Positive Carbon uses both camera and LiDAR sensors. Perched on the ceiling above food bins, they autonomously track exactly what enters the bin.

The sensors are connected to the customer’s purchasing software. As a result, the system can monitor what a business buys and connect that information to the waste.

The data is then aggregated to generate targeted interventions. Purchasing plans can then be adjusted accordingly. That might mean buying less of a specific ingredient, preparing fewer portions of a specific dish, or simply putting less food on plates.

The use of sensors is quite clever, along with the analysis, but in essence it is nothing that a micromanagement chef can't do. I suppose it makes the chef's job easier in that they can concentrate on making food, and rely on a constant analysis being done around waste. The AI side would help with predictive ordering.

It's good use of technology and AI, as no human gets replaced, it just extends their functionality and efficiency.

Yes, I can see it going further eventually too into domestic households as so much waste is also often not necessary. Certainly for recognising too what is recyclable waste versus garbage.

See https://thenextweb.com/news/positive-ventures-sensors-fight-food-wastage

#technology #waste #foodwaste

Positive Carbon uses both camera and LiDAR sensors. Perched on the ceiling above food bins, they autonomously track exactly what enters the bin.

The sensors are connected to the customer’s purchasing software. As a result, the system can monitor what a business buys and connect that information to the waste.

The data is then aggregated to generate targeted interventions. Purchasing plans can then be adjusted accordingly. That might mean buying less of a specific ingredient, preparing fewer portions of a specific dish, or simply putting less food on plates.

The use of sensors is quite clever, along with the analysis, but in essence it is nothing that a micromanagement chef can't do. I suppose it makes the chef's job easier in that they can concentrate on making food, and rely on a constant analysis being done around waste. The AI side would help with predictive ordering.

It's good use of technology and AI, as no human gets replaced, it just extends their functionality and efficiency.

Yes, I can see it going further eventually too into domestic households as so much waste is also often not necessary. Certainly for recognising too what is recyclable waste versus garbage.

See https://thenextweb.com/news/positive-ventures-sensors-fight-food-wastage

#technology #waste #foodwaste

Positive Carbon uses both camera and LiDAR sensors. Perched on the ceiling above food bins, they autonomously track exactly what enters the bin.

The sensors are connected to the customer’s purchasing software. As a result, the system can monitor what a business buys and connect that information to the waste.

The data is then aggregated to generate targeted interventions. Purchasing plans can then be adjusted accordingly. That might mean buying less of a specific ingredient, preparing fewer portions of a specific dish, or simply putting less food on plates.

The use of sensors is quite clever, along with the analysis, but in essence it is nothing that a micromanagement chef can't do. I suppose it makes the chef's job easier in that they can concentrate on making food, and rely on a constant analysis being done around waste. The AI side would help with predictive ordering.

It's good use of technology and AI, as no human gets replaced, it just extends their functionality and efficiency.

Yes, I can see it going further eventually too into domestic households as so much waste is also often not necessary. Certainly for recognising too what is recyclable waste versus garbage.

See https://thenextweb.com/news/positive-ventures-sensors-fight-food-wastage

#technology #waste #foodwaste

Withings Body Scan review: A smart scale that tracks cardio health, body comp and more

Given all the ongoing issues that Google Fitbit Aria Scale users have been experiencing, I see many had moved to Withings scales. So, it was interesting to read this review as I'm considering a similar move in future.

The review certainly shows some issues, some of which can be explained through reliability of algorithm reasons, but it does seem that Withings users have generally been happier than Google Fitbit users (many of whom can only now get readings for one person on their scales).

When a scale reads done to 50g of accuracy though, it is true that you can't get too hung up about the change of measurements throughout the day, and you need to look at the trends over days whilst keeping the measurement conditions as constant as possible.

Withings relies on sending a tiny electrical charge through the user’s body to measure arterial stiffness, too. It does this by tracking the time it takes for a wave that’s created in the blood as the heart beats to arrive at the foot — a measure called Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV). The app records and tracks a speed value for PWV, to monitor changes over time. It also provides a comparative rating for “Vascular Age” (vs the user’s age) — charting whether it falls in the normal, not normal or optimal range.

Another flagship feature of Body Scan — one of two that’s been approved by medical device regulators in the US and Europe — is a 6-Lead Electrocardiogram (ECG) which can detect AFib (aka atrial fibrillation), a common cardiac rhythm disturbance that can cause stroke and heart failure.

See the review at https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/07/withings-body-scan-smart-scale-review/

#technology #health #Withings

Withings Body Scan review: A smart scale that tracks cardio health, body comp and more

Given all the ongoing issues that Google Fitbit Aria Scale users have been experiencing, I see many had moved to Withings scales. So, it was interesting to read this review as I'm considering a similar move in future.

The review certainly shows some issues, some of which can be explained through reliability of algorithm reasons, but it does seem that Withings users have generally been happier than Google Fitbit users (many of whom can only now get readings for one person on their scales).

When a scale reads done to 50g of accuracy though, it is true that you can't get too hung up about the change of measurements throughout the day, and you need to look at the trends over days whilst keeping the measurement conditions as constant as possible.

