Alan Oviatt - Tips for Promoting your Research

The concept of smart cities was premised on integrating information, communications and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies like sensors and cameras in a secure fashion to manage a city's assets. One goal was more effective and cost-efficient management of city infrastructures and property, but equally important was responsiveness to emerging infrastructure events to help cities and their occupants. By Alan Oviatt

Alan Oviatt | Research Technology For Audiovisual Production

Alan Oviatt - Second test of our currently in research and development

technology for audiovisual production, using in house tracking system

(Augmenta) and Vive VR tracking technologies with real time video and projection mapping in space.

Digital Detox: Essential tips to help you unplug and recharge your batteries every day

Twitter, Facebook, blogging, clogging, emails, text messages and Instagram – repeat. As a freelancer or founder, you'll know only too well the importance of the digital landscape for marketing your business.

But if you're not careful, you end up constantly online in a never-ending loop of checking multiple apps and channels, and that isn't good for anyone.

Alan Oviatt

If you never give yourself time away from blaring screens and keyboards, your health and well-being are likely to suffer. That's because you never give your brain a chance to unwind; it's always switched on and busy. Busier than ever, in fact, as it's always trying to do many things at once.

According to Earl Miller, a neuroscientist at MIT and one of the world's leading experts on divided attention, he says that our brains are "not wired to multitask well...When people think they’re multitasking, they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly. And every time they do, there’s a cognitive cost in doing so."

And because multitasking is linked to stress as well as the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline, our brains can go into overdrive. We get addicted from the constant dopamine hits we get from 'likes' on Facebook, for example. Or the replies to tweets or emails. All this continuous activity is literally frying our brains and making us unwell.

You only need to look at the science to appreciate why it's important to take some time out and step away from technology. It will ultimately make you a better entrepreneur, founder, team leader and happier human being.

So how do you switch off? Especially when your business requires a lot of your time and energy. Well, it's easier than you think. You can find ways to take some time out every day without affecting your business. We've partnered with Huckleberry to uncover the secrets of a daily digital detox.

Impose some strict new rules

The average person checks their phone 200 times a day – that's roughly once every six and a half minutes. And frankly, it's ridiculous.
From this day forth, you shall remove all unnecessary apps from your smartphone. That includes email – if you can help it. Do you really need to constantly check everything? Admit it. You're addicted to technology and you can't get enough of those oh-so-lovely dopamine hits. Ditch Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well – leave everything to your desktop only. Things can wait. You can check updates when you're next at your desk.

Move your web browser away from your home screen

It's a simple tip, but if you constantly find yourself reaching for your phone to find something online, then move your web browser app off your smart phone's home screen. Instead, hide it within a folder or place it on your second page, so you have to work a little to access it. You'll find that you access the web a little less than before.

Get an old mobile phone, a naff one

If you really are weak when it comes to restricting tech, then for goodness sake, buy yourself a naff old mobile – one that doesn't even give you access to the internet. That way, you can still make calls and send/receive texts, but you have no opportunity to stay online.

Appreciate the benefits of "deep work"

Buy yourself a copy of Cal Newport's Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. Basically, it talks about the concept of undistributed work. How you can achieve so much more if you focus on just one thing. So you see, stepping away from technology isn't just great for your well-being; it's essential if you're going to create your best work.

Meditate daily
Every day, take some time away from your desk and technology to meditate. Find a quiet corner in your office or home, and enjoy some mindfulness. Use a helpful app like Head space to teach yourself how to switch off. Just a few minutes can positively change the rest of your day.

Can't find anywhere to unwind? It might be time to find a new work space. At Huckletree West, a new co-working space opening in London's White City Place this month, there is a Meditation Yurt – an amazing, restful space constructed from mariner's rope where Huckletree will be running weekly guided meditation sessions. Plus the Yurt will be open 24/7 for solo reflection and introspection.

Step away from all technology often
Your phone, your iPad, your desktop computer – find a little time every day away from them. When you give your brain a chance to rest, you might find that you come up with your best creative ideas. With all that constant multitasking gone, you'll be solving problems in no time.

