PLUGHITZ Live Presents (Video)

Challenge Yourself with a Game of Mentagy!

Allyn Kahn has invented a new, award winning letter-based puzzle game called Mentagy. This game challenges your critical thinking skills by making you think ahead to complete a puzzle board. Kahn taught college mathematics, philosophy, and critical thinking/logic and later coached afterschool chess. He realized that the complexity in chess can really test the patience of people of all ages and he decided to create a game that can challenge people in the same way.

Mentagy is a puzzle for all ages and is easy to learn! It can be described as a letter version of Sudoku and can even be compared to the old-school game, Snake because the completed solution wraps around in a similar way. In this interview, Kahn demonstrates how to play on a physical peg board but an activity book version is also available for purchase. The activity book has multiple levels of difficulty inside and the completed solution in the back.

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.

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 best parts of the Tampa Bay maker community is that many people are very active. Because of that, we've gotten to know them well. One such recurring member of the community is Maestro Matthew Maines of the Tampa Music School. He first appeared with us at Roboticon 2015, and since then has expanded his Show Steelers program.

Show Steelers is a youth steel pan band, housed at the Tampa Music School. The students, including Ayden Weil, learn to play the instruments, as well as learning to work with other players. This is important because players switch out on the same station, sometimes between songs and sometimes during. The Show Steelers were at the event playing hourly.

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.

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.

Participating in any sort of extreme sport or race is often a grueling task with the ultimate reward sometimes being the ability to simply finish the event. But other than maybe a few snapshots of the finish line, they can often be very hard to document. Unless, of course, you have the Panasonic A1 Adventure cam.

The A1, displayed at CES, is a super light, wearable HD camera, coming in at just 1.6 ounces and 3.3 inches. That leaves little burden on the wearer as they hit the slopes, the mud or the waves. With that in mind, the camera is water, shock, dust and freeze proof and has a built-in wi-fi connection for uploading the data. The device can record for up to an hour or at 2 hours and 45 minutes with an extended battery accessory.

The camera does include mounts and a night vision IR lens. It retails for $199 and is available now.

Interview by Nakia Mann of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

Pioneer gave a glimpse of its automotive vision for the future at CES with an interactive demo of its In-Vehicle Contextual Awareness Cockpit.

Product specialist David Novack was on-hand to show off the idea's many features, which included a heads-up display for navigation, a main display with related information, a touch-pad on the steering wheel and a dashboard that hosted three different rear cameras. The rearview mirror, meanwhile, is equipped with a sensor, allowing it to adjust to the driver accordingly.

The demo took the driver through a handful of scenarios, including one where the car shoots a scent into the air to wake a driver who is detected to have a low heart rate. It also showed off lane detection as well as warnings for both a driver who had been cut off by another vehicle as well as one for a pedestrian crossing the street.

Interview by Aylee Nielsen of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

Today's athlete isn't just a naturally gifted human specimen getting by on talent alone. Lets face it, Babe Ruth would look pretty out of place in today's locker rooms. Instead, the modern athlete is both gifted and engineered, learning how to squeeze every ounce of effort out of their body.

That is where technology like Vert steps in. The on-the-rise wearable offers real-time analytics that can be not only displayed to give fans an in-depth look at an athletes performance, but that data can also be managed to prevent injuries. Specializing in jump technology, founder and president Martin Matak said at CES that the device is adding intensity measurements and that data is already being used to enhance viewing experience by putting the information up on jumbotrons while also being incorporated into broadcasts. Vert already has some key partners in the NBA's Miami Heat and USA Volleyball.

The device retails at $125 and has a free companion app. It is wireless and bluetooth enhanced, and those interested for more information on the broadcast side of things can visit MyVert online.

Interview by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

With over ten years of audio engineering experience, Nick's addition to PLuGHiTz Corporation is best served when he is behind the mixing board every Sunday night to produce the audio side of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Piltch Point and PLuGHiTz Live Night Cap. While mixing live every week, his previous radio show hosting experience gives him the ability to co-host as well, giving each show a unique flare with his slightly off-center, yet still realistic take on all things tech. An integral part of the show, you can find Nick always enveloped in coming up with new (and sometimes crazy) ideas and content for the show and you can always expect the most direct opinion on the stories that he feels need to be shared with the world. During the few hours where Nick isn't sleeping or working on ways to improve the company, he spends his free time going to hockey and football games and playing the latest titles on Xbox 360. Email him for his gamertag and add him today for a fun escape from the normal monotony and annoyance that the Xbox LIVE gaming community can sometimes be!

Almost everyone, at one time or another, has searched for a new cell phone case and said, “I wish there was one that did this.” Well now, there is! Nexpaq is the first smartphone case that allows users to customize and enhance their smartphone case with modular inserts that perform a variety of functions that make your phone convertible with super powers. From simple modules like an extra battery or a better speaker, to modules that are equipped with specific sensing abilities like temperature readings or even a blood-glucose meter. There's also a programmable hotkey to customize so you can easily access your favorite existing phone function.

Each module is like a building block, allowing them to be interchangeable. Get the ones you want and go crazy. You can have a different handset every day, customized to that day's activities. The modules are interchangeable between platforms and are even social, allowing you to bring up an interactive map to let you know of others in the area who also have modules that can be shared.

And let's not forget the Developer Kit. Nexpaq wants to help take their module concept to the limits of our imaginations by allowing everybody to develop their own ideas into modules. The sky is the limit and they fully expect there to be thousands of modules available in the next few years. What's better than that is they will actually help by assisting with the standardization and distribution of the feasible and cost effective ideas. Nexpaq has also created Hackathons to connect developers with engineers to get the creative juices flowing and help to bring these ideas to fruition.

