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Aftermarket Daily News 7 3 Friday, November 8, 2019 ASHA Continues to Promote Healthy Use of Popular Technology Recently, the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) launched the Healthy Communication & Popular Technology Initiative (www .communicationandtech.org), which encourages moderate use of popular technology. It focuses on providing prac- tical advice to individuals and families to develop responsible popular tech habits; conducting communication health aware- ness campaigns that promote balanced use of popular technology; and exploring the impact of popular technology usage on healthy speech, language and hearing. These efforts are not anti-technology nor are they the first time ASHA has been a national leader in the area of safe usage of popular technology. As far back as 2006, ASHA commis- sioned a large-scale national survey about the listening habits of teens and adults who used personal electronic devices that documented widespread misuse within both groups (ASHA, 2006). Media coverage was worldwide. For the next decade, ASHA encour- aged safe listening through its award- winning "Listen to Your Buds" cam- paign. Using a variety of tactics, includ- ing its safe listening concert series, which took place in elementary and middle schools across the country, the Buds campaign pro- moted simple pre- ventative messages, such as keep the vol- ume down, take lis- tening breaks and model good listening habits. Throughout, ASHA received support from the Consumer Technology Association and others, and collaborated with groups like the National Institutes of Health. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the Buds campaign as an effective public education tool. As the "Listen to Your Buds" cam- paign approached its 10-year anniver- sary, one thing was clear: The issue of popular technology and communication implications encompassed more than hearing loss. With younger and younger children increasingly using tablets and other devices, ASHA raised concerns about the potential impact on speech/language development. In 2016, ASHA polled its members – audiologists and speech-language pathol- ogists – for their perspectives. A majority of respondents warned of a "communica- tion time bomb" in the form of dimin- ished hearing and speech abilities if the usage habits prevailing then didn't change. Subsequently, ASHA launched a national public service announcement campaign that promoted safe usage of popular technology. For more information, go to www .communicationandtech.org. ANT BLAZE: The Latest in Enterprise-Scale Mesh Networking Technology By Chris Pettigrew, ANT Wireless Product Manager at Garmin Canada Inc. ANT BLAZE is a robust and reliable enterprise-ready mesh networking technology for handling high node count IoT applications in large scale environments. Capable of operating independently of existing on-premise IT infrastructures, ANT BLAZE is a solution that targets monitoring and control applications in challenging environments. It can be used concur- rently with smartphones and tablets without interfering with these Bluetooth-enabled devices. Herman Miller, a market leader in commercial environments and office fur- niture design, is at the forefront of bring- ing Internet of Things into the office and was one of the first to deploy ANT BLAZE in its product offering. ANT BLAZE allowed for a solution that was both power efficient and sensor-oriented, resulting in a robust and secure mesh net- work, ideal for use in corporate office environments. As a proven, highly efficient tech- nology that effortlessly connects hun- dreds of nodes at once, companies interested in harnessing IoT capa- bilities can utilize ANT BLAZE to monitor and control processes, equipment and assets. Networks are self-forming and self-healing, for ease of installation, commis- sioning and maintenance, resulting in a solution that doesn't require any fur- ther, arduous development work. ANT BLAZE is available on D52 ANT System-on-Chip (SoC) Premium Modules from Garmin Canada Inc. bringing valuable high-node count solu- tions to the concurrent ANT/BLE con- nectivity capability of the modules. The upgraded D52 ANT SoC Module Starter Kit (D52DK2) and an Extender Kit (D52EXT1), provide devel- opers with the development tools neces- sary to create and prove out their IoT use-case solutions. About ANT ANT is an established protocol and silicon solution for ultra-low power (ULP) practical wireless networking applications. With millions of deployed nodes, ANT is per- fectly suited for any kind of low data rate sensor network topologies; from peer-to- peer or star, to practical mesh; in personal area networks (PAN) which are well suit- ed for sports, fitness, wellness and home health applications, or in local area net- works (LAN) in home and IoT applica- tions. For more information, go to www .thisisant.com/blaze. Cognitive, Plume and Qualcomm Partner with Stanley Black & Decker Cognitive Systems