Gifts to Get Your Dad This Father’s Day first appeared on Dornob.

All of the new software will be released to the public this fall, just in time for fresh hardware drops like the anticipated iPhone 13, but developers have access to the updates now, with public beta tests expected to go live in July.

iOS & iPadOS 15

The next iOS will come with lots of fresh features, including bigger app icons, photos of your contacts on text notifications, and new filter modes called “Focus” that let you fine-tune groups of custom settings like “Work,” “Sleep,” and “Do Not Disturb” according to how reachable or distractible you feel like being at any given moment. Photos shared in iMessage will be grouped into collages or stacks in your photo gallery or memories, and a new feature called LiveText will use AI to digitize any text in your images so you can copy and paste it.

The new iPadOS 15 will let you add widgets to the home screen and introduce a new “Shelves” feature that will show open windows within an app, making multitasking a lot easier. A new “Swift Playgrounds” app will also make it possible not just to learn how to code but build apps and submit them to the App Store.

FaceTime Upgrades

Soon, the days when you could only FaceTime with other Apple users will be a distant memory. Android users will also be able to participate in video calls via shareable links, so nobody in the family or friend group needs to be left out of the fun. Portrait mode-style blurring will eliminate distracting backdrops behind your head, voice isolation will help reduce background noise, and spatial audio will change where sound seems to come from based on the speaker’s location on your screen. Users will also be able to share music and video during FaceTime calls using SharePlay.

More Functions for macOS Monterey

Apple’s next big MacOS update will offer many of the same features debuting on the iPhone, like the enhanced FaceTime features and Focus notification filters, but we can also expect Universal Control, which will let Mac users transfer content between a Mac and iPad using a single mouse and keyboard. That means you could seamlessly drag and drop something like an image between your iMac, MacBook, and iPad in a single motion, an ability that’s been sorely missing. Look for some helpful additions to Safari, too, like tab groups to organize all your open tabs.

New Privacy and Security Features

Continuing its bid to position itself as more privacy-focused than competitors like Google, Apple will soon begin obscuring the IP addresses of its users on the Mail App and Safari, so companies won’t be able to identify and track you based on your activity. You’ll also be notified anytime an app uses features like the camera, microphone, or address book.

With the new iCloud Plus, you’ll be able to create obscured email addresses to hide your personal info with “Hide My Email,” shield your clipboard data from other apps with “Secure Paste,” log into sites across the internet using Face ID or Touch ID instead of passwords, and more easily erase all your personal data with a single click.

Health and Accessibility

Need to keep tabs on the health of your kids, elderly parents, or other family members? You’ll soon be able to share data from the Health app with chosen contacts, including heart rate and movement data. Even better, alerts for events like falls or long periods of inactivity can be sent directly to the phones of caregivers. The as-yet-unreleased Apple watchOS 8 will also have some cool new health features, like a Mindfulness app, new workout types in the Fitness app, and the ability to track your respiratory rate while sleeping.

For those with hearing difficulties, the new AirPods Pro will include a “Conversation Boost” feature that isolates the voice of the person closest to you and reduces background noise. You’ll also be able to see exactly where your AirPods are at all times with enhanced “Find My” abilities.

That’s not all — there are also new features coming to Siri, Wallet, and more. To learn about them all, check out the video recaps Apple created for days one, two, and three of WWDC21.

The post New Privacy Features, iOS 15, and More Revealed at Apple’s WWDC 2021 first appeared on Dornob.

Although an exact date has not been announced, company officials have confirmed that the annual 48-hour mega sale will happen sometime in June this year. Even though Prime Day was postponed last year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it finally did happen in October 2020, people around the world bought a record $10.4 billion worth of goods, increasing global sales by 45.2 percent compared to 2019’s Prime Day event, according to Digital Commerce 360.

This year’s deals, including those on smart appliances, are likely to be even bigger and better. While the company hasn’t released any hints about which brands and products will be offered in 2021, below is a list of kitchen and home appliance suggestions to look out for when Prime Day finally rolls around. All these brands have seen particularly big discounts in years past:

Smart Pressure Cooker

The 6-Quart Instant Pot with Smart Wi-Fi could be a great connected appliance to add to your cooking arsenal. In addition to all the standard features like slow cooking, pressure cooking, rice cooking, and yogurt making, this smart version can connect with an accompanying app and be controlled through your phone or Alexa. You can check the temperature and cooking progress remotely, choose from more than 1,000 pre-programmed recipes, and even receive alerts when your meal is done.