Phone cases are available now and start at $99 with various prices for the modules ranging from $4.90 to $44.90. The Developer Kits are also available for $299.

Interview by Aylee Nielsen of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

We all know and love Lego blocks and building sets. But few of us realize that the Lego Education Division has been around for 35 years, interacting with educators, communities and families across the world. They pride themselves upon opening up a new world for kids through discovery, open ended problem solving and creativity.

At CES 2016, Lego Education introduced WeDo 2.0, an elementary STEM and Science Solution that brings science to life through Lego Robotics. With WeDo 2.0, kids can build a number of different Lego models that explore a variety of science concepts from earth science to life science to physical science. They believe that age appropriate technology is key to learning and development and that it's never too early to start. WeDo 2.0 has been developed for elementary age students.

With WeDo, kids will learn the basics of coding and programming by working with motors and sensors as well as exploring science in general. The software interface is easy for both students and teachers with graphical and colorful icon based, drag and drop software that is used to interact with the Lego models to bring them to life. And this technology paves the way for the kids to move into more advanced robotics, such as Lego Mindstorms for middle school students and beyond.

And Lego Education makes it easy for teachers, mentors and parents to get involved and assist the kids throughout the process, even they you don't have a lot of tech experience or background. The interactive sets and lessons are great in the classroom, as they help with ingenuity and teamwork, and also perfect for extracurricular activities such as FIRST Lego League Jr.

Find out more at the Lego Education website, with sets starting at about $160 for the core set, which has capabilities for several different projects as well as software access.

Interview by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

With over ten years of audio engineering experience, Nick's addition to PLuGHiTz Corporation is best served when he is behind the mixing board every Sunday night to produce the audio side of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Piltch Point and PLuGHiTz Live Night Cap. While mixing live every week, his previous radio show hosting experience gives him the ability to co-host as well, giving each show a unique flare with his slightly off-center, yet still realistic take on all things tech. An integral part of the show, you can find Nick always enveloped in coming up with new (and sometimes crazy) ideas and content for the show and you can always expect the most direct opinion on the stories that he feels need to be shared with the world. During the few hours where Nick isn't sleeping or working on ways to improve the company, he spends his free time going to hockey and football games and playing the latest titles on Xbox 360. Email him for his gamertag and add him today for a fun escape from the normal monotony and annoyance that the Xbox LIVE gaming community can sometimes be!

There is always the fear that one day machines will become so powerful and self-aware that they will take over mankind, which in turn will then need Arnold Schwarzenegger to emerge as a savior. That being said, there is nothing intimidating about the Segway Robot powered by Intel RealSense.

The personal robot assistant uses a RealSense camera for depth sensing and 3D mapping, allowing for self-navigation, object tracking and recognition. The user can both ride the device and turn it into the robot, which also utilizes some voice recognition commands as well as programmable robotic arms. It can also connect to smart hardware so you can monitor the feed.

Platform architect Han Heng Juen said at CES that the expected launch of the platform to makes and developers is set for the second half of this year.

Interview by Nakia Mann of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

Panasonic had a number of high-quality products on display at CES in Las Vegas, ranging from mobile handhelds to a 12-inch semi-rugged tablet.

One product we got a good look at was the rugged Toughbook 20. The highly-durable device has a built in keyboard along with a detachable tablet and also features an optional second battery, allowing for up to 20 hours of battery life. The FZ-Q1 Toughpad, meanwhile, is a 12-inch semi-rugged tablet with a little less durability, but that simplicity allows for a better price point.

Also on display was a unique-looking 4K Toughpad. This device is best served for those wishing to show off high-end display graphics thanks to a 20-inch LCD screen. Despite its large size, the Toughpad is very light and portable.

These devices are available now through retailers and more information on the products can be found on Panasonic's Business portal.

Interview by Aylee Nielsen of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

If you have driven an automobile, chances are you have used some of QNX's technology without even realizing it. However at CES the BlackBerry subsidiary had some much more visible features on display.

Not only does QNX provide software found in nearly all automobiles, but the its presence within an actual vehicle is growing. That fact was front and center in Las Vegas with a sleek-looking demo vehicle that showed off numerous components. That included a fully-loaded reference platform with such features as couch to destination navigation. Through this application, a user can start the navigation on their phone and get directions to their vehicle, where the nav will then jump directly into the car. And looking to make touch screens even safer and easier to use, the reference platform had the ability to play and pause music anywhere on the screen and integrated gestures to control the audio as well.

The cluster system certainly looked straight out of the future despite already being available for preview. Utilizing an augmented reality HUD, a driver can see their destination glowing green or floating street markers right on a windshield display. That also included custom navigation display and more information can be found at QNX's website.

Interview by Nicholas DiMeo of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology

With over ten years of audio engineering experience, Nick's addition to PLuGHiTz Corporation is best served when he is behind the mixing board every Sunday night to produce the audio side of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Piltch Point and PLuGHiTz Live Night Cap. While mixing live every week, his previous radio show hosting experience gives him the ability to co-host as well, giving each show a unique flare with his slightly off-center, yet still realistic take on all things tech. An integral part of the show, you can find Nick always enveloped in coming up with new (and sometimes crazy) ideas and content for the show and you can always expect the most direct opinion on the stories that he feels need to be shared with the world. During the few hours where Nick isn't sleeping or working on ways to improve the company, he spends his free time going to hockey and football games and playing the latest titles on Xbox 360. Email him for his gamertag and add him today for a fun escape from the normal monotony and annoyance that the Xbox LIVE gaming community can sometimes be!