We were impressed with Montreal-based Omsignal’s smart running bra when it first surfaced at CES 2016. It’s well designed, both as clothing and technology, and you can’t help believing that something hugging your chest is going to get a more accurate breathing and heart rate data than something on your wrist. OMsignal recently completed a $10 million funding round, and the … [Read more...]
Flexible Thermocell Battery Brings in the Volts
Batteries are the one part of your wearable device that still seem old school. Although we’ve seen improvements in size and endurance, the chemistry and physics of batteries are just plain hard. A lot of scientists are investigating the alternative of energy harvesting or scavenging; that is, producing usable energy from natural sources, such wind, sun, or human … [Read more...]
AmazFit’s New Tracker: Fitness as a Fine Art
AmazFit, manufacturer of the Equator and Moonbeam fitness trackers, is owned by Huami, one of the top wearable companies worldwide, and has sold 24 million fitness trackers in China through the company’s partnership with Xaiomi. Xaiomi’s Mi Band, originally sold only in China, is second only to Fitbit in global market share. The AmazFit Equator marks the company’s expansion … [Read more...]
Dubai Runners Will Move to the Light
Athletes wearing LED-enhanced gear seem to be trending since Team Britain’s shining shoes at the Olympic closing ceremony. Now they are about to light up the wrists of runners in the 5K nighttime. In the Electric Run 2016 in Dubai on Nov. 4, 10,000 race entrants will receive Pixmob Electrobands as part of their registration packets. Electrobands are like technologically … [Read more...]
SmartTrack: A Touchpad Within Arm’s Reach
Smartwatches put a powerful computer on your wrist, but at the cost of a little bitty screen and keyboard. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute’s Future Interfaces Group are working on that, turning your arm into an interactive surface. SmartTrack turns your forearm into a swiping, touching input device from wrist to elbow. Unlike … [Read more...]
Wireless Gas Detector: Technology Replaces Canaries
The detection of poison gas is critical in industry. Gas chromatographs are big and expensive, so sensor developers have been looking for years to find ways to detect both odors and harmful gases in a small, fast-acting, low-power, and lightweight device. Scientists may have found a way to end-run the problem. A team at MIT has developed a low-cost way to detect lethal gas … [Read more...]
I Spy with My Little Wearable Monitoring Device
Do you think the government uses our wireless devices to keep tabs on us? Well, we’ve found proof that you’re right—if you work for the U.S. government. ODNI (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) is developing MOSAIC (Multimodal Objective Sensing to Assess Individuals with Context): a project to help “U.S. intelligence firms” pick people who are spy material. The … [Read more...]
Converse ‘All-Wah’: Soft Shoe Goes Hard Rock
Converse, the shoe company that brought color to high-top sneakers and basketball shoes, is now bringing high tech and sound to same. The company’s Chuck Taylor All-Wah (you see what they did there, right?) doesn’t look much different from your regular or garden variety Chuck Taylors. That is, until you notice the connector in the side of the sole and right above that two holes … [Read more...]
French Startup’s Wearable Not Horsing Around
Horse racing, the sport of kings, is an expensive business for owners, It's also dangerous for the horses; some 500 horses die from racing-related injuries a year in the U.S. and another 150 die in the UK, including Guy Fawkes, a horse belonging to Queen Elizabeth. The French have an answer to this, as they have to so many things. A Gallic startup, Arioneo, has developed an … [Read more...]
Wearable Technology on the Fly
We’ve covered some pretty outré tech directed specifically at the fairer sex to keep them on top of certain bodily functions that should remain private and unseen. Now there’s a product to covers the ups and downs of that most terrifying male social faux pas: the unzipped zipper. Noti-Fly pants buttons can tell you, via your smartphone, that your privates may be all … [Read more...]