ABB, the leading power and automation group, recently announced a partnership with Volvo Buses, one of the world's leading bus manufacturers, to co-develop and commercialize electric and hybrid buses with open standards-based direct current (DC) fast charging systems.The cooperation creates a city-wide standardized charging system for electric and electric hybrid buses that can charge buses quickly through an automatic roof-top connection system at bus stops or through cabled charging systems overnight.This approach, based on internationally accepted standards, enables maximum re-use of existing e-mobility technologies, thereby ensuring a rapid deployment of urban e-mobility. The first joint project for Luxembourg's public transportation system is planned for 2015.Volvo's new Electric Hybrid bus, which reduces fuel consumption by 75 percent compared to conventional diesel buses, will debut at the IAA exhibition in Hannover, Germany, in September. ABB and Volvo will contribute with their respective expertise in power grids and e-buses to further develop e-bus fast-charging standards, such as communications protocols for infrastructure, electrical grids and e-buses.An electric-bus charging standard will be largely based on the recently adopted global DC fast charging standards for passenger cars, guaranteeing safety and helping stimulate investment, long-term commitment and increased adoption of clean mobility."We are very pleased to partner with a global transportation industry leader that shares our vision of e-mobility in line with ABB's commitment of power and productivity for a better world," said Pekka Tiitinen, head of ABB's Discrete Automation and Motion division. "Urbanization is at a historic high and is stretching transport infrastructure of cities around the world. Our collaboration will help support sustainable and cost-efficient transportation solutions to meet rising commuter demand."The partnership is focused squarely on standardization of automatic e-bus fast charging, including the communications protocol between the infrastructure charging solution and e-bus, the electrical interface and specifications for the rooftop automatic connection system (ACS)."We are delighted to enter into partnership with ABB. Together, we have a complete and competitive offer to cities around the world that want to switch to a sustainable public transport system," said Hakan Agnevall, President Volvo Buses. "Electric hybrid buses and full-electric buses are tomorrow's solution for urban public transport."Volvo Buses launched its first hybrid bus in 2009 and has delivered nearly 1,600 hybrids to 21 countries. Its first fully electric bus will be launched in June 2015 as part of the ElectriCity project in Gothenburg, Sweden.ABB has delivered over 1,500 DC fast charging systems for passenger vehicles worldwide since 2010, rolling out charging networks for automotive, utility, government and retail customers including nationwide networks in the Netherlands, Estonia and Denmark.The first joint project will be the implementation of Volvo Electric Hybrids and ABB's automatic e-bus chargers in the Luxembourg public transport system, where as many as 12 Volvo Electric Hybrid buses operated by Sales-Lentz will be running on existing lines by 2015.The project is integrated into Luxembourg's Mobility Network linking different mobility projects in the western European country to exploit synergies and develop common visions for the mobility of the future.ABB (http://www.abb.com/) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 150,000 people.Volvo Buses (http://www.volvobuses.com/) is one of the world's leading bus manufacturers, with a strong focus on vehicles and systems for long-term sustainable public transport. Volvo Buses is part of Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction machines as well as drive systems for marine and industrial applications.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards announced a new version of its overclocking assistant EasyTune has been released just in time for the new Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition CPU, an unlocked CPU designed to bring overclocking to the mainstream. The new EasyTune application allows users to get the highest level of overclocked performance from their CPU and GIGABYTE Z87 / Z97 series motherboard, and with one click automatic overclocking, even novice users can experience enhanced computing performance right from the start.With a stock frequency of 3.2 GHz, the Intel Pentium AE can be easily overclocked using the revamped EasyTune application so that users can experience faster system performance without having to buy a more expensive CPU. The Smart Quick Boost function within EasyTune comes pre-configured with set overclocked profiles which have been tested by GIGABYTE's experienced engineers, to ensure no matter what the hardware configuration, users can enjoy 24/7 stable system performance. To enable different levels overclock, users just need to click "Light", "Medium" or "Extreme", with the expected CPU frequency being highlighted in the upper right corner of the settings tab.For more experienced users, EasyTune also offers advanced overclocking options for both the CPU and memory so that users can tweak their system performance to even higher levels in a Windows environment, without