This guest post was contributed by Frank Wood.
Some people may feel a little disappointed due to the delay on innovations like the flying car and the personal jet pack. True, we don’t have all of the gadgets that were commonplace to George and Judy Jetson, nor do we live in the 21st century as envisioned by Sci-Fi writers from the 1950s.
However, there are hundreds of technological advances that make life more convenient. While some of these gadgets fly under the radar today, they may one day become essential to the majority of Americans.
Medical: Stroke-Detecting Goggles
According to the L.A. Times, Americans make 2.6 million trips to ER each year due to sensations of vertigo and dizziness. Four percent of these people are stroke victims. Substantial work and money go into ensuring the other 96 percent of patients have not suffered a similar fate. To conclude whether or not the patient has recently had a stroke is to perform an expensive and time-consuming MRI scan.
This may become a thing of the past. Physicians at John Hopkins University in Baltimore and the University of Illinois College of Medicine recently tested 12 emergency-room patients who had been admitted after ostensibly suffering a stroke. In conjunction with an MRI, these patients were asked to wear a device that looks like a pair of particularly un-aerodynamic swimming goggles connected to a laptop. Once the goggles were on, the doctors were able to measure and interpret the eye movement of the patients.
The doctors were hoping that the goggles would be able to measure the subtle changes of eye movement exhibited in stroke victims. If this turned out to be the case, then they would be able to use the goggles, instead of MRIs, when attempting to see if a patient has had a stroke.
The doctors soon found out that the MRI scans of the 12 patients revealed that six of them had suffered a stroke and six had not. According to the L.A. Times, the goggles attained the same results.
For the Home: The Mobot
While timers have allowed people to fake being home for decades, this was about all they could do. You plug in a lamp or a television to the device, set a time, and on or off it goes. However, in the age of the smartphone, this seems decidedly boring, even archaic.
The new BeeWi Mobot is a timer for the 21st century. Though it looks like nothing more than a power socket, the Mobot is actually able to communicate via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi with users who will be able to direct the Mobot from anywhere in the world by using any Apple device.
On top of providing users remote access over a myriad of devices, the Mobot also comes equipped with a motion detector and a temperature sensor capable of detecting fires and will text you whenever it’s alerted, one of the many gadgets that work with smarthome technology as seen at www.securitycompanies.com.
For the Lottery Winners: The Disappearing Pool
While it may look like an ordinary floor, it can quickly become a pool with nothing more than the push of a button.
The floor will descend and begin to fill with water. It can be set at a shallow level for wading with children, a slightly deeper level for swimming laps, or even a deeper level for diving. Once you’re finished using the pool, all you have to do is push the button again, and the floor raises up, the water disappears, and you once again have what looks like nothing more than an ordinary floor.
About the Author
Frank follows the latest tech trends in the smart car auto industry. He shares the latest in hybrid and alternative fuel cars with his readers.