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7 Tech Tools Make Winter Bearable and Improve Health – ReadWrite

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Brad Anderson


Winter typically means more time spent indoors, and it’s common to lose sight of health and wellness goals as the chilly season drags on. Finding the motivation to stay healthy can be easier when you have measurable data you can use to assess your progress (or the lack of it).

We all want to see the backend of 2020. Get healthy in 2021 — shed the COVID-TEN, beef-up your fitness, and shred the COVID-bad-luck by monitoring your progress with these 7 tech tools.

As the trend toward smaller, wearable tech continues to gain momentum, developers are finding some interesting ways to combine biodata with helpful interfaces. With so many new devices and apps being released it can be a challenge to sift the winners from the so-so. Here are seven tech-enabled fitness devices that deserve your attention.

1. Wim Hof Method Mobile App

It seems as though Dutch extreme athlete Wim “The Iceman” Hof is everywhere these days. For many years, however, the Wim Hof Method of breathing exercises was regarded as something of a curiosity or physiological outlier.

Hof’s approach is fairly simple and rests on three pillars: breathing, cold therapy, and commitment. The Wim Hof Method Mobile App provides a great portal into Hof’s methods, helps you stay healthy and stick-it to winter gloom.

As an added bonus during these pandemic times, there is evidence to suggest that practicing the Wim Hof Method provides a boost to your immune system. Not only that, Hof’s method can increase your ability to control certain autonomic functions. The exercises are simple but require staying engaged and committed.

2. Sensate

When you’re feeling tense or anxious, it can be difficult just to sit down for a few minutes and relax, let alone meditate. And who isn’t feeling at least a little bit of tension these days? Find relief with Sensate, which helps you modulate your body’s stress response and boosts your overall well-being.

A stone-like device that rests on the user’s chest, Sensate is paired with an app that offers relaxation sessions of varying lengths. The device uses infrasonic bone conduction technology in conjunction with sound to calm the nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve. By stimulating and then calming the nerve, Sensate brings together ancient meditation practices and modern technology. The combination is surprisingly effective and easy to use; you’ll feel the calming-influence-benefits as soon as you power it up.

3. HeartMath

The HeartMath Inner Balance trainer has been around for years but has been refined and improved over time. HeartMath has done a great job at promoting a broader understanding of heart rate variability (HRV) as a metric for measuring both stress and emotional resilience. The HeartMath Institute Research Facility in California was established to further support expanding research on the subject.

The HeartMath product itself is a wearable earclip device that connects to a companion app. It uses an integrated biofeedback loop to help individuals improve their HRV score through practice. Studies show that watching your HRV can improve focus and sleep and reduce fatigue and anxiety.

4. Oura Ring

Oura Ring is another device that relies on HRV as a measure of user well-being. Oura has somehow managed to combine biometric monitoring with an attractive, always-on ring. The device is both workable and wearable, making it much loved by the biohacking community.

The Oura Ring tracks three different scores — readiness, sleep, and activity — to help you develop healthier habits and perform at your best. Measures of sleep quality and duration help you create your optimal bedtime. Movement goals and tracking enable you to strike a healthy balance of physical activity and rest. Waking up to a “readiness score” lets you know how prepared your body is to take on the day.

5. Vagus Watch

Designed in Finland, the Vagus Watch is an innovative product developed for ECG health monitoring. Used before, during, and after breathing training, the device uses cross-chest ECG neurofeedback to provide accurate readings for HRV and vagal tone.

Regular monitoring allows you to improve your training sessions, supports a greater sense of well-being, and builds up your immunity. Just the thing for staying healthy during these cold winter months! (The watch looks nice, too, even though it doesn’t tell time.)

6. Breethe: Meditation and Sleep

The number of breathing devices and apps flooding the market is a response to a heightened awareness that proper breathing is critical for good physical and mental health. One favorite is the Breethe app, which offers users dozens of meditation sessions, bedtime stories, and even hypnotherapy sessions.

Developed by yoga instructor Lynne Goldberg as she was learning to cope with the loss of multiple family members, Breethe is designed to introduce the practice and benefits of meditation to anyone and everyone. The free version of Breethe provides more content than most similar apps and offers shorter sessions for those who have three minutes or less to chill out.

