PLUGHITZ Live Presents (Video)

Geiger counters are great for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation but their biggest flaw is that they can't discriminate between the different types of radiation; alpha, beta or gamma. Icohup's Rium detector addresses this with a compact and stylishly wooden unit. Allante and Billy discuss the benefits of radiation detectors without mentioning a single nuclear disaster.

Winner of a CES Innovation award, Icohup's Rium uses scintillation spectrometry technology to not only detect levels of ionizing radiation but also the type. This means that the Rium can determine if the radioactivity is natural or industrial, or if it's a Cobalt, Uranium or Cesium source. The Rium unit is about the size of a packet of biscuits and is tastefully made of wood. Not sure if there's a scientific reason for this, though it looks good anyway, and the small size means that it can be carried by a drone to record radioactivity in potentially hazardous areas.

Data is collected and displayed by a nearby smartphone and with geotagging of the radiation information, maps can be built easily to show radiation hotspots. The data can be transferred either by Bluetooth or by USB. The Rium will be available shortly from Icohup for EUR399 (about $500).

The company is also currently in development of other detectors, such as carbon monoxide and radon gas, for future production.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.

Allante - also well known as Wolff - is the newest member and co-host for PLuGHiTz Live! Radio. A gifted artist, he is usually found drawing up a character or two or sketching up whatever comes to mind. Do not think that he is not a hardcore gamer because he is about as hardcore as it gets! His favorites range from fighting games to RPGs, adventure and even a racing game here and there. Fighting games are his forte and he relays this message for all who oppose: You mess with the Wolff and you get the fangs!

XB360 - Enigmatic Wolff

PSN - Tsukuyomi_Okami

Although 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 when she started with PLuGHiTz Corporation to help with special events as a Production Assistant. Soon she began to dabble with the audio and video and is loving her role as Producer. She's also one of our content writers and assists with product reviews. Looking forward, she is excited to expand her skill set into editing and helping the company continue to grow.

If you have ever used a music streaming service you know that the suggestions are less than perfect. Spotify and similar services use the trends of all of their subscribers to recommend music. Obviously this isn't working.

Audioburst has a better way to offer you exactly what you want to listen to and play less of the kind of music you do not want to hear. In partnering with your streaming service, Audioburst is able to create a personal profile of your likes and dislikes. By combining your profile with Audioburst's searchable index of audio content, your favorite streaming service or smart speaker can provide you with custom playlists that are based on your interests.

Audioburst doesn't intend this to apply to just music. The technology can be applied to any type of audio, such as podcasts. Using the same personal profile, podcasts services might recommend other shows that you would like (and for once get it right).

This product is designed to be integrated into audio platforms and not to be seen by the consumer. The company is currently working to be included in as many platforms as possible.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.

All of us have some habit that is annoying, either to ourselves or to others. Some bite their nails, others crack their knuckles. Usually this is just a sign of stress or boredom, but for some with a mental health issue, it can be an indication of a problem. Unfortunately, most of us are completely unaware of when we are performing the action, as it happens outside of our consciousness.

HabitAware has created a product, the HabitAware Keen, to keep track of these habits and ticks to help identify when a mental health issue becomes a problem. Worn on the wrist, like a traditional fitness band, the Keen uses some of the same sensors to watch behavior.

Initially, you must train the device to know what behaviors to watch for, and how the wearer performs them. If your tick happens to be cracking your wrist, you would need to show the device the difference between that and writing with a pen. Once trained, Keen will vibrate when the action is detected again, alerting the wearer to the behavior. In the immediate future, the wearer will be reminded about the behavior, while in the long run, it will retrain the wearer not to perform the action at all.

The Keen bracelet is available now priced from $149.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.

Allante - also well known as Wolff - is the newest member and co-host for PLuGHiTz Live! Radio. A gifted artist, he is usually found drawing up a character or two or sketching up whatever comes to mind. Do not think that he is not a hardcore gamer because he is about as hardcore as it gets! His favorites range from fighting games to RPGs, adventure and even a racing game here and there. Fighting games are his forte and he relays this message for all who oppose: You mess with the Wolff and you get the fangs!

