We've all been there, you wake up one morning with a headache, or the sniffles and by evening it has still hasn't budged.
What do you do? Well traditionally the last thing you should do is use Google because as we all know, it almost never ends with you feeling calmed and reassured.
Advertisement
Google
Turns out Google is well aware of this, in fact one per cent of all Google searches (that's still millions of searches) are people looking up their symptoms.
To try and alleviate the often unnecessary jumping to conclusions the company is rolling out a new algorithm, starting in the U.S., which hopes to provide a more balanced set of results.
For example, if you Google that you have a headache the results will show an overview description of what a headache is, some self-treatment options and then some further information on what warrants a trip to the doctors.
Advertisement
As Google points out in a blog post you should never replace professional advice with a Google search, however the company realises that for many people Google is still the first place they will go.
Veronica Pinchin, Product Manager at Google explains saying: "We create the list of symptoms by looking for health conditions mentioned in web results, and then checking them against high-quality medical information we’ve collected from doctors for our Knowledge Graph.
"We worked with a team of medical doctors to carefully review the individual symptom information, and experts at Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic evaluated related conditions for a representative sample of searches to help improve the lists we show."
7 Gadgets That Will Make Us Genuinely Better Humans:
1
Parrot Pot
What's better than saving the planet? How about saving it from your smartphone, one plant at a time. As well as making drones, incredible headphones and in-car stereos Parrot also make the world's most intelligent plant pot. With a 2.2l water reservoir built in, a smart irrigation system and four sensors the Pot connects to WiFi so you can keep your Orchid at the top of its game even when you're not at home.
2
Hydrao - Smart Shower
The average person uses 80 litres of water during a shower. That's a frankly obscene amount of what is fast becoming a precious commodity being used for no other reason than allowing you a sing-a-long in the mornings. Thankfully Hydrao is here to help. This smart shower head changes colour depending on how much water you've used. It has Bluetooth 4.0 built-in and connects to a smartphone app which then shows you how you've been doing. The clincher is that it doesn't need any power, instead it's powered by the water passing through it.
3
Marbotic Smart Letters
We've all heard those horror stories about children spending an absolute fortune on their parent's tablets. Well Marbotic has found a way to combine traditional wooden toys with the iPad that won't cost you an arm and a leg. These little wooden letters and numbers can be 'stamped' onto the iPad's screen. The app comes with a range of different games and educational exercises. It's a wonderfully simple way of combining the old with the new.
Advertisement
4
Ziro
Ziro could do for robotics what Google Cardboard has done for virtual reality. Bought as a set these wireless 'blocks' can be put together any way you want while a glove then allows you to control your creation using gestures. The whole package is completely customisable as well letting you assign gestures to different actions using the smartphone app.
5
Beddit
The Beddit sleep tracker deserves a mention as one of the most comprehensive packages around. Rather than forcing you to sleep with a phone under your pillow, this subtle device can accurately track your sleep and even your resting heart-rate. At the end of each night you get given a score and then recommendations on how to get that score up. In the battle for inner peace, Beddit is leading the charge.
6
Kolibree Smart Toothbrush
Cleaning one's teeth can be an incredibly dull task so imagine how boring it must be for a child. Realising that infants simply don't have an attention span, Kolibree have come up with this ingenious smart toothbrush. Packed with sensors it turns brushing into a game. With some big name partners on board including Ubisoft the game intelligently knows how and where you're brushing your teeth thanks to Bluetooth built into the brush. You know what, sod the kids we're buying one for us as well.
Advertisement
7
BeeWi Tap Sensor
So you've started saving water in the shower, but what about the garden? Enter BeeWi's latest innovation, a water tap sensor that can be programmed to automatically water your garden. Rather than wasteful watering the smart tap knows the right amount to pump out, saving water and also saving you some serious money too.
