Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Stanley Black and Decker has jumped into the world of digital healthcare with a counter top robot called Pria…that works with an app to dispense and manage medication.  It also enables video conferencing communication with caregivers and loved ones.  Senior Product Manager Michael Abcunas says the opt in facial recognition is valuable..

“So if Fred walks in front of the device at 8am we actually use facial recognition to say good morning, Fred, it’s 8am would you like to take your pills now?  And then that information is passed through via mobile app to whoever may be in that care circle.”

Pria features a friendly face in front of all of those smarts and the 700 dollar investment can bring families a lot of peace of mind.  Find more at www.okpria.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com.  I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination Week is a compilation of this week's Techstination reports with tech journalist and host Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Tech to improve your visibility on the road.  FrontLane  is using motion sensors and bright pulsing LEDs in what it calls the Braking Bar.  It wirelessly attaches to your vehicle’s rear window and comes on only when it senses hard braking.  The idea…says co founder Jack Begaj…is to more rapidly alert those in back of you…

“As of today rear end collisions account for 40 percent of all car accidents.  There’s over 2 million per year just in the U.S. alone.”

The Braking Bar…at BrakingBar.com…makes sense and sells for 99 dollars.  In the meantime…a new highly reflective bike helmet…called Moment….has hit Indiegogo.  It is well made…is well ventilated, requires no batteries…and can make riding more safe.   Search for Moment bike helmet on Indiegogo. https://igg.me/at/moment-helmet

You can find us at Techstination.com.  I’m Fred Fishkin.

Withings innovates with medical grade ScanWatch featuring AFib & sleep apnea detection.  Withings Global Content Director Susie Felber chats with Techstination.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  The pioneering Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York…is at it again.  It has used data and images that have been gathered for decades by NASA to create a new show…Worlds Beyond Earth…narrated by award winning actor Lupita Nyong’o with a score composed by Robert Miller.  And it takes full advantage of a new laser high dynamic range projection system.  But director Carter Emmart says science is at the heart of Worlds Beyond Earth..

“It tells a lot about ourselves.  It gives us things to compare our planet to and a better understanding of Earth.  And so it ends up sort of being a message of this show.”

How our neighbors in the solar system can help us better understand the changes taking place here.

You can find us at Techstination.com.  I’m Fred Fishkin.

Clearwave Connect tablet designed to speed electronic patient check ins: CEO Mike Lamb in Techstination interview.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Using speech recognition and artificial intelligence to help teach English.  ELSA Instant is the name of a free browser plug in designed to help the one and a half billion English learners around the globe and is a follow up to the Elsa apps available for smartphones.  It was created by Vu Van whose motivation was personal…

“Ten years ago I moved from Vietnam to the U.S. to do my M.B.A. and education at Stanford University here and the first quarter I was really struggling to be understood by all of my friends and my teachers and my professors.  And that really hurt my confidence.”

Now she is helping others and Elsa has raised more than twelve million dollars in venture capital.  There’s more at www.elsaspeak.com.  You can find us at Techstination.com.  I’m Fred Fishkin.

Lutron adds Caseta Smart Motion Sensor & more to smart home line.  Chief Brand Ambassador Melissa Andresko chats with Techstination.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  When it comes to smart home controllers…Ezlo Innovation is doing what its name implies.  It is out with the PlugHub Energy…a combination smart home hub, smart plug and energy monitor….and it sells for under forty dollars.  VP of product Roger Gregory…

“Most consumers know what it is…you can plug it in …it will function as a smart switch as one would expect.  But then we unravel additional functionality.  We actually add in that hub capability so it will talk to and control other devices in your home.  So that’s pretty exciting.”

It works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and a wide range of smart home gear.  There’s also a new smart home hub… USB powered…called the Atom…that might be the solution for many households.   Find more info at www.getvera.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com.  I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.   There was a lot of focus on digital health at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show once again.  A variety of companies have developed devices to help with hearing loss.  Olive Union has a solution that looks like a standard wireless earbud…that can be used in one ear or two…and the app is designed to test your hearing and tune the device.  Chief Operating Officer Teo Son says the design helps to remove some of the stigma of hearing assistance devices…

“We don’t want our products to look like medical devices instead of a fashionable Bluetooth earbud.”

The Olive Smart Ear is impressive and easily slips into a shirt pocket when not in use.  To help you breathe easier wherever you are….Wynd…spelled with a Y…has new products coming to market.  The Wynd Plus…available now…is designed to improve air quality around you.  You can find us at Techstination.com.  I’m Fred Fishkin.