PLUGHITZ Live Presents (Video)

A new breed of smartwatch, elevating the playing field of consumer expectations from current industry norms to include accurate heart readings. This is how CEO Ranndy Kellogg introduced Omron's latest offering to the smartwatch market. Smartwatches have steadily been gaining more and more popularity with consumers in today's market. The digital display, along with the number of very convenient and popular options, have been important factors in their rise in popularity. Also, users can download compatible apps for their smartphones which allows them to track and monitor their progress has also been an important factor as well.

This is the current staple of the market, and nothing particularly novel, which is exactly what Omron hopes to change with their new addition to the field. Omron a leader in cardiovascular monitoring equipment is now introducing their FDA-approved heart monitoring equipment into their latest offering in smartwatch world. This cutting edge watch includes the same inflatable band that is in the classic blood pressure cuff found in doctor's offices all over the world, but takes the same technology and minimizes it to fit into the band of the watch itself. Omron's new gadget is able to take Accurate and Systolic and Diastolic readings, as well as actual EKG readings.

Now, that may not seem like much of a big deal to a non fitness watch enthusiast, but this is an evolutionary step in gaining access to accurate biometric readings instantly and on the go. This paves the way for more accurate, readily-available readings straight from our bodies, given as feedback in response to whatever physical activities we decide to participate in. Fitness watches now, when calibrated properly, will do little more than give you best guess numbers regarding: steps taken, calories burned and total distance walked. Many consumers are big fans of what the average fitness watch can do now, but this new tech hitting the market gives those with existing heart problems, adrenaline-junkies or anyone out there who also is interested in biometric feedback data a lot to be excited for. Oh, don't forget, you can browse the net, make or take calls, text, review calendar events, and I'm pretty sure it tells the time too.

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.

If you have ever had a family member with Diabetes, you know the extreme toll it takes on everyone involved, but especially the patient. This was the experience that Benoît Mirambeau, co-founder of DiabiLive, was trying to eliminate for his mother. She was experiencing dozens of incidents per month, and had lost her ability to simply live her life.

That is where DiabiLive comes in. It's an app platform designed to help a Diabetes patient manage their disease through tracking food consumption and exercise, and, more importantly, informing them how best to respond. Taking all of this information into account, patients are able to get a customized, calculated dosage for their insulin. By taking a dosage personalized to your daily activities, you are able to recapture that which is lost: your autonomy. In the case of the founder's mother, she went from 2 dozen incidents per month to about 3 per month, a decrease that even her doctor cannot believe.

In the US, the app is currently undergoing the preparation steps for FDA certification. Since this is a first-of-its-kind product, it will require a clinical trial before applying to the FDA, and the company hopes to have full certification before the end of 2018.

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.

ShowStoppers is always a hit with our team while at CES and it was a delight to speak with Nigel from Realmax this year at CES 2018. Although we are not strangers to Augmented Reality here at PLuGHiTz Live, we were curious to see what was different and exciting about the Realmax Qian. And they did not disappoint.

Realmax has been around since 2003 and is a company that is highly involved in educational technology. With the addition of AR, they have the ability to not only bring learning to life but to also reach a much broader audience. For example, this technology can be adapted to smaller engineering and robotics programs where the schools cannot afford full labs. With Qian, the students can still get real experience on a full set of instruments and machines in this AR realm. The technology could also assist doctors with training medical students in a much more efficient and cost effective manner. The potential applications are limitless, which opens up usage in so many more fields than education, such as banking and other corporate settings.

Realmax has also set themselves apart from their competitors in some exciting ways. Their headsets are completely mobile with an Android CPU built inside. They have also increased their AR Field of View to an outstanding 100 degrees. The goggles have much better tracking to allow users to stay anchored in the real world to walk around the digital content. They are also working to offer all of this at a more affordable price point than their competitors in the consumer market.

Although currently in the prototype stage, Realmax expects to have the technology in the hands of software developers within Q2 of 2018, and begin consumer production in Q3. This is a product that we at PLuGHiTz Live will be keeping an eye on in the coming months as it launches with possibly even a full product review, so stay tuned for more information regarding pricing and where to purchase.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.

In the smart home security space, one of the leaders is NETATMO, which offers a full line of both security and home automation products. The devices have been controllable by the company's mobile apps, as well as several of the popular voice assistants. This year, however, the company has given users a whole new way to interact with their NETATMO devices.

Welcome the Netatmo Smart Home Bot, a Facebook Messenger bot that allows you to use Messenger to control your IoT devices from anywhere, on any device. Whether you're sitting at your desk, on your phone or tablet, you can simply type to the bot something like, "What's the temperature in the living room?" or "Show me my cameras." and the bot will perform the requested actions.

The chat bot is available now worldwide, but currently only supports English. The company does plan to release additional languages in the near future. The best part of the bot? It's completely free to use, so if you've got a NETATMO device, get to experimenting!

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.

NEOFECT USA offers therapeutic devices that are designed for patients with neurological conditions. These items not only assist with their rehabilitation in really unique ways, but they make it a lot more fun while also providing a great way to track their progress. Their innovation creates a new and really exciting way to approach occupational therapy. The company currently offers Smart Boards, Smart Gloves and Smart Pegboards.

The Smart Board is for stroke patients. It assists with short movement rehab by improving muscle memory. It's all about neuroplasticity, with repetitive motion that allows the brain to get through the process of relearning specific skills. It uses games, like Treasure Hunt, to help with fine motor skills in the hands. Through repetitive actions provided in the tools in the games, the patients not only get better but are also provided with feedback that is specific to their levels of progression.

