FIFA, the international governing body of the football Americans call soccer, is looking to set a standard in wearable technologies for its 209 member associations. They are joined by IFAB, the International Football Association Board. Earlier this year, IFAB decided to allow players to use wearable electronic performance and tracking systems (EPTS) under two conditions: … [Read more...]
FlexTech Alliance to Lead $170 Million Federal/Private Tech Hub in San Jose
The U.S. Department of Defense announce today that it has awarded $75 million to the FlexTech Alliance to set up a Manufacturing Innovation Institute for flexible electronics. The money is being matched by another $96 million from San Jose and many partners: 96 companies, 11 labs and non-profits, 42 universities, and 14 states and regional organizations. FlexTech said that … [Read more...]
Google X Shows Health Tracking Wristband
Google is apparently working on a health-related wristband, but don't expect to be able to buy it anytime soon -- or ever. Bloomberg is carrying a story about a wristband from Google X -- the research division of Google -- that will be able to measure pulse rate, heart rhythm, skin temperature, and local environment. It won't be sold to people, but rather distributed to … [Read more...]
FTC Takes On Non-Delivering Crowdfunder
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has gone after its first non-delivering crowdfunder, fining board game "maker" Eric Chevalier for raising $122,000 on Kickstarter and not producing anything. Chevalier promised a game called The Doom That Came to Atlantic City, but spent the money on personal expenses. He provided neither a game nor refunds, despite updates that had claimed … [Read more...]
Is Your Activity Tracker Tracking More Than Just Your Activity?
The security firm Context Information Security recently put up an extensive and interesting post that points out that gadgets that use Bluetooth Low Energy -- as most wearables do -- can be tracked, and could therefore be seen as a security or privacy risk. The report gives background on beacon technology, which uses wireless signals to serve up location-dependent content. … [Read more...]
Inside the Fitbit S-1, Worrying About What’s Not Said
Deconstructing financial documents is a particular skill, and RockHealth gets very deep on Fitbit's registration to go public. One of the major points that Fitbit avoids talking about, RockHealth notes, is anything about user engagement and churn. Because product sales have been increasing so fast, it's hard to get a handle on how fast Fitbit trackers are hitting the junk … [Read more...]
WSJ: Apple to Make 5 Million Watches, But Not Sure Why
With Mobile World Congress and its attendant blizzard of news about all things mobile coming up in a couple of weeks, Apple is newsbombing the proceedings with leaks about the forthcoming Apple Watch. The Wall Street Journal has carried a couple of interesting pieces in the last day. One article puts the initial production run at 5 million units. The other, more interesting, … [Read more...]
New Wearable Seeks Human Guinea Pigs
While we're talking about FDA guidelines and resistance to them, our sister site Health Tech Insider carries an interesting story about someone looking for test subjects for a new wearable band. The developers plainly understand that they will, at some point, need to get approval from the FDA but they want a few people to see if their version of electrical muscle stimulation is … [Read more...]
Congress Being Pushed to Limit FDA on Wearable Med Tech
We wrote last week about the FDA taking comments on its regulations regarding wearable health technology. The excellent Politico weighs in today with a story about how Congress is being pressed to limit -- by law -- what the FDA is allowed to regulate. Politico traces some of the money, noting that Intel spent $1.5 million last year lobbying on "telehealth wearables, remote … [Read more...]
Two New Tech Bras: One To Control Music, The Other To Detect Cancer
By some cosmic confluence, two proposals for tech bras crossed our desk this morning: one for a bra that can adjust your music to match your heart rate, and one that hopes to detect breast cancer early. The Keep Beat bra, from British designer Victoria Sowerby, does the usual heart rate detection, but then sends your data to an app that slows and speeds your music depending … [Read more...]