Does the FDA know about this? CrunchGear's got the story about a couple of surgeons at Indiana University using Google Glass during cancer surgery. While removing an abdominal tumor, they used Glass's voice commands to call up and view MRI and x-ray scans. This is the sort of thing that regulators and ethics committees get starchy about, but given the publicity that IU is … [Read more...]
Google Details How Not To Be A Glasshole
Google is often slow to understand that it has public relation problems, so it is just now dealing with the fact that not everyone is delighted with the people who own and wear Google Glass. The company has posted a Goofus and Gallant guide on how Glass Explorers ought to behave. It's easy to make fun of this, but it's really not a bad move. People using new technologies … [Read more...]
A Sortable Database of All Available Wearables
Here's an awesome resource, as long as the author stays interested and doesn't get swamped: a database of all commercially available wearable devices, sortable by the part of the body it's worn on and related to similar devices. Dang -- wish we'd thought of that. Seriously excellent work, guys. Bookmarked. … [Read more...]
White Paper Says Wearables Have High Abandonment Rate
A new white paper from Endeavour Partners says that although 1 in 10 Americans owns a fitness tracker, something like 50 percent of them wind up in a drawer somewhere within six months: In the midst of this frenzy of anticipation, the dirty secret of wearables remains: most of these devices fail to drive long-term sustained engagement for a majority of users. This is a … [Read more...]
CuteCircuit Does Wearables at Fashion Week
We like the folks at CuteCircuit, a British fashion house that's done really good work on costumes for the likes of Katy Perry. So we were bummed to have been otherwise occupied during New York Fashion Week last week and to have missed their 2014 Fall collection. (No, really!) At least we caught up with a video from International Business Times. Check it out. (It doesn't … [Read more...]
Virgin Atlantic to Try Glass in Customer Service
Virgin Atlantic is running a six-week trial of equipping customer service agents with Google Glass and/or Sony Smartwatches at London's Heathrow Airport. When Virgin Upper Class customers get out of their chauffeured limo, the agent will have information about the customers -- their itineraries and other relevant information -- available on their wrists or before their … [Read more...]
Flexible All-Plastic AMOLED Displays Produced
While we're thinking about displays and flexible electronics, it's worth noting an important first that was mentioned at Flextech: all-plastic flexible AMOLED displays from Plastic Logic and Novaled. If you've got an Android smartphone, you're probably familiar with AMOLED displays. They're clear, bright, fast, and used in most Samsung phones and lots of others, besides. But … [Read more...]
Printed Ears, Biosensor Patches, Better Touchscreens: FlexTech 2014 Conference Report
We spent most of last week at the Flexible Electronics 2014 conference in Phoenix. This was an extremely technical conference, all about hardware and componentry and not even a tiny bit about consumer-level products. (More than a couple of speakers talked dismissively of the current state of consumer wearables, saying "everyone has one.") If you wanted to know about substrates, … [Read more...]
Adidas Sues Under Armour on Wearables Patents
Adidas is suing outfitter Under Armour, claiming the Baltimore-based activewear company is infringing a series of patents on wearable technologies. Specifically, Adidas says UA's Armour39 watches and chest straps, as well as the recently acquired MapMyFitness, use legally protected technology in Adidas's own miCoach products. The suit is filed in federal district court in … [Read more...]
LED Motorcycle Jackets to Save Kenyan Lives
The urban transportation system in Kenya is apparently chaotic and relies at least partly on a system of motorcycle taxis called "boda bodas." Those taxis are somewhat less than safe, according to a report in the Kenyan Standard, partly because drivers weave in and out of traffic and make turns unpredictably. Kenyan entrepreneurs Joseph and Charles Muchene are developing the … [Read more...]