Smart Countertop Oven

Amazon’s own Smart Oven gets great reviews from customers and will more than likely go on sale this Prime Day. It’s a 4-in-1 microwave, convection over, food warmer, and air fryer. And because it’s an Amazon product, it can be voice controlled for over 30 different presets through Alexa devices. Have her notify you when the oven’s preheated or your food is cooked and never worry about watching a timer again. Best of all, if you scan select packaged items with the accompanying app, the Amazon Smart Oven will cook them automatically according to the manufacturer’s instructions. With an interior large enough to cook a five-pound chicken and an internal thermometer probe for perfect temperatures, this is definitely a product to keep your eye on.

Smart Air Fryer

If you only need an air frying function, the Cosori 14-in-1 Smart Large Air Fryer Oven might be one to search for on Prime Day. Featuring a seven-quart capacity and plenty of accessories, this model also connects to your Wi-Fi and allows you to check the cooking process on the company app. It can also be voice controlled through Alexa or Google’s Assistant device.

Smart Cordless Vacuum

This MOOSOO Cordless Vacuum comes fully equipped with the latest Smart Sensor chip, allowing you to adjust the suction with a simple touch. The proprietary battery-saving technology also provides it with up to 40 minutes of continual use, and it only takes a few hours to recharge.

Smart Robot Vacuum

The iRobot Roomba s9+ is the company’s smartest robot vacuum yet. The vSLAM navigation allows it to map out your home and learn to clean it better each time. It also uses PerfectEdge Technology with advanced sensors and a specially designed corner brush to clean better along edges and corners. You can even choose individual rooms to vacuum or set regular cleaning schedules through the accompanying phone app. Or, if you prefer, you can pair it with Alexa and control it via voice command.

Smart Air Purifier

Sure to be a popular item as COVID-19 continues to plague many parts of the world, the Winix AM90 Wi-Fi Air Purifier includes plasma wave technology that breaks down toxins like allergens, chemical vapors, and odors on the molecular level. It also includes True HEPA filters that capture 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants like dust mites, pet dander, and pollen. Powerful enough to clean the air in a room up to 360 square feet, you can monitor your air quality and control the settings through the Winix Smart App. It’s also compatible with Alexa devices.

Fetting the best deal on smart appliances will require you to check the website often on Prime Day, but you should be able to find deep discounts on your wishlist items without going through too much trouble. And don’t forget that to participate in the event, you’ll need an existing Amazon Prime membership (though you can always just sign up for the 30-day free trial).

The post 6 Smart Appliance Deals to Look for This Amazon Prime Day first appeared on Dornob.

This elliptical hanging solar light offers three lighting modes: Sunne Rise, Sunne Light, and Sunne Set. “Rise” simulates early morning sunrise with shades of purple and yellow; “Light” is a warm glow that can be adjusted for soft ambient lighting or bright reading light; and “Set” is a fiery glow designed to help you relax and unwind. The fixture hangs from the window frame using two thin, barely visible steel wires.

To switch the light on and off, choose the setting, or adjust the brightness, you can use touch controls on the top of the light or use the native Sunne app for Android and iOS, which also allows you to monitor how much energy the light is harvesting and its battery level.

Van Aubel consulted with European energy research firm ECN.TNO to develop Sunne’s solar panels, which are built into the back of the light facing the window. Testing the cells with the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, the designer made sure they’d work in various light conditions, even if it was a little cloudy outside. They also chose the best solar cells for indoor use, pairing them with their own circuit board connected to an integrated battery.

The nicest aspect of the Sunne is probably the minimalism of its pleasing design. It looks gorgeous in the window, and the way it glows after dark to mimic the gradual process of a sunrise or sunset is an unusual feature that could help support our internal circadian rhythms. If there’s one thing it seems to be lacking, it’s the ability to set a timer so the light automatically begins to “rise” at sunset. It would also be nice to be able to change the temperature of the light according to your mood or the time of day. It’s not quite a solar-powered version of a smart light, but what it can do is still pretty cool.

The Sunne is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter for a pledge of €750 or more (about $896 USD), with an estimated ship date of August 2021. You can choose a frame color of original rose gold, black, or silver, and a limited number of patrons will receive a special edition hand-engraved by designer Marjan van Aubel.

A little more about the designer, via her Kickstarter page: “Marjan van Aubel is an award-winning solar designer. She brings solar energy into daily life through objects. Van Aubel’s most notable works are Current Table, Power Plant, and the roof of the Dutch Pavilion at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. Her work is in permanent collections of museums such as MoMA New York, the V&A London, and Boijmans van Beuningen in the Netherlands, amongst others. She has collaborated with global brands such as Cos, Timberland, and Swarovski with the aim of accelerating global energy transition to solar.”

The post Sunne: Solar-Powered Window Light Harvests Daylight to Release It After Dark first appeared on Dornob.