XB360 - Enigmatic Wolff

PSN - Tsukuyomi_Okami

There are a lot of contenders in the smarthome space, but one of the more established brands is Fibaro. The brand is a member of the Z-Wave Alliance, which means that their devices can work with other Z-Wave technologies. This year, the company is showing off upgraded models of their modules, which now support Apple HomeKit.

Fibaro is far from the first to support HomeKit, but the company takes a slightly different approach to smarthome, though, with product designs that are a bit more whimsical that your standard white boxes. Take, for example, the Wall Plug. It features the traditional remote switch with the addition of energy monitoring and a USB port. The design differentiator, though, is that the device comes with a glowing ring around the outside. This ring, while making the product look very different, it also gives you an idea as to how much power the plug is using.

Another example of the whimsical design is The Button. It does what you would expect - gives you the ability to create a panic scenario or a scene changer. In fact, there are 6 modes to the button: single through 5 press, as well as long-press. Again, the differentiator here is the very unique design. This small device comes in a variety of colors, some being very primary and bright. They are definitely not designed to blend into the room they are in.

The Wall Plug is available for $59, The Button is available for around $49, depending on the color, and additional Fibaro smarthome products are available for varying prices.

Interview by Allante Sparks of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.

Allante - also well known as Wolff - is the newest member and co-host for PLuGHiTz Live! Radio. A gifted artist, he is usually found drawing up a character or two or sketching up whatever comes to mind. Do not think that he is not a hardcore gamer because he is about as hardcore as it gets! His favorites range from fighting games to RPGs, adventure and even a racing game here and there. Fighting games are his forte and he relays this message for all who oppose: You mess with the Wolff and you get the fangs!

XB360 - Enigmatic Wolff

PSN - Tsukuyomi_Okami

The importance of good sleep cannot be overstated. Without enough rest, the mind gets distracted, and you can be completely unproductive. With a continued lack of sleep, permanent damage can be done to your body and your mind. Sleepace has a solution to continued poor sleep: The Dream Life system.

The first product in the Dream Life system is the RestOn smart sleep monitor. Unlike most sleep trackers, this one is not worn on your wrist but instead runs the width of your bed under the sheets. This method makes it far more convenient, as you'll never have to charge it, since it can stay plugged in. RestOn is not the first of its kind, but it does offer a very nice unique feature: smart start. You don't need to launch the app and let it know you're going to bed; instead, it recognizes the behavior and starts on its own.

Another interesting product is the Nox Smart Sleep Light. This light can be set to specific colors for night and morning, can be paired with other sensors to make decisions or can mimic the natural light outdoors. The outdoor syncing means that as the sun sets, the room can go from bright to orange to red; as the sun rises, it reverses this pattern. Using Nox as part of an "alarm clock" system, you can wake up more calmly in a natural manner.

Another entry in the family is the Nox Aroma device. This product combines all of the great features of the Nox Smart Sleep Light with additional aromatherapy capabilities. This means that you can fall asleep to light and scent that is relaxing, or use light and scent to wake up, rather than a loud alarm.

The RestOn Z200 smart sleep monitor is available now for $149 and the Nox Smart Sleep Light is available for $149. The Nox Aroma will be available soon, as well as an upgrade to the RestOn, the Z400T.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

Scott 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 has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.

Over 30 million Americans go fishing on a regular basis. Many anglers prefer to use artificial lures to live bait, including those who participate in fishing competitions where live bait is often prohibited. While the quality of artificial lures has increased over the years, it has not really added a lot of assistance to the angler. Econet has set out to change that with the Eco-Popper.

Unlike traditional lures, the Eco-Popper has a computer built-in, allowing it to send information back to the angler. Combined with the integrated camera, the device has the ability to send images and video back to the surface, allowing the user to see exactly what is happening underwater. While in range, the device can even send live video for faster decision-making.

Other sensors allow for the analysis of the water itself. You can tell the temperature and salinity of the water, so you can know if the fish you are looking for would be currently avoiding the area for those reasons. After the battle, you can even share the information you collected through the platform, or share the photos and videos online.