Withings relies on sending a tiny electrical charge through the user’s body to measure arterial stiffness, too. It does this by tracking the time it takes for a wave that’s created in the blood as the heart beats to arrive at the foot — a measure called Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV). The app records and tracks a speed value for PWV, to monitor changes over time. It also provides a comparative rating for “Vascular Age” (vs the user’s age) — charting whether it falls in the normal, not normal or optimal range.

Another flagship feature of Body Scan — one of two that’s been approved by medical device regulators in the US and Europe — is a 6-Lead Electrocardiogram (ECG) which can detect AFib (aka atrial fibrillation), a common cardiac rhythm disturbance that can cause stroke and heart failure.

See the review at https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/07/withings-body-scan-smart-scale-review/

#technology #health #Withings

Withings Body Scan review: A smart scale that tracks cardio health, body comp and more

Given all the ongoing issues that Google Fitbit Aria Scale users have been experiencing, I see many had moved to Withings scales. So, it was interesting to read this review as I'm considering a similar move in future.

The review certainly shows some issues, some of which can be explained through reliability of algorithm reasons, but it does seem that Withings users have generally been happier than Google Fitbit users (many of whom can only now get readings for one person on their scales).

When a scale reads done to 50g of accuracy though, it is true that you can't get too hung up about the change of measurements throughout the day, and you need to look at the trends over days whilst keeping the measurement conditions as constant as possible.

Withings relies on sending a tiny electrical charge through the user’s body to measure arterial stiffness, too. It does this by tracking the time it takes for a wave that’s created in the blood as the heart beats to arrive at the foot — a measure called Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV). The app records and tracks a speed value for PWV, to monitor changes over time. It also provides a comparative rating for “Vascular Age” (vs the user’s age) — charting whether it falls in the normal, not normal or optimal range.

Another flagship feature of Body Scan — one of two that’s been approved by medical device regulators in the US and Europe — is a 6-Lead Electrocardiogram (ECG) which can detect AFib (aka atrial fibrillation), a common cardiac rhythm disturbance that can cause stroke and heart failure.

See the review at https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/07/withings-body-scan-smart-scale-review/

#technology #health #Withings

The Proton VPN GUI app for Linux has not been popular, with many complaints of bugs and missing features, but Proton promises the new version is much improved.

Their official app for Linux now natively supports all these advanced Proton VPN features, including:

• NetShield Adblocker
• Kill Switch
• VPN Accelerator
• Moderate NAT
• Port forwarding
• Auto-connect at startup
• Pin servers to tray
• OpenVPN DCO (which provides similar performance to WireGuard)

The only snag is that they provide the binary installs for Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora only. This leaves out the Arch distros. There was an AUR package (and a Flatpak) available that wrapped the previous Proton VPN app into an AUR package that an Arch distro could install, but it has not yet been updated.

I see that Proton says they can really only provide support for limited distros, but it probably also highlights the need for creators to support something more cross-platform like Flatpak or AppImage. Flatpak is probably more preferable as it has a package updater, versus AppImage relying on the app itself to do the updating.

I hope the AUR package will be updated soon, but it is less than ideal having something like a VPN app being provided by a 3rd party.

See https://www.howtogeek.com/proton-vpn-linux-app-update-2023/

#technology #ProtonVPN #Linux

The Proton VPN GUI app for Linux has not been popular, with many complaints of bugs and missing features, but Proton promises the new version is much improved.

Their official app for Linux now natively supports all these advanced Proton VPN features, including:

• NetShield Adblocker
• Kill Switch
• VPN Accelerator
• Moderate NAT
• Port forwarding
• Auto-connect at startup
• Pin servers to tray
• OpenVPN DCO (which provides similar performance to WireGuard)

The only snag is that they provide the binary installs for Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora only. This leaves out the Arch distros. There was an AUR package (and a Flatpak) available that wrapped the previous Proton VPN app into an AUR package that an Arch distro could install, but it has not yet been updated.

I see that Proton says they can really only provide support for limited distros, but it probably also highlights the need for creators to support something more cross-platform like Flatpak or AppImage. Flatpak is probably more preferable as it has a package updater, versus AppImage relying on the app itself to do the updating.

I hope the AUR package will be updated soon, but it is less than ideal having something like a VPN app being provided by a 3rd party.

See https://www.howtogeek.com/proton-vpn-linux-app-update-2023/

#technology #ProtonVPN #Linux

The Proton VPN GUI app for Linux has not been popular, with many complaints of bugs and missing features, but Proton promises the new version is much improved.

Their official app for Linux now natively supports all these advanced Proton VPN features, including:

• NetShield Adblocker
• Kill Switch
• VPN Accelerator
• Moderate NAT
• Port forwarding
• Auto-connect at startup
• Pin servers to tray
• OpenVPN DCO (which provides similar performance to WireGuard)

The only snag is that they provide the binary installs for Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora only. This leaves out the Arch distros. There was an AUR package (and a Flatpak) available that wrapped the previous Proton VPN app into an AUR package that an Arch distro could install, but it has not yet been updated.

I see that Proton says they can really only provide support for limited distros, but it probably also highlights the need for creators to support something more cross-platform like Flatpak or AppImage. Flatpak is probably more preferable as it has a package updater, versus AppImage relying on the app itself to do the updating.

I hope the AUR package will be updated soon, but it is less than ideal having something like a VPN app being provided by a 3rd party.

See https://www.howtogeek.com/proton-vpn-linux-app-update-2023/

#technology #ProtonVPN #Linux