A cross-section of developers, fresh graduates and plain enthusiasts got a closer look at Google Glass at a workshop organised recently by Startup Centre, an accelerator for early-stage technologies, situated in Valmiki Nagar. The event called for by the Centre’s founder Vijay Anand had close to 100 participants, a bulk of whom were keen to get their first impressions of the device.
The workshop was conducted by Hariharasudhan and Murtuza Kutub of F22 Labs, a city-based start-up. The duo, apart from giving a demo of the basic functions of the wearable gadget from Google, also showed off the prototype of an app they were developing for it. The intention of workshop was to encourage the developer community in the city to try and figure out new apps for the gadget that is expected to become mainstream next year.
For a few graduates fresh out of engineering colleges, like Nivas Ravichandran, it was a rare chance to catch a glimpse of the device that has gotten the technology community excited over the past year. But his first impressions were not exactly great.
“I was surprised that the battery life was poor and that the Glass experience itself was not as seamless as is shown in the promotional videos,” he said. Hariharasudhan, however, clarified that the Google Glass used at the workshop was the developer edition and the final consumer edition would be a well-rounded product. He got his Google Glass through a relative in the US who is also an Android developer.
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Health routines, customised
If you’ve ever wondered why those months in the gym have not led to results or why coffee doesn’t seem to agree with you, there may be a solution at hand. City-based start-up Xcode Life Sciences has now launched a programme which, using a genetic test, will tell people how to transform their lifestyle for better health outcomes.
This is how it works — first, a genome test is performed using a saliva sample. “This will test 192 parameters, including metabolism of caffeine, salt sensitivity, folate requirement, lactose and gluten tolerance and fitness parameters such as endurance as well as predispositions towards lifestyle-related conditions. Based on this report, our health coach will recommend lifestyle modifications and changes,” says Abdur Rub, chief technology officer, Xcode.
The five-year programme, ‘100&Life’ will also have regular follow-ups by the health coach and, to keep clients engaged, an online gaming system where clients are rewarded for reading health blogs and watching videos.
The reward points can then be redeemed for health merchandise. An automated stress monitoring and management system as well as a mobile app for health signals and recommendations will also be part of the programme.
“Most fitness regimens today are generic – a one-size-fits-all programme. Ours however, will be completely customised to an individual based on her needs and body type. And it doesn’t end with giving our client the genetic report. The aim is to ensure the client’s lifestyle is changed for the better to prevent the mounting burden of non-communicable diseases our country now faces,” says Saleem Mohammed, co-founder of the company.
(Reporting by Karthik Subramanian and Zubeda Hamid)
