Category: Gadgets

Wearable technology is advancing at a rapid pace. Modern wearable devices may not be anything to fawn over, but a new generation of these devices is dawning. Apple recently revealed its Watch device, which is equipped with more features than any other smartwatch. The device is quite similar to a conventional smartphone, but designed to be significantly more intuitive and cater to its user’s movements and gestures.

Many wearable devices that are available today are simply novelty. They offer nothing more than a relatively interesting experience that is very similar to what can be found on a smartphone or tablet. These devices are often designed to serve a very specific purpose, such as tracking a person’s heart rate during an exercise or offering an interactive entertainment experience. Augmented reality headsets are somewhat more valuable in terms of the features that they offer, but these devices are typically only used for entertainment or social media purposes.

Current wearable devices may be little more than a stepping stone toward something much greater. Wearables are still not very popular in any conventional market, but they have shown that people are interested in new technology that is much more than a smartphone. As wearable technology becomes more advanced, it will likely become more integrated with humanity, moving from novelty to necessity in much the same way other mobile devices have. Once that happens, such technology could have a major impact on society as a whole.

Integrated technology is not a new concept. There are already people with NFC chips implanted beneath their skin. These chips can be programmed to serve a variety of purposes, from accessing electronic locks to providing easily accessible information about a person. It may be years before someone has a smartphone installed in their body, but wearable technology is beginning to show that such a thing could be possible at some point in the future.

New anti-router gadgets are working to block augmented reality glasses, cameras, and drones from connecting.

There is a growing number of people who are feeling uneasy about the presence of security cameras, drones, and Google Glass wearers, among other types of device, that could be recording video or audio of them without their knowledge or permission.

In response to this discomfort with the technology, devices are being developed to stop those devices from getting online.

Among these devices, one that is currently receiving a considerable amount of attention is the Cyborg Unplug. All that a user needs to do is to plug it into an electrical socket. From that point on, if a Google Glass device or some other form of surveillance gadget should try to connect to WiFi within the vicinity, it will sound an alarm

Moreover, that gadget can also stop Google Glass and other devices from connecting to a WiFi network.

When plugged in at home for example, the Cyborg Unplug will stop surveillance devices from being able to connect to the owners WiFi network. Essentially, the device is a very small sized router that contains firmware that is built to be able to identify and stop devices based on their MAC addresses.

This particular mobile gadget was developed by an artist who resides in Berlin, named Julian Oliver. He came up with a bit of code that was called Glasshole.sh which was created specifically to stop wearers of Google’s augmented reality headsets from being able to connect to a WiFi network. The concept was popular enough that Oliver felt justified in developing a complete consumer product that was designed for that same purpose.

On the official website for the product, Oliver points out that when the Cyborg Unplug is in its “All Out Mode,” – which is the setting that stops Google Glass and surveillance devices from making a connection with any WiFi located in the area, the use of the device is actually not legal in many areas, and he advises against its use in that way. That said, with the option available, it would not be unimaginable for consumers to choose to break the law in order to try to protect their privacy…or more realistically, for activists to slip these very small sized devices into public places with hot spots, in order to cause some chaos.