Skip to main content

Wearable device spots signs of an opioid overdose, automatically calls for help

When people talk about technology being a “lifesaver,” it’s usually hyperbole — meaning that it shaves a few minutes off a particular task or lets them reply to an email from their boss while in the car. But wearable devices really can save lives. For example, the Apple Watch’s heart rate reader has already led to individuals with potentially fatal conditions seeking medical attention. Now, a team from the Institute of Software Research at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a wearable device that’s capable of detecting an opioid overdose and sending out an alert to medical personnel. With the scale of opioid addiction hitting crisis levels in the United States, this could have the makings of a truly transformational technology.

“The problem with opioid overdose deaths is that there is a narrow window of time to save them, and the users will not be in a state to call for help themselves,” Puneetha Ramachandra, a CMU student who worked on the project, told Digital Trends. “Our device solves this by continuously monitoring the user’s health, and if an overdose is detected, it calls for immediate help by sounding an alarm and also contacting the user’s emergency contact.”

Recommended Videos

The device, currently still in prototype, resembles a smartwatch. It functions by using pulse oximetry, a noninvasive method for monitoring a person’s levels of oxygen saturation, to measure light reflected back to the sensor from a wearers’ skin. During an opioid overdose, a person’s drive to breathe reduces. Therefore, the amount of oxygen in their blood also drops. In the event that their blood oxygen level drops for more than 30 seconds, the wearable opioid overdose detector triggers its alarms. In doing so, the hope is that medical personnel will be able to respond more quickly, administer the drug naloxone — which reverses the effects of opioids by binding to the opioid receptors — and attempt to reverse the overdose.

As useful as the technology could prove, however, it may still be a while before it appears on the market. Validating efficacy is not easy when there are stringent regulations and protocols in place that regulate such experiments. While the wearable has been successfully demonstrated on simulated overdoses, the hope is to be able to extend this to a more rigorous clinical trial.

“The plan is to create blueprints for mass production, and get the device certified, which in itself is a challenging task,” Ramachandra said. “Once this is done, the initial goal is to sell the device in a small scale, and also distribute it through needle exchange programs by subsidizing it. Based on the feedback from the end users, we plan to upgrade the device and increase production scale.”

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Audi halts vehicle deliveries to the U.S. as it mulls impact of tariffs
2021 Audi Q5

If you’d been thinking of buying an Audi, now might be the time.  The German brand, owned by the Volkswagen Group, has announced it would halt shipments to the U.S. in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles.
Audi is currently holding cars that arrived after the tariffs took effect, on April 3, in U.S. ports. But it still has around 37,000 vehicles in its U.S. inventory, which should be able to meet demand for about two months, according to Reuters.
Automakers on average hold enough cars to meet U.S. demand for about three months, according to Cox Automotive.
Audi should be particularly affected by the tariffs: The Q5, its best-selling model in the U.S., is produced in Mexico, while other models, such as the A3, A4, and A6 are produced in Germany.
Holding shipments is obviously a temporary measure to buy time for Audi and parent company Volkswagen. If tariffs stay in place, vehicle prices would likely have to go up accordingly, unless some production is shifted to the U.S. Volkswagen already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. That latter plant, however, isn’t expected to be operational until 2027 and is currently dedicated to building electric vehicles for VW’s Scout Motors brand.
Other global automakers have also taken drastic measures in response to Trump’s tariffs. Jaguar Land Rover on April 5 said it is pausing shipments of its its UK-made cars to the United States this month. The British sports-luxury vehicle maker noted that the U.S. market accounts for nearly a quarter of its global sales, led by the likes of Range Rover Sports, Defenders, and Jaguar F-PACE.
And on April 3, Nissan, the biggest Japanese vehicle exporter to the United States, announced it will stop taking new U.S. orders for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs, the QX50 and QX55.

Read more
Waymo faces questions about its use of onboard cameras for AI training, ads targeting
Two people exit a Waymo taxi.