The Smart Glove is a real time biofeedback device that is also designed with stroke victims in mind. It allows patients to play games, as well as perform functions while going through virtual processes like pouring wine or squeezing an orange. The glove also keeps track of their specific progress and shows whether you are improving, stagnating or regressing.

All of their products can be ordered without the need for a doctor's prescription by visiting their website. Price points are in the $1000 range.

Coming soon: NeoMono, which will hit the market later this year. It's a wearable robot, worn on three fingers, that helps restore hand function. Check out their entire line at neofect.com.

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.

After conducting this interview, the crew and myself had to add a new word to our vocabulary: Indiginerd; a lover of indigenous nerd and pop culture.

Created out of a love for comics, all things pop culture and the belief that there was not a substantial or accurate representation of Native and indigenous people, Native Realities was born. Their goal? To entertain, and educate adults and children alike. The company publishes several books, available in print or digitally, from Native creators and starring Native and Indigenous characters with future plans to branch out into games and animated projects. This interview was a breath of fresh air for me. Being an avid comic reader, I was always disheartened with the knowledge that there were only a handful of books that had actual Native characters in them. However, for every one that was written in a real and believable way, there were two that were basically joke characters. It warms my heart to see something like this exist in today's world.

In addition to the many things this company has coming down its respective pipeline, they are also gearing up for their second Indigenous Comic Con which will be held on November 10th through 12th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Please check these guys out, and to find out more about this great company, or to just go and let your Indiginerd flag fly, you can find them here.

Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.

One of the most wonderful things in this world to do is to read to a child. Nothing can match seeing their sweet faces light up as they enjoy the stories and learn more and more about the world around them. It's a very special bonding time for both the adult and the child.

Some are in a situation where their work keeps them traveling. Or sometimes Grandma lives far away and wishes she could be there for more story times. Luckily, Caribu came along to offer an amazing solution. Caribu is a mobile app that brings story time to you no matter where you are. They have wonderful picture books from the best children's publishers that are just one click away in their bookshop. They make it so easy to be engaged and enchanted anywhere, at any time by incorporating a video chat along with the pages of the book so the kids can follow along when you are reading, pictures and all, just like at home. And they have fun learning and coloring activities that you can do together, as well.

Our team is super excited about this ingenious tech and we can't wait to use it with our own family members. Find out more and download the app, which is available for iOS and Android, here.

Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.

Coffee in an important part of the day for a lot of us. And although some are content with making a quick pot at home, so many more love grabbing a cup from a coffee shop. Whether it's through the drive thru or going inside where they can smell the fresh ground beans and bakery items and to feel the camaraderie of their java partners in crime, they love it all. Sometimes the bigger chains don't offer the best brew or experience, but it's not always easy to find a really good independent coffee shop and even harder to get the perks that come with the big chains. Well, JoJo is aiming to make it a lot easier.

JoJo is an app that allows you to search for great independent coffee shops in your area. They also take suggestions to be added to the app if your favorite spot hasn't yet made the list. It also allows you to order ahead and pay through the app. Not only that... you can earn perks. Earn 2 Beans for every dollar you spend on JoJo, collect 120 Beans and get a $5 JoJo Reward. You'll get a great cup of Jo from a barista that is passionate about their craft, great perks, and patron some of the best mom and pop establishments around.

The app is currently available at the Apple App Store, and is coming soon on Google Play. Sign up now and get your first $5 perk.

Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.

We are inspired by the colors and styles that are around us every day. They help us express who we are. Mime is the company that can help you discover the shades that you want just by downloading their new app, Flawless Makeup. Mime did their homework so that all you need to do is take a picture of a desired color whether it's a shade on a flower, a color of a wall, or even the makeup on the model in your favorite magazine. Flawless Makeup lets you select the shade you want in the image and then matches it with the same color from 26 thousand sources of inventory found in 150 different brands.

Mime wants to get the chance to get to know your personal style and they do this by asking a few personality and preference questions upon starting the app so that they can give you recommendations based on what you like. They also give you the opportunity to filter through different categories, brands, and prices. You can find the best trends by browsing the app categorized by special occasions like weddings, girl's night out, staying in, etc. There are even collaborations with celebrity makeup artists to show off the latest trends, styles, brands, and colors.

You can download Flawless Makeup now through iOS and Android. Learn more about Mime and their vision for beauty by going to their website.

Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.

The world of tech is enhancing our lives on a daily basis. Businesses are able to attract customers in new ways, while at the same time making it easier for them to browse through and purchase their products. And now, the design and architecture industries are also able to jump on the tech bandwagon to attract and amaze their clients.

Morfus is an enterprise solution VR company for interior designers and architects. They transform 3D models and 2D floor plans into a VR showcase for mobile phones. Bringing this technology to existing phones makes it available to many more firms, as well as their clients, as they will not have to invest in expensive hardware in order to view the designs. Once rendered, they can be viewed on any smart phone. Also, each project generates its own unique mobile app, so the firm's customers can download the apps on their own devices as well.

It opens up so many possibilities as clients will be able to virtually walk through the designs. This provides a much better sense of the space available with heights and dimension, the ability to go from room to room, even see the landscaping and views. They bring the plans to life so much more than a model or 360˚ photo. They also make is simple to use. Although they are compatible with Google Cardboard, they also have their own system for moving around the showcase that will work with any Bluetooth controller for Android or iOS.

As the company expands, they are looking forward to introducing their own design apps for interior decorating that include allowing users to create their own rooms and incorporating furniture and other home goods stores in the process. So you'll be able to drag and drop actual pieces into the design and purchase the items right from the app.

To learn more, check out their website for demos and contact information.

Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.