Having watched her mother go through breast cancer and knowing it to be the most common cancer type among women, Benet was inspired to do something to change those testing statistics. After more research, she discovered that almost half of those avoiding routine scans did so because of the physical pain it causes. She also found that while a single dose of the mammogram radiation wasn’t harmful, overall breast cancer risk actually increased with annual x-ray exposure.

Additionally, the Catalan Department of Health reported that of those who do get their yearly tests, 93.55 percent of the cancers detected are “false alarms,” resulting in frustrating, scary experiences.

To solve these issues, Benet knew there needed to be a totally different type of test, one that was pain-free, non-irradiating, and accurate. In order to be widely accessible, she also wanted it to be low-cost with the ability to be performed at home.

In October 2017, Benet began work on the first prototype of The Blue Box (currently white, but eventually to be painted blue in final stages) as part of her biomedical engineering bachelor thesis. She acted on the knowledge that cancer causes metabolic changes, even altering the smell and taste of a body. Using an Arduino microprocessor, Benet and a computer science friend at the University of California Irvine programmed it to mimic sensory neurons and their ability to pick up on specific cancer-altered scents and tastes.

The screening process with The Blue Box is simple. After creating a profile on The Blue App, a user collects a urine sample in the provided plastic container and places it in the device. Once the “start” button is pressed, it takes just 30 seconds for the six internal chemical sensors to detect and react with any targeted breast cancer biomarkers. The data is sent to the cloud, where it is analyzed by unique artificial intelligence algorithms. The resulting diagnosis then pops up in the user’s phone app.

“The Blue Box is a change in the way society fights breast cancer,” says Benet. “As opposed to the current painful and inconvenient routine procedure that oftentimes leads to anxiety, The Blue Box enables women to get self-tested at home.”

And one Blue Box allows all the women in a single household to test themselves as often as they like. The results have been tested to be at least 95-percent accurate.

For her work, Benet won the James Dyson 2020 Award, a scientific and engineering contest. “The day that James Dyson told me that I had won the International prize was a real turning point as the prize money will allow me to patent more extensively and expedite research and software development I am doing at the University of California Irvine,” she says. “But, most of all, hearing that he believes in my idea has given me the confidence I need at this vital point.”

The next step for Benet and her team is to seek grants and other funding sources to fully patent the device and also start larger human trials, with the goal of gaining FDA approval further down the road.

The post Breast Cancer-Detecting Blue Box Allows Women to Swap Mammograms for At-Home Tests first appeared on Dornob.

The “Ooneepod” is a compact, prefabricated, and customizable bike locker that keeps your whip secure while you work, shop, dine, or hang out. Oonee co-founder and CEO Shabazz Stuart, a 31-year-old Brooklyn native, dreamed up the idea back in 2015 after his bike was stolen three times in five years on commutes to and from work. He and co-founder J. Manuel Mansylla decided New York needed secure, affordable bike storage that wasn’t an eyesore and developed an ad-supported walk-in design that basically acts as a mobile billboard. While most people probably wouldn’t consider ads attractive, they attempted to balance out that element of the design with a green roof.

The first two ad-supported Oonepods were installed in Jersey City and at The Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn near Barclays Center in 2018. This year, the company will add two “Oonepod Minis” in New York City through a sponsorship by scooter sharing company Voi. Oonee worked with cyclists, pedestrians, public space managers, city officials, and even school children to develop these smaller storage huts, which feature large illustrations of bikes on the outside instead of ads.

Smart Access technology lets riders unlock the pods by keycard or smartphone, and inside, they’ll find lights and a free air pump. You don’t lock up individually, but if you’re worried somebody might swipe your costly electric scooter for their beater, at least take heart that bikes stored inside are covered by insurance. While the original pods stand quite tall, the minis are barely taller than a standard sedan, so they won’t block sunlight or views from the buildings they’re placed in front of. Each Ooneepod Mini is about seven feet long.

The founders explain that “cars are everywhere on city streets, but what about some space for bikes? Built to survive the demanding streets of New York, Oonee Mini delivers up to 10 high-quality secure bike parking spaces in place of one car. We packed the pod with hundreds of design and technology innovations that ensure a top-notch experience for both cyclists and community members that just happen to be walking by.”

In the future, Oonee hopes to bring its pods to cities around the U.S., and provide additional services through its app, like on-demand mechanics fixing flat tires, or even the direct purchase of bikes and scooters. The pods are currently free to anyone who signs up for the app and provides proof of identity (a measure aimed at preventing theft).

The post Oonepod Mini: A Secure Bike Storage Pod That Fits into a Parking Space first appeared on Dornob.