7. Kokoon NightBuds

This product is brought to you by the clever people at Kokoon, who have developed earbuds with built-in sensors to monitor sleep quality and enable personalized sleep coaching. Their noise-canceling capabilities will ensure nothing disturbs your slumber.

Kokoon NightBuds are smaller than normal earbuds and boast intelligent audio to “transform your sleep and relaxation naturally through audio.” Currently, there is an opportunity to order Kokoon NightBuds at a substantial discount through Kickstarter.

Kick Out the Dull — and Bound into Your New-Health-Mode

It’s no wonder so many new health-monitoring apps and services are hitting the market right now. 2020 did a number on all of us, to varying degrees. If you’re starting 2021 feeling like several of your health goals need revisiting in the wake of the pandemic, you’re not alone. This is a great time to think about adding measurable data to your overall health and fitness regimen, and any one of these new products might be just what the doctor ordered.

Image Credit: mikhail nilov; pexels; thank you!

Brad Anderson

Editor In Chief at ReadWrite

Brad is the editor overseeing contributed content at ReadWrite.com. He previously worked as an editor at PayPal and Crunchbase. You can reach him at brad at readwrite.com.

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Fintech Kennek raises $12.5M seed round to digitize lending

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Google eyed for $2 billion Anthropic deal after major Amazon play


London-based fintech startup Kennek has raised $12.5 million in seed funding to expand its lending operating system.

According to an Oct. 10 tech.eu report, the round was led by HV Capital and included participation from Dutch Founders Fund, AlbionVC, FFVC, Plug & Play Ventures, and Syndicate One. Kennek offers software-as-a-service tools to help non-bank lenders streamline their operations using open banking, open finance, and payments.

The platform aims to automate time-consuming manual tasks and consolidate fragmented data to simplify lending. Xavier De Pauw, founder of Kennek said:

“Until kennek, lenders had to devote countless hours to menial operational tasks and deal with jumbled and hard-coded data – which makes every other part of lending a headache. As former lenders ourselves, we lived and breathed these frustrations, and built kennek to make them a thing of the past.”

The company said the latest funding round was oversubscribed and closed quickly despite the challenging fundraising environment. The new capital will be used to expand Kennek’s engineering team and strengthen its market position in the UK while exploring expansion into other European markets. Barbod Namini, Partner at lead investor HV Capital, commented on the investment:

“Kennek has developed an ambitious and genuinely unique proposition which we think can be the foundation of the entire alternative lending space. […] It is a complicated market and a solution that brings together all information and stakeholders onto a single platform is highly compelling for both lenders & the ecosystem as a whole.”

The fintech lending space has grown rapidly in recent years, but many lenders still rely on legacy systems and manual processes that limit efficiency and scalability. Kennek aims to leverage open banking and data integration to provide lenders with a more streamlined, automated lending experience.

The seed funding will allow the London-based startup to continue developing its platform and expanding its team to meet demand from non-bank lenders looking to digitize operations. Kennek’s focus on the UK and Europe also comes amid rising adoption of open banking and open finance in the regions.

Featured Image Credit: Photo from Kennek.io; Thank you!

Radek Zielinski

Radek Zielinski is an experienced technology and financial journalist with a passion for cybersecurity and futurology.

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Fortune 500’s race for generative AI breakthroughs

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Deanna Ritchie


As excitement around generative AI grows, Fortune 500 companies, including Goldman Sachs, are carefully examining the possible applications of this technology. A recent survey of U.S. executives indicated that 60% believe generative AI will substantially impact their businesses in the long term. However, they anticipate a one to two-year timeframe before implementing their initial solutions. This optimism stems from the potential of generative AI to revolutionize various aspects of businesses, from enhancing customer experiences to optimizing internal processes. In the short term, companies will likely focus on pilot projects and experimentation, gradually integrating generative AI into their operations as they witness its positive influence on efficiency and profitability.

