The New York Times | N.F.L. Will Expand Concussion Efforts During Games
“Where are we?” “Who did we play in the last game?” “What is the date today?” Those are some of the questions N.F.L. players are asked after they are hit in the head during a game. Next season, they are coming to an iPad. Continue.
ScienceDaily | Robotic Exoskeletal Device: Preliminary Research Findings for Ekso in Spinal Cord Injury.
Preliminary research findings have been released from a clinical study of the wearable robotic exoskeletal device, Ekso (Ekso Bionics). Initial results are promising for the potential application of Ekso-assisted walking in rehabilitation, in exercise/wellness programs, in the community and for home use. Continue.
CNN | Wiring the world to fight childhood obesity.
When 14-year-old Benjamin Ring walks his dog, Jasper, he earns 200 points. When he runs a mile, he gets 500 points. If he hikes with his family or walks to school, he racks up “pointz” that he can redeem for prizes. “It’s like a real-life upgrade,” the eighth-grader from Piedmont, California, said about the game Zamzee. So far, the bespectacled teenager has 47,074 pointz which he has redeemed for Legos and $150 worth of Best Buy gift cards. Continue.
Illinois News Bureau | Fair play in sport not easy to define
in a high-tech age, expert says.
The technological edge can come in a swimmer’s revolutionary suit, in a cyclist’s specialized bike, in any athlete’s drug of choice – whether legal, untraceable or not yet banned. Why are we quick to judge only some of this as cheating? And why are sport governing bodies so slow to address the inequalities, and then often after the fact? One reason is that we’re stuck on a notion of “fair play” that is not what sport is about, says Rayvon Fouché, a University of Illinois historian of technology working on a book about sport technology and the future of athletic competition. Continue.
TechCrunch | Kinect Reveals The Next Job To Be Replaced By Computers:
Sports Coaches.
“It’s just as good as getting a personal instructor,” says basketball coach Julio Agosto, speaking on the Xbox Kinect’s new dribbling game, NBA Baller Beats. Agosto, an Emerald City Academy Basketball coach and father to b-ball Internet phenom, Jashaun Agosto, tells TechCrunch that Kinect’s digital eye is able to recognize and reward enough advanced dribbling skills that the new NBA game could replace human instruction at his basketball camp (at least the dribbling portion). Continue.
übergizmodo | The Joggobot is an AR. Drone that keeps you company while you jog.
If you’ve ever wanted a companion to keep you company while you exercise or to motivate you, Floyd Mueller and Eberhard GrÃther from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Australia have come up with a robot dubbed the Joggobot. Based on the AR. Drone, the Joggobot basically hovers in front of the runner at a pre-determined pace, but how does it know it’s following you? Continue.
engadget | Engineer Guy shows how a phone accelerometer works,
knows what’s up and sideways.
We love finding out how things work, and arguably one of the most important parts of the smartphones and tablets we thrive on is the accelerometer gauging our device’s orientation. Imagine our delight, then, when we see the University of Illinois‘ Bill Hammack (i.e. The Engineer Guy) giving a visual rundown of how accelerometers work. Continue.
CNET | High-tech tank top doubles as yoga coach.
Fitness technology is hot. Wearable technology is hot. It was just a matter of time before the two got together and had a love child. That baby is Move, a prototype technology garment that tracks your movements. Continue.
Gizmodo | Fitness Trackers Use Psychology to Motivate Couch Potatoes.
When it comes to fitness trackers, the psychology behind them is just as important as the technology inside them. Gadgets like the Nike+ FuelBand, Fitbit Ultra and BodyMedia Fit Link use accelerometers, altimeters and algorithms to track everything from how many steps you took to how many calories you burned. By providing this data instantaneously, and in some cases allowing you to share it via social media, they do more than inform. They reinforce, motivate and reward by turning exercise into a game. Continue.
Gizmodo | Who Needs a Bike When Your SUV Has a Built-In Exercise Machine?
We’ve all seen these ridiculously-equipped SUVs designed for the one percent before. They’re full of stained wood accents, plush leather seating, and everything from big-screen TVs to coffee makers. But this is the first time we’ve seen one with a full-on exercise machine inside. Continue.
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