At Huckletree West they've got a Willow Hut – a dedicated no-tech zone woven from willow branches for its members to quietly collaborate and find inspiration, or indeed enjoy a power nap. Perfect.

Enjoy a little fresh air, exercise and greenery every day

During your breaks, get outside if you can. A walk in the fresh air and sunshine will release those wonderful endorphins, which boost happiness, and studies have shown that moving your body can even alleviate symptoms of depression. What's more, physical activity outdoors and "exposure to nature" are known to have positive effects on your mental health.

At Huckletree West, there's an outdoor area where beautiful urban gardens run the length of the space with water features – perfect if you can only spare a few minutes for a break.

Keep tech out of the bedroom

Using technology at bedtime will negatively impact on your sleep. That's a fact. The blue light emitted from smart phones, tablets and other gadgets suppresses melatonin (the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle), keeps your brain alert and never lets you switch off.

To be well rested to face each working day, leave all technology out of the bedroom. And ideally, stop using your phone and iPad at least two hours before you go to sleep. Our advice? Sink your teeth into a good old book instead.

Leave weekends for real life

No, you do not need to go on social media at weekends. You really don't. Do you want your life to be an endless scroll? Of course not. You're better than that. Leave your technology in another room and switch off all notifications, apart from if people are trying to message or call you. Find other "real" activities to take advantage of two days of being away from work.

Alan Oviatt is pleased to share his accomplishments at this point of time, not only of his achievements, but of mistakes he made. Day to day, he learned from my mistakes – improved and become a far better person. He proudly share that he endured some self-imposed afflictions. Although these things doesn`t inspire envy.

For More Information: Katy Cowan

3 Emerging Technologies That Revolutionize Mental Health Treatment

From PTSD to depression, medical treatment of mental illness has come a long way. The journey from asylums and "hysteria" to modern SSRIs and therapy has been one of the most eventful journeys in the history of medicine. Still, science continues to push the boundaries on treatment. Thanks to the tremendous advancement in technology, today there are numerous tried-and-true methods to treat patients that won't be perfected for decades. Technology, including virtual reality, smart brain scans, and magnetic fields have revolutionized the way of treating mental illness.

The fact remains the same that technology can't solve every issue under the sun. Though scientists are working on a range of bio-tech that possibly shields present and future generation, confronting mental illness. Yet, a lot of the discussion on technology and mental illness revolves around mobile apps that can be personalized to an extent. Still won't be able to replace one-on-one therapy and conventional methods of treatment. Beyond smartphones, there are other things on the tech landscape - from algorithms to magnetic fields that perhaps the future of mental health treatment.

Let`s get deep into it;

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has something more than science fiction and video games, said Alan Oviatt. Stratospheric ally, the technology has improved and its usage in today`s immersive environments has had psychologists involved specifically for helping people with anxiety disorders, phobias, and PTSD. VR advanced therapy a lot while helping patients in cutting the costs of treatment. With VR, a therapist doesn't need to accompany a client on a trip to a crowded shopping center.

However, a lot of the potential benefits depend on combining high-quality VR named as "transnational intervention," or the process by which medical and scientific discoveries are "translated" into real-world applications. In other words, while virtual reality is full of potential, the way it's implemented in therapy could have drastic effects on how effective it is.

                          

Intelligent Brain Scans

With the improvement of modern psychiatric medicine, people with mental health problems get an advantage of determining what works for them and which has the fewest side effects. According to Alan Herbert Oviatt, antidepressants can be considered as the best example, incorporating numerous types - from SSRIs to tricycles. People with depression should try different types on several dosages before settling on one that creates stability. In order to refine this process, it has been a subject of a lot of research.

Magnetic Fields

Alan Herbert Oviatt said, “Brain stimulation treatments for mental health benefit have been the focus of science for a while”. Scientists discovered earlier that stimulating parts of the brain directly using electrodes likely to aid with treatment-resistant depression, for instance. But what about minimal invasive that could do the same thing? New technology from the University of Buffalo might be the answer.

