The Sniffer

A look at new developments in media this time. Cathi Bond talks about Bublcam, a round, 360 degree camera on a stick. The Toronto-based startup lets you explore spaces immersively. See, for example, this image . In an interview with PSFK , Brendon Montgomery from Buble Technology talks about how VR experiences might change the news. Meanwhile, Nora Young talks about research that looks at motion s...

Nora Young talks about this ingestible monitor for the body's vital signs, courtesy of MIT research. Alongside Proteus , which promises "digital health" via tiny sensors attached to medication, Nora wonders if we're entering a new era of ingestibles for health. Cathi Bond and Nora talk about the potential future of monitored health. Meanwhile, Cathi Bond discusses a new generation of humanoid robo...

On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about Next Future Mobility , a concept for the future of transit (via Gizmag ). The idea is for a modular train-like system where individual cars would pick you up and join up with the bigger train.  Nora Young talks about emcee-ing the B3Dimensional conference in October, and some of the cool stuff she saw, including a replica of the Erebus Bell . One of the spea...

On this podcast episode, dealing with "infobloat" online. This . aims to be a social network built on sharing quality journalism. The hitch is that you are only allowed to share ONE link per day. Sign up here , if you're interested. You can read more about what they're up to here . Would you join? Do you think this kind of thing is sustainable? Nora also mentions Next Draft , one dude's daily emai...

On today's podcast, Cathi Bond talks about WallJax wireless electronics chargers. There are two versions, the Float and the EZ, that free you from the tyranny of power cables (via Gizmag ) She also talks about FurniQi , furniture with embedded chargers (via Gizmag ). How about you? Have you seen cool wireless charger solutions? Let us know in the comments. Meanwhile, Nora Young mentions the recent...

On this podcast, Nora Young mentions "In the Eyes of the Animal" a virtual reality project from Marshmallow Laser Feast . The idea is to let you experience life in the forest through the eyes of animals (via Fast Company ). Nora and Cathi chat about creative applications of VR for therapy or for empathy. There's so much about VR in the news lately, with Facebook saying it plans to continue to inve...

In this episode, Cathi Bond talks about Thync , a wearable that uses what they describe as "low-energy waveforms" to boost your energy or calm you down on demand, via patches that you place on your head. You can find helpful reviews  here  and especially here , where the journalist had a positive hands-on experience. Nora Young says this is part of a broader trend towards tech that targets brain s...

We're back from summer break, and ready to kick off the new season of The Sniffer. This time, back to work, and one last kick at the summer (camping) can. The Atlantic  has a great, thought-provoking look at the office of the future. Give it a read here . Nora Young and Cathi Bond kick around some of the ideas. Share your pet peeves about office life in the comments. Meanwhile, Cathi Bond talks ab...

Happy Summer! On this podcast, Nora Young talks about new developments in facial recognition technology, and Cathi and Nora riff on the future of tech that knows who you are, and what you're feeling. We mention Facebook's Moments feature , this article  from Fusion.net on Face First, a customer facial recognition tool, and the potential of emotion detecting software for, amongst other things, help...

It's all about drones these days, isn't it? If you're into capturing active sports, there's the Lily  drone/video camera. It's easy to operate - you just toss it in the air - and it captures video and audio from a variety of angles via Gizmag ). When the Lily is officially released, it will cost about $1,000, but it's available for pre-order for a little more than half that. It's a natural for adv...

Smart home company, Nest  has launched Nest Cam, its new security camera (you can read the details of the product here ). Nora Young and Cathi Bond talk use cases, smart homes, and riff on the Internet of Things and our data future. Nora mentions Sandy Pentland and the New Deal on Data ( read more here ) and concerns  about security in smart, internet of things-ified cities. Cathi talks about  Ava...

This time around, Nora Young mentions Matthew Crawford's  new book, The World Beyond Your Head  (interesting reviews here  and here ). In it, he argues that our problem with digital distraction goes all the way back to the Enlightenment view of the self: highly individualistic, cerebral - stuck in one's head, in short. He argues for the kind of engaged, embodied practice that you might find by, sa...

Gazebo is a virtual world...for robots! It lets researchers test robot behaviour without risking the expensive robot hardware in a real situation (via Technology Review ). In this podcast, Nora Young sees it as an example of the creative power of building on top of an open source platform. Cathi Bond wonders about its potential in medical research. Sharetable  is a very cool desk designed for peop...

Algramo  is a Santiago based company aiming to deliver inexpensive, healthy food to low income people in Latin America via vending machines (via PSFK ). As in many parts of the world, food deserts mean people in urban low income areas can't get access to healthy food at reasonable prices. A solution for lots of communities? Cathi Bond weighs in. The future of virtual reality has long promised that...

Nora Young talks about Virool, a new online ad platform that, with your permission, will use your computer's camera to monitor your reactions to the ads you watch (via Springwise ). It's an example, she says, of the increasing trend towards tech that monitors our moods and reactions. See, for example, this story  or this one  on her show Spark. Cathi Bond, talks about the DARPA Robotics Challenge...

Long-time listeners will know that Cathi Bond has an, ummm, interest? fixation? with tiny, well-designed housing, especially if it's mobile! She's particularly intrigued by Leaf House , a company that designs and builds elegant, tiny, organized mobile homes. You can find version 3 here , which features 'quad pane' windows, designed to make the home comfortable even in Arctic temperatures. You can...

Howdy! It's been a long time, but we are back with a new episode! This time around, after years - and years - of talking about virtual reality, and augmented reality, they're finally here, and that means figuring out how to actually make it work seamlessly in daily life. Researcher Pulkit Budhiraja and his colleagues have been thinking about a problem with virtual reality: how do you pick up physi...

Cathi on designers creating solutions for plant sexuality because of decline in bees Nora on robot-only opera plans Nora mentions article about unsafe wifi in public

Cathi on Puls smart watch and Tiny Screen Kickstarter campaign Nora on New Scientist on wearables at work and surveillance

Cathi on Bullet Screen experiments at the movies in China Nora on Ami, AI scheduler, and etiquette Nora on Internet Archive making searchable public domain images.

Nora on Ellie the AI psychologist Cathi on Meg Watson re AI taking off

No podcast for the summer message

Cathi on 3D printer for makeup Nora on writers pushing their fans to help sell the book

Nora on quantifiedtoilets.com Cathi on boutique hotel styled STI testing

Cathi on Stockholm Art Week digital billboards open to all Nora on tactility and physicality fueling creativity