having to enter the BIOS.To see just how easy it is to use the EasyTune application, please check out the video featuring a GIGABYTE Z97-HD3 motherboard with the new Intel Pentium Anniversary edition processor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dacnua5xxDkA Processor with Great PotentialThe Intel Pentium G3258 is truly a great investment for the users looking to build a system under a low budget but wanting great performance. Once overclocked, frequencies equal or even higher than the latest Intel Core i7-4790K or i5-4690K CPUs can be achieved. As show in the tables below (see Figure 2 and 3), the Pentium G3258 can clock at very high frequencies under different cooling methods. By water cooling, the G3258 is already able to match the performances of the i5-4690K and i7-4790K skus under the same conditions. When cooled using LN2, the Anniversary Edition CPU overclocks even better than the i5-4690K, and priced at $72 USD, the overclockable Pentium G3258 is close to 5 times cheaper than the i7-4790K, most undoubtedly the best price/performance deal on the market.To update your EasyTune application to the latest version, please use the "Live Update" option in the App Center. You can also download the latest version of EasyTune for the GIGABYTE 8 and 9 Series motherboards under the GIGABYTE Utility download website, here: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/Utility.aspx?cg=2For more details regarding GIGABYTE 9 series Ultra Durable motherboards, visit the following link: http://www.gigabyte.com/microsite/364/9series-ud.htmlFigure 1: GIGABYTE's EasyTune AppFigure 2: Results may varyFigure 3: Prices are based on Intel's June 2, 2014 recommended Processor price list

Today OAXIS launches its campaign on crowd funding site Kickstarter to bring the InkCase+ to life. Starting from $79 for the very early bird special, InkCase+ is a removable 3.5-inch E Ink display module. InkCase+ can be inserted into a dedicated smartphone case and used as an auxiliary screen, bringing all the benefits of E Ink to Android smartphones.An early prototype was showcased to the public at both Mobile World Congress and Computex Taipei trade shows earlier this year. The prototype saw such a large amount of interest that OAXIS will work alongside Kickstarter backers to get through the difficult process of bringing a product to market.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/378232716/inkcase-plus-e-ink-screen-for-android-phone?ref=nav_searchInkCase+ will let consumers personalise their phone case and allow alerts to be pushed to the low power E Ink screen. This means that when users want to check their notifications or even read a book there's no need to power on the main screen, what's more the low power E Ink screen also means notifications are always visible.As well as notifications the InkCase+ can provide reference materials such as maps, tickets or shopping lists even when it is out of power. InkCase+ can also display your favourite pictures, customizing your phone case according to moods and trends. Why stick with the same phone case when it could be infinitely customizable."Kickstarter provides a unique opportunity to work closely with our customers and have them shape the product we're creating," said OAXIS CEO G-Jay Yong. "We're excited to be working alongside the Kickstarter community bringing a fantastic InkCase product to Android users for the first time. We regularly hear from our friends and family that their phone has died and we hope that InkCase+ can alleviate this problem by making checking your phone a less power hungry process. We also look forward to the millions of photos people will use to customize their phone making the blank black slate a thing of the past."The convergence of E Ink devices is already happening. In the same way smartphones have integrated Sat Nav, MP3 player, PDA, feature phone, game pad and more into one universal device, InkCase Plus will eventually be the "smart universal device" among E Ink devices. This is possible because of the ability of the InkCase Plus to install multiple apps.Following the success of the acclaimed InkCase, the second generation InkCase Plus now packs more power as a modular second screen for Android smartphones. With the new ability to install apps, InkCase Plus has become the converged multifunctional second screen for E Ink devices; just like the smartphone for communication and personal devices.InkCase+ provides a rich set of APIs to seamlessly integrate into the apps people use on their smartphones in their everyday lives. The available SDK and InkCase Companion Apps provide valuable resources to developers that will create a vibrant ecosystem of applications for InkCase+Specs:•3.5" (8.75cm) E Ink display in a compact 2.25" (5.7cm) x 4.25" (10.8cm) body.•InkCase+ uses industry standard BlueTooth technology to communicate with smartphones.•At just 45g and 5mm thick the InkCase+ is one of the smallest and lightest information displays on the market. •500mAh lithium polymer battery allowing 7 days of standby time, 3400 pages of reading or 19 hours of continuous operation.•InkCase+ supports all Android smartphones running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and above.You can back the OAXIS on their Kickstarter page now: starting at $79 for the Very Early Bird adopters.

