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Spectrum: iPhone Cancer Screening

Plus solar-powered kiosks and an airport avatar.

DIY Diagnosis

Would you strip for the camera if it means cancer screening? A new iPhone app does just that. Developed by the University of Michigan, UMSkinCheck lets users photograph their skin to identify any abnormalities. The password-protected app helps users create baseline images of their skin and offers examples of what to watch for.
Source: The Atlantic
 

Bright Solution

A German company is offering solar-powered kiosks, which it says can bring clean power to parts of the world that are off the electric grid. SolarKiosks are modular, lightweight shops that are equipped with solar panels to harness the sun’s energy to power mobile phones, car batteries and refrigerators. SolarKiosks are being touted as autonomous business units that can provide some of the estimated 1.5 billion people who live off the grid with sustainable energy.
Source: SolarKiosk  

Airport Avatar

Meet Liberty, a.k.a. Libby. She’s one of the newest staff members at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. But Libby isn’t your average employee — she’s a life-sized, two-dimensional holographic avatar that answers travelers’ frequently asked questions. Libby greets passersby with a 90-second script when they come within 30 feet of her. Her native language is English, although she can be programmed to speak multiple others. Her cost? $60,000. These helpful but creepy avatars also are coming to airports in New York, Boston and Virginia.
Source: nj.com

 

Miriam Jones is a former chief copy editor of Government Technology, Governing, Public CIO and Emergency Management magazines.