Power Point presentation for Social Impact of Technology class. Summer 2017, presented to class and Kelly Woods.

1. Technology will
Save our Minds
and Bodies
Presented by:
Steven Dilks
Durham College
To:
Kelly Woods
Social Impact of Technology
August 1st, 2017

2. INTRODUCTION
• I firmly believe that technology can save our
minds and bodies
• This presentation details four such positive
innovations and for each, presents:
• What is the tech and what is its
application?
• The pros and cons of each innovation.
• My conclusion on each solution.
• I invite you to draw your own conclusions

3. SPIRE
• “Spire is the wearable technology
that can detect emotions,
breathing patterns and other
physiological signs that signal
how users are feeling. Once
emotion is detected, this device
will send a notification to your
phone with suggestions on how
to relax or other wellness tips
needed to improve your mood.”

4. PROS
- Easily clip the device anywhere on
your person
- Can help decrease your stress level by
up to 50%
- Most people have a smartphone
nowadays
- Fairly cheap ($129 around the same
price as fitbit)

5. CONS
- With any technology, it might not be 100% accurate
- Uncomfortable to wear all day, especially during workouts
- Currently only compatible with IOS devices (iPhones)
- Apparently takes forever to sync data from the device to your
iPhone
- Taking control of your breath, which is just one indicator of
stress, might not do anything at all to improve your overall
mental well-being, though it might feel like it in the moment.

6. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Spire is a great and unique technology that will hopefully be
helping improve people’s mental health for years to come. It is the
world’s only breath and activity tracker proven to decrease stress.
Spire does not only help users be more relaxed, but it also helps
them to be healthier overall. Chronic stress can impact the immune
system and lead to abnormal functioning of your digestive,
excretory and reproductive systems.

7. VIRTUAL REALITY HELPING TREAT
PTSD
Virtual Reality Therapy is technology mixed
with traditional therapy. Survivors of trauma,
suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
would put on the VR goggles and headphones,
be transported to the exact moment that
triggers their PTSD and are coached through
the moment by a professional therapist, that
will then help them get past that fear or
traumatic event.

8. PROS
- Visual and audio help accompanied by real life psychologist
- Could potentially purchase equipment and try it out at home
- One of the most effective ways to treat PTSD in soldiers
- Technology is also used in treatment for many other
disorders and fear including: Social Anxiety, Fear of Flying,
Arachnophobia, etc..

9. CONS
- In some cases (rare), has made the PTSD worse
- Technology has not really been available to the public sector
until 2016
- Not enough of it to go around for all of those who have PTSD
- Very expensive
- Not covered by the government or veterans associations

10. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Using virtual reality with the help of the a virtual reality headset
and a headset to treat PTSD has been a practice since the early
1990s. Since then, it has been the best and most effective way to
treat patients with the disorder. Not only has it helped many
people with PTSD, but has also helped treat other patients with
Social Anxiety, Fear of Heights, etc… Hopefully in the near future,
it can become easier and more affordable for the public.

11. ROBOTIC PROSTHETICS
“When the National Academy of Sciences
established the Artificial limb Program in
1945, the options for amputees were few:
crude, wooden prostheses. And for those
who chose none: life confined to a
wheelchair. Fast-forward 65 years and the
United States faces an influx of amputees
from the conflict in Iraq, but the
opportunities for soldiers returning home
from war with an amputation are far more
advanced.” In the last 20 years, robotic
prosthetics have made many important
advancements that give artificial limbs
more function than ever before.

12. PROS
- Robotic Prosthetics are getting more and more comfortable
- Many different types of prosthetics for different activities
- Allowing amputees to complete tasks they were not able to
do before
- Allowing amputees to wear them for longer without hurting
or injuring them
- Technological advancement in prosthetics is constantly
growing

13. CONS
- The more advanced prosthetics get, the price will increase
immensely
- The super advanced ones will not hit the markets for another
few years
- Complete artificial limb mobility will not be achieved for
another few years
- Most robotic prosthetics are not water proof yet and do not
have a very good battery life…

14. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Prosthetics have made incredible technological advancements
in the last 65 years, going from a simple wooden limb to being
able to squeezing things, picking stuff up and even running in
the Olympics with special limbs. I would not be surprised if
soon, we see artificial limbs on amputees like the ones we see in
futuristic movies. Hopefully we can also keep the costs down so
that the people who need them, can afford them.

15. ENCHROMA’S COLOR-BLINDNESS
CORRECTION GLASSES
“They might look like sunglasses, but
EnChroma’s product actually boosts
the saturation of red and green light.
That helps to improve color vision in
people with red-green color-
blindness, the most common color
vision deficiency, affecting up to
one in 12 men and one in 200 women”

16. PROS
- Corrects Red-Green color-blindness
- Available for the public
- Easily purchased online
- Technology could be used to correct other things in your
vision
- Technology could be used to enhance eyesight in the future

17. CONS
- Very expensive (not everyone can afford $400 glasses)
- They are glasses, not a permanent solution or fix to color-
blindness
- Only enhances green and red colors, does not completely fix
color-vision of red and green colors

18. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
EnChroma has done an amazing thing by inventing these glasses.
Those with color-blindness that have not been able to ever see
certain colors can now see what they have never experienced
before.. It is exciting to think that the technology could be used in
the near future to enhance our eyes and what they can do.

19. SOURCES USED (APA)
S. (n.d.). Mindfulness & Activity Tracker. Retrieved July 30, 2017, from https://spire.io/
Duffy, J., & Jill DuffyContributing EditorTwitterLinkedInEmailJill Duffy is a contributing editor, specializing in
productivity apps and software, as well as technologies for health and fitness. She writes the weekly Get
Organized column, with tips on how to lead a better digital life. Her first book, Get Organized: How to Clean Up
Your Messy Digital Life is available for Kindle, iPad, and other digital formats. She is also the creator and author
of ProductivityReport.org.Before joining PCMag.com, she was senior editor at the Association for Computing
Machinery, a non-profit membership organization for...More ». (2015, May 29). Spire. Retrieved July 30, 2017,
from https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2484754,00.asp
Utley, T. (2016, January 25). 4 Technologies Innovating Mental Health In 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2017, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/toriutley/2016/01/25/4-technologies-innovating-mental-health-in-
2016/#195a453c6bb3
Loria, K. (2016, January 22). Virtual reality is about to completely transform psychological therapy. Retrieved
July 30, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-virtual-reality-is-used-for-ptsd-and-anxiety-therapy-
2016-1
D. (2012, December 12). 5 Major Advances in Robotic Prosthetics. Retrieved July 30, 2017, from
https://www.seeker.com/5-major-advances-in-robotic-prosthetics-1766150994.html
Cross, R. (2016, June 29). This is how EnChroma's color-blindness glasses achieve their powerful effects.
Retrieved July 30, 2017, from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601782/how-enchromas-glasses-correct-
color-blindness/