The wearable devices currently in the market seem to fall into two categories: they either come with long battery life but simple features, or short battery life with comprehensive features. Is there a solution to make wearable devices that have both long battery life and comprehensive features? Imagination has the answer.No compromise: Wearable devices are not mobile devicesIn his speech, "Get that smartphone chip out of my wearable! Designing SoCs optimized for wearable computing," Bryce Johnstone, Head of Ecosystems at Imagination Technologies, stated that currently, wearable devices such as smartwatches mostly adopt smartphone chips resulting in products that are high in power consumption with unnecessary features. To increase sales, chips for wearables should be redesigned. Johnstone first talked about power consumption and safety of wearable technology and then introduced new chip solutions designed by Imagination's partners specifically for wearable devices.Johnstone noted that wearable devices have been in the market for many years, such as the heart rate monitor introduced by Polar in the 1980's. With the coming together of a number of technology and social aspects, the time for wearables has now arrived. Advances such as configurable and flexible processing, low-cost silicon, low-power connectivity and others are combining to meet emerging requirements today's highly tech savvy consumers, who want instant social media interaction, personal and health monitoring, and always-on connectivity. The industry has begun focusing on wearables, and is providing low-cost and low-power consumption MEMS sensors, advanced power management technology, and chipsets designed specifically for this market.Mobile and wearable devices have very different hardware structuresAccording to Johnstone, the wearable devices currently in the market usually adopt compromised solutions.The main similarity between today's smartwatches is they tend to adopt high-end chips and hardware similar to those used in smartphones. This means the products consume power more rapidly and users have to recharge frequently. Also the user interface of these products is similar to that of smartphones, but varies among brands because there has not been a standard application programming interface (API).Wearable devices should not just be a smaller version of mobile devices, but should instead meet demand from different markets and provide specific and necessary, often complementary functions. In designing these products, companies must consider the many factors, including: low power consumption (power consumption should be calculated on a daily or weekly basis for exercise sensors, monthly for home care sensors, and yearly for vital sign sensors), low cost, small memory, method of use, data security, data accuracy, data collection efficiency, data management, and connectivity (low frequency bandwidth and high efficiency power use and data transfer, support low power-consumption mesh network, and wireless connection).Johnstone outlined some of the necessary hardware specifications for smart bracelets, smart watches and smartphones for comparison. In terms of the CPU speeds, an example smart bracelet runs on a sub-100MHz MCU, compared to an example smartwatch with a 0.3-1GHz multi-core power-saving application processor (AP), and a smartphone with a 2GHz quad-core CPU.As for other items in the comparison, display screens are unnecessary for smart bracelets. Smartwatches need only a small screen with a simple interface. Smartphones obviously feature larger displays that support a full range of functions. As for memory and battery capacity, it is low for smart bracelets, medium for smartwatches and high for smartphones. However, battery life for smart bracelets is long, medium for smartwatches and short for smartphones.Different wearable devices require different functionality. For example, smart bracelets need various types of sensors to accurately collect information; smart watches provide a more convenient way to read messages and should focus on simple interactions; and smart glasses provide high resolution images and camera functionality and focus on expanding the virtual reality experience.One potential wearable device architecture outlined by Johnstone features a 3-CPU core architecture: a wearable computing CPU, wearable control CPU, and sensor CPU (which connects various sensors).Johnstone also showed the difference in power consumption between wearable devices