Corp., Plume and Qualcomm Technologies announced their partnership with Stanley Black & Decker in the creation of its ground- breaking Omni security product. Omni's unique capabilities are enabled by Cognitive Systems' Aura WiFi Motion technology, Plume's cognitive service curation platform, OpenSync device soft- ware stack and Qualcomm's advanced Qualcomm Mesh Networking Platform. The result is a self-install security and motion detection system that alerts end users to motion in and around their homes and businesses without the priva- cy risks, set-up hassles or high costs that come with security cameras and sensors. The collaboration between the four organizations is an unprecedented step towards creating a truly cognitive, smart home or business. "We are very pleased to be work- ing closely with these great companies and integrating our Aura WiFi Motion software with their solutions. With more than 35 patents granted, we are very well positioned to disrupt the smart home industry by providing motion detection for security applica- tions and elder care, and most notably, the vital context needed to make a truly smart home," said Taj Manku, co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Cognitive Systems. "Our WiFi Motion software stack allows Stanley Black & Decker's Omni to pro- vide motion detection coverage across an entire home or business, without cameras, so that users know their loca- tions and loved ones are safe and secure." Cognitive Systems' Aura WiFi Motion technology uses unique radio fre- quency (RF) sensing technology that can "see" and interpret WiFi signals. On top of this RF sensing, Cognitive Systems uses predictive analytics for reliable and accurate detection and localization of motion. Cognitive's solution integrates with OpenSync, an open source embedded software that allows part- ners like Cognitive to launch applica- tions to a ready-made audience across millions of homes. OpenSync intelli- gently processes data collected by Omni in the Plume Cloud and enables new services to be deployed, managed and supported. "As the IoT landscape changes with more devices and use-cases, customers are increasingly looking for new service providers to enter the home and bring new solutions over-the-top," said Tyson Marian, Chief Commercial Officer at Plume. "Omni is a great example of how we enable partners to provide new WiFi applications and monetize their services leveraging our existing service portfolio to deliver performance and insightful data at scale." Omni by Stanley Black & Decker will be available for purchase in the summer of 2019. "Our goal is to pro- vide our customers with a security product that provides true peace of mind," said Spencer Maid, Vice President, Breakthrough Innovation at Stanley Black & Decker. "Cognitive Systems' Aura WiFi Motion technolo- gy, combined with Adaptive WiFi™ delivered through Plume's cognitive service curation platform, allows true interoperability between IoT devices to ensure motion is monitored and inter- preted effectively, enabling customers to not only protect their homes and businesses, but also keep their privacy intact." "As evidenced by the rapid prolifer- ation of connected devices in the home over the last few years, consumers are on the precipice of a new era in smart home technology," said Gopi Sirineni, Vice President, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "We are excited to be working alongside Cognitive Systems, Plume and Stanley Black & Decker as they adopt emerging wireless technologies like RF sensing and mesh networking to deliver these innovative new applications to estab- lished industries like home and business security." About Cognitive Systems Cognitive Systems Corp., is on a mission to transform the way WiFi networks are used. Its flagship technology, Aura WiFi Motion, uses wireless signals to detect motion in the home. Aura WiFi Motion harnesses machine learning and predic- tive analytics to reliably identify and localize motion for home monitoring, remote monitoring and energy manage- ment. This patented technology is lay- ered onto existing WiFi networks, with- out adding any new hardware, to enhance security service provider and router man- ufacturer offerings. About Stanley Black & Decker Stanley Black & Decker is a $13 billion revenue, $20-plus billion market capi- talization, purpose-driven industrial organization. Stanley Black & Decker has 58,000 employees in more than 60 countries and operates the world's largest tools and storage business, the world's second largest commercial electronic security company, a leading engineered fastening business as well as Oil & Gas and Infrastructure business- es. The company's iconic brands include BLACK+DECKER, Bostitch, CRAFTSMAN, DEWALT, FACOM, Irwin, Lenox, Porter Cable and Stanley. Stanley Black & Decker is a company for the makers and innovators, the craftsmen and the caregivers, and those doing the hard work to make the world a better place. Learn more at www .stanleyblackanddecker.com.