Intel's got a neat blog post about a Brooklyn company called Kill Screen that's experimenting with wearable controllers for the virtual world. It centers around a set of wearable sensors that monitor kissing: Then, you notice the wires, and the gadgetry that is strapped to the guy’s face, and that, by sticking his tongue in his girlfriend’s mouth, he is steering a car on the … [Read more...]
Top IoT Vendors to Collaborate on Standards
We sometimes forget how miraculous it is that our technology talks to each other. The ability to hook a computer to a network, or Skype to a landline, is not preordained. It takes interested parties to sit together and set standards. The "Internet of Things" is a great idea, but suffers mostly from being an endless series of data islands. A dishwasher can talk to the … [Read more...]
Techcrunch: Osterhout/Microsoft Deal Was for IP, Cost Up To $150 Million
Way back in September, we wrote about a report that Microsoft was talking to the secretive Osterhout Design Group about buying the company and its portfolio of wearables patents for $200 million. Techcrunch managed to get a very rare interview with Ralph Osterhout, who says he sold a portfolio of patents and not his entire company; another source put the value of the deal at … [Read more...]
Sub-millimeter LEDs Have Wearables Impact
We confess that we follow the excellent site All LED Lighting with more than professional interest, because LED lighting is just generally so cool. But today, Keith Dawson's site carries an announcement of really tiny LEDs designed for use in wearable gear. The Plessy "dotLEDs" are 1 mm by 0.5 mm, and 0.2 mm thick and produce 0.7 lumens. You could put six or eight of them … [Read more...]
Chris Dancy, With 700 Sensors, May Be “The Most Quantified Human”
Denver's Chris Dancy claims to be surrounded by 700 sensors, including the ones on his body, in his house, and on his dogs. It's possible that he's overdoing it, and it must take him forever to get through airport security, but he's clearly an interesting poster child for the Quantified Self movement. The Daily Mail, not the world's most restrained publication, has a long … [Read more...]
Wearables Growth to Drive Lithium Battery Market
There's an interesting new study from the research firm IHS that finds that the wearables industry will quadruple its demand for lithium batteries in the next few years, while price pressures and shipment declines in other portable sectors will slow the industry down. In other words, if it weren't for wearables, the lithium battery industry would be in trouble after … [Read more...]
Who Buys Wearables? The Rich and the Young
Nielsen is out with its latest survey about who's interested in wearable technology. Not a ton of surprises: 16 percent of Americans own some kind of wearable tech gear, and half of them are between 18 and 34 years old. Seventy-five percent of them say they're "early adopters, and almost 30 percent make more than $100,000 a year. Fitness bands (61 percent) were the most … [Read more...]
Gassée on Smartwatches: Oh Please
In his weekly Monday Note, former top Apple exec Jean-Louis Gassée says the smartwatch market has bubbled even before it gets rolling -- just like the tablet market in its earliest days: ... the vernal equinox seems to have triggered a bout of Wearables Fever the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Tablet Fever of January, 2011, when 76 tablets were announced at the … [Read more...]
Can’t Google Stick With Anything? Why To Be Wary of Android Wear
We may be approaching End Times, because this is now the second time in recent memory that we've agreed with Robert Scoble. This time, Scoble has an opinion piece on Huffington Post, questioning whether Google has the ability to stick with anything beyond its core search products. His evidence is scant -- Larry Page wasn't wearing Google Glass at TED this week, therefore … [Read more...]
Researchers Develop Stretchable Antenna to Work on Fabric
Frequent readers know that we're always on the lookout for technology that's compatible with fabrics and clothing. Researchers at North Carolina State University have produced an antenna that can be stretched or rolled, enabling wearable sensors to better communicate with remove devices. We heard a lot about printing silver nanowires onto fabric at the Flexible Electronics … [Read more...]