with smartphone components and wearable devices with wearable-optimized components. Smartwatches with wearable components can be 10 times more efficient in power consumption performing exercise monitoring functions (with only the sensor CPU on), 10-20 times more efficient in voice recognition and operating various apps (with the wearable control CPU on).They can three times more efficient in running an OS like Android Wear, which was introduced by Google to specifically accommodate wearable devices with an aim to provide the best user experience and a standard API (with the wearable computing CPU on). This means the multiple-CPU architecture meets the requirements of wearable devices.Power-saving and high efficiency is the best wearable device solutionImagination's partner Ingenic has introduced Newton, a MIPS-based wearable hardware development platform. The Newton platform is embedded with low-power consumption and high-performance JZ4775 1GHz MIPS CPU, and can process multimedia (enabling 2D graphic engines and various types hardware acceleration). It features multiple memory support (256KB L2 cache RAM + up to 3GB mobile DDR3/DDR2/LPDDR RAM + eMMC), contains a four-in-one connectivity component (Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, 2.4/5GHz, Bluetooth 4.0, EDR supporting Bluetooth, NFC, and FM), and supports various sensors (habitual, environmental, and biological). The device consumes power around four microwatts during standby, and 100 microwatts during operation. The PCB size is the size of two one-euro coins.Another Imagination partner, Ineda, has introduced the Dhanush WPU (wearable processing unit), which is the first processing unit designed specifically for the wearable device market. The system structure incorporates the three types of CPUs as described above: a low-power consumption sensor CPU, a low-power consumption sub CPU, and a main CPU for application processing. In particular, the sensor CPU only operates Tiny RTOS to collect data, hence only consumes one-third of the power compared to pure MCU solutions. The sensor CPU consumes 2-3 times less power during standby, supports 2-30 times more memory, and the embedded DSP/FPU runs 2-3 times faster than pure MCU solutions.Johnstone concluded that MIPS structure is the CPU with the most potential for expansion in the wearables market. It supports products ranging from low- to high-performance applications. It is an ideal choice for various sectors.Bryce Johnstone, Head of Ecosystems at Imagination Technologies

Indium Corporation recently released RMA-155 Pb-Free Solder Paste. RMA-155 is the best solder paste for customers who are required to use RMA materials, but who need the performance benefits of modern Pb-free solder paste technology.RMA-155 was designed for balanced performance, making it ideal for high-complexity boards with a variety of component sizes, as well as simple assemblies. Compatible with both SnPb and SAC alloys, RMA-155 delivers consistent transfer efficiencies, excellent response-to-pause, and a strong oxidation barrier, even for long and hot profiles. It is halogen-free, resists graping on small components and tiny deposits, prevents head-in-pillow defects, and minimizes voiding for BGAs and large thermal planes (QFNs).RMA-155 conforms to the RMA classification for QQ-S-571F and offers proven performance similar to the well-received Indium8.9 Series solder pastes. Indium Corporation's full suite of compatible RMA materials includes TACFlux RMS-155, WF-2212 wave flux, FP-2212 flux pens, and CW807 series flux-cored wires in many alloys.RMA-155 is best suited for military and aerospace PCB assemblies, especially those still required to use RMA-classified fluxes. This solder paste also enables the transition to Pb-free because the flux is compatible with both Pb-containing and Pb-free alloys.For more information about RMA-155, visit http://www.indium.com/flux-and-epoxy.Indium Corporation is a premier materials manufacturer and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, solar, thin-film and thermal management markets. Products include solders, preforms, and fluxes; brazes; sputtering targets; indium, gallium, and germanium metals and inorganic compounds; and NanoFoil. Founded in 1934, Indium has global technical support and factories located in China, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the USA. For more information about Indium Corporation, visit http://www.indium.com/ or email abrown@indium.com.

