Blacknut has a huge catalog of cloud streaming games @ CES 2021



Blacknut cloud gaming platformThere is no doubt that the future of gaming has a big place for cloud streaming services. There have been a number of companies, including Microsoft and Google, who have gotten in on the game. However, there seems to be a lot of question over the stability of and the commitment to these platforms. One company that is showing both stability and commitment is Blacknut.

The company has taken a very similar approach to Microsoft, in that the service is a monthly fee and includes all of the games in the catalog. The games in the catalog have no ads and no in-game purchases. Your game state is stored in the cloud, meaning that you can start your game on your phone and continue it on the computer, or vice versa. But, how many games are available? Currently, the service offers over 400 games with n ew games added weekly.

The catalog is also very diverse. There is a large collection of Japanese games with anime styling, such as BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. There are a lot of racing games, from big name franchises like Asphalt, Gravel, and MotoGP. And, there are weird games, like Overcooked and Farming Simulator 19. There is definitely something for everyone.

The service also has a strong focus on families. On your single subscription, you can create up to 5 profiles, so everyone has their progress separately. There are also parental controls, disabling access during certain times and limiting access to games with certain ratings.

Blacknut is available now for $15.99 per month, with a 50% discount for your first three months with discount code WELCOME3M21. You can play games on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Fire TV, and Google TV. To learn more about the platform, browse the catalog of games, and start your subscription, head over to the Blacknut website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Direct Smarter All-in-Sensor protects your connected home @ CES 2021



Direct Smarter All-in-SensorIf you have followed our CES 2021 coverage, one of the major trends you have likely noticed is the growth of the connected home and smart home. With lighting, cameras, temperature sensors, and more, our homes are getting more and more connected. But, there is a problem inherent in those connections – privacy. The Direct Smarter All-in-Sensor is a new solution to maintain your privacy while getting the benefits of a connected home.

Over the past few years, we’ve discussed a number of scenarios where a connected home has been invaded or various levels. Ring doorbells can be accessed by law enforcement without a warrant in communities across the country. In some cases, indoor cameras and even baby monitors have been accessed by the outside world. In some cases, hackers have actually spoken to children through these breaches. While testing a new product in our office, we accidentally got paired with a local camera in someone’s home.

The Direct Smarter All-in-Sensor is a device looking to prevent just that scenario. The general problem with a connected home is that it relies on a connection to the internet for each device. That connection pushes all data to a cloud server somewhere, where hackers have a single point of entry to access hundreds, thousands, or millions of devices. This device allows you to keep all of your individual sensors behind your firewall, and connect directly to this instead of the cloud.

The device itself has a collection of sensors built-in, but it can be expanded using additional tabs. This can include alarm capabilities, smoke detection, and more. You can also add external modules, such as smart power, and more.

The Direct Smarter All-in-Sensor can be pre-ordered now for $198. To learn more about the product or to purchase one, head over to the Direct Smarter website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Soul Blade earbuds want to help improve how you run @ CES 2021



Soul Blade runner earbudsMany of us always take our music with us. Whether we have over-ear or on-ear headphones, or in-ear earbuds, a lot of people carry some sort of personal audio product with them all the time. However, one group often struggles to find earbuds that work for them – runners. The new Soul Blade true wireless earbuds helps to address the concerns of runners, while adding capability for others.

The standard consumer earbuds tend to not be designed to stay in during intense motion, such as running. Specific devices tend to treat a symptom, like running a strap behind the head to keep from losing it. The Soul Blade earbuds address this problem the way older sport buds once did – with little blades inside the ear to hold them in place.

But, this isn’t where the Soul Blades really set themselves apart. The truly engaging feature of these earbuds is the health features. Built-in to the earbuds is a collection of health monitoring sensors, which can be used to track running form and vital stats. The system is even able to provide warning before injuries.

When there is an area of your form that requires improvement, a voice will chime in through the earbuds and let you know. Some of the capabilities aimed at running form include head angle, body tilt, and stride distance. At the end of the run, the connected SOULFIT app can give you detailed information about your form and any mistakes you may have made. You can also see visual representations of potential injury. You also get more traditional information, such as time, speed, calories burned, as well as a map of your run.

The Soul Blade true wireless earbuds will be available around the start of Q2 2021, and will retail for $199. To learn more about the company and its full product line, you can head to the Soul website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Joule is making your home energy consumption smarter @ CES 2021



Joule power managementIt seems like every year we use more and more electricity in our daily lives. Moving our work to our homes has not lessened that consumption – in fact, it has certainly increased it. No longer can we let our air conditioner hibernate a little during the day, because we’re always home. We’ve got extra computers and equipment for our jobs. And, we’re watching more streaming content than ever before. But, there are always ways to decrease our usage, but how can you determine what they are? That’s is where Joule comes in.

