Nike designed a sneaker for people with disabilities

Whether it be in clothing or footwear products, Nike is known for never being afraid to experiment with new technologies. The latest example is the company's new Zoom Soldier 8, a gorgeous shoe that was designed for people facing disabilities -- such as amputees and those who have suffered a stroke or cerebral palsy. With the sneaker's Flyease tech, which features an unusual zipper mechanism that ties around the heel, Nike's made it easier for the disabled community to tie their shoes. Instead of having to use both hands to accomplish this task, something that may not be possible or easy for some, Flyease simplifies this by letting them rely on one hand to open or close the shoe.

Nike Flyease press images  http://www.engadget.com/gallery/nike-flyease-press-images/

As Fast Company reports, Nike began development of the zipping system seven years ago; CEO Mark Parker made a special request to Senior Director of Athlete Innovation, Tobie Hatfield, after an employee had a stroke and lost movement on his right hand. Despite Flyease being launched, though, Nike tells Fast Company that it will continue to research and improve the new mechanism. "We know we can continue to make improvements," he said, "but we wanted to give access to those who need this sooner than later."

But let's hope that when the Soldier 8 Flyease launches, on July 16th, it ends up on the feet of people who could actually benefit from wearing the shoe. Here's Nike's main problem: resellers like to buy their sneakers and then post them on eBay at double, triple and sometimes quadruple the retail price -- which is bad news for everyone.

Supermom designs superhero hearing aids for kids

UK mother Sarah Ivermee is a definite contender for supermom status.

Ivermee's son Freddie suffers from hearing loss in one ear and deafness in the other. To help him hear throughout the day, he wears a cochlear implant, an electronic device that sends sound signals to the brain.

SEE ALSO: Photographer puts Marvel superheroes in not-so-super situations

Wearing hearing aids can be hard for young children, but that's where Ivermee comes in. When a friend mentioned that her daughter felt self-conscious about wearing her aids to school, Ivermee suggested adding nail stickers for a little flair.

Now, Ivermee manages Lugs, a line of fun, colorful aids that kids will feel cool wearing — because let's face it, who wouldn't choose Spider-Man or Minions over plain blue?

IMAGE: MYLUGS

IMAGE: MYLUGS

TC Makers: Kinova Robotics Gives The Disabled A Helping Hand

Montreal-based Kinova Robotics was founded in part because of one man – the founder’s uncle, Jaco, a disabled inventor who created a manipulator for his wheelchair out of a hot dog pincher, some microswitches, and some complex electronics. This early attempt, while primitive, was the basis for a whole series of amazing – and amazingly useful – robotic arms.

Kinova’s CEO Charles Deguire took TC Makers around his small factory outside of the city where he and his team are building robotic arms as fast as they can. The arms fit onto standard wheelchairs and allow folks to feed themselves, manipulate objects, and live an independent life. Currently the team sells arms all around the world and currently over 150 users in the Netherlands are feeding themselves using Jaco.

The arms are lightweight and low cost and they are creating the entire modular system in their factory. They can build about five robots per day and are currently working on a new model to keep things lighter. Researchers are also using the system for research into machine learning and robotics.

Kinova is an amazing company doing something amazing: it gives a helping hand to people who are disabled in an amazing way.

This Incredible Wheelchair Can Climb Stairs Like a Tank

Wheel Chair climbing upstairs

Technology has been making wheelchairs more convenient and easier to use, but this crazy amazing model that actually scales staircases is a metaphorical mic drop.

This prototype, called the Scalevo, has rubber, tank-like treads mounted to the bottom of the chair. The user approaches a set of steps backwards with his or her back facing the steps. The treads sprout out, lifting the chair up at an angle, allowing it to crawl up the steps. The user is kept level at all times. The headlight-and-taillight-equipped chair has two extra sets of wheels that pop out at the last step to provide smoother transition back to flat ground.

It began as a student project last summer, and now ten electrical engineering and industrial design students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Zurich University of the Arts are working on it. They say the Segway was an inspiration. I guess there’s a first time for everything.

The team wants it ready by next year’s Cybathlon, a race for people with physical disabilities that use assisting robotic tech, like exoskeletons and electrically stimulated muscles.

Hands-On With Doppler Labs’ Here Active Listening System

On Tuesday, Doppler Labs unveiled their second audio product with the Here Active Listening System.

In short, these are two independent ear buds that (with zero latency) give you complete audio control over your environment. If you want to reduce the volume of a crying baby or a screeching subway train (without turning everything down), the Here buds will let you do that. If you’re at a concert and you want to pump up the bass, the Here buds will let you do that, too.

The product launched on Kickstarter two days ago with a $250K goal, and has surpassed that goal in around 48 hours. During the interim, we sat down with Doppler Labs founder Noah Kraft to discuss the product and get exclusive hands-on time with the app.

I realize that this video doesn’t actually give you the opportunity to hear what the Here buds sound like, but you can watch me do it!

Disney Invented a Way To Control Your Phone Using the Sounds It Emits

In an effort to bring more functionality and interactivity to a device that is often just a large monolothic touchscreen, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research have come up with a series of accessories that manipulate sound coming from a smartphone’s speaker to serve as an external controller.

Called Acoustruments, the cheap plastic accessories direct an ultrasonic sound from a smartphone’s speaker back to its own microphone. But in-between the speaker and mic are obstacles that change or vary the pitch and intensity of the sound—similar to how moving the slide on a slide whistle can change the sound it produces.

An accompanying app knows exactly what sound is being produced, and by comparing that to what the microphone ends up hearing, the Acoustrement can determine how a user is interacting with the device. The accessory could be as simple as a button that serves as a snooze button, or a wheel that changes settings like a dial, or a full-on smartphone case that knows when the device is sitting on a table, being held, or even squeezed like a camera.

And because it doesn’t actually draw any power from the device (besides the constant ultrasonic tone being produced) this added functionality doesn’t hinder a smartphone’s already limited battery life. So eventually it could be implemented directly into a device’s housing, adding more buttons or ways to interact with a smartphone, without any negative consequences. [Disney Research]

How electrifying the brain wards off Parkinson's disease

Implanting electrodes in the brain and zapping it helps patients with Parkinson's and otherdisorders, but doctors have never been sure why, exactly. Now, researchers from UC San Francisco think that the therapy (called deep-brain stimulation, or DBS) works by altering neural timings, in much the same way a defibrillator resets heart rhythms. In a healthy brain, neuron firing is controlled by low frequency rhythms that sync up movement, memory and other functions. But the UC team found that the synchronization is too strong in Parkinson's patients, making it harder for them to move voluntarily.

The brain needs a balance between autonomy and rhythm, which is where DBS comes in. The implants appear to lower the overly lock-step synchronization, improving patient coordination and other symptoms. But the invasive, six-hour-long surgery requires implanting probes into deep brain structures and the patient must be awakened mid-surgery to test it out -- so anything that can make it more effective is helpful. According to the researchers, "we can (now) begin to think of new ways for stimulators to be automatically controlled by brain activity, which is the next innovation in treatment for movement disorders."