The researchers introduced a technique called magneto-thermal stimulation that enables "activate" very specific parts of the brain. The process initiates via injecting magnetic nano particles into specific parts of the brains of live mice. Then subjected them to an alternating magnetic field. In mice, the researchers were able to stimulate areas to make the animals run and turn around. The scientific press has called it the "remote-controlled mice" phenomenon, but that's not all this could be helpful for. It's a big leap forward for people who hope to one day be able to cure psychosis, schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses by manipulating specific neurons in the brain, without damaging other parts.

From the miniature to the elaborate, the above technologies shared by Alan Herbert Oviatt might be the next vanguard of mental health treatment. Don't be too amazed, if in 20 years your therapist appears via virtual reality to prescribe you medicine based on your EEG results.

 

Alan Oviatt | High Technology and Care For Enviroment

After receiving Audi's brief, and in a tight collaboration with Adrià López (director) we decided to go for an imaginative and subtle approach of the brand values: high technology and care for environment. The intention was to create not a typical car advertisement and reach a stunning result with a combination of live
action, illustration and 3d.

Alan Oviatt | London trials new technology to increase bus safety

Transport for London will trial new safety technology on London buses including automatic braking and audible warning systems.

Alan Oviatt

As part of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan plans to eradicate road deaths as a result of London buses by 2030, the new technology will begin with a completely independent trial by leading engineers and technical specialists at the Transport Research Laboratory in Wokingham.

The focus of the trials will be on autonomous emergency braking systems that allow the bus to detect its surroundings, features to alert pedestrians of the presence of a bus, a re-design to reduce the impact of a collision to the front of buses, interior changes to improve passenger safety and an increased field of vision to drivers themselves, including improved mirror designs.

TfL’s managing director of surface transport, Leon Daniels, said, "We are determined to drive down the unacceptable number of people injured or killed on London’s roads, and make streets safe for pedestrians and cyclists."

The results of the trials will feed in to a new Bus Safety Standard to be incorporated into bus operator contracts from the end of 2018.

London’s deputy mayor for transport, Val Shawcross, said, "Nothing is more important to the Mayor than the safety of Londoners. We are doing our utmost to make the streets of the capital safer and these measures can potentially make big improvements to bus safety."

 12:12 Harvest Minerals says KPfertil test results exceed expectations   

Harvest Minerals said test results for its natural fertiliser product, KPfertil, had exceeded the board's expectations, confirming the potential for it to replace more expensive competitors and to become a staple product in the Minas Gerais agricultural belt in Brazil.
   
12:20 Amazon hit by Trump broadside over tax, jobs   

Shares in Amazon fell in pre-market trading after US President Donald Trump lashed out at the "great damage" the online retail giant was doing to the country's bricks and mortar retailers.
   
11:41 Admiral beats first half profit forecasts, raises payout   
Admiral beat some analysts' profit forecasts for the first six months of the year while surprising others who had not expected it to raise its half-year pay-out.
   
11:35 Sirius Minerals reassures over fertiliser mine plans as losses grow   

In its first results as a FTSE 250 company, Sirius Minerals reported a larger loss as its development of its Woodsmith polyhalite fertiliser mine under the Yorkshire Moors prepares to move to sinking of a first shaft in the new year.
   
11:25 Investec sees risk Petra Diamonds might be forced to raise fresh equity   

Investec took an axe to its target price for Petra Diamonds, telling clients the possibility existed the outfit might be forced to go cap in hand to shareholders.
   
11:21 Balfour Beatty swings to first half profit as bid approach yields results   

Construction outfit Balfour Beatty swung to a first half pre-tax profit of £12m from a loss of £15m last year as its more selective bidding approach started to yield results.
   
For More Information: Iain Gilbert

Alan Oviatt | The Week In Technology, Aug. 14-18, 2017

Managing Laser Weapon Power and Heat The impact of integrating directed-energy weapons onto existing fighters and bombers will be the first area to be studied under the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) seven-year, $409 million Next-Generation Thermal, Power and Controls (NGT-PAC) program, AFRL has awarded indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts to airframers Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman as well as engine and equipment makers General Electric, ...

For More Information: Graham Warwick

Alan Oviatt | Southern Research technology to provide unique look at solar eclipse

Alan Oviatt

 

 

A high-definition imaging system developed by Southern Research and deployed on NASA aircraft flying nearly 10 miles above Earth will give scientists a unique look at the sun’s corona during a rare total eclipse taking place over the United States in August.

