AI, avatars, and the future of mental healthContinue reading on UX Collective

Before particularly rough storms, I have been known to go outside and give my plants a pep talk. I'm not sure how I'd feel about receiving distress messages from my garden (I need help! from Bob the fig tree, etc.). But you can bet Im going to sign up for this parasocial experiment, because today at CES, Bird Buddy announced Petal, a new AI-enabled camera to help you engage with the outside world.Petal is a solar-powered camera that you can clamp onto a raised bed or planter, stick into a bed, or wrap around a tree limb. It will work anywhere as long as theres wifi and sunlight. Like the bird-watching cameras that Bird Buddy is famous for, these cameras will give you extremely high-resolution, up-close video and photo of birds, bugs, and the plants they perch on. The cameras will then use an AI layer that can identify whats going on outside, from a flower blooming to birds hatching or a tomato ready to be plucked.As with most Bird Buddy cameras, you can do an awful lot without a subscription, but with a subscription, you can name individual birds, as well as the flowers, bugs, and plants in your yard. I cant decide if this is charming or insane, but Im 100% in for the ride this summer.Bird Buddy hopes that youll buy Petal in multiples and place them around your yard. Theyll even have interchangeable lenses: You can go with a wide angle or change it to a macro for great depth of field. You can capture time lapse, and still get notified with your favorite artichoke plant gets visited by a bee or bug, or when it is affected by weather.Though announced today, Petal will be officially introduced in a Kickstarter this summer with Bird Buddys other release, WonderBlocks, a modular planter system for outdoors that includes mason-bee hotels, bug hotels, and self-watering planters. Bird Buddy will also offer planting blocks impregnated with native plants and pollinators local to your geography. All these parts are meant to work together, and seem to imply that Bird Buddy is moving away from a singular focus on birds, and towards bird watching being part of your connection to the outside. Pricing has not been announced for either Petal or WonderBlocks.

Swimming is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Cleaning a pool, however, is an absolute drag. For my money, pool-cleaning robots are much handier than even standard robovacs. If you have access to a pool, the forthcoming Wybot S3 could ensure you never have to walk around like a doofus with an oversized net ever again. Announced at CES, the Wybot S3 is an improvement over the S2 in nearly every way. The company says its the first self-docking, self-emptying automatic charging pool cleaning robot. It includes an automated self-emptying system, which is standard with land-based robovacs but new to water-adjacent models. The unit transfers debris from its body to a 10-liter above ground base station. This bin is big enough to go 30 days without having to be manually emptied. Wybot Another first? The robot charges itself automatically via integrated solar panels. Under optimal sunlight, itll suck up around 1.5 hours of runtime per day. If the weather is less than ideal, the unit can also be charged by plugging into a traditional power outlet. As for the actual cleaning, the unit includes a whole bunch of sensors that help it create a 3D map of the entire underwater environment. This lets it plan the most efficient cleaning route and minimizes the chances of blind spots. The company says this is particularly important for irregularly shaped pools. It also comes with a camera that susses out the largest amounts of debris, for improved efficiency and accuracy. Wybot The Wybot S3 can be monitored and controlled in real-time via a proprietary app, with a connection that combines Wi-Fi and sonar. The aquatic robovac is available for preorder right now, with shipments going out in the second quarter of the year. However, all of that waterproof tech is gonna cost you. The robot will be priced between $2,500 and $3,000, depending on which options are selected. Pool cleaning robots have been popping up all over the place lately. A company called Aiper brought an impressive model to CES back in 2023 and the Beatbot Aquasense Pro has been receiving rave reviews. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/the-wybot-s3-just-might-be-the-pool-cleaning-robot-of-your-dreams-140100715.html?src=rss