In an iconic scene from the 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report, on-the-run Agent John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, struggles to walk through a mall as he’s targeted by a multitude of personalized ads from the likes of Lexus, Guinness and American Express, everytime hidden detectors identify his eyes.
It was clearly meant as a warning about a not-so-desirable dystopian future.
Yet, 23 years later that future is at least partlially here in the online world and threatens to spread to other areas of daily life which are increasingly ‘connected’, such as the inside of cars. And the new testing grounds, according to online security researcher Jane Manchun Wong, might very well be automated-driving vehicles, such as Waymo’s robotaxis.
On X, Wong unveiled an unreleased version of Waymo’s privacy policy that suggests the California-based company is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including interior cameras, to train generative AI models and to offer targetted ads.
“Waymo may share data to improve and analyze its functionality and to tailor products, services, ads, and offers to your interests,” the Waymo’s unreleased privacy statement reads. “You can opt out of sharing your information with third parties, unless it’s necessary to the functioning of the service.”
Asked for comments about the unreleased app update, Waymo told The Verge that it contained “placeholder text that doesn’t accurately reflect the feature’s purpose”.
Waymo’s AI-models “are not designed to use this data to identify individual people, and there are no plans to use this data for targeted ads,” spokesperson Julia Ilina said.
Waymo’s robotaxis, which are operating on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, do contain onboard cameras that monitor riders. But Ilina says these are mainly used to train AI models for safety, finding lost items, check that in-car rules are followed, and to improve the service.
The new feature is still under development and offers riders an opportunity to opt out of data collection, Ilina says.
But as we all get used to ads targeting based on everything that’s somehow connected to the web, it seems a once-distant vision of the future may be just around the corner.

Read more
Buy Now, Upgrade Later: Slate’s $25K Truck Flips the Script on EVs
many hybrids rank as most reliable of all vehicles evs progress consumer reports cr tout cars 0224

A new electric vehicle startup—quietly backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos—is building something bold in Michigan. Not just a car, but a whole new idea of what an EV company can be. Slate Auto is a stealthy new automaker with one mission: ditch the luxury-first EV playbook and start from the affordable —which most drivers actually seek.
The start-up has been operating out of public sight since 2022, until TechCrunch found out about its existence. Of course, creating a little mystery about a potentially game-changing concept is a well-tested marketing approach.
But Slate truly seems to approach EVs in a very different way than most: It isn’t debuting with a six-figure spaceship-on-wheels. Instead, it's targeting the holy grail of EV dreams: a two-seat electric pickup truck for just $25,000. Yep, twenty-five grand. That’s less than a tricked-out golf cart in some neighborhoods. Slate is flipping the Tesla model on its head. Tesla, but also the likes of Lucid, BMW, and to a certain degree, Rivian, all started with high-end vehicles to build brand and bankroll future affordable car. But Slate wants to start with the people’s pickup—and letting it grow with you.
This isn’t just a cheap car. It’s a modular, upgradeable EV that’s meant to be personalized over time. Buy the basic model now, then add performance, tech, or lifestyle upgrades later—kind of like building your own dream ride one paycheck at a time. It’s a DIY car for a generation raised on customization and subscriptions. The company even trademarked the phrase: “We built it. You make it.”
Backing up this idea is an equally bold strategy: selling accessories, apparel, and utility add-ons à la Harley-Davidson and Jeep’s MoPar division. You’re not just buying a vehicle; you’re buying into a lifestyle. Think affordable EV meets open-source car culture.
Slate's approach isn't just novel—it's almost rebellious. At a time when other startups risk folding under the weight of their own lofty ambitions, Slate is keeping things lean, scalable, and customer focused. The company reportedly plans to source major components like battery packs and motors from outside suppliers, keeping manufacturing costs low while focusing energy on design, experience, and upgrade paths.
Sure, it’s all been kept under wraps—until now. With plans to begin production near Indianapolis by next year, the wraps are about to come off this EV underdog.
While, at least in spirit, the U.S. market has been dominated by high-end EVs, Slate’s “start small, scale with you” philosophy might be just the jolt the industry needs.

Read more