EverFocus recently introduces an innovative function, eZ Hopper, for our new series of DVRs/NVRs, allowing users to control up to 16 connected DVRs/NVRs in the same LAN network with just one single mouse.This breakthrough feature will bring great benefits to the traditional small and medium-sized surveillance system. For traditional DVR/NVR users who want to expand the surveillance system, a costly Central Monitoring Software (CMS) and the time-consuming training can be a great burden. However, adopting the CMS solution is no longer the only way to scale up, EverFocus' newly developed function, eZ Hopper, is now to help you to solve this problem.The eZ Hopper is designed and developed upon the current DVR/NVR codebase, so there is no need for users to learn any other complex configurations to manage the whole surveillance system or to spend the great setup cost and time. You just need to set up one DVR or NVR to be the Main Server, and the rest to be the Sub Servers. Then, simply connect a mouse to the Main Server, and you will be able to move its cursor across all the connected monitors of the Main and Sub Servers and to control their OSD menus respectively.If the customers are EverFocus current existing DVR/NVR users, they can simply upgrade to the new firmware to enjoy this powerful and flexible function. For the customers who would like to have a traditional small and medium-size surveillance system but withdraw from using the CMS because of the considerable expanse and complicated operations, EverFocus' DVR/NVR coupled with the eZ Hopper function will definitely be more applicable and much appealing.About EverFocus Electronics CorporationEverFocus Electronics Corporation (TWSE: 5484) is a leading integrated security solution manufacturer. Our lineup includes IP, HD-SDI, analog, mobile surveillance solutions, access control systems, as well as surveillance and access control peripherals. EverFocus has offices globally, located in Taiwan, the U.S.A, Germany, China, Japan, and India. For more information, please visit http://www.everfocus.com.tw/eZ Hopper allows one mouse to control 16 DVR/NVRs

The Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit, a worldwide leading supplier of metallization pastes for solar cells, has decided to relocate their research and development scientists to their facility in West Conshohocken, PA to strengthen the activities of the group."The relocation of our worldwide research and development group to our West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania facility is a strategic move for our business", stated Dr. Weiming Zhang, Vice President of Technology for the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit. "When Heraeus first began the development of metallization pastes for solar cells, we started with a few scientists in West Conshohocken. We successfully developed products with higher performance than what was commercially available at that time. To increase our competitive position, we recognized that we needed to attract additional talented scientists and engineers from around the world." Dr. Zhang continued to state, "With a core talent of employees at our corporate location in Hanau, Germany and our targeted market in Asia, we set up R&D centers in Hanau and Singapore. This has allowed us to obtain outstanding employees who have been instrumental in increasing our technology portfolio to develop advanced paste formulations. We have now decided to co-locate all our research and development staff in West Conshohocken. We believe this action will foster a faster pace of innovation, increasing our speed to market. We are excited about having this cross-cultural team, with their unique perspectives, come together for the benefit of the Heraeus PV business and our customers."Heraeus will be exhibiting at this year's Intersolar North America at the Moscone Center West Hall on level 1 in booth 7611. You can also go to http://www.pvsilverpaste.com for more information regarding Heraeus Photovoltaics products and services.About the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business UnitThe Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit is an industry leading developer and manufacturer of silver metallization pastes for the photovoltaic industry. For over 40 years, Heraeus has built a reputation of innovation, extensive research and new product development in thick film technologies for some of the most prominent companies within a variety of industries. In the field of photovoltaics, the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit applies this history and its innovative technology to offer metallization pastes for solar cell applications. The Heraeus SOL Series of silver pastes is specially formulated to provide higher efficiencies and wider processing windows, resulting in better yields and higher output for cell manufacturers.

The Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit will feature two new front-side metallization pastes for c-Si solar cells during Intersolar North America 2014 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California on level 1 in Booth 7611 from July 8th through 10th. The SOL9620 Series and SOL9621 Series represent Heraeus' latest pastes that enable cell manufacturers to further increase their c-Si cells' conversion efficiencies to an industry-leading level and beyond. The development of these two products are for customers with slightly different LDE applications and processing; however both pastes provide superior cell efficiencies while lowering customers' cost per watt.The SOL9620 Series is outstanding for ultra-lightly doped emitters [ULDE], with surface doping concentrations down to 1xE20/cm3. The SOL9620 Series has demonstrated the highest performance during customer testing, particularly on monocrystalline wafers. Relative to the SOL9610 Series on 110 Ω/sq. monocrystalline wafers, the SOL9620 Series demonstrated an 80% reduction in contact resistance; approximately a 3mV increase in Voc; and up to 0.25% absolute efficiency gains. The unique chemistry of SOL9620 Series also enable the ability to be fired through different combination of passivation layers and at a relative lower peak temperature than standard firing temperatures. This is ideal for PERC applications.The SOL9621 Series has demonstrated great results for regular emitter and LDE applications. When tested against Heraeus' SOL9610 Series on 85 Ω/sq. multicrystalline wafers, customers experienced higher electrical performance: a 50% reduction in contact resistance; a 1-2 mV increase in Voc; and greater than 0.10% absolute efficiency gains. The SOL9621 Series provides customers with a flexible and robust process window, which aids in providing a lower manufacturing cost. SOL9621 is also highly recommended for the 1st and 2nd layer of double printing applications with customers confirmed efficiency gain greater than 0.10% over the best commercially available double printing pastes.To learn more about Heraeus' products and services for the photovoltaic industry, visit us at this year's Intersolar North America at the Moscone Center West Hall on level 1 in booth 7611. You can also go to http://www.pvsilverpaste.com for more information.About the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business UnitThe Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit is an industry leading developer and manufacturer of silver metallization pastes for the photovoltaic industry. For over 40 years, Heraeus has built a reputation of innovation, extensive research and new product development in thick film technologies for some of the most prominent companies within a variety of industries. In the field of photovoltaics, the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit applies this history and its innovative technology to offer metallization pastes for solar cell applications. The Heraeus SOL Series of silver pastes is specially formulated to provide higher efficiencies and wider processing windows, resulting in better yields and higher output for cell manufacturers.

The Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit will be attending Intersolar North America 2014 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 8th through 10th, showcasing their new products for standard to ultra LDE cells and PERC cell designs during the exhibition."Heraeus Photovoltaics is pleased to be exhibiting at Intersolar NA for another year. The first metallization pastes for c-Si solar cells developed by Heraeus were created in North America and this region continues to be critical to our success", states Andreas Liebheit, Global Manager of the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit. "At this year's show, we are proud to exhibit our SOL325 Series of pastes for PERC cell designs. This paste, along with our front-side metallization pastes, was used by the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) to produce PERC cells with a record efficiency of 21.2%. We will also showcase our newest front-side metallization pastes for standard to ultra lightly doped emitter cells: the SOL9620 and SOL9621 Series. Our SOL9620 Series has shown excellent results on monocrystalline cells, with absolute efficiency gains up to 0.25%. Our SOL9621 Series has demonstrated greater than 0.10% absolute efficiency gains on crystalline silicon cells and possesses a flexible processing window, providing customers with very consistent cell efficiencies during production runs."Heraeus will also be exhibiting their SOL9650 Series for n-type cell designs. To learn more about Heraeus' products and services for the photovoltaic industry, visit us at this year's Intersolar North America at the Moscone Center West Hall on level 1 in booth 7611. You can also go to http://www.pvsilverpaste.com/ for more information.About the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business UnitThe Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit is an industry leading developer and manufacturer of silver metallization pastes for the photovoltaic industry. For over 40 years, Heraeus has built a reputation of innovation, extensive research and new product development in thick film technologies for some of the most prominent companies within a variety of industries. In the field of photovoltaics, the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit applies this history and its innovative technology to offer metallization pastes for solar cell applications. The Heraeus SOL Series of silver pastes is specially formulated to provide higher efficiencies and wider processing windows, resulting in better yields and higher output for cell manufacturers.