Goldman Sachs’ Cautious Approach to Implementing Generative AI

In a recent interview, Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti revealed that the firm has not yet implemented any generative AI use cases. Instead, the company focuses on experimentation and setting high standards before adopting the technology. Argenti recognized the desire for outcomes in areas like developer and operational efficiency but emphasized ensuring precision before putting experimental AI use cases into production.

According to Argenti, striking the right balance between driving innovation and maintaining accuracy is crucial for successfully integrating generative AI within the firm. Goldman Sachs intends to continue exploring this emerging technology’s potential benefits and applications while diligently assessing risks to ensure it meets the company’s stringent quality standards.

One possible application for Goldman Sachs is in software development, where the company has observed a 20-40% productivity increase during its trials. The goal is for 1,000 developers to utilize generative AI tools by year’s end. However, Argenti emphasized that a well-defined expectation of return on investment is necessary before fully integrating generative AI into production.

To achieve this, the company plans to implement a systematic and strategic approach to adopting generative AI, ensuring that it complements and enhances the skills of its developers. Additionally, Goldman Sachs intends to evaluate the long-term impact of generative AI on their software development processes and the overall quality of the applications being developed.

Goldman Sachs’ approach to AI implementation goes beyond merely executing models. The firm has created a platform encompassing technical, legal, and compliance assessments to filter out improper content and keep track of all interactions. This comprehensive system ensures seamless integration of artificial intelligence in operations while adhering to regulatory standards and maintaining client confidentiality. Moreover, the platform continuously improves and adapts its algorithms, allowing Goldman Sachs to stay at the forefront of technology and offer its clients the most efficient and secure services.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Google DeepMind; Pexels; Thank you!

Deanna Ritchie

Managing Editor at ReadWrite

Deanna is the Managing Editor at ReadWrite. Previously she worked as the Editor in Chief for Startup Grind and has over 20+ years of experience in content management and content development.

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UK seizes web3 opportunity simplifying crypto regulations

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Deanna Ritchie


As Web3 companies increasingly consider leaving the United States due to regulatory ambiguity, the United Kingdom must simplify its cryptocurrency regulations to attract these businesses. The conservative think tank Policy Exchange recently released a report detailing ten suggestions for improving Web3 regulation in the country. Among the recommendations are reducing liability for token holders in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and encouraging the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to adopt alternative Know Your Customer (KYC) methodologies, such as digital identities and blockchain analytics tools. These suggestions aim to position the UK as a hub for Web3 innovation and attract blockchain-based businesses looking for a more conducive regulatory environment.

Streamlining Cryptocurrency Regulations for Innovation

To make it easier for emerging Web3 companies to navigate existing legal frameworks and contribute to the UK’s digital economy growth, the government must streamline cryptocurrency regulations and adopt forward-looking approaches. By making the regulatory landscape clear and straightforward, the UK can create an environment that fosters innovation, growth, and competitiveness in the global fintech industry.

The Policy Exchange report also recommends not weakening self-hosted wallets or treating proof-of-stake (PoS) services as financial services. This approach aims to protect the fundamental principles of decentralization and user autonomy while strongly emphasizing security and regulatory compliance. By doing so, the UK can nurture an environment that encourages innovation and the continued growth of blockchain technology.

Despite recent strict measures by UK authorities, such as His Majesty’s Treasury and the FCA, toward the digital assets sector, the proposed changes in the Policy Exchange report strive to make the UK a more attractive location for Web3 enterprises. By adopting these suggestions, the UK can demonstrate its commitment to fostering innovation in the rapidly evolving blockchain and cryptocurrency industries while ensuring a robust and transparent regulatory environment.

The ongoing uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency regulations in various countries has prompted Web3 companies to explore alternative jurisdictions with more precise legal frameworks. As the United States grapples with regulatory ambiguity, the United Kingdom can position itself as a hub for Web3 innovation by simplifying and streamlining its cryptocurrency regulations.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Jonathan Borba; Pexels; Thank you!

Deanna Ritchie

Managing Editor at ReadWrite

Deanna is the Managing Editor at ReadWrite. Previously she worked as the Editor in Chief for Startup Grind and has over 20+ years of experience in content management and content development.

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