Must Read!!! 8 Big Things You Never Knew Your Smartphone Could Do

Our smartphones are our ultimate companions. I still wonder if dogs are still man’s best friend or smartphones are taking over.

From selfies to causing trouble on Facebook and sometimes being savages on twitter, keeping up with information. Our smartphone helps us to all that. Apart from all that, there are a couple of amazing things your smartphone could do that you never knew…

1. Function As A 3D scanner
The Institute for Visual Computing at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) created an app that lets you scan a 3D object by simply moving your smartphone around it. A 3D model of the object appears on the screen and shows you whether you missed anything. It can also determine the absolute size of the scanned object. You can use this app to capture faces for 3D portraits or simply to copy real-world objects for later study or 3D printing.

E.g – 3DSCANN

2. Test for STDs A dongle or attachment which performs the functions of a lab-based blood test—specifically, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)—to test for HIV antibodies and two types of syphilis antibodies can be plugged in to a smartphone. Researchers have recently tested it in Clinics in Rwanda that work to prevent mother-to-child-transmission and in voluntary counseling and testing centers. It costs just $34 unlike the $18,450 for the original ELISA equipment, this device could aid in early diagnosis and treatment of these illnesses in developing countries.

(not yet available for public use)

3. Give You Instant Eyeglass Prescriptions
Having issues with your eyes? Don’t worry, Smart Vision Labs developed the SVOne, a pocket-sized device that can measure the refractive errors in the eye and shows you a digital eyeglass prescription on your smart phone.

The company founders want the app to be used by doctors with multiple offices or limited space and to serve patients who have problems with traditional machinery or have difficulties with mobility. It’ll really work out in many developing countries where millions lack eye care. According to the World Health Organization, 90 percent of the world’s visually impaired people live in low-income settings with no eye doctors available and that uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of moderate and severe visual impairment globally.

E.g – EyeXam

4. Track Your Cholesterol Levels
Engineers at Cornell University developed an app – the Smartphone Cholesterol Application for Rapid Diagnostics, or smartCARD, to test cholesterol levels. You clamp the device, similar to a credit card reader, over your phone’s camera then place a drop of your blood, sweat or saliva on the strip. Insert the strip into the device, a built-in flash illuminates the strip and an app matches the image’s color values and shows results on the phone.

(app not yet available for public use)

5. Check If You’re Mentally Stable
(actually assess your mental health)

Researchers at Dartmouth University created an Android app that can analyze the smartphone owner’s state of mind. The app automatically measures your sleep duration, number and length of conversations per day, physical activity, locations and time spent there, stress level, eating habits and more—24/7 and without user interaction. It uses Computational method and machine learning algorithms on the phone then assesses the data and make high-level inferences about sleep, sociability, activity, and other behaviors. The app can be used to provide real-time feedback on safety in schools and stress levels and assess the quality of teaching. It can also be used to monitor mental health, trigger intervention, and improve productivity in the workplace as well.

E.g – Mental Health Test App,

6. Help You Stay Away From Alcohol
Hey!! Don’t touch that bottle of stout..

The Addiction-Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System smartphone app has designed for people with alcohol problems and sounds an alert if you stray near a high-risk location, such as a bar they previously frequented. People who used the app reported drinking less. People using the app also were more likely to consistently abstain from alcohol.

e.g – Sobriety,

7. Show You Where Gunshots Originated
Vanderbilt University’s group of Researchers turned an Android smartphone into a simple shooter location system.The smartphone app uses external sensors, with the size of a pack of cards, containing microphones and a processor that detects the gunshot’s acoustic signature and exact time. The processor sends that information to the smartphone, and transmits it to other modules and uses triangulation to pinpoint the origin of the gunshot. It would work out well for the Nigerian Police.

(app not yet released for public use yet)

8. Improve Your Hearing Aid
A smartphone app could help improve the quality of life of people who use hearing aids. Most hearing aids in order to remain small and low-cost typically use small processors. Smartphones, on the other hand, have powerful processors, large memories, microphones, speakers, wireless technology and long-lasting batteries, which can improve the performance of hearing assistive devices. For example, a smartphone could run sophisticated algorithms to distinguish background noise signals and enhance speech.

E.g – TextHear, Earshots

Note: The apps added to the posts are just examples not the exact app. The functionalities are almost the same but not exact. Most of the apps are still being tested. You can look them up on YouTube if you need more details and possibly a link.

Source: NaijaTech