Wearable technology can not only be applied to sensory and gesture control, voice recognition, augmented reality, health monitoring, biometrics, and infotainment, but vendors today have also developed brainwave sensing wearable devices that give users the ability to use "thoughts" to "control" different equipment.Amazing wearable from Toronto, CanadaDuring his speech "Wearable technology - Changing the way you THINK" Derek Luke, COO of Canada-based InteraXon, introduced the background of InteraXon, a leading company in developing brainwave technology. InteraXon's development team began conducting EEG related research in 2003 prior to the establishment of the company. The team attempted to produce changes in the surrounding environment with brainwaves, and create compelling life experiences. InteraXon was formally established in 2009, and revealed itself for the first time at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, where the crowd wore brainwave controllers and used their thoughts to control the lights on Niagara Falls, the Canadian Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, and the Toronto CN Tower.Later, InteraXon invested in the development of a thin and light brainwave headband called "Muse." When the prototype appeared in 2011, the CEO of InteraXon, Ariel Garten, unveiled her company's development technology in a TED Talk using "know thyself, with a brain scanner" as the theme. In 2013, InteraXon received first-round financing from Sir Ka-shing Li's private investment firm, Horizons Ventures, and officially introduced Muse in 2014.Multiple sensors to get a feel for what you're thinkingDerek described some previous applications of his company's product, including mind control of lights on a stage and "telepathically"turning on a beer tap to fill a beer mug hands-free. He indicated that EEG (electroencephalography) has actually been in use in the field of medicine for many years, mainly for purposes such as improving sleep quality and concentration. However, EEG use in medical care requires a lot of sensors attached to the head. Not only is it inconvenient, heavy, and unpleasant, but it also is very costly. actiCHamp, for example, is priced at about US$36,000.The Muse EEG brain sensing headband produced by Derek's company comes in two choices of black or white. It is easy to wear, light-weight, and fashionable. With its non-invasive design, it is comfortable to wear on the head. Most of all, it is affordably priced at US$299. Derek then put on the Muse headband for the audience to see for themselves and demonstrated the use of its companion smartphone app. The first step after Muse is put on is calibration (this allows the Muse headband to sense your brainwaves and to adjust the fit to the head); the second step is to relax and let the app guide you on sensing your brain activity; the third step is gathering data which is then relayed to you. It is that simple to use!The Muse brain sensing headband, with seven built-in sensors (five on the forehead and two behind the ears), detects and measures brain activity when it is put on the head and converts the measurements into instant data for the user to see on a mobile device via Bluetooth technology so that the user can understand how his/her own brain is functioning. After a long period of training and recording, Muse will help people better understand their own mind activities so as to relieve stress and improve memory and concentration. People are therefore able to analyze what makes them excited and what makes them focused, which can help users eliminate negative feelings. In the future the user will eventually be able to control various devices through a focused mind.Training your mind to focus and control everythingTechnology products are interactive (i.e. users interact outwardly with the device) while brainwave detection and scanning technology is intraactive (i.e. users interact inwardly with the device). Muse allows you and the product to develop a responsive relationship by scanning and analyzing your brainwaves. Through cycles of iterative intraactions, you are able to use this information to better understand your inner self and show this understanding in the outer world. While smartbands can be used to promote physical health, the Muse headband can be used to promote mental well-being.InteraXon brings together user experience specialists, integrated software/hardware technologies, and a brainwave algorithm database to help the user build his/her own dedicated brainwave model and provide an open platform for brainwave applications. InteraXon currently owns a portfolio of 18+ patents and has developed a wearable sensing headband that combines comfort and fashion. In addition, Muse leads the brainwave detection industry in building a complete ecosystem by joining together the world's most prestigious brainwave researchers, cutting-edge sensor development teams, machine learning based on cloud computing, growing network platform developers, added-value investors, and technical partners to collaboratively promote EEG applications to the consumer market.Derek mentioned that the current hardware spec is applicable to fields including Calm, ADHD, health, and gaming, creating a market value as high as US$30 billion. Calm, an app developed by Derek's company, can be used to train oneself to stay calm using the application for just three minutes a day by monitoring one's brainwaves for the purpose of managing emotions.In terms of applications related to ADHD, developers can design games that improve concentration to teach hyper-active children to stay focused, which may attain the same effect as taking Ritalin. For health applications, Muse can be used with a heart rate indicator in addition to mind training to effectively monitor exercise as well as mental and physical health. As for the gaming market, Muse can be used to enhance the gaming experience, offering new entertainment experiences.Derek concluded his presentation by pointing out that the only limitation to InteraXon's high tech potential is imagination. The company is seeking forward-thinking partners from all fields to jointly develop innovative solutions to help people overcome physical, mental, and emotional barriers for a more colorful and meaningful life.Derek Luke, COO of Canada-based InteraXon