Various models of the Eco-Popper are available for pre-order.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

Scott 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 has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.

The importance of good sleep cannot be overstated. Without enough rest, the mind gets distracted, and you can be completely unproductive. With a continued lack of sleep, permanent damage can be done to your body and your mind. REM-Fit recognizes the importance of sleep and has created the ZEEQ Smart Pillow to help make your sleep better.

For starters, the ZEEQ has a pillow speaker embedded into it, so you can listen to music, nature sounds or even white noise to help you fall asleep faster. Once you're asleep, the ZEEQ will analyze your sleep patterns and grade your sleep. Using either Apple's HealthKit or Google Fit, you can view your pattern and score to see if you are getting the amount of sleep you think.

ZEEQ can also help your partner to sleep better. The ZEEQ has a microphone built-in that is specifically tuned to hear if you begin to snore. If you do, the pillow will gently vibrate, which should encourage you to shift positions, hopefully ending the snoring. Your partner will appreciate this feature almost as much as you appreciate the statistics.

The ZEEQ Smart pillow is available now from various sources.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.

In the last few years, the rise of digital assistants has changed the face of technology. Rather than always having to hold your device, you can simply speak towards it and receive some of the information you desire. You can check the weather, the traffic or have your text messages read to you. Of course, you're not always in a great environment to summon your assistant of choice.

Whether you're out for a run or in your car, Jinni is the portable solution for accessing your assistant. The device can be clipped onto your clothes, attached to your keys or placed somewhere more permanent, like in the car. Simply touch a button and call your assistant. If you receive a text message, it will be read aloud. You can easily control your phone, your home or your information consumption all with this simple device.

In addition to being a summoning button for your assistant, Jinni can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker. The device is waterproof, so you can even bring it into the shower to listen to music, and still keep all of the additional features of the device.

PH Technical Labs is hoping to release Jinni in the second quarter of 2018.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.

People who ride their bikes on the street must share the road with cars and follow the rules of the road. This means signaling for turns, just like a car, but without the convenience of turn signals. LIVALL has created a product, the Helmetphone, which protects your head and keeps your hands on your bicycle. This helmet has turn signals built into the sides and back, making your intentions known to drivers around you, with controls on your handlebars, leaving you in control of the vehicle.

In addition to the convenience and safety of turn indicators, the product also has a myriad of other convenience and safety features. For example, it includes a hands-free phone system, including speakers and a microphone, to allow the rider to make and receive phone calls without the need to interact with their phone. Once again, this keep your hands on the bicycle and eyes on the road.

If you are in near proximity to the recipient, you can also use the built-in 2-way radio to communicate with another party, using the same speakers and microphone. You can also use the speakers to listen to music right in the helmet. All of these features take advantage of the handlebar controller to interact with the helmet.

There's a lot to like about the Helmetphone, but possibly the best feature is the built-in SOS capability. If the helmet detects a fall, it can automatically send a message to a contact chosen as your emergency contact, letting them know that something might be wrong. The contact can then decide how to proceed.

The Helmetphone and other LIVALL smart helmets are available now, starting at $129.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.

New parents have a lot of stress and it can be difficult to know if you are doing the best thing for your baby. How much should you feed your baby? Are you overfeeding? Has your baby's caregiver fed him or her while you are working? BlueSmart can provide the answer to these questions with a product that is easy for everyone to use. BlueSmart Mia helps make you a better parent.

The Mia is a sleeve, made from the material used for pacifiers making it easily washable, that can fit over any bottle. Using technology, hidden at the bottom of the product, the Mia can help keep track of when your baby has been fed and how much.

Mia connects to a phone app through Wi-Fi, meaning the phone does not need to be close to sync the data. It keeps track of when the baby was fed and how many ounces the baby drank. The app can be used to keep track of your baby's milestones, height, weight, diaper changes and much more. Share the information in the app with caregivers, family members and your pediatrician.

Mia is on the market now and is priced at $149.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.