Friday, June 10, 2016

Philips camera monitors baby vitals from afar

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/10/philips-camera-monitors-baby-vitals-from-afar/

Sure, junior looks fine sleeping on the baby-cam, but do you know her or his oxygen level, heartbeat and breathing rate, you monster? Of course not (don't worry, you're a good parent), because there's no way of monitoring such things short of hooking the poor tyke up to a pulse oxymeter. At least, until now. Philips has revealed a camera that can detect all those things from afar, without touching the patient. The fruit of the companies contactless monitoring project, it can get a pulse rate, breathing rate and blood oxygen level by detecting changes in skin color that are invisible to the naked eye.

Monitoring breathing and heartbeat (even through walls) isn't new, but Philips says it knows of no other studies focused on remote blood oxygen monitoring. The results are accurate to within two percent of traditional measuring methods, according to Philips, though it depends on several factors including the patient's skin color. "For patient populations with specific conditions, managing their care in a less intrusive way is critical in order to avoid unnecessary distress," says Philips Patient Care CEO Carla Kriwet. So far, the company hasn't revealed any plans for a product, but calls the results "promising" for the future of contactless monitoring.

Via: CNET

Source: Philips

Monday, June 06, 2016

ASUS' ZenBook 3 vs. the updated MacBook: Which packs more punch?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/06/04/asus-zenbook-3-apple-macbook-compared/

The 12-inch MacBook is attractive and compact, but not without compromises. When the original came out last spring, our reviewer Dana Wollman took issue with its lackluster performance and lack of ports outside of a USB-C connection. Still, the MacBook was good enough to warrant a refresh in 2016 that delivered more battery life and improved performance. Now, ASUS is getting in on the minimalist act with its new ZenBook 3. At a glance, the new MacBook and ZenBook 3 seem quite similar indeed, with small, lightweight designs and, well, not many ports. While we'll certainly put the Zenbook 3 through its paces in a full review, a quick peek at the specs reveals two machines similar in profile, but with the potential for very different performance.

ASUS ZenBook 3 Apple MacBook (2016)
Price $999 / $1,499 / $1,999 $1,299 / $1,599
Dimensions 296 x 191.2 x 11.9mm (11.65 x 7.53 x 0.47 inches) 280 x 196.5 x 13.1mm (11.04 x 7.74 x 0.52 inches)
Weight 910g (2 pounds) 920g (2.03 pounds)
OS Windows 10 OS X El Capitan
Display 12.5-inch LED-backlit LCD 12-inch LED-backlit LCD with IPS
Resolution 1,920 x 1,080 2,304 x 1,440
Processor Intel Core i5 6200U or Core i7 6500U Intel Core m3 (1.1GHz) or Core m5 (1.2GHz)
Memory 4GB / 16GB 8GB
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 520 Intel HD Graphics 512
Storage 256GB / 512GB / 1TB SSD 256GB / 512GB SSD
Ports USB-C USB-C
WiFi 802.11ac with WIDI 802.11ac
Battery 40 WHr 41.4 WHr