Joule is a cloud platform that is able to take data from any electric meter, old or new, and turn it into useful knowledge. It then combines it with data about other utilities, such as water and gas. The ultimate goal of the system is to help you optimize your energy consumption. The platform can work in residential, commercial, or industrial environments, meaning that it can help in any part of your life.

Users are able to interact with their collected data through a paired web and mobile application, as well as through an Alexa skill. Today, the company provides service for more than 12,000 users in Italy and has collected over 800,000 readings. The company has successfully helped these users minimize their ecological footprint.

In addition to the platform, the company offers a companion device – Scala. This device looks like a smart speaker, but has environmental sensors built in, allowing it to record indoor conditions to apply to the cloud platform’s algorithms. It has a screen on the front that can show information, such as indoor temperature, energy consumption, air quality, and humidity. You can also invoke the speaker with your voice and ask questions about past, present, and future consumption, among other factors.

To learn more about Joule, you can check out their website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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VirtuItaly brings the art gallery experience to your home @ CES 2021



VirtuItaly virtual art galleryThe past year has stolen a lot from us, but one of the biggest losses has been the ability to travel and experience new places and cultures. Traveling is big part of life for many people of varying backgrounds. The experiences of going to parks, restaurants, and galleries is hard to give up. However, thanks to ArtCentrica, we can experience the art of Italy through VirtuItaly.

While VirtuItaly is designed to be an immersive platform that allows for in-person and remote experiences, the last year has certainly placed a focus on one part of the business. That aspect is a fantastic virtual platform that can help bring the experience of a classic art gallery to you, wherever you are. Through the platform, you can explore a large collection of paintings in a whole new way.

While normally, you must view the paintings from a distance, with VirtuItaly you can get up close and personal. In fact, you can use the platform to get so close you can see the individual imperfections in the paint. In our demo, we get to zoom into a painting to the point where you can see brush strokes and canvas cracks. The detail is absolutely stunning, and gives you the ability to experience the art in new ways.

One of the other things that sets the platform apart is the way they work to digitally restore the artwork. The art restorers research the materials that were available and popular for tinting paint in the time the work was created, and use that to determine what the colors would have been originally. This means that the vividness of the colors are likely closer to the original work than the reality is today.

VirtuItaly is available now, with a free trial to see what it is all about. To learn more or try it out, check out the VirtuItaly website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Wi-Fi 6E and The Wi-Fi Alliance are making our lives faster @ CES 2021



Wi-Fi Alliance discusses Wi-Fi 6EOur lives are increasingly connected, and many of those connections are made via Wi-Fi. These days, while many of us are working from home, signal strength and speed have become even more important than before. Not because of this need, but in support of this need, the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the next upgrade to the Wi-Fi standard: Wi-Fi 6E.

You may be unaware of the Wi-Fi Alliance, but they are an essential part of our lives. The organization is responsible for creating, maintaining, and advancing the standard that is Wi-Fi. They are the reason why it keeps getting faster and more reliable. They are also the reason why your HP laptop can connected to a Linksys router and have all of the benefits, without being manufactured by the same company.

The most recent version of the Wi-Fi standard was the renamed Wi-Fi 6. Like its Wi-Fi 5 (formerly 802.11ac) predecessor, the new standard runs on 5GHz spectrum. But, new spectrum has been opening up across the globe in the 6GHz bands, which gives additional speed and reliability. New spectrum means a new draft for what is being called Wi-Fi 6E. The updated standard will bring with it 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels. The additional of new channels means more opportunity to find channels without any local interference, improving stability.

Potentially even more important that all of this is the addition of capacity. Connected homes and smart homes mean more devices, all of which are looking for internet access via Wi-Fi. Fortunately, Wi-Fi 6E compatible devices will be coming to the market soon. As always, older Wi-Fi devices will still be able to connect to the newer routers, and newer devices will still be able to connect to older routers. To learn more about Wi-Fi 6E and the Wi-Fi Alliance, head over to their website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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OrCam MyEye turns text to speech for the visually impaired @ CES 2021



OrCam MyEye smart readingThe modern world relies very heavily on sight. While podcasts have brought audio back to a primary method of communication, much of what we do is visual. Phones, despite their name, have a strong focus on visuals. Even things as simple as eating at a restaurant requires sight to be able to know the menu. But, if you have a visual impairment, it can have a major impact on your life. Fortunately, our friends at OrCam have a technological solution to the problem: OrCam MyEye.

The OrCam MyEye is a small device that looks like a PowerPoint controller. But, instead of a device to control a computer, it is a small computer with a built-in camera. It attaches to your glasses, which allows it to stay focused in the same direction as your head. This allows you to use it to read aloud text in front of you. It can be done directly from the device, or it can be paired with a speaker or headphones.

The OrCam MyEye is controlled using gestures. You can tap the device to read whatever is in front of you. Or, you can point at text to have it start reading there. You can use a hand gesture, similar to an orchestral conductor, to end the reading. This puts you in full control of what is being read and when.