As a bonus, Southern Research’s  Airborne Imaging and Recording System (AIRS) will provide highly detailed observations of Mercury’s surface and could uncover the first solid evidence of the existence of vulcanoids, a belt of asteroids believed to be circling the sun.

To capture this data, Southern Research and its AIRS/DyNAMITE technology are supporting the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), which won a NASA contract to carry out the mission during the Aug. 21 eclipse.

AIRS/DyNAMITE turrets will be mounted on two NASA WB-57 research aircraft, which will fly at 50,000 feet and collect high-resolution video and infrared data throughout the first total solar eclipse occurring over the length of the entire continental U.S. in 99 years.

“NASA is providing the WB-57 aircraft, Southern Research is providing the unique on-board sensors and Southwest Research Institute is conducting the science,” said Johanna Lewis, director of the Program Management Office in SR’s Engineering Division.

“Southern Research will be handling the data collection, and we will be making sure that Southwest Research Institute is getting the best data that we can provide on Mercury and the sun,” she added.

Unprecedented observations

The total eclipse will unfold over 14 states, from Oregon to South Carolina, as the moon’s shadow completely blocks the sun, turning day into night for a few minutes. For scientists, the event is a chance to get a close look at the otherwise hidden solar corona, as well as planets and stars normally obscured by the sun’s blinding light.

SwRI says the mission will provide the clearest images ever of the sun’s outer atmosphere and the first thermal images of surface temperature variations on Mercury.

“This airborne platform provides us with higher-quality, higher-speed images than are achievable from current or previous space-borne instruments,” said Amir Caspi, Ph.D., principal investigator of the project and a senior research scientist in SwRI’s Boulder, Colorado, office.

“We hope to better understand what causes the corona and why it’s so hot. It’s millions of degrees Celsius, hundreds of times hotter than the visible surface below,” he added. “The corona is the source of electromagnetic storms here at Earth, which can damage satellites, cause power grid blackouts and disrupt communication and GPS signals, so it’s important to better understand it.”

‘Eyes in the sky’

Lewis and John Wiseman, Ph.D., a senior project leader in Southern Research’s Engineering Division, traveled to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this month for test flights of one of the WB-57 aircraft with an AIRS/DyNAMITE instrument modified for the mission

“The system provides a means of tracking events you might not be able to get elsewhere, with simultaneous mid-wave infrared and visible light data,” said Wiseman, one of the instrument’s inventors. “It’s configurable, and we have had a number of payloads in it, so it’s very versatile.”

Southern Research developed the technology in partnership with NASA, which was looking for a system to capture HD video of the July 26, 2005, launch of the Space Shuttle’s “Return to Flight” mission after the Columbia mishap. Acting as “eyes in the sky” for NASA, the system, from a distance of 20 miles, captured full-motion video of the shuttle’s liftoff and tracked it to 146,000 feet.

“It was developed as an experiment, and it was supposed to have about five to 10 flights,” Wiseman said.

Since then, the high-altitude video system has been used to monitor critical rocket launches, to collect data for science missions and to assist the Department of Defense on security missions. In the past six years alone, the AIRS/DyNAMITE technology has flown on almost 500 flights.

Extended view of eclipse

On Aug. 21, the twin WB-57 aircraft flying in the stratosphere over Carbondale, Illinois, will tag-team the total eclipse, gathering exceptionally accurate measurements of the solar corona to better understand how energy moves throughout the sun’s atmosphere, according to NASA.

From a vantage point high above the clouds and Earth’s weather systems, the AIRS/DyNAMITE-equipped planes will get a clear view of the eclipse and collect data during totality for about 8 minutes. That’s far longer than the 2 minutes and 40 seconds available to ground stations monitoring the event.

In addition, the instruments will be in position to make unprecedented observations of Mercury’s surface in infrared light, which can be otherwise hindered by radiation from the sun. Scientists hope these measurements will give new information about how Mercury’s surface temperature changes as its day turns to night, shedding light on its surface composition, NASA says.

For More Information: Southern Research