In the historic city of Chesham in Buckinghamshire, telecoms giant Virgin Media in collaboration with Chiltern Council have set up a “Smart Pavement” system with WI-FI connectivity hubs embedded within manholes and surrounding street furniture, a first for the UK. The system delivers publicly-accessible high speed broadband to locals, businesses and tourists when within the city centre, encompassing Chesham’s busy High Street as well as parts of the nearby Lowndes Park, and providing internet speeds of up to 166 Mbps, faster than what most people get in their homes. The network may be accessed by the public that are Virgin Media Mobile subscribers allowing them to effortlessly connect to the network through the use of a specially-designed App. According to Virgin Media, with a populace of 21,000 and counting, Chesham is the ideal size to test such a system before any future roll out across towns in the UK. Chesham is also ideal due to its pedestrianised city centre and a plethora of businesses to encourage use of the system. But it is not all business-focused, as the system is also useful to the local council, which has been looking to provide fresh approaches to enhancing the local area.
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Wi-Fi-based webcams or IP-cameras are becoming more and more prevalent in the home. A main reason for this is their decline in price in recent times as well as the ease with which they can be installed. A recent entry into this already jam-packed market is the new 
Smart home innovation has actually made it easy to manage home thermostats, light fixtures and even door locks using smart phones. However those of us who live in a gated community or flat are usually not permitted or able to fit such devices themselves. Locumi Labs hopes to change all that with its new smart gadget, the Monkey, that attaches to one’s existing intercom to make it capable of keyless access. A 5cm x 5cm square that is only 9mm thick, the Monkey is a chip that can connect to all intercom types out there. Although necessitating the removal of the intercom cover as well as a little bit of tinkering with the internal circuitry, the creators of Monkey assure us that installation is an almost brainless procedure that anybody can do. Then once connected to the home Wi-Fi network, Monkey allows users to set it to open doors from a smart phone, or using a mobile phone’s GPS signal, or even at specific times of the day. And since Monkey incorporates into the intercom’s internal power source, there’s no requirement for a power supply or to replace batteries. The Monkey app is available for both iOS and Android operating systems, allowing homeowners anywhere to be informed when somebody is ringing their doorbell. In addition, it also provides the capability of changing who has access to the property without needing to physically change locks or duplicate keys. And if you forget your cell phone inside the house, Monkey does not prevent you from using the traditional method of a mechanical key. Check out the promotional video on 
Microsoft has just announced the latest version of its health and fitness wearable, the Band 2. Compared with the 2014 model, the fresh take on the personal gadget is more capable and feels much more comfy on the your forearm than its predecessor, but comes with a higher price tag. The Band 2 is challenging the other major players in the wearables market (Apple, Fitbit and Jawbone) especially when it comes to battery life, claiming that the Band 2 will last 2 days under normal use. As with the previous version, the gadget works with Windows, Android, and iOS operating systems. One of the most noticeable changes to the new model is that it has a much sleeker appearance than that of its predecessor, with a screen that curves around the wrist strengthened with Gorilla Glass 3 and a wristband that is much softer. As for the incorporated tech, whereas the first Band had a decent set of heart rate and step monitors, the new unit also includes an atmospheric pressure and elevation sensor that is useful on hiking treks. In addition, the Band 2 is fitted with a monitor for VO2 Max, which is an advanced metric of fitness that normally requires costly equipment to compute. The Microsoft Band 2 also supports a wider range of smartphone apps when it comes to their alerts and it even has a shot-tracking capability for golf enthusiasts. Speech support for Cortana, Microsoft’s electronic smartphone aide, has been added too. The company says that the Band 2 will be in US shops by the end of October.
Daimler Trucks has just retro-fitted its self-driving system known as the