Ring makes doorbells, cameras, floodlights, alarms and intercoms, a list best summed up as stuff to keep your home safe. The obvious omission in the lineup is smoke detectors, which is why the company has rocked up to CES 2025 arm-in-arm with experts Kidde. The pair has put together a range of detectors for the home which are connected by WiFi to the Ring ecosystem.That way, should the whiff of smoke (or, if you buy a combination alarm, smoke and carbon monoxide) wafts through your home, youll get a ping on the Ring app. Youll also, and this is perhaps the most desirable feature of the package, get a warning seven days before your battery runs out, letting you avoid the dreaded alarm chirps.Given Rings penchant for subscription platforms, its no surprise that theres a 24/7 smoke and carbon monoxide monitoring service available. For $5 per month, a remote monitoring service can keep an eye on your home and raise the alarm if the undesirable gases are spotted. Theres no word on how much the new alarms will cost, but theyll be available exclusively at the Home Depot at some point in April 2025.At the same time, Ring has announced it is upgrading the video quality for its existing Floodlight Cam Pro and Spotlight Cam Pro. If you already own these models, youll soon be able to view their outputs not in HD, but 2K thanks to improvements in Ring Vision. This software update will start rolling out on January 8.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/ring-and-kidde-launch-connected-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-140052259.html?src=rss

Brisk It debuted its first AI-enabled smart grill concept at CES last year, and now the company is back with a new, low-cost model for 2025. Dubbed the Zelos 450, this compact unit joins the Origin series machines in the company's lineup. Despite the dramatically lower price of $399, Brisk It still managed to pack in its AI cooking tech to assist in all areas of backyard grilling. The company says its Zelos line of pellet grills were designed to offer its advanced features at a more affordable price. Although the company has only announced the 450-square-inch version at CES 2025, it sounds like a larger option could be on the way. Like Brisk It's other models, the main selling point is the company's Vera generative AI platform. Now in version 2.0, Vera offers image recognition on your phone to construct personalized recipes, replicate completed dishes, make a meal based on photographed ingredients or provide inspiration based on what's in your shopping cart at the store. Every recipe is automated with the grill, which the company says will reduce stress and ensure consistent results. Brisk It says the tech makes BBQ and grilling as easy as asking a question and pressing a button. In fact, the company claims the combination of Vera and the Zelos 450 can even compensate for mistakes like forgetting to baste a prime rib roast. Like most smart pellet grills, the Zelos 450 has Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to control the grill and monitor progress from anywhere via your phone. The grill also can smoke as low at 180 degrees Fahrenheit and sear at 500 degrees, or anything in between like baking and roasting. The Zelos 450 has a simpler design than Brisk It's Origin series, with a more basic onboard controller and display than those first two models. This makes sense given the much lower price tag. The Zelos 450 will be available in Q1 2025 at Amazon, Home Depot, Walmart, Lowes and directly from the company for $399. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/brisk-its-latest-ai-infused-smart-grill-only-costs-399-140035250.html?src=rss

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President Joe Biden is moving to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, a last-minute effort to block possible action by the incoming Trump administration to expand offshore drilling.Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, said he is using authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaskas Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing.My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nations energy needs, Biden said in a statement.As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren, he said.Bidens orders would not affect large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, where most U.S. offshore drilling occurs, but it would protect coastlines along California, Florida and other states from future drilling.Bidens actions, which protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters, could be difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to unwind, since they would likely require an act of Congress to repeal. Trump himself has a complicated history on offshore drilling. He signed a memorandum in 2020 directing the Interior secretary to prohibit drilling in the waters off both Florida coasts, and off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.The action came after Trump initially moved to vastly expand offshore drilling, before retreating amid widespread opposition in Florida and other coastal states.Trump has vowed to establish what he calls American energy dominance around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from Bidens focus on climate change.Environmental advocates hailed Bidens action, saying new oil and gas drilling must be sharply curtailed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 2024 was the hottest in recorded history.This is an epic ocean victory! said Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the environmental group Oceana.Gordon thanked Biden for listening to the voices from coastal communities that oppose drilling and contributing to the bipartisan tradition of protecting our coasts.Bidens actions build on the legacy of Democratic and Republican presidents to protect coastal water from offshore drilling, Gordon said, adding that U.S. coastlines are home to tens of millions of Americans and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a clean environment, abundant wildlife and thriving fisheries.In balancing multiple uses of Americas oceans, Biden said it was clear that the areas he is withdrawing from fossil fuel use show relatively minimal potential that does not justify possible environmental, public health and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.A spokeswoman for Trump mocked Biden, saying, Joe Biden clearly wants high gas prices to be his legacy.The spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, called Bidens action a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.Biden has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as he tries to navigate between energy companies seeking greater oil and gas production and environmental activists who want him to shut down new offshore drilling in the fight against climate change.A five-year drilling plan approved in 2023 includes proposed offshore sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development.Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres (24.2 million hectares) of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.Biden, whose decision to approve the huge Willow oil project in Alaska drew strong condemnation from environmental groups, has previously limited offshore drilling in other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.Matthew Daly, Associated Press

