Buzzfeed has noticed that Apple's put out some job postings for people who know about biosensors and non-invasive measurements. Does that mean Apple is planning new products in the healthcare market? Yes. No. Maybe. (Pick one.) CEO Tim Cook told the Telegraph late last year that he doesn't want the Apple Watch to get so sophisticated that it draws the attention of the FDA … [Read more...]
Security and Price Hold Back the Wearables Market, Accenture Says
Every year around CES, Accenture releases a big global consumer survey about the consumer electronics market, asking about things like purchase intent. (We've written about it in years past.) If you're in the consumer wearables business, they say, 2016 may be a bumpy ride. John Curran, the managing director of Accenture's Communications, Media and Technology group, briefed … [Read more...]
iTENS: Portable Pain Relief without Pills: CES
Chronic pain is an unwelcome and debilitating part of life for millions people, and the side effects from medications and therapies often just make things worse, adding nausea, fatigue, and possible drug dependency to the mix. iTENS, LLC, an Ohio-based company, is hoping to change that with Bluetooth-based electrotherapy. TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) … [Read more...]
OmSignal’s Sports Bra Talks to Your iPhone: CES
Seems as if everything these days tracks biometrics, either as a basic function or an added feature. Most of those trackers are not gender-specific, but when you’re talking sports bras, you’re talking a decline in gender diversity. But in a good way. We think. Canadian company OmSignal has developed the Om bra, a sports bra that tracks biometrics, calories burned, and your … [Read more...]
Pet Sounds: Canine Tech at CES
The idea of electronics on a dog or cat collar is not particularly revolutionary; pet doors that require collar electronics have been around for a while. But the world of technology never stays stagnant, so three companies have come out with fitness trackers for pets and one with a game console for dogs. (The cats feel this last is unnecessarily species-ist.) The trackers … [Read more...]
L’Oreal and MC10 Team Up on Beauty Tech: CES
The cosmetics firm L'Oreal is not one you'd expect to see at a CES, which skews heavily to the electronic. Yet here is Guive Balooch, Global VP of its Technology Incubator, sitting with MC10 Co-founder Roozbeh ("Rooz") Ghaffari, both of them sporting blue heart-shaped stickers on their hands. Those stickers, they explain, track exposure to the sun, but do it in two … [Read more...]
Valencell Sues Apple and Fitbit for Patent Infringement
Valencell makes biometric sensors, which it licenses to makers of finished goods. Today, it accused Apple and Fitbit of stealing its technology. In particular, the federal lawsuit filed in District Court in Raleigh, NC (Valencell's home town) said that Apple got Valencell to disclose propriety information under false pretenses, and then incorporated the technology without … [Read more...]
Kopin Debuts Jaw-Dropping Noise Cancellation Technology: CES
If you know Kopin Corporation at all, you probably know them as a display technology company. At CES today, it demonstrated a noise cancellation chip with stunning performance. The Whisper Chip is a 4mm x 4 mm chip that draws 10mW and replaces a CODEC; it's agnostic to operating system, supports up to four mics and doesn't require a digital-to-analog converter. It would sit … [Read more...]
Fuller Brushing Experience from Grush, Kolibree: CES
Kids hardly ever want to brush their teeth. Let’s face it: It’s supposed to take a full two minutes and that cuts into valuable play time. Now two companies are addressing this situation with a great concept—combine tooth brushing and games—from slightly different angles. Both Grush and Kolibree toothbrushes monitor the position of your toothbrush head to determine how well … [Read more...]
Fitbit Hit With Class Action Suit About Heart Rate Monitoring
As ships attract barnacles, as potholes attract politicians, so do successful companies attract lawsuits. The Verge reports the filing of a class-action suit filed against Fitbit, claiming that its heart-rate monitoring is <gasp> inaccurate by a "significant margin." The suit is looking for injunctive and actual damages. Fitbit denies the claims, also pointing out that … [Read more...]