In addition to the text reading capability, it is able to do object identification. For example, it can learn and announce people using onboard facial recognition. It is also able to identify products around you, either using a pre-determined database, or by using the barcode on the product. In either case, it is able to announce that person or product just the same as it can read text.

The OrCam MyEye is available now starting at $3000, or can be purchased using Sunbit starting at $150 per month. To learn more or make a purchase, check out the OrCam website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Petpuls is a wearable, using AI to give your dog a voice @ CES 2021



Petpuls dog emotional analysisWearable health tech has become a normal part of our lives. Many people wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker on their wrists that tracks your activity. Some people wear more specialized devices, like DFree, to track more specific medical issues. But, this is catering specifically to humans – but we love our pets almost as much as we love people. Petpuls recognizes this, and is bringing the benefits of wearable devices to your dogs.

Petpuls is a specialized collar that gives your dog a voice. Essentially, the idea is that your dog is speaking to you. Anyone who has had dogs knows that they can express their feelings and physical states with their barking. Different tones are used in different scenarios and to express different emotions. However, it can be difficult for humans to detect those differences. For those who can differentiate, it can still be difficult to figure out what they want or need.

This is where Petpuls comes in. Using a microphone, the collar has the ability to listen to your pet’s voice. Using artificial intelligence, the system is able to take that voice and translate it into simple English. Now, it’s not going to give you the ability to hold conversations with your dog, but it does give you the ability to determine several emotional states that your dog might be in: happy, sad, anxious, relaxed, and angry. This can give you the ability to respond to help relieve negative states or help maintain positive states.

Because the system is powered by AI, it means that the more devices that are in the wild, and the more of them in active use, the better the detection will get. In fact, with time, the nuances between these states might be able to be broken out into more detailed categories.

The Petpuls is available now for $99 for the small size and $108 for the large size. To learn more or make a purchase, head over to the Petpuls website.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

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Sugr makes for clearer digital assistant experiences @ CES 2021



Sugr voice enhancement systemAnyone who has ever owned a virtual assistant has had the experience of calling them without them ever responding. Or, even weirder, is when you don’t summon them and they respond. After they are paying attention, it’s not guaranteed that things will go as planned. Commands can be misinterpreted or completely ignored. A lot of this has to do with the sound happening around you. Fortunately, Sugr has a solution for the future.

The company provides embedded voice technology to improve experiences. The technology can be built into many devices, making the voice of the user clearer to the listener. That listener could be a virtual assistant, or it could be someone on a headset or speakerphone. This can be a big win for many people in many scenarios.

One example where Sugr’s technology can make a great impact is in the car. Obviously, when in the car, there is a lot of external noise. The car itself makes noise, there’s road noise while in motion, other cars can honk their horn, etc. Trying to use a voice assistant in the car, therefore, can be a really hit or miss experience. Amazon tried to address the issue by including extra hardware to create a better version of regular noise cancelation – a third microphone.

Sugr’s voice technology is able to produce a better noise cancelation, and therefore a better Alexa experience, without the extra microphone. Less physical hardware means less to break and less inherent cost. Plus, the voice isolation can be used while on the phone, reducing the background noise, which is something the person you talk to on the phone will appreciate.

If you are a device manufacturer looking for voice technology to improve their product, you can learn more at the Sugr website.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

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BioflightVR makes world-class medical training accessible @ CES 2021



BioflightVR medical trainingPauly Suchy is the Business Director at BioflightVR, a health care education company that uses Virtual Reality (VR) to train doctors, nurses and students. He joined us at CES 2021 to talk about the company’s training platform and their vision for the future.

VR training and simulation environments can save money and time, reducing training time for medical professionals by 40% from traditional training methods. When they employ high definition immersive environments like BioflightVR’s , they can also impart a heightened sense of excitement and urgency, just as a real world experience would, providing for more realistic training.

Launched by a grant from Facebook five years ago, BioflightVR’s first project was a pediatric resuscitation program developed in partnership with Oculus, Facebook and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Another program involved the creation of hybrid surgical training procedure with Duke University, utilizing a high definition 360 view of a recorded surgery. Bioflight VRs process is unique both for the gamification aspects of their training programs and the realistic immediacy created through real world recorded scenarios, developed in partnership with medical experts.

BioflightVR works with the medical community in three basic ways: enhancing existing training curriculum and helping develop new training procedures, creating immersive labs across a variety of VR platforms that include Oculus, HTC Vive, Oculus Go, and WebVR among others; and providing full VR and 360° video production services.

The end goal, said Suchy, is a cloud based platform where a user can take an Oculus , download an application and get access to a world class education from doctors around the world , in real time, from their operating rooms. Ultimately, BioflightVR believes the tool can decentralize and democratize access to what can often be unattainable training and resources for remote or underserved facilities and the medical professionals who serve them, bringing better health care to all.

Visit the company’s website to learn more.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

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