Over the past year, Ive taken calls from women Ive mentoredformerly incarcerated and working hard to rebuild their lives. These are the moments that remind me why I do this work. Their voices, full of hope, share the same story: theyve made it to the final stages of a job application. Theyve been upfront about their pasts, impressed in their interviews, and now they need one final thing: a reference from me, which I provide without hesitation.But the joy doesnt last. In six instances, these women were hired, start dates set, and IT equipment received, only to have their offers rescinded after a background check revealed the nature of their crimes. Their records werent hidden; they had disclosed everything upfront. Yet somewhere between a handshake and a start date, the companies got cold feet, unable to reconcile their second-chance philosophy with the reality of these womens stories.The weight of second chancesRescinding a job offer might seem like just a line item in HRs workflow. But for the person at the receiving end, its devastating. Its a setback that impacts families, communities, and the broader social fabric. How can we call ourselves second-chance advocates if we only extend that chance to those whose mistakes feel easy to forgive?I understand the discomfort some crimes can evoke. Ive felt it, too. When faced with the reality of someones past, its natural to react with hesitation. But heres what Ive learned: behind every crime, theres context. Context doesnt excuse actions, but it provides a fuller picture of who a person is and how they arrived at that moment. More importantly, it shows us that people are not staticthey can change, grow, and heal.When our government determines that someone has paid their debt to society, its not our place to act as a secondary judge and jury. Denying them the opportunity to rebuild their lives only perpetuates cycles of poverty, marginalization, and recidivism. We all pay the pricelosing their contributions, perspectives, and hard-earned resilience.When values are put to the testBelief in second chances isnt enough. Its a cultural commitment. Inevitably, employees may discover someones past through a Google search, raising concerns. Thats where education and leadership are essential. Employees need to understand and embrace what it means to work for a compassionate, inclusive company.This demands consistent reinforcement of values, open conversations about inclusion, and clear messaging that second chances are central to a companys identitynot just when its easy but especially when its hard. HR and hiring managers must work together to hire employees who truly believe in supporting individuals striving to rebuild their lives. Those unable to align with these values may signal they arent the right fit for your organization.Companies like JPMorgan Chase and Virgin embody this commitment. Jamie Dimon and Richard Branson champion second-chance hiring because its the right thing to do. They understand that redemption is powerful and talent comes from unexpected places. Their leadership reminds us that doing whats right often means challenging assumptions and stepping out of our comfort zones.Believing in futures, not pastsThe truth is second chances are messy. They require us to confront our biases and sit with our discomfort. But theyre also transformativefor the individuals we hire and the organizations we lead. When we create a culture of acceptance and growth, we become stronger, more innovative, and more human.At the end of the day, the question we need to ask isnt whether we feel comfortable with someones past; its whether we believe in their future. And if the answer is yes, then its on us to open the door and keep it opennot just for the ones whose mistakes we understand, but for everyone who has done the hard work of owning their past and building a better path forward.Being a second-chance employer is about courage. Its about committing to values that dont waver when tested. And its about remembering that the true measure of a company isnt how it treats the perfect candidateits how it uplifts the imperfect ones.